Testing the Rega DAC and the Rega Brio R integrated amplifier

Inner space is by no means a sin of emptiness. There's a large toroidal power transformer, large cylinders of Nichicon capacitors and two Wolfson 8742 DACs, and the rest of the single board area is littered with smaller parts. What can the Rega DAC do? As the name suggests, its main function is to convert a digital signal to analog. The source of the digital stream can be a separate CD transport, a full disc player, or a personal computer connected via USB (with a software music player installed), for which the Rega DAC acts as an external sound card. However, there are some limitations. Using the USB protocol, only a standard signal with parameters of 16 bit / 48 kHz can be transmitted to the DAC, but a high-density signal of 24 bit / 192 kHz will also be received via an optical or coaxial interface. Using five analog filter presets, you can change the character of the sound - for example, the first phase-linear filter has a minimal phase shift, and the fourth and fifth smooth out phase distortions. Here it is better to tune by ear. Before moving on to the second component of the system - the integrated amplifier Rega Brio R, we note that both modules are made in the same design key, and the only difference between the amplifier is that on its facade there are only two buttons and a volume control. Ascetic, but solid. The kit includes a remote control block - a real example of minimalism: it only has a mute key, an input selector and volume control. The switching arsenal is the most common: five stereo RCA pairs, an analog recording output and two pairs of powerful screw acoustic terminals. The first pair of connectors, according to the manufacturer, serves as an input for connecting a vinyl player, which indicates the presence of a built-in phono stage. Where is the ground terminal then? But soon she was found - on the lower part of the chassis. The internal contents are very similar to a DAC: a powerful toroidal transformer of the power supply, filter capacitors of 10,000 μF. All containers in the supply circuits are made of film. The amplifier operates in class A - emitter followers based on Sanken bipolar transistors in a complementary circuit ensure high stability of the characteristics of the output stages. Low output impedance guarantees operation even when the load drops to 2 ohms. But let's move on to listening. Our conclusions, oddly enough, are banal. Tell me, how many bad or weak Rega components have you heard? We are not! English primness, healthy conservatism, elitism, charm, dignity - these, as they say now, tags are quite applicable to the Rega DAC / Rega Brio R tandem. The most accurate transmission of any material, purity and airiness, even some proximity to analog sound. It’s hard to get tired of this sound, despite the digital nature of the media. As for working with a PC, the Foobar software player really unpacks the FLAC container so perfectly that a worm of doubt comes to life in your soul: is it advisable to spend a lot of money on branded CDs? At least the idea of placing your own music library on your computer’s hard drives for ease of use does not seem blasphemous. And canned goods in MP3 sound relatively decent. The Rega DAC and Rega Brio R deservedly received our applause.

Rega DAC

There is no escape from the digital revolution in audio; even “analog” Rega began producing converters. Their new DAC is made on exactly the same platform as the Brio-R integrated device tested in the last issue: in a “half” form factor, with a body made up of very massive metal sides and a glossy black plastic facade. On the front panel there is a power button on the left, and a button for selecting inputs with serial access on the right. More about the button in the center a little later. The frequency of the incoming data stream, converter operating modes and connected input are indicated by red LEDs.

The Rega DAC is quite functional. In addition to five inputs and an analog unbalanced output, it has optical and coaxial outputs for transmitting a digital signal to external devices (theater processor, receiver, recorder). The path supports a 16-bit stream with a frequency of 32 - 48 kHz for USB and 24-bit up to 192 kHz for SP/DIF inputs (optical, coaxial). The signal is first fed to a Wolfson digital input receiver with an internal high-precision clock. The converter is implemented on a pair of WM8742 connected in parallel (as in the Rega Isis CD player). The output amplifier-filter is also made using a differential circuit. According to the description, the user can change the depth of the OOS and the steepness of the filter - this is what the central button is responsible for. There are no “magic” over- and upsamplers - the signal is processed in its original form.

It is noteworthy that the Rega DAC, at a not so high price, is made on a solid element base. The circuit uses polyester capacitors MMK and Nichicon FG series. The stabilizer in the power supply, as usual, is divided into two circuits and has microprocessor control.

The first test - with a traditional connection to a CD via coaxial - evokes a mixed range of feelings. With any filter setting, the bass turns out to be somewhat slow, i.e. dynamic, but without proper agility, although the texture of the after-sounds is worked out very well. The change in operating mode of the output stage is more evident in the sound stage and mid register. The first position gives the images greater physicality, but some microdynamic simplification is noticeable. The second position slightly expands the stage, gives the CI in the foreground greater significance, and makes the sound richer tonally. The smoothest and most neutral reproduction is achieved in the third, and the most harmonious and dynamic in the fourth filter position, although everything noted comes at the cost of some loss of purity. The most “disheveled” sound is in the fifth position. According to other criteria, the Rega DAC deserves only good marks. The scene has no obvious deviations, although it is slightly more compact than usual. The upper register is transparent, refined, with detailed nuances - this is more typical of higher-end equipment.

