Digital Processor Reviews

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Digital Processor ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Mytek HiFi Manhattan II D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier
Herb Reichert  |  Aug 15, 2017  |  33 comments
In equipment reports, I use the phrase forward momentum to refer to something a little deeper and more encompassing than what's meant by that well-worn Brit-fi expression pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT). Pace refers to the speed at which a piece of music is being played, and the accurate reproduction of that speed requires audio sources with good dynamic pitch stability. (Digital folk always lord it over LP clingers for digital's superior pitch stability.)
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Digital Processor Reviews
Mytek Liberty D/A processor
Art Dudley  |  Oct 25, 2018  |  18 comments
I've never aspired to owning a BMW 7-series, or a Martin D-45, or a Rolex Submariner: BMW's far less expensive 3-series models capture my imagination by bordering on the affordable, likewise Martin's D-18—and as long as I live, I'll never understand the appeal of expensive wristwatches. Bling's not my thing.

True to form, when I visited the Mytek display at High End 2018, in Munich, my attention was drawn to the brand-new Mytek Liberty DAC and its three-figure price: for $995, one could now own the equivalent of the original Mytek Brooklyn D/A processor, without that model's phono preamp—this according to the company's Adam Bielewicz, who served as my product-line guide on that sunny May day.

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Digital Processor Reviews
NAD M51 Direct Digital D/A converter
Jon Iverson  |  Jul 06, 2012  |  8 comments
Who wants only a digital-to-analog converter when you can have a DAC with benefits? How about if those benefits also come with some high-resolution attitude?

That's what I pondered while setting up the NAD M51 ($2000). Sure, it's a basic DAC, but it also has extras—like HDMI inputs, remote-controlled volume, a polarity switch, and one of my favorite features on any DAC: a display that tells you which sampling rate the thing is locked to.

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Digital Processor ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
NAD Masters Series M32 DirectDigital D/A integrated amplifier
John Atkinson  |  Apr 26, 2018  |  3 comments
When I asked NAD for a sample of their Masters Series M50.2 digital music player, which I reviewed in the December 2017 issue, they also sent me a Masters Series M32 DirectDigital integrated amplifier, which had also been introduced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Costing $3999, the M32 offers a continuous power output of >150W into 8 or 4 ohms. The M32 is the same size as the M50.2, and its smart-looking combination of matte black and gray-anodized aluminum panels make it look identical to the player, except for the black volume-control knob to the right of the front panel's four-color touchscreen, and the ¼" headphone jack at bottom left. It even has the same eight ventilation grilles inset in the black top panel.
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Digital Processor Reviews
Nagra DAC D/A processor
Kalman Rubinson  |  May 16, 2004  |  First Published: May 01, 2004  |  0 comments
Without having intended to, I seem to have collected several "statement" products. I've already reported on the Weiss Medea and Theta Digital Generation VIII digital-to-analog converters. I saw and expressed interest in the Nagra DAC at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show, when prototypes of it were shown along with a forthcoming multichannel version, the Nagra Digital Audio Processor (DAP). The two units are based on the same chassis and interface, the DAP including additional modules and processing.
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Digital Processor ReviewsMedia Server Reviews
Naim ND5 XS 2 media player
Art Dudley  |  Mar 19, 2019  |  8 comments
The late Julian Vereker, the sharp-minded former racing driver who founded Naim Audio and designed its first products, did so because he wanted audio amplification of a quality he felt no one else was making at the time, reasoning that if he wanted such a thing, so might others. Thus came about Naim's first domestic-audio product, the distinctive NAP200 solid-state amp (1973).
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CD Player/Transport ReviewsIntegrated Amp ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Naim Uniti CD player/receiver
Art Dudley  |  Mar 22, 2010  |  1 comments
In an industry whose newest products are often as discouragingly unaffordable as they are short of the sonic mark, the Naim Audio Uniti ($3795) stands out. In a single reasonably sized box, the Uniti combines the guts of Naim's Nait 5i integrated amplifier and CD5i CD player with various additional sources: an FM/DAB tuner, and interfaces for an iPod, a USB memory stick, an iRadio, and a UPnP-compatible connected computer or server—all for the price of a very good television set.
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Digital Processor Reviews
Okto dac8 Stereo D/A processor
John Atkinson  |  Jan 21, 2021  |  7 comments
For his review of the Pink Faun 2.16x music server in the December 2020 issue, Kal Rubinson needed to use a Linux-compatible multichannel D/A processor. A little Googling uncovered the 8-channel dac8 PRO from Okto Research in the Czech Republic, so Kal borrowed one from the manufacturer. He found it to be a great-sounding DAC with an intriguing feature set. He purchased the sample.
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Digital Processor Reviews
Okto Research dac8 PRO D/A processor
Kalman Rubinson  |  Nov 30, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2020  |  7 comments
For a couple of years, I have been following Prague-based Okto Research. At first, Pavel Krasensky, the founder and hardware developer, offered audio design ideas and DIY modules that I found tantalizing. For example, there was a dandy-looking ESS 9038Pro Sabre–based output module and some appealing power supply modules—but to use those, the buyer had to manage inputs and integration on their own.

