Meier Audio Daccord
Nov 12, 2012 at 2:16 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 715

Argo Duck

Formerly known as "AiDee"
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New equipment from Jan Meier is always an occasion. In the last few hours Jan announced technical details of his new DAC in the Meier Audio Stagedac thread. More information at his website.
 
Some notable differences from the Stagedac., e.g. looks like careful attention to jitter control; USB up to 192kHz/24bit; a third preamp level up to 6Vrms (useful for those with harder-to-drive amps); AD797 opamps - used in the Classic and IIRC Concerto amplifers - replace the LM6171; and the digital filter modes are no longer exposed.
 
Technical details
2 coaxial S/PDIF inputs (Cinch)

1 optical S/PDIF input (Toslink)

1 USB-input port (24bit/192kHz)

All inputs electrically isolated using pulse transformers.

1 pair of outputs with fixed output level.
Output level 2.2 Vrms

1 pair of volume-controlled preamplifier outputs.
Output level: 6.0 Vrms / High gain
2,4 Vrms / Medium gain
0.9 Vrms / Low gain

Gold-plated output jacks

Silver plated heavy duty switches

Separate powerlines for the analog circuitry and the digital circuitry

All voltage lines double or three-fold regulated

Wide-range powerinput: 85..265V AC / 85..370V DC

Built-in groundloop breaker

Low impedance audiophile electrolytic buffer capacitors (Nichicon Fine Gold). Buffer capacity > 30.000 uF

Polystyrol and polypropylen (Vishay) capacitors in the signal path

C-MEDIA CM6631 USB-to-S/PDIF receiver (24bit/192kHz)

WOLFSON WM8804 S/PDIF receiver

Three IQD temperature compensated 2.5 ppm crystal oscillators (TCXO's) for minimal jitter.

2 pieces WOLFSON WM8741 D/A converter-chip in dual-mono mode

Sampling frequencies / resolution
32, 44, 48, 88, 96, 192 kHz / 16, 20, 24 bit (S/PDIF, USB)

AD797 opamps biased into class-A

ALPS RK27 potentiometer for volume-control

Extended natural crossfeed filter

3 intensity levels for the crossfeed signal.

Star-grounding

Weight: 1.7 kg

Size: 28.0 x 17.5 x 6.7 cm

Power uptake: 6 Watts
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 5:20 PM Post #4 of 715
Anyone else not seeing the Daccord on Jan's website anymore?
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 5:32 PM Post #5 of 715
^ I can still see it.
 
I'm sure Jan would not be so cruel as to take it away having just tantalized us!!
 
I for one will be very interested about differences in sound from the Stagedac, which I rate very highly for detail, transparency and neutrality (excellent balance throughout).
 
Jan mentioned (edit: back in the Stagedac thread) the Daccord is noticeably warmer and rounder. Impressions from those who own both will be interesting.
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 5:46 PM Post #6 of 715
Thanks AiDee,
 
StageDAC - Daccord  comparison would be interesting indeed.
 
Nov 12, 2012 at 8:33 PM Post #7 of 715
Thanks AiDee.
 
Subbed.
 
R
 
 
Nov 13, 2012 at 3:25 PM Post #8 of 715
bad timing for me with xmas just around the corner
mad.gif

 
Nov 14, 2012 at 6:57 AM Post #9 of 715
Bit the bullet and ordered Corda Daccord (that's almost a tongue twister, say that 3x really fast). Time to break out the 2 minute noodle for the next month lo
 
Nov 14, 2012 at 12:50 PM Post #10 of 715
^ Congrats yeemanz - look forward to your impressions
 
Nov 14, 2012 at 2:45 PM Post #11 of 715
would like to know how it improves on the stagedac?????? Jan??
 
Nov 16, 2012 at 4:13 AM Post #12 of 715
Dear headfellows,
 
In itself the sonic differences are relatively small. The use of better electrolytic capacitors (Nichicon Fine-Gold), biasing the output stages of the DAC-chips into class-A, and reduced jitter results in a rounder, smoother sound.
 
Also the volume controlled output now has its own output stage and uses a better potentiometer (Alps RK27).
 
Major change is the USB-input which now accepts upto 24bit/192kHz.
 
Jitter has been reduced by the use of (very expensive) TCXO's (temperature compensated chrystal oscillators) with an accuracy of 2.5 ppm.
 
Some disadvantages:
 
People no longer have the choice between various filter and oversampling options. They're automatically selected by the DAC. Most people hardly could tell the difference between the various settings anyway and there was a very general agreement which settings sound best.
 
The crossfeed-filter no longer has a loudspeaker mode. It now offers stereo and headphone mode only. Loudspeaker mode was hardly used by people. Delay times are fixed.
 
The advantage of the disadvantages is, that the DAC is more easy to use.   :)
 
Cheers
 
Jan
 
Nov 16, 2012 at 1:44 PM Post #14 of 715
Quote:
Dear headfellows,
 
In itself the sonic differences are relatively small. The use of better electrolytic capacitors (Nichicon Fine-Gold), biasing the output stages of the DAC-chips into class-A, and reduced jitter results in a rounder, smoother sound.
 
Also the volume controlled output now has its own output stage and uses a better potentiometer (Alps RK27).
 
Major change is the USB-input which now accepts upto 24bit/192kHz.
 
Jitter has been reduced by the use of (very expensive) TCXO's (temperature compensated chrystal oscillators) with an accuracy of 2.5 ppm.
 
Some disadvantages:
 
People no longer have the choice between various filter and oversampling options. They're automatically selected by the DAC. Most people hardly could tell the difference between the various settings anyway and there was a very general agreement which settings sound best.
 
The crossfeed-filter no longer has a loudspeaker mode. It now offers stereo and headphone mode only. Loudspeaker mode was hardly used by people. Delay times are fixed.
 
The advantage of the disadvantages is, that the DAC is more easy to use.   :)
 
Cheers
 
Jan

as i only use usb through an m2tech hiface2 to my stagedac's spdif i probably will not gain anything then?
i am used to the settings of my stagedac and no longer "tinker" with them either.
 

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