When switching to USB, nothing fundamentally changed. The difference between filter settings is smaller, but the sensitivity to the power phase is sharper. If the plug is turned on “wrongly,” dynamics and localization suffer. So start immediately from the fourth position and look for the optimal phase.

The upper register is transparent, refined, with good nuances - this is more typical for higher-class equipment

Manufacturer Rega Research Ltd (Great Britain)
Made in UK
Digital inputs USB, 2 TOSLink, 2 Coax
TOSLink and Coax digital outputs
Analogue outputs Linear RCA
No wireless interface
Reproducible range, Hz 10 - 41,000 (at sampling frequency 176.4 or 192 kHz)
With unevenness, dB -0.05 (LF), -1 (HF)
Distortion, % 0.006
Dynamic range, dB n.d.
Signal-to-noise ratio, dB 105
Dimensions, mm 215 x 80 x 270
Weight, kg 4
price, rub. 29990
www.rega.co.uk

PLEASED

Good switching qualities. The ability to select operating modes of output stages for digital content of different quality. Accurate soundstage and graceful treble.

DISAPPOINTED

Slow bass, and sometimes general sluggishness in dynamics. With the most “tasty” filtering settings, playback in the middle register does not indulge in exemplary purity.

Tags: Rega

Rega DAC-R Digital-to-Analog Converter - review stereophile.com

Over the past month I have been helping one of my friends record songs for a future album. His compositions consist of powerful male and female vocals, acoustic and electric bass, as well as acoustic guitars and mandolins. The project is funded by Jay-Z, who intends to completely transform the beat-based conventional structure of rap and hip-hop into a mysterious land of acoustic music. Okay, I was joking a little with that last part.

Price 1195 USD

Anyway, a couple of days before the recording began, Rega Research's newest digital-to-analog converter ($1,195) arrived for testing, giving me a chance to compare the live sound in the recording studio with the finished product. And since the group was already recording the second part of the compositions at Painted Sky - this is another studio located near the coast - in Harmony, California, then, on top of everything else, I had the opportunity to compare the sound of the same people recording in two completely different places. Every few days I would receive a CD with mixes from Painted Sky, which I would immediately compare with the results obtained at Dog Bark. And I thought - what better way to test a DAC in real conditions than live music?

But things got a little more complicated. And although I, along with the rest of the engineers, during the recording tried to convey the “reality” of the sound of the same musicians and instruments, it quickly dawned on us that from an artistic point of view there are many ways to do this.

A little less noticeable, but all of the above is true regarding the DAC. Given the fact that the listener is buying the "reality" that comes at the very end of the recording process, DAC designers have a little wiggle room to get the sound they're looking for. And just as choosing the right microphone in the studio (both for voice and guitar) is an art, developers must make the right choice of chipsets, filters, power supplies, synchronization technologies, etc. etc., and all to ensure that the DAC sound setting is ideal.

During our work, the choice of microphones and mixers forever changed the “reality” of the recorded material, but Christina’s voice, singing at a distance of 180 cm from me, still helped me understand how well this DAC conveys it (the voice). More details about this later in our review.

Model DAC-R

Externally, the DAC-R looks very similar to Rega's previous DAC, the DAC model, reviewed by Sam Tellig in May 2011. But there are some changes: the case has become a little longer, which allows for a more efficient positioning of the power supply. From Rega representatives I learned about small changes that they made to the power connector, and about small improvements in the firmware and hardware when operating at 176.4 kHz, as well as in the process of “starting up” the device. The price tag has increased by $200, and now the buyer has the opportunity to control the selection of the signal source and the filters used from the remote control.

The most significant change for computer music lovers is the asynchronous 24/192 USB input based on XMOS. In his review four years ago, Sam quoted Rega engineer Terry Bateman as saying, "Rega doesn't see USB as a cutting-edge audio interface." It seems that times have changed - the optical and coaxial input paths are powered from the USB input path through an isolation transformer, completely isolating the DAC from the control computer.

Inside there are a pair of Wolfson WM8742 DAC chips. Subsequent increases in sampling rate are not used. Bateman explained to me that the goal was to keep the signal path as simple as possible and not force the DAC microprocessors to operate at higher frequencies. The same "simple is better" principle applies to pure analog signal processing: "I used the same discrete output amplifier that was used in the Saturn and Apollo [DACs], with a little old-school discrete transistors thrown in." Bateman also explained that he used high quality electrolytic and film capacitors in the analog signal path. Great attention was paid to the power supplies of all modules, as well as data integrity and synchronization. In fact, each module has its own power source, independent from the others.

