fjlabs
100+ Head-Fier
First off, huge thanks to Audio46 sponsoring this tour! This unit has actually caught my eyes for a while for its all-in-one potential and the brand, so I'm glad to got to try it out.
Due to the nature of the unit, this review will be somewhat split into two main sections—as an all-in-one DAC + Headphone Amp and as a standalone DAC only. The environments used were:
- Bluesound Node 2i
- DAC + Headphone Amp
- DAC Only -> Burson Conductor 3XR + 4x Sparkos 3602
- DAC Only -> XDuoo MT-604 Tube Amp
- Focal Clear, Focal Celestee, Shuoer EJ07, Shuoer EJ09, Mangird Tea
Build/Design/Technicals
The CMA Twelve ("Twelve") is a well-built tank of a unit. Weighing close to 8 pounds, the unit feels sturdy and the solid black anodized aluminum chassis is well-finished. There were no noticeable surface defects and the entire body fit together quite well. While there are visible screws on the top and bottom of the case, they all sit flush and don't detract from the overall design.
Under the hood, we can see some more well-built internals. The fairly beefy toroidal transformer powers the unit without any problems. It's nice to see that the transformer cables are completely sleeved and that all electrical contacts are well-insulated. Mains grounding was also properly done here, with the metal chassis tied directly to the earth ground [something that can't be taken for granted apparently]. Looking further, We can see a fair assortment of genuine Nichicon capacitors handling the linear power supply filtering.
The Twelve uses a popular XMOS USB controller, which appears to be thoughtfully laid out and very well decoupled with proper capacitor spacing and sizing across the board (pun intended). Unfortunately one drawback of these XMOS chips is the requirement for external Windows drivers—not a problem on MacOS. This isn't a major issue since QueStyle supplies the drivers on its website and includes a little driver CD that no one ever uses.
Moving onto the amplification section, we can see that the amp is a fully balanced class A design using precision Dale THT resistors and Wima film caps. It's nice to see such high quality components in the signal path at this price level. The amplifier section also uses Questyle's proprietary "Current Mode Amplification" technology, but to my ears, switching between the two yielding no perceptible difference whatsoever across my entire library or any of my listening sessions (sorry Questyle!).
Up next, we have a fairly beefy motorized potentiometer handling volume control for the preamp section. A little bit disappointing that the EMF-noisy motor is so close to some of the audio signal path, but that only really factors in when the volume is being changed. The pot is smooth and has a very nice resistance to it when turning manually. I didn't notice any back-EMF when adjusting the volume from the pot and the driver circuit appears to be fairly well protected against any backwards inductance generated from the motor—good job there!
Lastly, something to call out is the 5GHz wireless module that the Twelve has. While on first blush, this may seem like part of a streaming DAC/Amp, this 5GHz module is only designed to work with Questyle's own streaming unit, not connect to WiFi. This seems like a little bit of a missing feature that would've been nice to have, but it is what it is. However, one thing to notice is the proximity of the module to some of the analog components on the board without additional shielding. The noise floor is audibly higher once the unit is switched to 5GHz mode, even when nothing is playing, especially through the head-amp section. I would've liked to see Questyle add some additional shielding in addition to the existing metal bracket, which doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot.
The unit as an all-in-one offers a fairly robust set of IO options. On the digital side, you have your usual USB (up to 384KHz), TOSLink/Coax (up to 192KHz). Additionally, you an AEs/EBU port which is nice to see. Finally, a fairly rare feature, you have a S/PDIF output, which lets you use then unit as a DDC for improved jitter in poor USB or S/PDIF sources. Sadly, I don't have an AudioPrecision to test out the DDC performance of the unit.
On the analog side of things, you have both fully balanced (true balanced) and single ended outputs. Both outputs have a selectable gain setting of 20dBu and 14dBu. As well, both outputs can either be line-out or pre-outs, using the Twelve as the volume control. I did have a little bit of trouble with the Twelve going into the Conductor 3XR over XLR though. On 20dBu, there was massive clipped (expected), but the clipping was even present on the 14dBu "Standard" mode on line-level. This was a little bit concerning, since the 3XR should be able to tolerate a fairly hot input. To avoid this, I had to switch to pre-out mode and put the volume knob at around 80%. Not a major issue, but something that Questyle should potentially look into.
