DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

 @azwill   I haven’t purchased and tested an MPS-X yet.  I have been extremely happy with K50 before and now Oladra performance with my Playback.  I would be unsurprised if the MPS-X takes it up a level.  The only challenge is that you do need a server to feed the MPS-X if you are going to run Roon. 
 

I find USB vs AES conflicting with antipodes.  Most of the time I prefer AES and send DSD via DOP and it is fine.  With Playback, USB is preferred for DSD.  This DAC really excels at DSD so I find myself really liking USB more with this one unit.  

Okay, regarding the Soulnote D-2. I brought this unit in having never heard a Soulnote product but multiple people had said it is THE brand and in a year, it will be noteworthy.

So, it arrived quickly. It is heavy. The box is over 40 lbs. Unit looks nice with a brushed aluminum finish and wood (ash maybe) sides. The unit retails at $9000 and is fully, differentially balanced. So I dropped the unit into my system, plugged it in with AES and it was...okay. So, I took it out of the system and attached it to a secondary system and let it play for three weeks. I put it back into the system. It sounded much better.

There are several filters on the synchronous connections including a NOS filter which I thought sounded best. I typically hate NOS DACs so this was a surprise. After reading the manual, I decided to swap to USB and all of a sudden this unit came to life. I swapped this in for the Playback and got the X1 in while I was testing.

Opening track of In a Sentimental Mood - piano has good sparkle. Drum rolls lack absolute definition of Weiss or say the Chord Dave.

On Be Still My Beating Heart, it is obvious that the Soulnote is a bit brighter/more forward than the Playback meaning it is probably a touch forward overall. That said it is not close to as bright as say the Weiss. The forwardness is present in staging but does not come through in terms of sibilance. The sound stage is big and deep. It extended well beyond the outside of the speakers. Noise floor is very low. When there should not be noise, there is no noise.

Liberty is the same. Forward but not sibilant. effects come from where they should, well beyond the boundaries of the speakers.

Duende is superb. Opening bass notes are clear and undistorted. Dynamics are big. String separation is fabulous on the berg piece. There is nothing not to like.

This unit is extremely competitive in the $10K price range. Incidentally, I was writing up my notes on X1 not long after I wrote this and discovered they were very similar. So similar that I decided to do some more testing. I decided I would connect both at the same time and see how similar they were.

Second set of XLRs was found, both DACs connected and I played the same track on both zones off the Antipodes, USB to the Soulnote and Ethernet to the X1. I struggled to tell the difference. I went way beyond the standard five test tracks. On track after track, sounded very similar. I would think I was listening to one and look up and it would be the other.

Now I was doubting myself. Could they be that close? So I took out the Soulnote and connected the MPD-6. Differences were immediate and obvious. Tonally the Playback was slightly warmer, the soundstage was much deeper and the image was bigger and more detailed. Swapped out the X1 for the Soulnote. Same difference.

So I looked an unsurprisingly they use exactly the same chip. They have done something in terms of output stage to generate similar sound profiles. Really superb. If you don’t need volume control or streamer it seems like the Soulnote is an ideal option if you like Lumin’s sound.

.What I am most intrigued by is that the Soulnote allows for a 10Mhz clock to be attached and I am wondering if that will take it to the next level. I would suspect it will push this to a level that will outperform the X1.

Have the Playback streamer on order. Looking fwd to it. 

We have recently added two additional lines which is going to lead to three additional comparisons. The lines are Aries Cerat and Meitner/EMM. The first is going to be the Aries Cerat Helene which is now a permanent display item for us. My initial MA3 was purchased to go out to a customer for demo and never came back. I am waiting on a replacement and the distributor is also going to lend me a DA2 for a period.

For today though, we will talk about the Helene. The AC Helene arrived in a wood crate on a pallet jack. The unit without packaging is 80lbs. With packaging, has to be 100. I used my hand truck to roll the unit down to my basement. Fortunately I have a walk-in basement.

I opened up the unit with my cordless drill as the unit is screwed shut. It is heavy so getting the unit out is a challenge. Best if you have a second person. In fact, I would argue that a purchase of any Aries Cerat product should require a second person to be with you to unpack.

I got the unit out and quickly realized that the term "overbuilt" lost all meaning to other equipment I have owned. It borders on absurd. The top is machined stainless steel, not aluminum. Everything is solid on this unit.  Mass is a benefit in terms of absorbing vibrations and AC definitely delivers mass. 

Removal of the top for tube installation was quick and easy. I then placed the unit in my rack where it barely fits. Hooked it up. Turned it on and let it warm up.

Came back and listened and was pleasantly surprised with a very refined sound right out of the box. I then played it as much as I could for about a week. and this is my POV after maybe 60 hours of burn-in.

The Helene is immediately impressive with a massive soundstage that is deep and wide. Tonally it is neutral with extraordinary dynamics. As far as actual songs go:

In a Sentimental Mood - piano had great sparkle. Drum rolls are clean. Image extends beyond the speakers and there is minimal localization. Very energetic and dynamic.

On Be Still My Beating Heart, the image is massive extending well beyond the speakers and depth is very good with the sound coming immediately from my left and right while the image is behind the speakers dead center. Stings voice has no hint of sibilance, piano and bells sound natural and the noise floor is very low.

Liberty sounds big and natural. Effects come from well beyond the speakers. Noise floor remains low. Again, not a hint of sibilance.

Duende, opening bass solo is clean and crisp reflecting top level performance. Cymbals are airy. Plucks of the guitar are clear with great air.

Berg sounds great. No massing of strings. Image is probably bigger than it should be but that is the nature of these very big sounding DACs.

I was so impressed I decided I would do an AB comparison between it and the Playback MPS-6. I connected both units via XLR to my preamp and ran an AES and Coax out to the devices from the Antipodes.

The difference between DACs was immediate and obvious. The PBD is a hair warmer, image is the slightest bit smaller and a bit softer and less dynamic. The Playback is a bit more detailed and has a certain musicality that is simply unmatched by any other device I have heard.

I dragged my wife down and she is a HUGE fan of the Playback. To a point where I have had other DACs hooked up to the system and she asks "what is wrong" and insists I swap Playback back in.

Her favoritism toward the Playback remained here but she acknowledged that the AC is much better for her than other units I have had in.

Compared to two other units I have tested in this price range (Rockna Wavedream Signature XLR and the Jadis JS1 MKV), the AC is probably a hair less detailed than the Rockna, a bit more detailed than the Jadis. I am not sure anything can match the scale in terms of width and height of the Rockna soundstage but this sounds much deeper as the Rockna central image is relatively flat. It matches or exceeds the dynamism of the Jadis.

Everyone will have their own preferences and no DAC is completely perfect for everyone. This is in many ways the Goldilocks unit in terms of sound in the price class. I am not sure it is best in any single factor (detail, width, depth, musicality) but it is probably #2 for every factor. The net result is a really awesome and enjoyable DAC. The only major gap I see is that it does not support DSD. If you are a heavy DSD listener, there is no question that in this price tier, Playback is THE DAC.

@verdantaudio

Thanks for sharing your listening impressions of the Aries Cerat Helene DAC. Word of mouth feedback across audio forums say that it’s fantastic.

P.S.

Is there really much DSD audio/music available?

Charles