External data

The dimensions of the Rega DAC-R are 21.3 cm wide, 7.9 cm high and 31.8 cm long with a weight of almost 4 kg. The DAC-R feels like it was carved from solid stone - if you knock on it, nothing rings or echoes. There is a small indentation on the top of the body - as if a rolling pin had been passed over it several times. So while the DAC-R is, by and large, just a square box, it leaves behind the feeling of a well-built thing.

The DAC-R sits on four solid rubber feet, which give the DAC-R almost 1.5cm of height. It never overheated while working in my office, remaining just a little warm. The body, made of aluminum, steel and glass, gave off an aura of sophistication that didn't look out of place. The DAC-R's front panel, made of reflective glass, contains three rows of silver buttons, an IR sensor, and three groups of small red LEDs. The power button located on the left creates the feeling of a real massive mechanism. The other two keys only need a small press to activate. The central button is responsible for selecting from three filters (see below). On the right is a vertical row of indicators showing the sample rate the DAC-R is set to: 44.1–48; 88.2–96; 176.4 or 192 kHz. To the right of them is a source selection button, surrounded by six LEDs that indicate the selected input (USB, 1–4), as well as input lock.

On the rear panel, from left to right, there are: 24 b/192 kHz USB input, two 24/192 optical inputs, two 24/192 coaxial S/PDIF inputs, digital optical output, coaxial S/PDIF output and analog RCA connectors. On the right is the fuse and a standard IEC C13 power connector. This DAC is completely devoid of any bells and whistles - there is no balanced connection, no input for an AES/EBU cable, no DSD signal processing, and there is not even a headphone jack.

The kit comes with a remote control, which, although equipped with a considerable number of buttons, does not become useful. Only one of the 18 buttons - the active input switch - is used in any way to control the DAC-R. The optional Rega Solaris remote control ($125) has a button to change the filter, along with a dozen others that have nothing to do with the DAC-R. I assume that this was done to push the buyer to build systems based on Rega solutions. At the same time, for those people for whom the only device from Rega is only the DAC-R, this seems like some kind of nonsense. A control panel designed to control only the most important functions of the DAC-R - active input and filter selection - would be much more appropriate, and perhaps cost less to manufacture.

Filters

I love it when a DAC has the ability to select the reconstruction filter used - it gives the listener the opportunity to choose what concessions they are willing to make to achieve a compromise on the resulting sound. The Rega DAC-R has three filter settings, but each is dependent on the sampling rate. For frequencies 48 kHz and below - 1) linear-phase half-band, 2) minimum-phase half-band, and 3) minimum-phase with apodization. For medium and high frequencies (88.2 - 192 kHz), filters are used: 1) linear-phase with a soft cutoff threshold, 2) minimum-phase with a hard cutoff threshold, and 3) linear-phase with apodization.

It turns out that the DAC-R has six filters, each optimized for its own sampling frequency. I didn't think of this at first and used Filter 1 for the 44.1 kHz material. Subsequently, I figured it out and, for working with high-quality sound, gave preference to Filter 3. Basically, I didn’t even touch its settings (apodization).

I later learned that Bateman classifies the frequency response of DAC-R filters as “standard”, “extended” and “rising”. He wrote to me: “A filter with an extended frequency response covers the entire spectrum provided by the sampling frequency. With an increasing filter characteristic, the passband “ends” earlier than with the standard one.” It turns out that I prefer a slightly coarser frequency response! We have yet to see what John Atkinson's measurements will show, but I still stand by my choice made before receiving Bateman's letter.

Settings

When I first connected it to the USB port of my computer, the Rega DAC-R was identified as “XMOS USB 2.0 Audio Out”. My MacBook Pro generally recognizes a USB connection from the DAC-R, regardless of whether Rega is turned on or not. I was able to select the sampling rate before turning on the power to the DAC.

Comparing with the DACs I have, I found that the Rega sounds about 1.5 dB louder than the others. For example, when comparing the DAC-R with Benchmark's DAC2 HGC, I had to play with the settings to hear them at the same level. And since I wanted to listen directly from the computer to the original 24/96 WAV file that we recorded for a friend's album, I had to connect the mixer to the Rega via an S/PDIF cable.

I reached out to Steven Mejias at AudioQuest headquarters (I think I called him at his home on the East Coast, and I'm sure he was hanging out again in one of his funny t-shirts and hipster jeans), one credit card transaction, and there you go. AudioQuest's best S/PDIF cable and connectors are on the way. With their help, I connect the main listening room with my studio (distance about 900 cm). Everything turned out perfect.

Sound

When working with a new performer, the first thing you need to do is try out the sound of different microphones. We make several recordings with each of them, and then carefully listen to the result over several days. When I included the Rega DAC-R in this process, the difference in the sound of the individual microphones became even more noticeable, I don’t know if this is good or bad.

