I’ve had the Meridian Explorer USB DAC for almost a week now and have also been using it with the iFi iUSB Power for the last few days days, so I thought I’d post a few impressions now I’ve had a little time to enjoy both products and compare them to a couple of other options I have available.
The context to this is that I thought I’d try a USB DAC because I had problems with serious mains noise when using my AC-powered DAC (the $900 Audio GD Reference 5.2) with my Icon Audio tube head amp in my desk-top rig. Using the 5.2’s XLR out to my Violectric v200 I had no hum issues and the Audio GD is now working well in balanced mode as part of my main speaker rig, but that didn’t solve my tube headphone amp issue.
I’d planned to audition the Resonessence Labs Concero but that isn’t readily available in the UK. By chance the Meridian Explorer just happened to be launched at the same time I was checking out the options. I’m an admirer of Meridian and have used their gear extensively, the initial reviews were good and, although a desk DAC was my primary requirement, the additional flexibility might also be useful so I took the plunge. Actually, price was a factor too. The Explorer isn’t particularly expensive so I figured there wasn’t too much to loose.
But could a cheap USB DAC really cut the mustard with my revealing HD800?
The Meridian Explorer functions as a DAC, USB converter and a headphone amplifier but my comments only apply to its performance in the former function. I’ll get straight to the point by issuing a health warning. Anyone who dislikes hyperbole and gushing enthusiasm should read no further. In my rig, the combination of Meridian Explorer and iFi iUSB Power is simply outstanding and so far above my expectations that I keep having to pinch myself. Its like I literally can’t believe my ears!
The quality of the sound is so good that it has frequently made comparisons difficult. I start a track and quickly forget that I’m listening to what the DAC/power supply is doing; I just get completely absorbed with the music itself. Whole albums pass by – I was even late for work one day!
The rig I’m using is:
MacBook Pro running Fidelia
iFi standard blue USB cable
iFi iUSB power supply
Wireworld Starlight USB cable
Meridian Explorer
Toxic cables silver widow 3.5mini jack to twin RCA cable
Icon Audio HP8 Mk2 tube amp/Violectric v200
Sennheiser HD800
For comparison I’ve used my Audio GD in balanced mode to the Violectric using the same front end. I’ve also used my iBasso DX100 as an alternative source/DAC, using its analogue out jack.
Before sticking the knife in, please be aware that what follows are
impressions – I haven’t attempted a formal comparison review and it’s still early days. But having listened to a variety of head gear lately, and having put a lot of effort into refining my desk rig, I feel confident of the opinions I’m expressing.
Listening impressions
On it’s own I’d say that the Meridian Explorer is a fine budget DAC and excellent value for money. It has it’s own sonic character that I’d describe as being essentially neutral, very slightly lean compared to my slightly dark Audio GD, strong on PRAT and overall pretty musical, though very slightly ‘digital’ in the way I find most budget DACs I’ve heard tend to be. The soundstage is well resolved (slightly soft-edged?) and the overall musical presentation is bold and convincing.
Up against the DX100 and connected to the same amp I found the two quite similar with little to choose between them. Detail retrieval was about the same and it was all basically too close to call. They both sound good.
The more expensive Audio GD slightly had the edge when in balanced mode with the Violectric v200, extracting a little more detail and musical subtlety from the recordings. The way the music was rendered was just a little more convincing overall – exactly as you’d expect given the price differential. That said the Meridian was far from disgraced.
I don’t have other budget USB DACs to compare, but nothing I’ve heard using the Explorer would make me doubt that, on it’s own, it’s a very strong option amongst its immediate competitors.
Enter the iFi iUSB power supply…
As most readers will know, the weakness of DACs that rely on the power of the USB bus is that this power supply tends to noisy. With my tube amp turned up high and no music playing, I can hear the hum/buzz produced by my laptop clearly. Disconnect the laptop’s power supply and it immediately gets quieter but it’s still there. You can’t help feeling that, at normal listening levels it must be a negative factor in the sound. After listening to the Meridian for a day I decided to try iFi’s iUSB Power to get around the problem and hopefully extract the very best that the little Explorer was capable of. Connection is straightforward and I started listening.
Cue jaw drop and big smile.
The impact of the power supply conditioner is immediately noticeable and simply can’t be underestimated. Less grain, blacker background and bigger soundstage, deeper soundstage, more precise spatial positioning, more detail, more realism, slightly more extended bass, less treble ‘glare’, better dynamics, better transients, better decay and timing... it’s quite remarkable.
With the iUSB Power in the system the musical presentation has become more relaxed and engaging in a way that quickly silences criticism. As I mentioned at the beginning, I stopped listening to the equipment and just enjoyed the music because it sounds more like real music.
You might argue that in certain details, it could still be improved (At times I detected a very slight softness in the bass for example). However, I don’t have truly top-end, $1K+ DACs to compare it with and it may just be that I'm hearing the limit of the original recordings themselves.
Against my existing equipment you could say that,
on one level, the differences are not that big. The Sabre chip-based iBasso is a very good DAP; my more expensive and highly rated Audio GD is an excellent DAC. The same could be said compared to using the ME on it’s own. They all reproduce music well.
It’s also true that the Meridian’s basic sound signature isn’t changed by the better power supply. What’s good already remains good. But the cumulative impact of the many small improvements catapult the sound into a totally different league. It’s the sort of sound that I know I could be satisfied with for a long time. What I have difficulty understanding is how it could have been produced by two relatively cheap items of equipment!
The difference is most noticeable with high-resolution files. I’ve been listening to the sublime Linn recordings of the late Mozart symphonies by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Charles Mackerras. Using the Explorer/iFi IUSB combination, the way the illusion of the orchestra and hall is realised is quite remarkable and the added ability to ‘see into the mix’ enables you to enjoy these wonderful scores in all their glory. It’s easy to hear what individual players are doing and to follow the different musical lines while still being conscious of the whole – it’s truly addictive.
But ALAC rips from red book CDs get the same treatment. The emotional impact of Diana Krall’s performance of ‘A case of you’ from ‘Live in Paris’ was much greater than I’ve experienced before. I could hear all sorts of subtle intonation in her singing that I’d never previously noticed. And I wasn’t straining to hear things, it was readily apparent.
I could go on and on and it’s also clear that less refined pop/rock recordings get similar treatment. There seems to be more presence and better instrument separation irrespective of what I’m listening to although, ultimately, bad recording still sound bad. I keep thinking that next time I listen the novelty will rub off and I’ll come to my senses but, so far, that hasn’t happened. I’m also not going to say that it does a particularly fine job with, say, human voices, or some other particular. What I’m hearing is an improvement with
everything. The quality of the overall presentation is very balanced and even handed.
Of course, I mustn’t generalise outside of my own listening experience. These are
my impressions on
my rig – your mileage may vary.
Conclusions so far…
So is this the magic bullet, Champagne sound for beer money prices? The answer for me, so far, is yes. The sound is detailed, poised, lush, un-fatiguing and effortless – very un-digital. It’s a bit like the difference I’ve sometimes heard comparing good CD-based systems with vinyl. Both sound great but only one sounds ‘real’.
I have heard better sound from headphone rigs, but only through much more high end systems. For me, the Meridian Explorer, used together with the iFi iUSB power supply is a giant killer of a set up.
Highly recommended.
