Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/questyle-audio-m12-portable-usb-da-headphone-amplifier

Hart starts Copland’s “Billy’s Bounce” (16/44.1 ALAC file, unreleased) with a quiet dotted pattern on snare and hi-hat but gradually increases the complexity of the accompaniment, exploring the different textures of his ride and crash cymbals as first Abercrombie then Copland take solos. When Hart takes his own solo, the sounds of the toms, snare drum, and kickdrum were well-differentiated. The final rimshots on the snare almost took my head off when, seduced by the clarity, I set the M12’s volume to “100”!

The M12 handled DSD data with aplomb. An album I have mentioned several times in my reviews is violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt’s superbly idiomatic performances of the Brahms Violin Sonatas (DSD128 files, Ondine ODE1284-2D/HDtracks), especially the first sonata. Pressing “Play” in Roon turned the data status LED red, and the violin sounded appropriately delicate and the piano suitably majestic when required, both instruments suspended in a subtle ambient halo.