And now comes the most confusing part of this review. Microphones color the resulting sound; the task of engineers, artists and producers is to choose the color they like. But how can you know that the resulting shade is not the result of the work of the rest of the recording equipment? A countless number of albums are mixed on “explosive” audio systems, but the end user sounds without bass and with inflated high frequencies. And until you work with many different audio systems and have devices that you trust, there will be no answer to this question.

One of the devices I trust is the Benchmark DAC2 HGC, which has crystal clear sound - perfect for my needs. If you're feeling like the icing is missing on top of this cake, then the Rega DAC-R is the one for you. Listening to voice cuts and subsequent completed takes, switching between Rega and Benchmark all the time, I noticed warmer or sweetened notes in the Rega's sound that I did not notice in the Benchmark.

I liked it. As does the performer. Perhaps it will suit your taste too. All things considered, I'll personally go with the Benchmark DAC2 HGC - a more 'analytical' sound is more appropriate for me - but the surround sound of the Rega DAC-R is simply amazing, presenting the sound exactly where it's supposed to come from, clear and detailed.

We spent the next two weeks recording mandolins, a five-string electric bass, and a double bass (a small capacitor surprised us all by exploding along with another microphone). To decide on the microphone to use, as well as where to place it, I turned to Rega for help. We used it for the final mixing of the composition. But at the end of the recording, I finally gave my choice in favor of Benchmark, which processed the sound in such a way that it seemed to me that the sound was even cleaner than on the hard drive. This is almost a phantom, difficult to distinguish thing, but it has its place.

There is a possibility that my love for Filter 3 on the DAC-R played a significant role in choosing Benchmark for mixing compositions. Yes, sitting in a chair and listening to music, especially high quality music, I prefer Filter 3, although, as Terry Bateman noted, its frequency response gradually decreases closer to high frequencies. I discovered Filter 3 before starting audio recording, while listening to test recordings on the Meridian Digital Media System server. The cool thing is that you can change the tone of the Rega sound by switching to other filters.

Conclusion

At $1,195, Rega's product is right in the middle of the ideal price range (in my opinion): $1,000, give or take a hundred dollars. Rega has invested heavily in the research and development process to ensure that the result is an effective combination of price, engineering, design and component selection. And although this model does not provide a headphone connection, DSD and volume control, the DAC-R is still a solid product, where all the money is spent on fulfilling its only purpose - converting a PCM digital stream into an analog signal.

When I first encountered Rega's DAC a couple of years ago, I was struck by the heavier bass and tighter sound compared to other devices I had on hand at the time. The DAC-R sounds very similar to the above, but nevertheless goes in the right direction, especially when using USB, and is a good choice for listening to music.

If you have $1,195 to spend and like the sound of your computer files with a little warmth but no loss of quality, then the Rega DAC-R should be high on your list. Especially considering the fact that you have the opportunity to play with the filter settings.

Measurements of the characteristics of the Rega Research DAC-R DAC

At first glance, the DAC-R looks identical to the first model from Rega DAC, which was reviewed by Tellig himself in May 2011. But this is not so. In particular, the DAC-R replaces the Burr-Brown PCM2707 USB microcontroller with a more powerful XMOS. I took measurements using the Audio Precision SYS2722 system. As a signal source, I used the S/PDIF output on TosLink, a coaxial cable from my SYS2722 and a USB output from a MacBook Pro powered by a battery. Makiton's USB Prober utility identified Rega's product as "XMOS USB Audio 2.0", reporting that the USB port operates in optimal asynchronous mode. Capable of running at 192 kHz in theory, the TosLink input was limited to a maximum sampling rate of 96 kHz. The DAC-R user manual warns that reliable operation above 96 kHz depends on the quality of the cable used. At my disposal was only TosLink made of cheap plastic. Coaxial S/PDIF and USB inputs worked stably up to 192 kHz.

The maximum output amplitude at 1 kHz at 2.176 volts is very close to that of the first Rega DAC (see Note 1). The output signal maintains polarity with a fairly low output impedance: from 595 ohms at high and medium frequencies, rising slightly to 663 ohms at low frequencies. When using Filter 1, the impulse response (Fig. 1) is a traditional T-symmetric linear-phase half-band type; Filters 2 and 3 have a minimum-phase type impulse response with characteristic distortions of transient processes following the signal (Fig. 2).

Fig. 1 Rega DAC-R, Filter 1, impulse response at 44.1 kHz (4 ms interval).

