USB DAC Reviews

Accuphase DC-37 premium
Luxurious DAC that can handle any file format.
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Anthem STR preamplifier and power amplifier premium
Encased in a simple but robust cabinet, the STR series has refreshingly different looks, but these components also distinguish themselves from the masses in terms of sound.
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APL DSD-AR DAC premium
While resolving the heck out of everything you play with retina-like resolution and lightning-fast transients, the DSD-AR simultaneously has an almost subconscious easy-going aspect, a certain organic quality that makes for highly lyrical music making and an immediate emotional involvement that makes one forget about all the technical details.
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Aqua Formula xHD DAC premium
State of the art NOS R2R ladder DAC with DSD compatibility. Current HFA reference!
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Aqua Formula xHD v2 Output Board upgrade premium
Who says that electronics circuits are for nerds? I mean, look at this board! Isn't it a work of art? With the V2 output board, the Formula xHD's position as the King of the Crop is reaffirmed.
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Aqua La Scala mkII DAC premium
Giving away very little compared to the Formula xHD, costing less and possessing of that midrange magic that only tubes seem to bring, the La Scala mkII DAC may well hold the sweet spot in the Aqua DAC lineup.
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Arcam rDAC premium
Never judge a book by its cover!
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Aries Cerat Heléne DAC and Incito S preamp premium
When you frequently review products, and especially when the target is usually the high-end segment, true surprises are few and far between. So, it's a treat when a product comes along that truly brings something new to the table.
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Audio GD R8 DAC, Master 1 preamp, Master 3 power amp, and Magna Hifi ACSS cables premium
Designed and built in China, Audio GD products provide serious competition for much higher priced European or American gear. Part 1 contains the introduction, info about Magna Hifi and a description of the performance of the complete Audio GD system.
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Audiolab M-DAC+ premium
Affordable Jack of all Trades with a detailed and refined sound.
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Auralic Vega premium
Stlylish Digital Audio Processor
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Ayon CD-10 II CD Player premium
The CD-10 II impressed me enormously. Regular readers will know that I am used to listening to very esoteric gear but somehow Ayon always manages to stir my music-loving soul, and, as it turns out, even with their entry-level products.
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Ayon S10-II Signature premium
The S-10 MkII is not only a streaming endpoint and a DAC but also an analog preamp complete with two analog inputs. And, unlike many competing products, the Ayon's preamp can actually replace a very good separate analog preamp.
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Ayon Sigma DAC premium
Tube Seduction with technical precision
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Ayon Stealth DAC and CD-T II Signature CD Transport premium
There is no way around it. The Ayon Stealth DAC/Preamp and CD-T II transport play with a level of musical involvement not matched by any solid state combination that I tried so far.
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1 December 2010
Ayre QB-9 premium
Asynchronous USB signal transfer and high end DAC solution in a compact and pretty package
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Bricasti M1 Classic premium
The M1 throws a superb balance between technical excellence, emotional engagement and refinement.
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Bricasti M21 DAC and M15 power amp premium
It baffles me why the Bricasti brand does not pop up everywhere, it certainly should. Beautifully sculpted and with immaculate build quality, these components are not inexpensive but in context, they surely are also not extravagantly priced.
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Bryston BDA-3 DAC premium
Enthusiastic Music Maker with extensive connectivity.
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Bryston BDA-3.14 Renderer+DAC premium
The BDA-3.14 is Bryston's current reference DAC and with its many inputs, streaming capacity and built-in volume control, it is meant to perform the central role in a multiple-digital-source system.
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CH Precision C1 + A1 premium
The C1+A1 combination sounds ultra-transparent, clean and controlled but also smooth and fluid, and organic, wholly musical and absolutely convincing.
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CH Precision C1 + A1 – part 2 premium
Part 2 of the C1+A1 review.
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CH Precision C1.2 Upgrade Listening Impressions premium
Following the May 2022 Press Release, CH Precision has recently issued the new C1.2, an update of the longer-running C1 DAC. After having my unit updated, I was so impressed with the results that I simply had to share my findings.
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CH Precision DIG IN HD Board Upgrade premium
With the new DIGITAL IN HD board, the team at CH has managed to further improve the C1's already stellar performance.
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Classé Delta Stereo and Delta Pre premium
The third-generation Delta product line includes the STEREO amplifier, MONO amplifiers and the PRE preamplifier with built-in DAC and streamer, and conceptually based on the CP-800. Reviewed here are the preamp and stereo power amp.
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COS D10 DAC, preamp, and network player premium
The D10 is a highly versatile control point, built in a modular fashion. As standard, it contains a preamp and DAC. Optionally, one can add a streaming input and a phono preamp. With every input that it offers, the D10 has surprised me with consistently fantastic performance.
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dCS Puccini CD/DAC & Paganini Clock/USB Interface – Quick Impression premium
I only just recently heard the dCS Puccini CD/SACD Player and DAC and Paganini Master Clock/USB Interface in the context of my own system. Since many people are shopping in the second-hand market, I thought it would be worth sharing my Quick Impressions of these products.
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Denafrips Ares II, Pontus II, Venus II, and Terminator Plus premium
Ever wonder what spending extra on the next level DAC from the same company gets you? Let's find out by directly comparing all the DACs that Denafrips currently has on offer.
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Denafrips Terminator Plus premium
This DAC not only sets the standard at its retail price, but it even presents a challenge for the top-performers in the business.
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Denafrips Venus premium
Visually a more compact and arguably even more handsome version of the Terminator, the Venus is Denafrips' 2nd-tier flagship DAC and, as such, it is built around a very similar architecture.
