Audiolab M-DAC+ High-Performance Multi-Purpose Audio DAC (Silver)

Description

M-DAC+

The new M-DAC+ is a high-performance, multi-purpose audio
DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) for home use, designed to sit on a desk or
table, or integrate into a hi-fi system. It incorporates a highly specified,
audiophile-quality digital preamplifier and Class A output stage for connection
to a power amp and speakers (the output can be fixed for those who wish to use
an existing preamp or integrated amp), in addition to a high-quality output for
headphone use.

Overview

Redefining a Classic

The new M-DAC+ is based firmly on the classic M-DAC, with
carefully targeted improvements in key areas – a logical move, given the
original model’s sustained popularity over the last four years. The M-DAC built
a peerless reputation with press and public alike since its launch in the
autumn of 2011, scooping multiple Product of the Year Awards from the likes of
What Hi-Fi?, Hi-Fi Choice and EISA to make it arguably the most critically
acclaimed DAC component ever made. “The Audiolab M-DAC+ gets an awful lot right
– so much, in fact, it comfortably justifies its ‘+’ designation”. ~ What Hi-Fi?
Sound and Vision, June 2016

Design

The Finest DAC
Circuitry

Like the M-DAC, the M-DAC+ incorporates the ES9018 Sabre
Reference 32-bit DAC chipset, still widely regarded as the finest available.
This is surrounded by exceptionally well-specified circuitry that puts other
similarly priced DACs to shame, including a proprietary, discrete master clock
to minimize jitter, coupled with extensive time domain isolation. A JFET Class
A output stage ensures that the audio signal, following conversion from the
digital domain to analogue, is of the highest quality.

Technology

High Performance with
DSD

Under the hood lie a number of performance-related
enhancements. The M-DAC+ now processes audio data up to 32-bit/384kHz via USB;
this is a far higher specification than that required by current hi-res music
formats, ensuring this new, premium-quality addition to the M-DAC family is
fully equipped for future advances in ultra-high-definition digital sound.

The USB input now also accepts DSD files (the digital audio system originally
developed for Super Audio CD), offering compatibility with DSD64, DSD128 and
DSD256. This is a significant addition, as DSD has an important role to play in
the developing high-resolution digital download scene.

Technology

Adjustable sound for
all sources and tastes

As digital audio technology has progressed, the importance
of the characteristics of reconstruction digital filters has become more
appreciated. Like the classic M-DAC, the M-DAC+ features user-selectable
filters for optimal listening and measurement modes, in addition to more conventional
types for easy comparison. These filter settings allow the user to tune
performance to suit his or her preference, depending on system configuration,
digital file quality and musical taste. The M-DAC+ inherits seven filter
settings from the M-DAC for PCM files and adds four more for DSD playback,
allowing the user to optimize the noise floor to suit the performance of the
source file and the bandwidth of associated equipment such as amps and
speakers.

Technology

Enhanced Sonic
Performance

Another important change relates to the power
supply, which has been upgraded and is now incorporated within the M-DAC+’s
chassis (hence its slightly taller and deeper case compared to the classic
M-DAC). A precision-wound toroidal transformer uses multiple windings to feed
separate analogue and digital rectification stages. From there, multiple power
supply sections feed the necessary voltages to each area of the DAC, keeping
any crossover interference to a minimum. The result is the highest performance
power supply Audiolab engineers have yet specified for a DAC, and its
contribution to the M-DAC+’s enhanced sonic performance is significant.