Fig 2 Rega DAC-R, Filter 2, impulse response at 44.1 kHz (4 ms interval)

When white noise was supplied at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a level of -4 dBFS, the cutoff point of Filter 1 was constantly outside the audio range, reaching noise at 24 kHz. (Fig. 3, red and magenta lines) and suppressing ultra-high frequencies at 25 kHz by almost 100 dB (Fig. 3, cyan and turquoise). Filter 2 behaved almost identically in this test, with the difference being 10 dB more level suppression at 25 kHz (not shown in the figure). Filter 3 is claimed to be apodizing and the spectrum of the output signal (Fig. 4) confirms this. The high frequency cutoff level is exactly at the middle of the sampling frequency (Fig. 4, vertical green line). The DAC-R frequency response graph for signals at frequencies of 44.1, 96 and 192 kHz (Figure 5) suggests that the ultra-high frequency zone is more cut off than is usually the case at high sampling rates. For example, at a sampling rate of 96 kHz, the output level at 31 kHz is 6 dB lower, which is very similar to the behavior of the Rega DAC.

Rice. 3 Rega DAC-R, Filter 1, wideband white noise at -4 dBFS (red - left, magenta - right) and 19.1 kHz carrier at 0 dBFS (cyan - left, cyan - right); sampling frequency 44.1 kHz.

Rice. 4 Rega DAC-R, Filter 3, wideband white noise spectrum at -4 dBFS (red - left channel, magenta - right) and 19.1 kHz carrier at 0 dBFS (cyan - left, cyan - right); sampling frequency 44.1 kHz.

Rice. 5 Rega DAC-R, Filter 1, frequency response at –12 dBFS and sampling frequency: 44.1 kHz (blue - left channel, red - left), 96 kHz (green - left, gray - right), 192 kHz (turquoise – left, purple – right).

Channel separation at 1 kHz is beyond praise. The difference "right-left" is 105 dB and 115 dB "left-right". These values are respectively reduced to 79 and 88 dB at 20 kHz due to the inevitable capacitive couplings between channels. Internal sound noise is not audible throughout the entire operating range, with the exception of very minor flashes (about –123 dB) at a supply frequency of 60 Hz with all odd harmonics. Most likely the issue is electromagnetic induction from the transformer.

These flashes can be seen in Fig. 6, which shows the spectrum of the DAC-R output signal when passing a 1 kHz carrier at -90 dBFS, first for a 16-bit signal (cyan and magenta lines), then for a 24-bit signal (cyan, red). Increasing the bit depth reduces the noise floor by about 12 dB, which gives us the right to assume that the DAC-R resolution is 18-bit, which has no difficulty in reproducing the step shape of the uncomplicated signal at exactly -90.31 dBFS (Fig. 7). With an uncombined 24-bit signal (Fig. the test results were also pleasing, with the exception of a slightly blurred sine wave. The remaining tests, carried out with the signal taken from S/PDIF, repeated similar tests using USB, which once again confirmed the correctness of 24-bit processing x bit signal USB input.

Rice. 6 Rega DAC-R, spectrum with noise and flares with a smoothed 1 kHz signal at –90 dBFS; 16-bit (turquoise - left channel, magenta - right), 24-bit (blue - left, red - right)

Rice. 7 Rega DAC-R, Filter 1, unsmoothed 1 kHz sine wave at – 90.31 dBFS, 16-bit signal (blue – left channel, red – right).

Rice. 8 Rega DAC-R, Filter 1, unsmoothed 1 kHz sine wave at – 90.31 dBFS, 24-bit signal (blue – left channel, red – right).

Like the Rega DAC, the DAC-R boasts very low harmonic distortion, even at 600 ohms (Figure 9). The second and third harmonics, having the maximum level compared to the other harmonics, were only a couple of decibels above the level of –90 dB (0.003%). Intermodulation distortion was also at an extremely low level (Fig. 10). This graph was plotted with filter 3 turned on, which suppresses the 20 kHz frequency by 4 dB. However, this cannot be heard by ear.

Fig. 9 Rega DAC-R, spectrum of a 50 Hz sine wave (0-1000 Hz) at 0 dBFS at an impedance of 600 Ohms (blue - left channel, red - right; frequency scale - linear).

Fig.10 Rega DAC-R, Filter 3, intermodulation spectrum, 0–30 kHz, 19+20 kHz at 0 dBFS at an impedance of 100 k Ohm, signal 44.1 kHz (blue - left channel, red - right; frequency scale - linear ).

When testing the DAC-R for resistance to master oscillator jitter, the output signal spectrum turned out to be very similar to the Rega DAC (Fig. 11). While the odd harmonics of the low-frequency square wave are close to their correct values (indicated by the green line), sidebands are observed in the ±120 and ±240 Hz ranges.

Rice. 11 Rega DAC-R, high-resolution output jitter spectrum, 11.025 kHz at -6 dBFS, 44.1 kHz sampling rate with 229 Hz cutoff: 16-bit signal via S/PDIF connector (blue - left channel, red - right channel) . Carrier frequency – 11.025 kHz; bandwidth ±3.5 kHz.