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Esoteric D-07 premium
The Esoteric presents music with real gusto: theres a bold and focused power to its delivery, making for a very solid and upbeat sound not unlike the typical Wadia delivery.
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19 September 2016
Exogal Comet premium
Exogal - Out of this Galaxy?
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HFA Audio Setup History 29 – Speakers and Amps – Dec 2017/April 2018 premium
Finding my next reference speakers and amplifiers - part 2
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HFA Audio Setup History 30 – Speakers and Amps – April 2018/Aug 2018 premium
Finding my next reference speakers and amplifiers - part 3
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Holo Audio Cyan premium
Smartly designed Discrete Resistor Ladder DAC at a very friendly price.
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Jay’s Audio CDT3-Mk3 and DAC2-Mk3 premium
The DAC2-Mk3 can be seen as the successor of the DAC2 Signature that I reviewed in December 2019 and the CDT3-Mk3 is Jay's Audio's new Flagship CD transport. Read on to find out how they perform individually and as a pair.
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Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC premium
The brand's first entry into the digital world
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Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC + PSU premium
Adding the brand new Power Storage Unit to the Aeris DAC provides a major upgrade.
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Kinki Studio EX M-1 and Vision DAC-1 premium
These two Kinki components make for highly involved and enthusiastic listening. They consistently make my foot tap to their supremely confident, rhythmic and dynamic presentation.
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Lector CDP-707 + PSU-707 and Digicode S-192 + PSU-DC 192 premium
The CDP-707 is an integrated Tube CD player, powered for this review by the company's best PSU-707 unit. The Digicode S-192 is a Tube DAC, powered by the company's best PSU-DC 192 unit.
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Leema Acoustics Libra premium
Highly versatile DAC with a smooth, refined and seductive sound
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Leema Elements DAC premium
It wasn't until very recently when I heard a Leema DAC in a friend's setup, and it was playing so effortlessly musically, that I felt it deserved an in-depth review in my own setup.
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Linn Klimax DS Network Player premium
The Klimax DS/0 was the first high end music streamer.
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Matrix Element-X premium
The Matrix Element-X could be regarded as an upgraded X-Sabre Pro with added functionality, such as UPnP streaming, Airplay, App-control in addition to IR remote control, Tidal, and MQA. Additionally, the unit contains a dual-mode headphone amplifier consisting of four independent amplifier units.
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Matrix X-Sabre Pro premium
Fully fledged DSD DAC with incredible build quality.
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Meridian 808.3 Signature Reference CD player premium
Sooloos products had me hooked right from the start
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Meridian 818 DAC/Pre/Network Player premium
The very best Meridian Sooloos Streaming Audio.
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Meridian 818v3 – MC200 – DSP 5200 SE premium
For the first time, there are a pair of active Meridian DSP speakers in my listening room, along with an 818v3 Reference Audio Core and a Media Core 200. This makes for some very interesting comparisons.
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Meridian Ultra DAC premium
Meridian's DACs were usually assigned a number such as 606, 563 and 818. And now there is the Ultra DAC. Purely on appearance it is hard to see the differences with the 818 but soundwise it is immediately clear that this DAC deserves more than just another number.
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Metrum Pavane premium
Non Oversampling DAC with a clever design
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MKII Upgrade for the PS Audio PWD premium
An upgrade that positively transforms the PWD.
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Musical Fidelity Clic premium
Comparable in size to the Naim UnitiQute, the Musical Fidelity Clic promises even wider compatibility, albeit without built in amplifier.
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Musical Fidelity V-DAC premium
You get what you pay for? Actually, in this case you get more than you pay for.
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MYTEK STEREO 192-DSD DAC premium
Pro-audio mastering unit put to the audiophile test
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Naim NDX, CDX2, DAC and XPS2 premium
After being so enthusiastic about the UnitiQute and Uniti, I was curious to find out how much more there would be in the Naims higher up on the scale.
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Naim Uniti Network Player, CD player and Amplifier premium
The Uniti is the UnitiQute's bigger brother, with a cd player added, a bigger amplifier and more inputs.
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Naim UnitiQute Network Player and Amplifier premium
The UnitiQute is a smaller version of the Uniti, minus the CD player, but lacking none of its bigger brother's functionality.
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Playback Designs MPD-6 premium
The Playback Designs MPD-6 is a discrete DAC with integrated analog volume control. As part of the Edelweiss series, the  MPD-6 has its roots in the Dream series from which it borrows key technologies and combines these with new ones to create a more compact and cost-effective package.
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PS Audio Directstream DAC and Directstream Memory Player premium
This Directstream combo delivers new benchmark setting performance!
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PS Audio NWD (Nu Wave DAC) premium
Unprecedented quality at this price level
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PS Audio PWD (Perfect Wave DAC) – part 1 premium
The PWD has long been on my list of things to do but there was such high demand for this unit that I couldn't get one in for a review.
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PS Audio PWD (Perfect Wave DAC) – part 2 premium
Here's part two of the review of this interesting netw0rk player.
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PS Audio PWD (Perfect Wave DAC) – part 3 premium
The PWD initiated quite a chain reaction Network cables, switches, power cables, and NAS placement were all examined and found to have an influence on the sound. Here is the final installment of the PWD review. Compared to the Audio Synthesis DAX Decade In the meantime, I had received an Audio Synthesis DAX Decade DAC for […]
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Rein Audio X3 premium
Sleek looks and excellent value for money
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Rein Audio XDAC – Mini Review premium
Super build-quality from Germany
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SOtM sDP-1000 DAC premium
Smoothly finished DAC with lots of tricks up its sleeves
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