2015 has been a good year for hi-fi. A very good year. Such a statement has been strengthened with the fact that the fantastic Audiolab have recently unveiled a new trio of separates, including an amplifier, a CD player and the thing we are most excited about (well, we are audiophiles after all!) the DAC. More specifically, the newest version of the mindblowing M-DAC… the M-DAC+!
But what’s it all about and why are we so excited in the first place?
… well, it’s pretty much down to the new DAC’s predecessor: the M-DAC. The M-DAC was (and still is ) a DAC that scooped awards (including a coveted What Hi-Fi Best DAC) across the board, and delighted critics and customers alike with its superior handling of digital to analogue conversion (if you’re a little stuck on how a DAC works – and what it is – don’t worry, we’ve got it covered in this blog) that blew all competition (even the higher-end alternatives) completely out of the water.
Well, Audiolab knew they were onto a winner, So much so, they decided to build on their success. The result is the M-DAC+. This is a premium version of something that was already considered the best in play.
Let’s take a look at the stats…
– Compatibility: CD/CDR
– DAC: ESS Sabre32 9018 chip
– Resolution: 32 bits
– Sampling Opt/Coax/AES: 32–192kHz
– USB Sampling: 32kHz – 384kHz
The award winning technology is the same, but the Plus is enhanced. Significantly. Equipped with ESS Sabre32 9018 chip (just like the 8300CD – which is the CD player Audiolab have released with this series) the M-DAC+ supports DSD via the USB input as well as resolutions up to 384kHz/32-kbit and DSD256. It also incorporates Bluetooth APT-X for wireless source streaming – which of course we love.
It’s still very early days, but from what we’ve heard the M-DAC+ is a DAC worthy of the title of its somewhat legendary predecessor.
Interested? Of course you are. Give us a shout and we will see what we can do about getting you and this new separate connected and acquainted. Frankly, we need every excuse we van get to use it ourselves!