In our May 2011 review of the Rega DAC, I attributed these bands to jitter. In fact, I was completely wrong. The jitter level drops as the frequency of the source signal decreases. But as we see in Fig. 12, which compares the spectra of the output signals corresponding to audio at 10 kHz (blue and red lines) and at 6 kHz (green, gray), the level of these sidebands remains unchanged. Therefore, we can assume that they have nothing to do with jitter, but are most likely caused by 120 Hz leaks from the reference voltage source. The level of these bands decreases by 10 dB for every 10 dB decrease in signal level. In Fig. Figure 13 shows the output spectra when the levels of 6 and 10 kHz audio are reduced by –20 dBFS. At a level of –40 dBFS, no sidebands are observed at all (Fig. 14). My guess is that the impedance of the power supply is preventing the reference voltage input from being decoupled when the DAC is reconstructing the high-level analog signal. How serious is this problem? Most likely, not really, although I wonder if this is due to the fact that both Sam Tellig and John Iverson called the sound of this DAC warm.

Rice. 12 Rega DAC-R, high resolution spectrum (2-12 kHz) analog output signal; 10 kHz audio at 0 dBFS (blue – left channel, red – right) and 6 kHz audio at 0 dBFS (green – left channel, gray – right); sampling frequency 44.1 kHz, 24-bit signal via S/PDIF input (frequency scale - linear).

Rice. 13 Rega DAC-R, high resolution spectrum (2-12 kHz) analog output signal; 10 kHz audio at –20 dBFS (blue – left channel, red – right) and 6 kHz audio at –20 dBFS (green – left channel, gray – right); sampling frequency 44.1 kHz, 24-bit signal via S/PDIF input (frequency scale - linear)

Fig.14 Rega DAC-R, high resolution spectrum (2–12 kHz) of the analogue output signal; 10 kHz audio at –40 dBFS (blue – left channel, red – right) and 6 kHz audio at –40 dBFS (green – left channel, gray – right); sampling frequency 44.1 kHz, 24-bit signal via S/PDIF input (frequency scale - linear).

Apart from this small issue, the Rega DAC-R test results are nothing to reproach with - John Atkinson

Characteristics

Type: Semiconductor DAC Digital inputs: USB: 24-bit 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz. Optical/TosLink 1 & 2: 24-bit 32/44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz. Coaxial 1 & 2: 24-bit 32/44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz. Resolution (all inputs): 16 to 24-bit. Sampling frequency: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz. Frequency range (100k ohms load) selected Filter 1. Low data rate, 10Hz–20.02kHz, –0.05dB (44.1kHz), 10Hz–21.7kHz –0.03dB (48kHz). Medium data rate: 10Hz–28.7kHz, –0.05dB (88.2kHz), 10Hz–31.2kHz, –3dB (96kHz). High data rate: 10Hz–44.1kHz, –0.05dB (176.4kHz) 10Hz–47.7kHz, –3dB (192kHz). Maximum output voltage: 2.175V at 100k ohms load. Full THD , all inputs (24/96): 0.006% at 1kHz. Signal to Noise Ratio: 105dB, for maximum output level in the range of 100Hz–22kHz. Dimensions: 215mm W X 80mm H X 320mm D. Weight 4kg. Price: $1195 Manufacturer: Rega Research

Equipment used

Digital sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.10.3, Audirvana Plus, iTunes 11.1.5, Sonic Studios Amarra 2.5, Songbird 1.9.3, XLD; Western Digital 2TB NAS device; Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player; Meridian Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669 Pro NAS); Apple iPad Air, iPod Touch 1G, iPhone 6. DACs: Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC, Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS. Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 in Pure Direct Mode. Power amplifier: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks (2). Speaker systems: Main system: MartinLogan Prodigy & BalancedForce 212 subwoofers (2). Desktop & recording monitoring system: Emotiva 5, Velodyne Servo-F Series subwoofer. Cables: AudioQuest Victoria (DragonFly). Line: various Kimber Cable, XLO HT Pro. USB: AudioQuest Diamond, Cardas Clear. S/PDIF: AudioQuest HD6 Carbon (studio to main listening room), Cardas Neutral Reference, XLO. Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL. AC: manufacturers' own. Additionally: Dedicated 40A line (amplifiers), dedicated 15A lines (digital & analog components).

Reviewed by: John Iverson

Based on materials from Stereophile.

Rega Dac, Musical Fidelity M1, Music Hall, Digilab or looking for a DAC

I long ago abandoned the topic of selecting DACs as futile, based on several attempts to integrate such a device into the system with invariably negative results. Everything I tried I didn’t like or could only work with a stretch. As expected, I started with inexpensive Chinese DACs. Very quickly I came to the realization that, contrary to expectations of good results at a low price, a really good-sounding DAC would be very expensive, significantly more expensive than a CD player with comparable sound. But these are subjective impressions, there are many models that can achieve good results, but first you need to at least know about their existence. But such popular names as Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha are in no hurry to offer a line of their DACs. Therefore, in the field of DACs, many names are little known to the average lover of high-quality sound or are not known at all. To begin with, several years ago I purchased a CS4398 DAC from China. Having looked at the power supply of similar products, similar to a telephone charger, I ordered an option in the form of a board and a separate full-fledged 30-watt R-core transformer. At that time, I already had an EGO-SYS [email protected] and I expected better results from the cs4398 DAC, especially since Marantz successfully installs the 4398 in its fairly high-end CD players, including Pearl.

