dizzyorange
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2005
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I've been enjoying this little DAC for a few weeks now. I first became interested in it after Stereophile gave it a Class A recommendation. For a while it was it by far the cheapest Class A source component they had on their list. Recently I decided to order one—and let me warn you here that Halide is not the most customer-oriented company. The website says 1-3 days for shipping... I waited 2 weeks. Good luck getting your emails answered too. But I did eventually receive it and it was worth the wait.
I thought I'd give a quick impression. I'll also compare it with some other DACs. For reference I've included stock pictures from Google images.
Halide HD DAC ($450)
Simply, this is the best source component I have heard in my system. My tastes tend to run towards the warmer side of things and that is where this DAC shines. Sometimes I feel like I can never find gear that is warm enough. Everything sounds too cold, too neutral. There is always too much treble.
But the thing is, I actually like treble extension. What I don't like is when the center of gravity is in the lower treble, which is what a lot of modern digital equipment does.
The Halide grounds itself firmly in the midrange. And not just the upper midrange, but the entire midrange, including that crucial lower midrange region where the heart and soul of vinyl lives. I love the sound of vinyl—whenever I hear it at a friend's place I swoon for it. But the reality is that my music collection exists only on my hard drive.
If you haven't seen a picture of the Halide, it doesn't look like much. It's basically a cable: USB at one end and RCAs at the other. The little aluminum box in between is lightweight and entirely surface-mount circuitry. It gets slightly warm with use.
The Halide sounded great out of the box, and I haven't noticed any changes in the 100 or hours it's been playing. What it does well is combine detail retrieval with incredible tonality. Music played through it has a sense of weight, of heft, of momentum. It's not just detail and more detail with a hollow body. That said, it doesn't skimp on the resolution. On a first listen, you might get the impression that it's over-smooth. Keep listening to it and you realize all that detail is there, it's just presented in this liquid way that isn't shouting for attention. Going back to the Arcam irDAC (an very detailed DAC), I don't feel like there is any more information presented.
The Halide passes the two important tests.
First: does turning up the volume induce pleasure or pain? This is one of those components that just sounds better and better the louder you turn up the volume. You can go absolutely bonkers and you still want to turn up it more.
Second: do electric guitars sound good? The answer is YES.
Arcam irDAC ($700)
If I had to recommend a DAC to someone blindly, this would be my pick. It's also apparently the pick of many others as well, as it has received almost universal acclaim.
This DAC excels at portraying texture. Sometimes a component will make all recordings sound the same. The Arcam does the opposite, every recording is reproduced with it's own unique texture, or mouthfeel, or earfeel rather. The bass is quick and musical, if not the deepest. The treble is super-extended.
My only gripe with is that it can sound a little thin. The sound is definitely centered in that upper-mid to lower-treble region. It has kind of a "cerebral" sound. But I have this complaint about most components. I don't feel the Arcam is egregious in this, or otherwise I wouldn't have kept it.
I hook it up when "audiophile" guests come over.
NAD D1050 ($500)
You're probably familiar with the D3020 which has gotten a lot of attention (and is a heck of an amp for the money). The D1050 is not just the DAC portion of the D3020, otherwise that'd be quite the ripoff as it costs the same!
I bought the D1050 because the internet consensus was that it was exceptionally warm and analog sounding. To be honest I don't feel like this is the case. There is indeed that bloom in the upper bass and lower midrange, but there is also some edginess in the upper-mid too. There also seems to be a slight bit of hollowness right in the middle. It's very much the NAD house sound. Generally described as dark and smokey. There is quite a bit of bass, though it can be a little slow. It's really good with hip-hop and electronica, and utterly atrocious with classical music.
I don't feel like it matches the resolution of the Arcam or the Halide.
But it's a fun toy nonetheless. If I had to pick a DAC for my car, this would be it.
Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2 ($150)
For 150 bucks this is a steal. This DAC does one thing super well: PRaT. What that stands for I have no idea, but this DAC will get you bouncing around the room! It does this with bass that starts and stops at the speed of light. Unlike most implementations of lightspeed bass, it is not neutrally balanced, but rather pushed to the forefront, like a boombox, minus the boom.
