This is an exciting product --- I've been testing out this portable DAC all-in-one for the past few weeks, and it's pretty darn cool, with all the bells and whistles a portable DAC can possibly have. The digital heart is an ES9018K2M found in many portable devices these days to the tune of >115 dB(A) SNR, with a headphone amplifier that pumps 1.5/3 Vrms output (selectable high/low gain) for 160 mW into 32 ohms (and 0.001% THD+N into a 10 kohm load, which unfortunately is not very telling of real-world performance, but it's plenty good). There's also a line-out and optical S/PDIF for a digital pass-through. Volume control is digital, actuated by the excellent built-in 32-bit precision of the one in the Sabre DAC.
 
The sample rate support is near all-encompassing: 32/384 PCM, DSD64/128 USB input from Mac/PC, iOS device support, and Android OTG support. However, its pièce de résistance is Wi-Fi streaming up to 24/192 PCM, thanks to a special wireless receiver module from Savi Audio (the same company that has been gaining popularity for its USB receiver chips) inside. Discrete, low-jitter clocks for 44.1/48 kHz multiples are used in the Companion One, as is what should be done for ESS Sabre DACs (their chips perform better with high frequency clocks).
 
As it is in its infancy, Celsus Sound is not an established brand name; however, behind the back of the company is Heap Venture, an audio brand management company that Jason Lim, the founder of Nuforce, recently established. Heap Venture is also behind the lower priced Encore Audio products (mDAC thread here) and the NuPrime brand that used to be the high-end home audio portfolio of Nuforce before the company was sold to Optoma.
 
 

Exterior

 
The Companion One takes after the look of a modern day smartphone, but because of the size and weight of the milled unibody aluminum frame, it probably resembles more of an ultra-premium portable battery charger. The front glass (Gorilla Glass) of the Companion One is about the same size as the footprint of the iPhone 6, and the entire unit is impeccably built, as though it came from the same Foxconn factories as all other Apple devices.
 
 
Minimalism is the name of the game here, with only a single multi-purpose LED light for operational indicators as well as battery life indicators at the bottom. Gain, Client/AP, and USB/Wireless toggles flank one side, while volume control lines the other. At the top, the optical, line-out, and headphone output space the width of the unit, while at the bottom there's one micro USB port for charging purposes, while there's another recessed port reserved for data connectivity.
 
 
All in all, the Companion One looks and feels like an impressive piece of kit, worthy of the audio enthusiast.
 

Accessories

 
The Companion One packs four different micro-USB cables, one terminating to USB Type-A for PCs and Macs, another to the 30-pin iPod dock, a micro-USB ending for OTG use, as well as one Lightning cable. To protect the unit, Celsus Sound includes a nice, dual-compartment (one for the device, the other for storing the cables) genuine leather case, cleaning cloth, and even included a glass screen protector. The final production unit is supposed to have the USB cable adapter, originally intended to be optional, as standard equipment.
 
 

Wireless Function

 
The Companion One's wireless streaming function works in two modes, one where the unit serves as a standalone access point so that smartphones and other mobile devices can connect directly to it on the go, and a device mode, which connects to any home/office network as a streaming device ready for AirPlay and uPNP DLNA. I've tried both modes, and while there definitely is a learning curve, I've gotten the hang of hooking them up to my router and have streamed from my iPhone to the device via AirPlay.
 
Unfortunately, as of the 1.0 firmware, there is a bit of lag time for streaming (2-3 seconds), so changing tracks and toggling volume via the source device will feel slow. Celsus have assured me that this performance will get better with incremental firmware updates (loaded over-the-air).
 

USB DAC Function

 
Since the micro-USB port on the Companion One is recessed, you can't just use any micro-USB cable, but luckily the four cables included work great and are of appropriate length. iOS Lightning support works great with zero fuss, as does OTG support. For USB, Macs work like gravy, but for the Windows environment, the driver gets a little buggy with WASAPI and ASIO over Foobar. I've been told that there are no such problems with JRiver.
 
 

Sound

 
So far, I actually haven't had a lot of time to carefully assess the sound of the device. Over USB, it sounds pretty good and well-detailed, but not quite as robust and complete-sounding as my Resonessence Concero HP. Over wireless, the sound feels smoother. Once I get more listening time with it, I'll have a better idea of how it performs, but overall, it does sound nice.
 
