Audiophilepure

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“One feature that is very important to many users is the MPD-8’s digitally driven analog volume control. Using the balanced outputs, I connected the MPD-8 directly to my Ayre Acoustics MX-R Twenty monoblocks. The MPD-8’s analog volume control did not seem to color the sound or detract from the overall quality of sound obtained from the DAC. The remote allowed me to control the volume easily and precisely. Comparing the MPD-8’s analog volume control with my Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty preamp resulted in sonic differences that were small, but perceptible. While I favored the overall sound of the Ayre preamp when included in the playback chain, I could easily live with the MPD-8’s direct connection to my power amps.”

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“As I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier, I like to colour the sound after the d/a conversion step with my amplifiers. I like to bring a clear sound to my tube amplifiers. That is why the Qutest has been used mainly with the white filter, which is the pure reference filter. With this one in use there is a massive amount of details going through the RCA outputs.

Where the Qutest shines the most to me is the placement and separation of instruments. It paints a clean and clear, high resolution picture with impeccable imaging. The sound stage is both deep and wide as well as nicely airy. This comes especially to life when listening to live recordings, where you can really feel the you are in the room with the performer.”

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“And yet I knew this from the get-go. A first listen to the DAC 2.0 had me, quite literally laugh out loud at my hifi system, so pronounced was the upgrade’s magnitude. But a first impression isn’t a review. I took my time and I took to headphones; over a number of weeks, the Sennheiser HD800S confirmed my initial thoughts. The passive KEF LS50 set them in concrete.”

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“Another amazing quality of the DAC9 is the ability to render layered depth. Images are placed with three a dimensional presence that is surrounded by air allowing for great separation and a front to back precision that keeps individual instrumental timbre distinct and untangled. The accuracy of front to back distances or layering goes back, all the way back with stunning clarity. Orchestras are mapped out to the performer. All the modern studio recordings I sampled benefited greatly by the hologram like presence put forth by the DAC9 and holds true to the reputation Audio Research has earned over the years.”

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“Keep in mind for your reference; my own bias is for overall system balance to be ever so slightly on the warm/natural/neutral side of straight-up neutral. I like as much detail as I can get without the overall presentation getting harsh, yet I crave as much warmth as possible before things become slow, or sloppy. Tracking through the original Chicago Transit Authority, the enormous sonic landscape painted is tremendous, with a smoothness to the layers of drums and percussion incredible.”