The Octave was undoubtedly the rising star of the budget DAC scene in 2011. A NOS DAC design from Metrum Acoustics (Acelec Engineering) that was fast, exceptionally transparent and thoroughly engaging.  I didn’t review it formally as I felt Srajan’s coverage over at 6Moons said [pretty much] everything:  it offered an abundance of “wow” factor that many folk are seeking out

Aussie audiophile brethren heaping praise over and above Srajan Ebaen’s initial raves has seen me snag this Dutch DAC before the introductory pricing (668 Euros) expires and before the wait time blows out to months (rather than weeks). The landed cost of AU$980 flies under the import duty radar. Just. My Octave arrived yesterday.  The packaging is exceptional: both DAC and

NOS DACs are none too common among mainstream manufacturers, let alone at the lower end of the budget market.  The FL nomenclature on this entry from Pro-ject refers to the absence of a filter used in oversampling implementations.  Such filters are often the root cause of budget DACs sounding uptight, stressed and – well – digital. The Pro-Ject DAC Box

I can’t find an official website for Chinese manufacturer Muse, but their “beginner’s” Mini 4 x TDA1543 DAC caught my eye on eBay due to its stupidly tiny price:  ~AU$50, shipped to my door.  I bought one.  I’m now on a mission to find the “best” cheap and cheerful (~AU$100) DAC. The specifications are anything but terrible: four of the legendary

It’s easy to get caught up in the obsession for more and more detail from one’s hifi system. Full disclosure: hearing audience murmurs in live recordings isn’t the most paramount concern to this reviewer. The long-term enjoyment of music reproduction for me comes from those three elder statesmen – pace, rhythm and timing – as much as it does being

I want to identify a common complaint amongst computer audiophiles: DAC anxiety.  Some of us try them “all” and get nowhere, never satisfied (few DACs I’ve heard approach the “rightness” of a Rega Saturn or an older Marantz CD player).  Some of us freeze in the face of the bewildering number (and types) of DACs on offer.  Some of us

Deckard: She’s a replicant, isn’t she? Tyrell: I’m impressed. How many questions does it usually take to spot them? Deckard: I don’t get it Tyrell. Tyrell: How many questions? Deckard: Twenty, thirty, cross-referenced. Tyrell: It took more than a hundred for Rachael, didn’t it? Deckard: She doesn’t know?! Tyrell: She’s beginning to suspect, I think. Deckard: Suspect? How can it