Audioengine32-bit D1 Portable Desktop Headphone Amp and DAC, Preamp, USB/Optical Inputs, Hi-Res Audio Playback (2nd Gen)

excelente

My bookshelf Bluetooth speakers have analog RCA input along with Bluetooth. And I was always wondering how they would sound with the signal via RCA inputs. And it worked! With this DAC connected, (how I understand) I eliminated sound-degrading Bluetooth transmission, substituted speakers' DAC with this premium one and sent pre-amplified signal directly to speakers' amplifier. The result is awesome - I got a premium version of my speakers! Even when listening to a less sophisticated music as a popular genre track in mp3 quality I hear an improvement in sound quality, like my speakers are 30% better - better bass, better treble and deeper, clearer sound. But when it comes to music like modern jazz and a track is higher than CD quality, OMG. It will now take longer before I'm spending on new speakers. Rich in sounds music, when quality of recording is high, appreciates if a device is capable of reproducing 24bit/96kHz sound. Apparently, I can not get such a high quality sound from my relatively inexpensive speakers, but, for sure, they get the best possible input signal.I have to mention it's not always just plug-and-play and get good sound. In the beginning I couldn't figure out why this DAC was not providing good sound being connected to my Chromebook - I just had devices connected to other USB ports and the Chromebook, probably, didn't have enough resources for all. In a Windows computer there are a few things to be checked if something is going wrong - specifically, Sound and Power Options settings in the Control Panel. By the way, a streaming service I use shows my Chromebook is able to process 24bit/48kHz sound quality at max, but it's above CD-quality anyway. And when this DAC is connected to the Windows desktop, my streaming service says music (selected tracks) will be played with 24/96 quality. A tip: "Power on" light on the D1 is the power on/off button too :)

Très discret et esthétique. Ergonomie au top avec son bouton d'allumage à LED. Je recommande.

Ho acquistato questo DAC per portare il segnale digitale di un pc e di un tv "fuori" dal pc e dalla tv, lasciando che la trasformazione da segnale digitale ad analogico, prima di essere mandato all'amplificatore hi-fi, avvenisse a cura di questo apparecchio esterno dedicato e non del DAC all'interno del pc e della tv.Risultato: spariti fruscii e ronzii di fondo dovuti a micro interferenze che inevitabilmente pc e tv generano (ma anche i cavetti analogici di collegamento). Il che si apprezza quando si ascolta l'hi-fi a volume medio alto e la musica è "lieve", esempio passaggi di voce e pianoforte, o chitarra acustica, che avvengono - grazie al DAC - in un silenzio di fondo gradevolissimo. Se invece parliamo di musica ritmata, disco, pop, rock, etc, i fruscii e ronzii verrebbero coperti dalla musica chiassosa stessa e l'utilità del DAC, sotto questo punto di vista, non verrebbe percepita rispetto a un normale collegamento analogico (es uscita cuffie del pc).Inoltre la qualità del suono migliora, si percepiscono i singoli strumenti, i dettagli della voce, mentre con un collegamento analogico il tutto sembra più impastato. Attenzione però: non aspettatevi mutamenti clamorosi, si tratta di sfumature per audiofili, che percepirete solo collegando contemporaneamente la stessa fonte, allo stesso volume, allo stesso amplificatore, con entrambi i modi: attraverso il cavo analogico (es uscita cuffie del pc) e attraverso il DAC (es uscita usb del pc). Provate a switchare gli ingressi dell'ampli sull'una e sull'altra fonte e finirete col notare le sfumature di cui dicevo.Roba x audiofili, però: gran parte delle persone, se non adeguatamente sollecitate a prestare attenzione, non noterà a mio avviso differenze. Dipende peraltro dall'impianto, dal pc, dal tv. Io posso dire solo della mia esperienza.Infine: la sorgente sonora dev'essere qualitativamente alta. Se si parte da un mp3 (per definizione file di scarsa o scarsissima qualità) il DAC servirà a poco o nulla, a mio parere.Il DAC ha una comoda uscita frontale per le cuffie: se collegata, viene automaticamente esclusa la porta di uscita rca stereo.

My Audioengine D1 USB / optical / DAC was delivered and works exactly as I expected. I am very pleased so far. It has a good air of "quality manufacture and robust construction". It is very easy and logical to use, and the performance / sound quality is very good with no noise. I have experimented, trying to "catch it out" and very occasionally after unplugging and re-plugging the supplied USB cable (between laptop and D1), I have encountered mild "playback stutters", but turning power off (the button on the D1), then back on, always seems to overcome the problem. I can now play all my mp3 collection from my Toshiba Laptop (ripped from my CD collection at the highest bit rate allowed by the Microsoft Software). My “HiFi” speakers are either side of my TV, so I can also play sound from "Youtube" and “catch-up TV” from the Toshiba through them from my laptop to accompany watching their pictures via hdmi. The sound quality from both "Youtube" and “catch-up TV” is very good. "Plug and play" with the D1 so far works seamlessly on my laptop with MS Windows 8.1. The power button LED is bright (white), but because of the cabling, it faces away from me so I don't see it (hence the dim glow is good for letting me know if the unit is "powered up"). The D1 "on-off power button" is actually very convenient, as is the "volume" knob (during play of, for example, an mp3, if the D1 is switched off using its "on-off power button", the music is then automatically switched to the laptop's speakers, then on re-powering the D1, the laptop speakers are switched off, and the output to my "HiFi" speakers is gently re-applied). The operation has exactly the logic I would expect. BACKGROUND TO MY REQUIREMENT: I was happy enough using an old Dell laptop PC as an mp3 player via its internal (DAC) sound card through my Cambridge analogue amp and some old "Acoustic Research" speakers (my entire ripped CD collection is on the Dell hard drive). However, the Dell battery failed, so I can now only run it from the mains power supply and the noise pick up from the analogue cables was terrible (I had the cables connected to the headphone output on the Dell). I have all the same mp3 files on the hard drive of my Toshiba laptop, but for an unknown reason, I got nothing when I tried to drive my Cambridge amplifier from the headphone output on the Toshiba. By contrast, the D1 is powered from a USB connection with the laptop (no internal rechargeable battery), and uses the USB as the digital source, hence, I can use it on either my old Dell laptop or my Toshiba laptop. The D1 does have a headphone amp, but no balance or frequency controls (only headphone output adjustment via the D1 knob). But the main reason I wanted the D1 was for its stereo-phono outputs to connect my existing analogue cables to my Cambridge amplifier. My Cambridge amplifier then gives very good gain / balance / frequency control. The D1 gives me future options for use of USB or optical inputs.