EGO-SYS sound card [email protected]

Having received the DAC from China and assembled it, the sound was even worse than that of the EGO-SYS [email protected] , which upset me. This quality was at the level of the simpler Asus Xonar D1 sound card, which by the way is also on the CS4398. Asus Xonar D1, by the way, the sound of the card is bad, I don’t recommend purchasing it - the sound is synthetic, poorly detailed, the low end is exaggerated. Simply put, the D1 does not live up to hi-fi expectations.

Chinese DAC on CS4398

Buying a Chinese DAC for CS4398 was pointless. I read a lot of rave reviews online about the AD1955 DAC and decided to give it a try. Soon I received an assembled SMSL AD1955+ DAC from China. It disappointed me terribly, the sound quality was no better than the Realtek type sound chip built into many inexpensive computer motherboards.

DAC SMSL AD1955+

Having received a persistent negative result, I decided to go all-in - take a walk and take the best affordable thing that China could offer at that time - and what it could offer, of course, was a DAC on the expensive Sabre32 ES9018. Therefore, I chose the Gustard X10 DAC for $550 - for a Chinese this is PRICE in all capital letters. Of course, in China there are expensive brands, such as Xindak, which justifiably ask thousands of dollars for their products, but there are few of them.

DAC Gustard DAC-X10 Gustard X10, to my regret, did not live up to expectations, it played the same as the budget CD player Marantz CD-5000 and was only slightly better (more spacious) when listening to the DSD format. After that, I abandoned this topic, since I didn’t see anything attractive in this price, and I couldn’t pay more. After a couple of years or more, I again came up with the idea of somehow finding a way to voice my music library in files, since even the blanks were no longer so cheap and the quality had fatally dropped, especially of Ukrainian production, such as VS, where out of a pack of 20 blanks there were heels already married. And Verbatim, despite some kind of leftist Indian origin, began to cost simply inhumanely and some CD players did not want to be considered blanks. I came back to the question of owning a dak. This time I allocated an amount of 40,000 rubles. Last time this amount was 21,000 rubles, but the dollar exchange rate during this time became unrecognizable, is that you Fedor? I started listening again. This time attention was paid to global manufacturers. The problem is that listening to DACs is not so easy - few people have them, and therefore how to listen to something that is not there is another question. Therefore, within walking distance it turned out that you can listen to Wadia 121 (Sabre32 ES9018), PS Audio digilink 3, Audio Alchemy dde3.0 in full.

Wadia 121 DAC

Wadia 121 did not seem very interesting to me given the higher price; I heard the same cold Sabre32 as on the Gustard X10, but I wanted something that would not be inferior to a good CD player. I had high hopes for the PS Audio digilink 3 (PCM1798), but home listening disappointed me.

PS Audio digilink 3 DAC

Although the DAC was quite voluminous, there was a very obvious digital roughness, and very soon I realized that this would not suit me at all. Another contender was the Audio Alchemy dde3.0 DAC (several AD1862) consisting of three blocks.

Audio Alchemy dde3.0 DAC

He played quite well, naturally, but the cymbals somehow sounded like numbers. In principle, I was quite ready to put up with such a drawback, but there were some nuances in the price and configuration, and since I didn’t feel much enthusiasm - after all, there is quite a big difference between the concepts of “in principle it will work” and “wow, how cool”, I refused from the purchase and again was left with nothing. In principle, at this moment I completely lost faith in DACs with a reasonable price in principle. So it probably went on for almost a year. I didn’t even look at the DACs, I was quite satisfied with my very good sounding CD players, but tons of music on the hard drive in various perverted formats such as rips from vinyl in 192/24 or from HDTREX beckoned me from time to time. Again, I found faith completely unexpectedly for myself. A fellow music lover visited me to listen to my audio system and at the same time brought with him an external sound card Dr.Dac2.