Gain levels are very appropriate for a portable device --- 1.5 Vrms is great for IEMs, while 3 Vrms is great for cans. I also love that the volume control preserves every 0.5 dB step --- it gives me very fine control over my volume levels, and as a primarily low-volume listener, I really like that feature, though some people might find it a little slow if they're used to fast volume changes.
 

---

 
In closing, I just wanted to get the word out on this device --- the wireless functionality is pretty new and unprecedented, and only very high-end home audio units have thus far provided high-resolution wi-fi streaming.
 
The Companion One is a sure sign of things to come in the future --- high-resolution, wireless streaming for mobile devices is here. I'm told that Celsus Sound is planning to release both a higher-end Companion Two that has SD card playback, as well as a more affordable device that might possibly have a recharging function.
 

---

 

Specifications

 

1. Input(s): micro-USB (with adapters)
2. Output(s): Headphone Out (Low/High Gain), Line Out (2 Vrms), S/PDIF Out
3. USB/Wireless Receiver: Saviaudio BRAVO SA9800 (?)
4. DAC: ESSTech ES9018K2M
5. Analog Stage (Details):
   1. I/V Conversion: TI OPA1612
   2. Voltage Gain & Current Buffering: ADI AD8397
6. Output Power: 160 mW into 32 Ω, 28 mW into 300 Ω
7. Voltage (at 0 dB): 1.5 Vrms (Low Gain), 3 Vrms (High Gain)
8. THD+N (at 0 dB): 0.001%, 10 kΩ load
9. Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 22 kHz (+0 dB, -0.5 dB)
10. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): > 115 dB (at 2 Vrms)
11. Crosstalk: < -110 dB
12. Dynamic Range (A-Weighted): > 115 dB
13. Weight: 0.2 lbs

 

---

 

Impressions

1. @Sasaki: (1)
2. @cleg: (Video)

 

External Links

1. Review: Alpha Audio (Dutch)
2. Review: HiFi Senses

 

---

Thanks. Looks real nice but it's a little too expensive IMO, especially now OPPO is going to release the HA-2 which offers pretty much the same functionality (minus the wireless streaming) for $299 only.
 
Do you know the output impedance of the Companion One?

pekingduck said:

  Thanks. Looks real nice but it's a little too expensive IMO, especially now OPPO is going to release the HA-2 which offers pretty much the same functionality (minus the wireless streaming) for $299 only. Do you know the output impedance of the Companion One?

Click to expand...

I will ask. The UERM is very sensitive to output impedance differences, and from what I hear, it's nothing problematic.
 
While I haven't heard the HA-2 myself, it does seem to be a nice value at $299, though it seems to be an exception in the entire landscape of portable DACs. I see very few other units that come close to that kind of aggressive pricing. The TEAC/Onkyo units are the same price, but they use a Vout DAC which has lower BOM cost and overall lower performance (still sounds great).
 
Keep in mind that there is the cost for developing wi-fi streaming, as well as added associated costs in designing a chassis that has glass upper and lower panels for antenna reception, as well as getting things FCC, etc. certified. This thing is essentially a router built into a premium DAC, with additional optimizations for jitter performance. I think it's premature to really judge it based on price without having listened to it. People who want the wireless functionality will probably be happy to pay more; those that just want a basic DAC can look elsewhere.

@tomscy2000  @jasonl Fair enough. Hopefully I can audition one in Feb!

Look pretty nice. The intentional use of a oval shaped slot for USB input is pretty thoughtful as well, though I hope spare cable can be easily sourced. It will also be nice if there is a right angle version of the cable for Sony Xperia smartphone as Sony has the odd habit of placing the USB port on the side.

clieos said:

  Look pretty nice. The intentional use of a oval shaped slot for USB input is pretty thoughtful as well, though I hope spare cable can be easily sourced. It will also be nice if there is a right angle version of the cable for Sony Xperia smartphone as Sony has the odd habit of placing the USB port on the side.

Click to expand...

I'd totally send the unit I've been using over to you, but it's a massive pain in the behind to mail things with batteries in them these days. FiiO's micro USB cables should slot in fine into the recess.

Nice review tomscy2000. I am also sharing my experience on Companion one.