There is also this glossy sheen in the upper-mids that lends itself very well to pop music, especially Kpop/Jpop type stuff. Extended listening does make you realize that it's a little artificial. It's more aspartame than molasses.
Meridian Explorer ($300)
All treble and no music. This DAC sucks.
I thought I'd give a quick impression. I'll also compare it with some other DACs. For reference I've included stock pictures from Google images.
Halide HD DAC ($450)
Simply, this is the best source component I have heard in my system. My tastes tend to run towards the warmer side of things and that is where this DAC shines. Sometimes I feel like I can never find gear that is warm enough. Everything sounds too cold, too neutral. There is always too much treble.
But the thing is, I actually like treble extension. What I don't like is when the center of gravity is in the lower treble, which is what a lot of modern digital equipment does.
The Halide grounds itself firmly in the midrange. And not just the upper midrange, but the entire midrange, including that crucial lower midrange region where the heart and soul of vinyl lives. I love the sound of vinyl—whenever I hear it at a friend's place I swoon for it. But the reality is that my music collection exists only on my hard drive.
If you haven't seen a picture of the Halide, it doesn't look like much. It's basically a cable: USB at one end and RCAs at the other. The little aluminum box in between is lightweight and entirely surface-mount circuitry. It gets slightly warm with use.
The Halide sounded great out of the box, and I haven't noticed any changes in the 100 or hours it's been playing. What it does well is combine detail retrieval with incredible tonality. Music played through it has a sense of weight, of heft, of momentum. It's not just detail and more detail with a hollow body. That said, it doesn't skimp on the resolution. On a first listen, you might get the impression that it's over-smooth. Keep listening to it and you realize all that detail is there, it's just presented in this liquid way that isn't shouting for attention. Going back to the Arcam irDAC (an very detailed DAC), I don't feel like there is any more information presented.
The Halide passes the two important tests.
First: does turning up the volume induce pleasure or pain? This is one of those components that just sounds better and better the louder you turn up the volume. You can go absolutely bonkers and you still want to turn up it more.
Second: do electric guitars sound good? The answer is YES.
Arcam irDAC ($700)
If I had to recommend a DAC to someone blindly, this would be my pick. It's also apparently the pick of many others as well, as it has received almost universal acclaim.
This DAC excels at portraying texture. Sometimes a component will make all recordings sound the same. The Arcam does the opposite, every recording is reproduced with it's own unique texture, or mouthfeel, or earfeel rather. The bass is quick and musical, if not the deepest. The treble is super-extended.
My only gripe with is that it can sound a little thin. The sound is definitely centered in that upper-mid to lower-treble region. It has kind of a "cerebral" sound. But I have this complaint about most components. I don't feel the Arcam is egregious in this, or otherwise I wouldn't have kept it.
I hook it up when "audiophile" guests come over.
NAD D1050 ($500)
You're probably familiar with the D3020 which has gotten a lot of attention (and is a heck of an amp for the money). The D1050 is not just the DAC portion of the D3020, otherwise that'd be quite the ripoff as it costs the same!
I bought the D1050 because the internet consensus was that it was exceptionally warm and analog sounding. To be honest I don't feel like this is the case. There is indeed that bloom in the upper bass and lower midrange, but there is also some edginess in the upper-mid too. There also seems to be a slight bit of hollowness right in the middle. It's very much the NAD house sound. Generally described as dark and smokey. There is quite a bit of bass, though it can be a little slow. It's really good with hip-hop and electronica, and utterly atrocious with classical music.
I don't feel like it matches the resolution of the Arcam or the Halide.
But it's a fun toy nonetheless. If I had to pick a DAC for my car, this would be it.
Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2 ($150)
For 150 bucks this is a steal. This DAC does one thing super well: PRaT. What that stands for I have no idea, but this DAC will get you bouncing around the room! It does this with bass that starts and stops at the speed of light. Unlike most implementations of lightspeed bass, it is not neutrally balanced, but rather pushed to the forefront, like a boombox, minus the boom.
There is also this glossy sheen in the upper-mids that lends itself very well to pop music, especially Kpop/Jpop type stuff. Extended listening does make you realize that it's a little artificial. It's more aspartame than molasses.
Meridian Explorer ($300)
All treble and no music. This DAC sucks.
