Audiophilepure

The AKM 4497 is a circa 2016 32-bit two-channel DAC chip. I have fond memories of enjoying music from CD players and DACs of the early 2000 using AKM chips, and I have found those made by Burr Brown, Analog Devices, Wolfson, etc., all adopted by manufacturers at one time, promising. The ESS chips of late are a different breed as their design is so integrated that manufacturers often take advantage of it and create their consumer products with minimal additional original engineering. The result is various models from manufacturers all sounding similarly. There are exceptions, of course, such as in the case of the Audio Research DAC 9.

On the company’s choice of selecting the AKM 4497 chipset, it is noteworthy that an October 2020 fire at the AKM facility disrupted supplies of the AKM 4499EQ, the latest flagship. Aurender Director Harry Lee offered that, “When we developed the A-series (Analog outputs) about 10 years ago, we had narrowed down our choices to AKM and ESS DAC chips. The decision was primarily made due to sound signature of the AKM chips winning out with our development team. Because this essentially became part of our A-series house sound [on top of the disruption of the 4499EQ chip supply], we decided to stick with the AKM 4497 and push the envelope on getting the very most out of this brand of chip with each new iteration/model.”

https://www.headfonia.com/smsl-ds200-review/

The DS200 is one of the more striking budget units SMSL has put out. The cyberpunk look is a first for them, and it immediately sets the LIN.LIN.LIN line apart. It feels like SMSL wanted to aim this sub-brand a little closer to the gaming market. That said, the lack of USB 1.0 support means the DS200 can’t be used with consoles, which limits that angle somewhat.

The finish is classic SMSL with a twist. The sandblasted CNC aluminum chassis has that smooth, slightly grippy feel that reminds me of Apple Macbooks. The tempered-glass front panel adds to that impression, with its clean white LEDs that resemble the device as if it were warped out of a sci-fi movie. The orange accents work surprisingly well with the grey tones of the chassis, giving the DS200 a bit of contrasty personality.

On the front, the layout is tidy. The vertical volume slider is still, in my opinion, the standout, as it’s unusual; however, in practice, I found it fun and satisfying to use. The slider has no steps and feels smooth from bottom to top. I also didn’t encounter any channel imbalance.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/michell-apollomuse-mmmc-phono-preamp

Here’s the thing: during my audition of the Apollo I didn’t find one LP that came even close to unsettling its even-handed performance. This phono amp has an uncanny knack of finding the beauty buried in the murky depths of poor recordings, while affecting an ease in capturing absolutely everything to be found in higher-quality pressings.

Seldom have I heard the soft but insistent electronic percussion effects in Lanterns on the Lake’s ‘Lungs Quicken’ [Gracious Tide, Take Me Home; Bella Union BELLAV300] remain quite so prominent. Usually they are something that you hear and then tend to gloss over, but the Apollo refused to let this happen. It will have you rapt, relishing every detail within a recording, while never relaxing its grip on the overall musical message.

As much as I enjoyed playing around with filters to endlessly unravel music threads in hopes of discovering something new about old chestnuts, the Stellar DAC is not really made for such interrogations. This is a beautiful sounding DAC, by design. Playing Sasha Matson’s newest album, Fillmore Street, proved to be a splendid way to put the Stellar DAC to the test. This album is full of interesting twists and turns in composition, timing, and melodic themes. Flawlessly recorded, the title track opens the album to give you a taste of what’s to come—orchestral energy with competing instruments propelling the ascending melody line to create tension that ultimately resolves in a languorous swoon reminiscent of Gershwin. The Stellar DAC does an exceptional job of capturing the breadth and dimension of the orchestra, but more importantly, the tone and texture of the instruments sings naturally and without distracting emphasis. I played many, many other artists from a variety of genres, but the overall balance and tonal fulsomeness was sustained in excellent fashion.