I always thought I need a wireless portable audio solution in this Smartphone age. But BT has a sound quality issue and Kleer need a bulky dongle. I was thinking a WiFi solution must be the best thing. When a Japanese distributor exhibits this new gear in the Tokyo headphone show, I asked a trial. Then I was trying pre-production model of Companion one loaned from them. Now I got a production model.
 
Since tomscy2000 has wrote up a good introduction, I will add some comments from my observation.
First, when I got the shipment I noticed the packaging is very nice. A packaging is very important for Japanese market.
The boxing is neat and separated into outer box and inner box. The most outer box has shrink wrapped. Accessories are carefully stored in the lower tray in the inner box. Everything is very well laid out. I think even picky Japanese audiophiles would satisfy this good packaging.
 
Next thing I felt was Companion one is not just a WiFi amp.
My primary intention was WiFi capability rather than USB function. I first thought the USB function is an extra but actually it is not just an extra to the WiFi capability. Companion one is damn good as an USB DAC/amp. Sounded nice as a companion of Smartphone plus the accessories are great to start-up Smartphone audio setups whichever you are using iPhone or Androids.
Speaking of sound quality, I have to confess I had not take much care about sound quality. I thought this is the first WiFi amp I had been waiting for, so my focus was only on WiFi usability. But to my good surprise, Companion one sounded remarkably nice. Even if I forget the WiFi capability, Companion one could be one of the best sounding portable DAC/amp to date.
If you have amazed by mDAC sound quality by comparing to similar product, you will be amazed again here.
 
 

 

I am using Westone ES60 custom(with thinner cable option) for Companion one. Companion delivers highly transparent sound with crisp highs and deep lows as well as rich details that could bring out the best of ES60. Sound signature of Companion one is not warm but it is of neutral. However I don't feel it is dry nor sterile, it is musical rather and delivers good PRaT for Rock or Pop musics.
I found only drawback is slight pop/clicks on the background when I use WiFi connection. It may be a WiFi interference but I am not sure. It would be buried in loud music but hear-able in silent gap. No such pops in USB mode. It is dead silent on background.

About WiFi capability, it has been greatly improved from pre-production unit. I first thought users needs a computer audio skill in addition to portable audio knowledge when I was toying the pre-production model.
However WiFi usability has improved. To get the connection is now easy. You would need some computer knowledge when you are using client mode to join in the home network. However to enter the direct mode is easy. Almost automatic.
Companion one has two WiFi mode that is AP mode(direct mode) and the client mode. AP mode is a direct mode it allows iPhone can be directly attached to Companion one without WiFi router. Client mode is a WiFi mode which Companion one joins in existing home WiFi network. To configure WiFi network setting, you have to enter Companion one local address to set it up.
I am mainly using iPhone6/iOS8 with Companion one. In this setup I can use 4G cellar network and direct mode to Companion one simultaneously.
Once connection has established, Companion one become a media renderer in uPnP(aka DLNA) network. Select Companion one as a media renderer and select your iPhone as a media server. Now we can playback iPhone local library streams into Companion one via lossless music streaming.
Companion one delivers a detailed sounding that I never heard from portable wireless audio include Kleer experience.
To get AirPlay connection is rather easy. Also you can use any music playback apps via AirPlay.
 
There is more, for example SPDIF output feature and line out feature. It would shine with home audio gears. Companion one has great possibility to portable gear. 

clieos said:

  Okay. No price seems to have been mentioned yet. Any chance you can tell us what kind of price range it will be in?

Click to expand...

 
Amazon has it listed for $595.

tomscy2000 said:

   
Amazon has it listed for $595.

Click to expand...

 
Pretty close to (most of) the competition then. Thanks.

sasaki said:

  Since tomscy2000 has wrote up a good introduction, I will add some comments from my observation. First, when I got the shipment I noticed the packaging is very nice. A packaging is very important for Japanese market. The boxing is neat and separated into outer box and inner box. The most outer box has shrink wrapped. Accessories are carefully stored in the lower tray in the inner box. Everything is very well laid out. I think even picky Japanese audiophiles would satisfy this good packaging.

Click to expand...