Then, finally, last year, Krasensky released the dac8 PRO, an 8-channel D/A processor with USB input and output, 8 channels of AES/EBU input, and 8 channels of balanced (XLR) analog output as well as a headphone output.

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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-1 D/A converter kit
Wes Phillips  |  Apr 02, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 02, 1995  |  0 comments
"Dinner's fried chicken, honey."
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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Peachtree Audio decco65 D/A integrated amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Feb 28, 2013  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2013  |  6 comments
Whether one was surprised, in 2010, by the success of Peachtree Audio's iDecco may have more to do with age than anything else. My peers and I wondered, at first, who would want their high-end integrated amps to come bundled not only with digital-to-analog converters but with iPod docks, of all things; at the same time, younger hobbyists wondered who in the world still wanted their integrated amps to contain phono preamplifiers. (Respect for the elderly, myself especially, prevents me from adding "and mono switches.") Color me chastened.
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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Peachtree DAC•iT D/A converter
Jon Iverson  |  May 10, 2012  |  6 comments
It's common knowledge that manufacturers tune the sound of each DAC model. There are the facts of product design and marketing: inputs, outputs, case materials, price points. After that, what's left are the trade-offs of different circuit designs and filter options, which are chosen with care—each has a subtle yet telling effect on a DAC's sound. Most designers try to go from bits to analog with minimal deviation from perfect. But when you look at the measurements and listen closely, you realize that perfect is elusive. One has to make choices.
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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Peachtree iDac D/A converter
Jon Iverson  |  Oct 24, 2011  |  0 comments
Oh boy, another new DAC review. Some folks think DACs, once you get past the features, all sound pretty much the same. I mean, it's just digital. Well, they're right. Pretty much. Just as two new cars of a particular make, model, color, and options package both look the same, sitting there on the lot.

But if you discover a ding in the door of one of them, where most folks still see only a new car, you now see the ding. It might have been there all along, undetected the first few times you walked around the car—maybe your buddy even had to point it out to you. It's insignificant in the scheme of all that a new car is, but once you've seen it, you always see it. Now you can easily tell the two cars apart, and we both know which one you'll drive home.

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Budget Component ReviewsIntegrated Amp ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Peachtree iDecco D/A integrated amplifier
Art Dudley  |  Dec 13, 2010  |  4 comments
As with so many other things, from cell phones to soy milk, the idea of a portable MP3 player was something I at first disdained, only to later embrace with the fervor of any reformed sinner. But not so the idea of a high-fidelity iPod dock: Given that I now carry around several hundred high-resolution AIFF files on my own Apple iPod Touch, the usefulness of a compatible transport seemed obvious from the start. Look at it this way: In 1970, whenever I bought a music recording, I could enjoy it on any player, in any room in the house. In 2010, why shouldn't I enjoy at least that degree of convenience and flexibility—without resorting to a pair of tinny, uncomfortable earbuds?
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Digital Processor Reviews
Perpetual Technologies P-1A D/D & P-3A D/A processors
Robert Deutsch  |  Jan 25, 2001  |  1 comments
At the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas in January 1999, Mark Schifter, erstwhile president of Audio Alchemy, was handing out a press release announcing what seemed like a groundbreaking product from his new company, Perpetual Technologies. The product was the P-1A, a digital-to-digital processor that would do resolution enhancement, loudspeaker correction (amplitude and phase), and room correction—all for less than $1k. It sounded too good to be true.
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