For the headphone out section, the Twelve offers 4-pin XLR output [what I used], 1/4" single ended, as well as 4.4mm balanced. All three headphone outputs can be driven at the same time, but note that they share the same volume control. If you're going to be using more than one output at the same time, you should be careful that the headphones are reasonably volume matched.
Sound as All-In-One
Detail and Resolution
Since the unit seemed to be billed as an all-in-one powerhouse, my main evaluation was using it as a combo DAC/Amp. Overall, the Twelve is very comparable to the higher priced Burson 3XR, trading a little bit of warmth for some more resolution. Listening to A Tale of Outer Suburbia by Hands Like Houses, the complex drum kit cymbals at 1:50 present as more defined and each hit is a little bit more distinct. We see similar behavior in That won't save us by Against the Current where the Twelve takes the cake in terms of raw resolution and detail retrieval. These are pretty small differences though and mostly present themselves as a blacker background between individual notes. Doing a quick A/B makes the 3XR just a tad blurred almost like an 4K video was just a hair out of focus. Nothing is missing in the 3XR, but rather the Twelve is able to isolate and present each sound sharper.
Soundstage and Control
Tracks that mix wide orchestral passages with intimate vocals like Loyal Brave True by Christina Aguilera have a greater sense of depth and width from the Twelve than from the 3XR. However, this effect was pretty difficult to replicate consistency across other orchestral and classical tracks, so I'd put the 3XR and Twelve on par with each other in this department.
Where the tides turn is bass-heavy tracks. While the Twelve offers more raw slam in intense tracks like C'mon by GRiZ, its comparative lack of headroom make taming the drivers difficult next to the 3XR. The 3XR seems to trade a little bit of the raw slam factor for some more damping on the driver and holds the trailing edge with more finesse. This is pretty consistent across bass-intense tracks like Fairy Tale by Seori and A.I. Troopers (Inst.) from AleXa. While the Twelve offers some more ear-rattling thump and texture across the board, the 3XR handles the driver better with its 7W of headroom vs. 2W from the Twelve. This translates into a bit more natural and tighter bass, keeping the surrounding milliseconds clearer and cleaner.
Moving onto the upper registers, the Twelve trades some blows with the 3XR. Naturally sibilant tracks like The Long Night (긴밤) by Seori came felt harsher on the Twelve whereas the 3XR smoothed out most of the peaks. On the other hand, tracks that benefit from a little bit more energy like Fantasy by PinkFantasy seemed to be lively and more crisp on the Twelve than the 3XR. Overall, I'd say the Twelve is edgier and more energetic compared to the 3XR in the upper registers.
As a Standalone DAC
In an attempt to isolate the AKM 4490 DAC's sound from the Twelve's amplifier section, the pre-out of the Twelve was run into the 3XR's analog inputs over XLR. That way, it was easier to directly compare the 4490 vs the ESS Sabre DAC of the 3XR.
The most immediately noticeable thing was that the Twelve imaged significantly more laterally across all tracks, putting the left and right image must further to the sides than the ESS of the 3XR. Play by CHUNG HA and Why Did You Come to My Home by Minx both widened significantly using the Twelve's DAC. I'm honestly not entirely sure where to attribute this difference to, whether its better crosstalk performance or others—since I just don't have the equipment to measure here. Safe to say though, the difference was very readily apparent between the two and consistently repeatable.
Turning back towards vocals, the ESS of the Burson makes female vocals sound richer and more full bodied, while the Twelve's 4490 presents more delicately and a little bit "thin." Powerhouse vocals like those in Tears of Gold by Faouzia benefit significantly from the 3XR's extra depth and body and more relaxed singers like RIELL in Stubborn have a smoothness to them that's lost in the Twelve.
In a similar theme to using the Twelve as an all-in-one, the DAC itself seems more resolving compared to the ESS implementation in the 3XR. This Ain't No Place for Animals by Hands Like Houses is more engaging and "thump"-ier on the 3XR, but loses much of the clarity in the fast-moving passages. The Twelve's 4490 brings back most of the distinctness and refinement in the murky drum breaks (1:29) at the expense of some of the tonal gloss and impact.
