Welcome to the Best Digital Audio section for the Part-Time Audiophile Summer 2024 Buyers Guide.
We’re not saying that these are the best digital audio products or that these choices somehow overrule anyone else’s favorites. We’re saying that these are the products we’ve reviewed, owned, or have had extended experience when it comes to performance and sound quality. This is the gear that we, the staff of Part-Time Audiophile, recommend.
Best Digital Audio
Summer 2024’s Best Digital Audio portion of our buyers guide is broken down into subcategories, such as DACs, Servers and Streamers, Digital Music Streaming, Transports and SACD Players. Each section is organized by price in ascending order. Enjoy!
DACs
iFi ZEN Blue V2 ($199 USD)
Yes, we’re including a Bluetooth option, because truth be told this is the perfect gateway device for allowing the kids (or grandkids) of the digital age a chance to take the wheel of any major (or minor) hi-fi system. The reason we chose the iFi ZEN Blue V2 is that it sounds amazing right out of the box, will connect to virtually anything with a Bluetooth signal, and features one of the better DACs based on the ESS chipset. Features include digital, single-ended, and balanced outputs.
BorderPatrol SE-i DAC (starting at $1,650 USD)
Measurements, schmeasurements—do yourself a favor and try this BorderPatrol DAC. Yes, it’s a Redbook-only converter, and yes, it sports NOS chips. And so what? Chances are, you’ve never heard digital like this, and certainly at nowhere near its price. There is no oversampling, no up-sampling, and no filtering. This is “do no harm,” taken seriously. Add a choke-input and tube rectified power supply, and forget David, here you have an Audio Goliath. Clear, open, transparent, sound flows forth like sweet water poured from the hands of friendly, loving gods. According to the musicians who made it, this was how your music was supposed to sound.
Merason Frerot with POW1 LPSU ($1,650 + $1,100 USD)
Small, simple and relatively inexpensive for the performance it offers, this DAC is perfect for audiophiles who don’t require a lot of bells and whistles but do want superb sound quality. We found the Swiss-built Merason Frerot to be perfect for streaming Qobuz, and for mating with an equally high-value streamer like the Innuos Zen Mini Mk. 3. Optional Pow1 LPSU improves sound quality across the board. A Reviewer’s Choice winner.
CEC DA5 (starting at $2,701 USD)
From the Japanese company that gave us belt-drive digital transports back in the ’90s, this DAC was exceptionally easy to install, use, and the sound quality across several types of formats and upsampling rates was consistently excellent. (DSD is strongly supported.) When combined with the classic TL-5 transport, the CEC duo becomes a playback powerhouse at under the $6K mark and one of 2024’s best digital audio solutions. A Reviewers Choice winner.
Lab12 DAC1 ($3,300 USD)
Like most products from this Greek company, this tubed DAC is built around a distinguished level of playback that stands out from other converters at this price point. The DAC1 excels at presenting some of the most “analog” sound we’ve heard streaming, a sound that’s relaxed and open. We certainly consider the Lab12 DAC to offer some of 2024’s best digital playback for anywhere near the cost. A Reviewers Choice Award winner.
Ideon Ayazi Mk. 2 DAC ($3,490 USD) + 3R Master Time ($3,900 USD)
The Ayazi, built in Greece, excelled at uncovering inner detail and being incredibly silent–the two. of course, go hand in hand as digital players. We “consistently achieved excellent sound from several sources and wildly different systems, and it provided us with a clear view of what the big DACs can do.” A Reviewer’s Choice winner, along with the companion 3R Master Time Re-Clocking Platform. When added between any DAC and the source, the 3R “music tightened up and the overall presentation was much easier to take in all at once.”
Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II ($4,995 USD)
Another diminutive box that’s much more than a DAC–it’s also a preamplifier with a phono stage, a streamer that includes its own Roon core, a superb headphone amplifier and a 90 watt linear power supply. The BB2 replaces the BB1, which has been Mytek’s most popular product to date. Review forthcoming.
Holo Audio May KTE ($5,598 USD)
Holo Audio is known for its use of a discrete R2R topology for its digital players which converts digital-to-analog by utilization of a Resistor Ladder circuit, with native support for DSD1024 and PCM up to 1.536MHz. Holo Audio also states that the new linear compensation circuitry resulting from the use of resistors has addressed many of the issues with NOS DACs. The May KTE presents “auditory honesty in such a refined way that you can’t help but want to listen to music.” A Reviewers Choice winner.
AURALiC Vega G2.2 ($7,899 USD)
The latest iteration of the Vega G2 streaming DAC includes the fascinating new Fusion DAC, which uses an off the shelf DAC chip to perform the very last step in the digital to analog conversion process (the actual transformation into the analog wave form), but every other feature of the DAC chip has been disabled and bypassed. “What I found with the AURALiC Vega G2.2 was everything I loved about the original, but simply more of it, more detail, more space, more realism.” A Reviewers Choice winner.