 
Yeah, the packaging for the C1 is pretty good. It shares some commonality with the Nuforce Primo 8 packaging, which I thought was excellent as well.
 

sasaki said:

  I am using Westone ES60 custom(with thinner cable option) for Companion one. Companion delivers highly transparent sound with crisp highs and deep lows as well as rich details that could bring out the best of ES60. Sound signature of Companion one is not warm but it is of neutral. However I don't feel it is dry nor sterile, it is musical rather and delivers good PRaT for Rock or Pop musics. I found only drawback is slight pop/clicks on the background when I use WiFi connection. It may be a WiFi interference but I am not sure. It would be buried in loud music but hear-able in silent gap. No such pops in USB mode. It is dead silent on background.

Click to expand...

 
I find that my Concero HP is a bit warmer than the Companion One, but that tends to pair better with my very neutral earphones, e.g. UERM. I enjoy the way the Companion One sounds with my CA Music One, which is a little warmer than neutral, but surprisingly, I really like the pairing between it and the Etymotic MK5, which is a little thin/bright, even for an Etymotic.
 

Im trying to get the 10% but its expired (and wont ship to canada)....in Canada and your supplier can give me any info.....can you guys give this for someone to do a video review?  I would be happy too but ya gotta get the work out if its as good as its all looking out to be.  Is WIFI streaming fixed?  the lag?  Im a production company looking for a few units for our awards shows....want to trry one out

I took the bullet train last night and took the Companion along with me for the ride. I hooked it up to the iPhone pain free, and dozed off to the music (a good thing).
 
Of note, however, was that the unit got somewhat warm over the course of the 1.5 hour ride. I'm gonna assume the Companion One uses some pretty heavy Class A biasing, but they've not gotten back to me about what the analog design inside is.

I asked but engineering doesn't want to talk about the analog design inside. Someone should do some comparison with other DACs or A&K player with big cans. 
If you have written a lot of reviews here or elsewhere and want to review it, PM me.

Hi Jason!
 
Looking forward to your product. It does look promising based on the published specs. Looking forward to see how it turns out after the launch.
 
I will however submit an idea for a slightly different version that I know some will find very useful (and I have been waiting for): a wireless DAC+headphone amp that can be comfortably carried in the pocket of a pair of pants (by "comfortably" I mean in the same way that a modern smartphone is "comfortable").
 
I would say that for this to be the case it would need to be roughly no bigger in width and length than a normal iphone (or like the companion one as it seems to be by looking at the pictures) but crucially to not be thicker than about 10mm (kind of like the original iphone and definitely slimmer than the companion one). Anything more than that and it's no longer pants-pocketable which is fine when you're wearing a jacket or something like that but when the weather is fine and you want to enjoy your music without being tethered to cables then how are you going to carry the thing around?
 
This is a key aspect of the whole "portable" adjective. With the battery power and the lack of cables this thing is ideal for the "on the go" music lover. No more silly rubber bands holding the smartphone and amp together, we can now have the phone in the right pocket and the DAC/amp in the left one IF it would be able to fit! This would be ideal.
 
For this to happen I think that some compromises will have to be made. For what it's worth I will say that for me the following things can differ from the companion one without the whole experience suffering too much:
- no line out
- no SPDIF out
- no very high bit-rate decode
 
Some might argue about those but I think that if ultimate portability matters to you then you intend on primarily using the thing outside of your home in which case the lack of those options becomes much less of a downside. And if the downgrade results in less power consumption and a smaller battery then I'm all for it! A lower BoM and therefore price might also be a positive side effect.
 
All of this does not mean that the companion one should be modified (I'm sure it has it's place) but rather that another complementary model might also find favor with us out-of-the-home-music types.
 
Looking forward to your (or anyone else's) thoughts on this !
 
Regards,
Alex
 
P.S. Is there such a device (as described above) on the market already that I wasn't able to find?

WiFi, high power headphone amp and high performance DAC consumes power.  For people who travel long distant, it has to be able to last more than 10 hours.
We decided to go for performance and long playing time for Companion One . It is portable for many occasion, including desktop, but not meant for walking around casually, which I think you will be better off just stick to a good pair of IEM without a DAC.
 
If you don't need WiFi, I will refer you to Encore mDAC, which is very tiny (roughly 2+" x 1+" x 1/2").  
But I hear you, depending on feedback to Companion One, we can take it either way: more high-end or compact.