Due to the nature of the unit, this review will be somewhat split into two main sections—as an all-in-one DAC + Headphone Amp and as a standalone DAC only. The environments used were:
- Bluesound Node 2i
- DAC + Headphone Amp
- DAC Only -> Burson Conductor 3XR + 4x Sparkos 3602
- DAC Only -> XDuoo MT-604 Tube Amp
- Focal Clear, Focal Celestee, Shuoer EJ07, Shuoer EJ09, Mangird Tea
Build/Design/Technicals
The CMA Twelve ("Twelve") is a well-built tank of a unit. Weighing close to 8 pounds, the unit feels sturdy and the solid black anodized aluminum chassis is well-finished. There were no noticeable surface defects and the entire body fit together quite well. While there are visible screws on the top and bottom of the case, they all sit flush and don't detract from the overall design.
Under the hood, we can see some more well-built internals. The fairly beefy toroidal transformer powers the unit without any problems. It's nice to see that the transformer cables are completely sleeved and that all electrical contacts are well-insulated. Mains grounding was also properly done here, with the metal chassis tied directly to the earth ground [something that can't be taken for granted apparently]. Looking further, We can see a fair assortment of genuine Nichicon capacitors handling the linear power supply filtering.
The Twelve uses a popular XMOS USB controller, which appears to be thoughtfully laid out and very well decoupled with proper capacitor spacing and sizing across the board (pun intended). Unfortunately one drawback of these XMOS chips is the requirement for external Windows drivers—not a problem on MacOS. This isn't a major issue since QueStyle supplies the drivers on its website and includes a little driver CD that no one ever uses.
Moving onto the amplification section, we can see that the amp is a fully balanced class A design using precision Dale THT resistors and Wima film caps. It's nice to see such high quality components in the signal path at this price level. The amplifier section also uses Questyle's proprietary "Current Mode Amplification" technology, but to my ears, switching between the two yielding no perceptible difference whatsoever across my entire library or any of my listening sessions (sorry Questyle!).
Up next, we have a fairly beefy motorized potentiometer handling volume control for the preamp section. A little bit disappointing that the EMF-noisy motor is so close to some of the audio signal path, but that only really factors in when the volume is being changed. The pot is smooth and has a very nice resistance to it when turning manually. I didn't notice any back-EMF when adjusting the volume from the pot and the driver circuit appears to be fairly well protected against any backwards inductance generated from the motor—good job there!
Lastly, something to call out is the 5GHz wireless module that the Twelve has. While on first blush, this may seem like part of a streaming DAC/Amp, this 5GHz module is only designed to work with Questyle's own streaming unit, not connect to WiFi. This seems like a little bit of a missing feature that would've been nice to have, but it is what it is. However, one thing to notice is the proximity of the module to some of the analog components on the board without additional shielding. The noise floor is audibly higher once the unit is switched to 5GHz mode, even when nothing is playing, especially through the head-amp section. I would've liked to see Questyle add some additional shielding in addition to the existing metal bracket, which doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot.
The unit as an all-in-one offers a fairly robust set of IO options. On the digital side, you have your usual USB (up to 384KHz), TOSLink/Coax (up to 192KHz). Additionally, you an AEs/EBU port which is nice to see. Finally, a fairly rare feature, you have a S/PDIF output, which lets you use then unit as a DDC for improved jitter in poor USB or S/PDIF sources. Sadly, I don't have an AudioPrecision to test out the DDC performance of the unit.
On the analog side of things, you have both fully balanced (true balanced) and single ended outputs. Both outputs have a selectable gain setting of 20dBu and 14dBu. As well, both outputs can either be line-out or pre-outs, using the Twelve as the volume control. I did have a little bit of trouble with the Twelve going into the Conductor 3XR over XLR though. On 20dBu, there was massive clipped (expected), but the clipping was even present on the 14dBu "Standard" mode on line-level. This was a little bit concerning, since the 3XR should be able to tolerate a fairly hot input. To avoid this, I had to switch to pre-out mode and put the volume knob at around 80%. Not a major issue, but something that Questyle should potentially look into.