DAC Dr.Dac2

A plebeian-looking DAC, excuse me, a DJ-looking one, with inappropriate inscriptions on the body, hey boy, you get my point, he unexpectedly surprised me. I listened to this very Dr.Dac2 with its very low price and suddenly thought - but this level for these files will suit me quite well. I don’t expect from a DAC in such price categories (up to 40K) that it will beat my CD player, but if such a DAC doesn’t turn me off and I understand that I can enjoy the sound, then why not? Yes, Dr.Dac2 did not have any special volume or ultra-level detail, there was no such super-texture of sound events, but he played well and that suited me. And its price of 10-15 tr on the secondary market said - its good! In general, it was the sound level of the Marantz CD-6004 CD player. Well, that's not bad. This event unexpectedly made me realize that I had given up on affordable DACs early and there were probably interesting examples out there. First of all, I tried to find the same Dr.Dac2 as a solution to get the result with minimal blood, but there was no wide choice of sellers of this DAC. So I focused on more expensive solutions under 40,000, wanting to get a better result. Monitoring trading platforms led me to three names that, for some reason, attracted me. I repeat, I wasn’t looking for a Hi-End level DAC, I was looking for a solution that was affordable, with a natural sound that would just suit me, I didn’t have any exorbitant requirements, but it wasn’t the level of a sound card from a computer either - that’s clear. Reading the forums day and night I drew the following candidates: Rega Dac Musical Fidelity M1 Dac Music Hall 25.3 Arcam rDac

Rega Dac (35,000 rubles for a used one) interested me in the large number of digital filters that would allow me to get the sound that I liked. Filters were selected on the face of the DAC. The device was built on two Wolfson 8742 DACs.

Rega DAC

Previously, I had not come across particularly successful variations of the implementation of this DAC; everything I listened to (SD NAD542, amplifier-radio Arcam 32, etc.) had a muddy sound, but reviews on the network assured me that this was not the case. And since I had not very strict requirements for the DAC, I wanted (and very strongly) to buy this DAC, hoping that I could select something for myself with the filter. But the owner went underground and answered so strangely (unless, of course, I confused the owner of this DAC with another) that I decided to get scared and look at other options. The next DAC turned out to be the Musical Fidelity M1 Dac (20,000 rubles), I read on soundex that in this money it’s just a must-have, a twinkle.

Musical Fidelity M1 DAC

And I thought that, in principle, it would be very interesting to listen to this DAC. After all, the money is small (almost my monthly salary) and you can afford it, and if you fail, you don’t have to worry too much. But reading these internet pages of yours filled me with such knowledge that I learned that the sound coming from USB in M1 is bad, since USB is not asynchronous. It immediately turned out that only with asynchronous USB can you get normal data without wild jitter and a name came up like the Arcam rDac DAC, which, according to numerous reviewers, had a good asynchronous USB and even with technology purchased from Hi-End monsters - DCS and was based on Wolfson, like Rega.

Arcam rDac DAC I phoned the owner of Arcam rDac, but while hesitating between M1 and Arcam, I suddenly realized that I was interested in a DAC with a tube-based output. Such a “tube digital” or tube “filter” was interesting, especially since I had previously listened to the Xindac Muse3 CD player with a tube output and it sounded great. Therefore, I turned my attention to the Music Hall 25.3 tube DAC that seemed to be on sale (the price was 27tr). I was excited to listen to this DAC, but it turned out that in reality the DAC had already been sold a long time ago, the prices were not current.

Music Hall 25.3 DAC

The owner said that he really liked the DAC, but in the conversation it turned out that it was sold in order to purchase another DAC - a development by the Moscow company Digilab, which produces professional equipment for recording studios. This company offered both quite good, as I understood from the words of professionals, ADCs and DACs, which they recently began offering for the home sector with appropriate adaptation in terms of output level and the ability to select output op-amps that can influence the character of the sound. I read the entire thread on Digilab Digicon DAC-202 on soundex.ru like a novel. Link to topic:

Home 1

Since this DAC was positioned by the owner of Music Hall 25.3 as more interesting, I decided that good things were not sought after and set my heart on becoming the owner of such a DAC. But here a dilemma arose in choosing an op-amp.

Digilab Digicon DAC-202 DAC in the photo in a professional form, I ordered it in a classic Hi-Fi version

There were several options 8066, LT1469, LME49860, etc., and each had both advantages and disadvantages in some areas. The 8066 was positioned as an ideal option for mastering, having super attack and neutrality, the op amp on the 8620 was called a thick, audiophile sound with a huge stage, etc., but in the end I positioned myself on two options - either the LME49860 or the LT1469. I decided on LME49860 and placed an order from Digilab, but it turned out that it was faster to get a device based on LT1469, which by that time I wanted more than LME based on reviews. Therefore, I ordered the Digilab Digicon Dac-202 DAC on LT1469 - the price with EMC delivery was 24,000 rubles. The DAC is assembled after payment, so the waiting time for order fulfillment is 5 weeks. A week has already passed since then and I am awaiting the DAC I ordered with great interest. I'm terribly interested in whether it will live up to my expectations, which, based on the excellent reviews, are honestly quite impressive, since this DAC has been compared more than once with Mytek, which suggests a good level. When the order arrives, I’ll listen and tell you about the results of this exciting adventure, but in the meantime, have fun searching for your DACs.