JaZZ
Headphoneus Supremus
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I had a few fascinating days with Jan's DAC prototype -- in the not so unfamiliar function as guinea pig for his new gear. There were a few teething problems in the form of stray pick-up interferences -- which Jan himself considers fixed in his own copy --, but when it comes to the sound, I'm really amazed. His first DAC and such a high level! Initially I was under the impression that it was intended to be integrated in his next generation's amp flagship model and therefore didn't expect it to sound that good. In fact it's not more than a study project so far, but indeed there's the plan to offer a high-end headphone amp with integrated high-end DAC -- probably in a similar execution as the prototype at hand, just not with quite as sophisticated features (four types of filters, three of them digital implementations of the famous «Analoguer») --, and there will be no stand-alone DAC.
Well, to my surprise this DAC can absolutely compete with my established source references: Bel Canto DAC2 and McCormack UDP-1! The latter is exemplary when it comes to draw pinpoint-accurate images with great dynamic authority and high expressivity. The Meier-Audio prototype shares a lot of this expressivity, but has a smoother, flowing characteristic with emphasis on space between the notes, resolution and ultimately refined treble with fascinating high-end sparkle -- and in turn sacrifices a little bit of compactness and resoluteness. It has a downright tubey characteristic, just accompanied with an unusual transparency and clarity. So a euphonic Meier-Audio product? I think to some degree, yes -- considering that every DAC has some sort of «characteristic» anyway, that's not a bad thing --, but Jan seems to slightly disagree with me on this. However, this is a stunning DAC, and I enjoyed every minute with it. Now the Bel Canto DAC2: What it lacks in comparison to the other two is expressivity, the ability to make simple sounds such as a solo clarinet or violin sound alive and interesting. Although there are no glaring faults in its reproduction -- there's high detail and transparency and a very natural and neutral sonic balance --, it doesn't convey the same musical flow and fascination as the contenders. Still it's an excellent DAC and highly recommendable, but if you have more musical sounding alternative at hand... Which of course cost a lot more (at least the UDP-1). What about the Meier DAC in this respect? I simply can't imagine that Jan is going to sell extremely high-priced gear -- that's not his style. So I wouldn't be surprised (anymore) to see an absolute bargain DAC in his product range, presumably equipped with coaxial and USB digital inputs, integrated in a high-end amp of equal quality...
...which leads me to the second Meier-Audio prototype I currently have with me since quite a while already and which has served me for judging the above DACs. It doesn't have the final power supply yet and thus will sound slightly different (even better, I guess) in series, but what I can say is that I'm absolutely pleased with what I hear. Indeed: Meier Audio goes High-End. (If it isn't already.)
I had a few fascinating days with Jan's DAC prototype -- in the not so unfamiliar function as guinea pig for his new gear. There were a few teething problems in the form of stray pick-up interferences -- which Jan himself considers fixed in his own copy --, but when it comes to the sound, I'm really amazed. His first DAC and such a high level! Initially I was under the impression that it was intended to be integrated in his next generation's amp flagship model and therefore didn't expect it to sound that good. In fact it's not more than a study project so far, but indeed there's the plan to offer a high-end headphone amp with integrated high-end DAC -- probably in a similar execution as the prototype at hand, just not with quite as sophisticated features (four types of filters, three of them digital implementations of the famous «Analoguer») --, and there will be no stand-alone DAC.
Well, to my surprise this DAC can absolutely compete with my established source references: Bel Canto DAC2 and McCormack UDP-1! The latter is exemplary when it comes to draw pinpoint-accurate images with great dynamic authority and high expressivity. The Meier-Audio prototype shares a lot of this expressivity, but has a smoother, flowing characteristic with emphasis on space between the notes, resolution and ultimately refined treble with fascinating high-end sparkle -- and in turn sacrifices a little bit of compactness and resoluteness. It has a downright tubey characteristic, just accompanied with an unusual transparency and clarity. So a euphonic Meier-Audio product? I think to some degree, yes -- considering that every DAC has some sort of «characteristic» anyway, that's not a bad thing --, but Jan seems to slightly disagree with me on this. However, this is a stunning DAC, and I enjoyed every minute with it. Now the Bel Canto DAC2: What it lacks in comparison to the other two is expressivity, the ability to make simple sounds such as a solo clarinet or violin sound alive and interesting. Although there are no glaring faults in its reproduction -- there's high detail and transparency and a very natural and neutral sonic balance --, it doesn't convey the same musical flow and fascination as the contenders. Still it's an excellent DAC and highly recommendable, but if you have more musical sounding alternative at hand... Which of course cost a lot more (at least the UDP-1). What about the Meier DAC in this respect? I simply can't imagine that Jan is going to sell extremely high-priced gear -- that's not his style. So I wouldn't be surprised (anymore) to see an absolute bargain DAC in his product range, presumably equipped with coaxial and USB digital inputs, integrated in a high-end amp of equal quality...
...which leads me to the second Meier-Audio prototype I currently have with me since quite a while already and which has served me for judging the above DACs. It doesn't have the final power supply yet and thus will sound slightly different (even better, I guess) in series, but what I can say is that I'm absolutely pleased with what I hear. Indeed: Meier Audio goes High-End. (If it isn't already.)