Merason DAC-1 Mk.II ($8,000 USD)
Merason has done more than just improve their stunning DAC-1–the Mk. II contains 12 separate power supplies, two DAC modules and two output channels each that are supplied by a separate linear supply with an oversized transformer. This is the DAC that has impressed me the most so far on the basis of sound–at least in my reference system. “It’s not just about the warmth, it’s about the way it combines that analog-style tonality with loads of detail,” our reviewer proclaimed. A Reviewers Choice award winner.
Meitner MA3 ($10,500 USD)
The Meitner MA3 works as both a streamer and a DAC—plug it into a router via ethernet and you can run Roon or Meitner’s own application. “One of those rare digital players that is good enough to live up to the price point. It is vanishingly transparent, fast, smooth and incredibly wide bandwidth.” A Reviewers Choice award winner.
Mola Mola Tambaqui ($13,500 USD)
If the Mola Mola Tambaqui were a city, it would be Utrecht. It’s prim and proper by all appearances, the manicured image of perfection, and yet beneath it all it still has that signature Dutch warmth and character, even if a little more formally served than in Amsterdam. The Mola Mola Tambaqui is ultra-fi digital sprinkled with a little extra sonic coziness, and taken down the price ladder several rungs.
Ideon Audio Ion DAC/Digital Preamplifier ($23,000 USD)
The Ion uses technology from Ideon Audio’s Absolute stack, including the Ideon Audio Triple Distillation USB input that “comprises a proprietary three-stage noise eradication circuit that eliminates digital noise from the input signal.” Review forthcoming.
dCS Bartok (starting at $19,950 USD)
A descendant of the classic Rossini and Vivaldi DACs from dCS, the Bartok digital players also include a wonderful headphone amplifier, making it the perfect base camp for some high-wire headphone listening and digital streaming. It’s the sound that we look for “in the best analog rigs and what digital aspires to sound like.” Several years after its debut, the Bartok still belongs with 2024’s best digital playback.
LampizatOr Pacific DAC (starting at $27,000 USD)
We felt that the sound of this LampizatOr DAC was “deeply impressive,” and it changed the way we interpreted digital audio. This is a particularly sweet-sounding DAC, an “all-out assault on digital conversion” that’s incredibly musical and satisfying. Still considered as one of 2024’s best digital audio converters, barring none.
Ideon Audio Absolute Digital Stack (Absolute Time Clock $9,900 USD, Absolute Epsilon DAC $47,000 USD, Absolute Stream Server/Streamer $24,000 USD)
Designed and intended to be used as one, the Ideon Audio flagship digital stack contains plenty of proprietary technologies that set it apart from the state-of-the-art digital solutions. “Once you are exposed to its crystalline, inviting, luxuriant, and breathtakingly authentic voice, you may find it as impossible as I have to settle for anything less,” our reviewer enthused. A Reviewers Choice Award winner.
Servers and Streamers
Naim Mu-so 2nd Generation ($1,299 USD)
The second generation of the original Naim Mu-so digital players are such an addictive one-box solution–it’s what got some of us into streaming in the first place. You get multiple streaming choices, internet radio and all sorts of wireless digital connectivity options–now you can even attach it to your Smart TV and use it as a stellar sound bar thanks to those impressive drivers packed into this compact box. Still the most interesting table radio ever made, because it can be so much more.
Innuos Zen Mini Mk. 3 (starting at $1,999 USD)
We found this all-in-one music server, streamer and DAC to be the perfect argument for finally getting rid of your CD collection. Easy to use, with all functions accessible through the wonderful Innuos app, the Zen Mini Mk. 3 was the “last hint we needed to enter a world without physical media, at least the digital kind.” The LPSU should be considered essential just for the mere improvements to the overall sound quality. The quality and value of this server makes it one of 2024’s best digital audio products.
Matrix Audio Element M2 ($3,099 USD)
While it did lack the ultimate “you are there” mid-bass authenticity of more expensive streamers, the Element H2 won us over because it was physically elegant and unobtrusive. It worked mostly without a hitch, and the overall user experience was vastly superior to most reference-level streamers, adding it to the list of 2024’s best digital audio products.
Matrix Audio Element X2 Pure ($4,500 USD)
This DAC/streamer was initially tested for its converter, but it became quickly obvious that the X2 Pure was a one-box digital solution in a small and compact unit. An added bonus is the digital preamp section, which further cuts down clutter on your equipment rack. It sounds great, and our reviewer declares that, “It doesn’t take up a lot of space, which makes it an extremely attractive proposition for audiophiles who want to add streaming to their system without rearranging everything on their equipment rack or spending a lot of money.” A Reviewers Choice award winner.