For the headphone out section, the Twelve offers 4-pin XLR output [what I used], 1/4" single ended, as well as 4.4mm balanced. All three headphone outputs can be driven at the same time, but note that they share the same volume control. If you're going to be using more than one output at the same time, you should be careful that the headphones are reasonably volume matched.
Sound as All-In-One
Detail and Resolution
Since the unit seemed to be billed as an all-in-one powerhouse, my main evaluation was using it as a combo DAC/Amp. Overall, the Twelve is very comparable to the higher priced Burson 3XR, trading a little bit of warmth for some more resolution. Listening to A Tale of Outer Suburbia by Hands Like Houses, the complex drum kit cymbals at 1:50 present as more defined and each hit is a little bit more distinct. We see similar behavior in That won't save us by Against the Current where the Twelve takes the cake in terms of raw resolution and detail retrieval. These are pretty small differences though and mostly present themselves as a blacker background between individual notes. Doing a quick A/B makes the 3XR just a tad blurred almost like an 4K video was just a hair out of focus. Nothing is missing in the 3XR, but rather the Twelve is able to isolate and present each sound sharper.
Soundstage and Control
Tracks that mix wide orchestral passages with intimate vocals like Loyal Brave True by Christina Aguilera have a greater sense of depth and width from the Twelve than from the 3XR. However, this effect was pretty difficult to replicate consistency across other orchestral and classical tracks, so I'd put the 3XR and Twelve on par with each other in this department.
Where the tides turn is bass-heavy tracks. While the Twelve offers more raw slam in intense tracks like C'mon by GRiZ, its comparative lack of headroom make taming the drivers difficult next to the 3XR. The 3XR seems to trade a little bit of the raw slam factor for some more damping on the driver and holds the trailing edge with more finesse. This is pretty consistent across bass-intense tracks like Fairy Tale by Seori and A.I. Troopers (Inst.) from AleXa. While the Twelve offers some more ear-rattling thump and texture across the board, the 3XR handles the driver better with its 7W of headroom vs. 2W from the Twelve. This translates into a bit more natural and tighter bass, keeping the surrounding milliseconds clearer and cleaner.
Moving onto the upper registers, the Twelve trades some blows with the 3XR. Naturally sibilant tracks like The Long Night (긴밤) by Seori came felt harsher on the Twelve whereas the 3XR smoothed out most of the peaks. On the other hand, tracks that benefit from a little bit more energy like Fantasy by PinkFantasy seemed to be lively and more crisp on the Twelve than the 3XR. Overall, I'd say the Twelve is edgier and more energetic compared to the 3XR in the upper registers.
As a Standalone DAC
In an attempt to isolate the AKM 4490 DAC's sound from the Twelve's amplifier section, the pre-out of the Twelve was run into the 3XR's analog inputs over XLR. That way, it was easier to directly compare the 4490 vs the ESS Sabre DAC of the 3XR.
The most immediately noticeable thing was that the Twelve imaged significantly more laterally across all tracks, putting the left and right image must further to the sides than the ESS of the 3XR. Play by CHUNG HA and Why Did You Come to My Home by Minx both widened significantly using the Twelve's DAC. I'm honestly not entirely sure where to attribute this difference to, whether its better crosstalk performance or others—since I just don't have the equipment to measure here. Safe to say though, the difference was very readily apparent between the two and consistently repeatable.
Turning back towards vocals, the ESS of the Burson makes female vocals sound richer and more full bodied, while the Twelve's 4490 presents more delicately and a little bit "thin." Powerhouse vocals like those in Tears of Gold by Faouzia benefit significantly from the 3XR's extra depth and body and more relaxed singers like RIELL in Stubborn have a smoothness to them that's lost in the Twelve.
In a similar theme to using the Twelve as an all-in-one, the DAC itself seems more resolving compared to the ESS implementation in the 3XR. This Ain't No Place for Animals by Hands Like Houses is more engaging and "thump"-ier on the 3XR, but loses much of the clarity in the fast-moving passages. The Twelve's 4490 brings back most of the distinctness and refinement in the murky drum breaks (1:29) at the expense of some of the tonal gloss and impact.
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