B.Audio B.DAC EX digital converter

Moving over to UPnP operation with music stored on a USB thumb drive didn’t change things a great deal. It brought a little more openness perhaps but the difference between this and Roon/Melco wasn’t as great as it can be. Clearly what the DAC is doing has more of an influence than is generally the case. Patricia Barber’s ‘Subway Station #5’ [A Distortion of Love, Antilles] was very persuasive though, the way she combines attack, speed and subtlety of playing on this fast and dynamic track is inspiring. Steve Marriott’s voice manages to cut through the compression on ‘Afterglow’ [Small Faces, The Autumn Stone, Castle] and shine like a beacon on a stormy night and Laura Marling images like she’s in the room on her new Lump album Animal [Chrysalis], which is clearly a full envelope recording when played by the B.dac EX.

The Bermann brothers have done a fine job with this DAC and streamer; it may not have fashionable bells and whistles like MQA or Tidal Connect but it does have a strong feature set and can deliver sound quality that matches its price point and often exceeds it. Returns do diminish in high-end audio but it’s the small gains that make all the difference; in this case, delivering digital audio with the clarity and effortlessness of good analogue, and that is still very rare.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Type: Solid-state high-resolution PCM, DXD and DSD‑capable digital-to-analogue converter/streamer
• Digital Inputs: One AES/EBU, two coaxial, two Toslink, and one USB type B
• Analogue Outputs: One stereo single-ended (via RCA jacks), one balanced (via XLR connectors)
• DAC Resolution/Supported Digital Formats: All PCM from 44.1KS/s to 384KS/s with word lengths up to 32-bit, DSD64 (2.8224MHz) up to DSD256 (11.2896MHz)
• Frequency Response: Not specified
• Distortion (THD + Noise): Not specified
• Output impedance: XLR – 100 Ohms, RCA – 75 Ohms
• User Interface: Roon, third-party UPnP apps
• Dimensions (H×W×D): 91 × 450 × 375mm
• Weight: 7.4kg
• Price: £12,000

Manufacturer: B Audio SAS

Tel: +33 3 89 73 01 41

URL: b-audio.com

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