Innuos PULSAR ($7,999 USD)
Although PTA is quite smitten with Innuos music servers, we found that the flagship model of their new Pulse network streamer line was incredibly easy to use and offered a sound quality that made some of us declare we’d never use our laptop computers for streaming Qobuz ever again. Beautiful build quality as well, and the app is superb and easily integrated. Winner of a Reviewers Choice award, and so smooth in operation that our reviewer kept the PULSAR.
Innuos Statement Music Server (starting at $18,900 USD)
This two-box server plays all file formats and offers stupendous sound quality as long as connect with USB, which is the only option. Every system we “dropped it into, no matter how good, sounded better with the Statement at the front of the chain.” While we considered the stock Statement to be one of the finest digital players available, the new NEXTGEN power supply, an extra $5,000, brings even more clarity and less noise to the mix. An Editor’s Choice winner.
Aurender A30 Music Server ($19,000 USD)
This is an audiophile-grade server, with 8TB (!) of storage, with a killer DAC included that has all the best numbers: “768KHz/32bit dual-mono DAC designed around the AKM AK4497 chipset, with support for native DSD at up to 8x.” By the way, it’s also a full-function preamp that can be hooked up to your favorite amp by either RCA or XLR. Expensive, but not for what it does: “For the rest of us, the Aurender A30 is an excellent end of the line.” An Editor’s Choice winner.
Antipodes Oladra ($29,000 USD)
Intended for digital playback systems that are already state-of-the-art, this server from New Zealand is incredibly well-built and has so many features that we found it difficult to review thoroughly, at least without dedicating enormous amounts of time–maybe years–to learning everything it can do. The ultimate music server that will convince you to rip your entire digital music collection and sell everything to the highest bidder, the Oladra provides “a world without limits, where I could do anything I wanted, and it all sounded magnificent in a strangely easy way.” A Reviewers Choice winner.
Music Streaming
Audirvana Origin ($119.99 USD)
This audiophile music playback software , the latest from Audirvana, offers seemingly endless options for upsampling and adds a new algorithm, r8brain, as an option alongside SOX. “In addition to learning to navigate the interface better,” our reviewer concluded, ” I learned a lot about DSD vs PCM and the current DAC in my system. And to top it off, the Audio Scan tool is something I’ll use a lot.” One of 2024’s best digital products, and a Reviewers Choice winner.
Qobuz Music Streaming (individual Studio Premier plans start at $14.99 USD per month)
High-resolution streaming, unlimited access to music and digital liner notes. Everything needed for deep dives into your favorite genre or artist is at your fingertips. Discovery is also part of the plan, as Qobuz curated playlists can become the perfect discovery tool.
Radiooooo, The Musical Time Machine (Listen Free or Annual Plan for $49 USD)
What started as a project between friends in France, turned into a world-wide collaborative effort to catalog music from around the world, decade by decade, along the lines of a curated aesthetic. Almost everything we’ve heard on Radiooooo is a certified banger thanks to the work of curators and contributors bringing their A-game to the table when it comes to submitting rare gems and cultural standards to the music pool. Worth the annual subscription, and keep your pen and paper handy.
Transports and CD/SACD Players
Sparkler Audio S515u “Ballade” CD Player ($1,995 USD)
An intriguing new answer to the question of whether or not you should buy a new CD player after your present one dies. The tiny Japanese-made Ballade, brought to North America by Victor Kung of VK Music, is digital audio playback that relies on the parts that sound the best, rather than the fanciest new chip-of-the-month. Old-school in its scope, the S515u nevertheless offers incredible sound quality–and its minimalism, over time, becomes downright charming. A Reviewers Choice award winner.
CEC TL-5 Transport (starting at $2,199 USD)
The latest version of the classic CEC belt-drive transport is still here, still relevant, and perhaps one of the quietest transports we’ve heard despite its basic cosmetics and very reasonable price. With the DA5 DAC from CEC, the TL-5 represents an exquisite solution for audiophiles who still want to hear their redbook CDs in all their glory without having to rip their entire music collections to a server. A Reviewers Choice winner, and one of the best digital audio CD players at its price.
Audio Note UK CDT One/II ($4,958 USD)
It’s strange to think that a “mere” CD transport can impact the sound of digital playback despite the DAC used, but the CDT One/II is essential for maintaining that open, lively and full-range Audio Note UK sound that favors tonality most of all. It’s a very intriguing choice among 2024’s best digital audio players, and it’s a Reviewers Choice winner, too.
Read the rest of the Summer 2024 Buyers Guide from Part-Time Audiophile!
Best Phono Cartridges, Tonearms and Headshells
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