DAC with built-in amplifier at a good price, not inferior in sound quality to models in the high price category. They're here.
I took it out of the box, connected it to the MacBook, inserted my favorite headphones, turned on my music collection and began to enjoy high-quality sound. No extra steps. This began my first acquaintance with the Fostex HP-A4 and HP-A3 .
Fostex is a Japanese company founded in 1973, which has more than 20 international patents and is known among connoisseurs of professional audio equipment.
For whom and why
Neither an iPhone, nor a MacBook, nor other computers without a sophisticated sound card will be able to fully unleash the capabilities of high-quality high-impedance headphones. Not enough power. For these purposes you need an amplifier .
Let's start with the older model - Fostex HP-A4 . There are several options for its use. And with each of them we get very detailed, direct, clear sound. As a musician, he pleasantly surprised me.
Connection to the computer is via USB, no external power adapters. By the way, the cable is gold plated.
And, yes, the Japanese are showing off: there is no . Let's call this a design element that emphasizes the quality of the product.
Signal reception can also be done via the S/PDIF connector. For example, you can connect Apple TV.
Next - 3 outputs: headphones (6.3mm jack), speakers (RCA output, also known as “tulips”) and an optical S/PDIF output. As a result, Fostex can be used as an external sound card with a powerful DAC, although without a microphone jack.
Subjective assessment of sound at line output
The difference between high-rez and regular 16/44 is felt in favor of the first, but direct connection of the Fostex HP-A4BL first to a power amplifier and then to an AV receiver was not in a hurry with full audiophile returns. I know how other reviewers like to write something like “I wanted to turn it up louder.” But such an assessment of the tract always seemed contradictory to me. Yes, because I also wanted to turn up the volume with the Fostex HP-A4BL! But should this reaction to a lack of physicality be considered an epithet? What was not included in the measurements here? Elusive jitter, switching power supply, SMD mounting, something else? Or is it just that I haven't listened to Burr-Brown in a while?
It was possible to achieve an interesting feed from the linear output of the Fostex HP-A4BL with the help of additional preamplifier stages, which even included ADC/DAC conversion at a frequency of 768 kHz. That’s when the musical fabric acquired the required degree of roughness, energy, texture, and even resembled (you’ll laugh) the old multibits. But it is unlikely that the owners of an inexpensive device will fence something like that. Most likely, the priority for using Fostex HP-A4BL should be considered working with headphones.
Design, build quality, switches
The HP-A4 is unlikely to be taken with you as a portable amplifier, but it takes up little valuable work space and honestly utilizes every square centimeter: its dimensions are 113 x 34 x 115 mm, weight is 0.5 kg.
The build quality is excellent. Not surprising, since the device is assembled in Japan .
At the back there are audio connectors as well as a slot for a microSD memory card, designed for firmware updates.
Front – 6.3 mm headphone output and switches:
Input sel – switching input signals: optical S/PDIF or USB Filter – digital filter, giving a more spacious sound Gain – increasing the gain Outpol sel – switching output signals: headphones or RCA Volume – volume control
The amplifier displays what format the signal is transmitted in, sometimes this is convenient: PCM – 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k 176.4k, 192k DSD – 2.8M, 5.6M.
Photo gallery
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