Audio research REF DAC User Manual

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Page 1

D(O:t0cA

Reference

standard

This Digital Media

of audiophile

sou nd? Malcolm

he Audio Reference llAC

vedtable high end

overkill

weighs a ton and has

Thc DAC is also referred to as

Digital Media Bridge: that is a

high'falutin'sobricluet

explains

The

the moniker "Digital and notjust because it has

control and so can act as a

archetlpe: it feanrres

enginccring, uses valves,

andjustifies its

Relerencc DAC truly deserwes

engineering, but how

Research

is a

grab

hirndles.

that almost

pdce

tag-

Media Bricige"

a volume

pre-

Bridge is a

Steward i nvestigates

amplifier

connections on the rear

thc facia for USB memory sticks.

seven rcar con[ections are US82.0

I IS,

ALS,/EBU, Toslink, F.rhclnct,

ancl USB. One would cerrainly

hard connccdon that was not covered by

the

,1,1.1kHz

sources to I76-41(H7

For the most

will use the Reference DAC in

prime

he DAC

ollers scvcn

S/PDIF through RCA and BNC,

ptshecl

to find a domesdc

Relircnce DAC, which up samples

(CD-qrality)

()r

part

olthis lcview I

example

does it

and onc on

The

iPod,

digital

and

48kl

g2kHz

its

MEOIA

ElcrlAL

trDETAILS

PRODUCT

AudioResearch

Reference DAC ORIGIN

USA IYPE

DAc/digital

amp/mediabridge

WEIOHT

14.6k9 DIMENSIONS

(WxHxD)

rl8ox178x394mm

FEATUR€S

WirelessLAN

.Output

6o0ohms

.Disitalsample

,t4lkHz

rates:

192kHz wired and

96kHzwireless

DISTRIBUTOR

AbsoluteSounds

TEL€PHONE

0208 97t 3909

WE85ITE

ab6olutesounds,com

S'TO6E

pre-

balanced

(

{

UPnP strcamer and

exploiting its conlpatibility \,vitlr

nry Asset/Twonky

set Lrp and its

with an Apple iOS device

though

it comes \/ith a

usable

remotc and a 3.5in TFT fascia

display I am

Reference

Transparent Musicl,ink halanced inrerconnects

Nornally one has to fit the valves

into any Audio Research equipment but the DAC and Referen.e 75 were

shipped to me ready to play

pre

anlp capacity

cquipped NAS

abiliry to be controllecl

evcn

pelfectly

connecting it to the

power

amplificr with

Supcr XLR

Did I not

nention the valves. or vacuum tubes

neither

prefer

to call

year

histo$l

of which are

of thc Audio

75.

but

as the forner coionials

them? Throrghout its ALldio Rcsc:rrch has favoured both tlrbes

and Class A amplifier

gurations,

confi

exactly environmentally fuiendly,

thc likelihood of an)-thing from AR

turning

up in a landfillsite is

extremely remotc.

I am Llsing Neat loudspcakers

tlDoughout my testing

Research systenr: my relerencc

Ultimatum XL10 and the much snlaller Pctite SX are also both being driven by

rhc Rcfircncc

(

iliiichoice

JULY

2013

Page 2

GhoiceEXOT|CA

Sound

The sound

has

harmonic

the sound

quality

a delighdul

completeness

ofmost

paintully thin

comparison.

guitarist,

harmonics

album

rich and

Bill Frisell's

on Pipe

Eoitlwest)

complex

Mi Declaraciotl

the Reference

warmth

which seems

hi-fi,

and artificial

renders

It even

guitar

Down

with a

tonaiity.

ftomlTis

DAC/75

and

is unlike

that

jazz

(ftom

genuinelY

The

album

the

track

with

Th€ do-it-all

DigitalMedia

even

Bridge

comeswith

grab

handlos

Vinicius Cantuiiria, Meficonds

demonstrates

which fiequencies. warm

simply authority

The

album,

the Through

ba&ground

low-level

enthusiastically recording. rcplay detail instrument natural

There

soundstage,

dght

bass

left. detailed

tems

creating entirely presentation plausible thorougNy believable,

Unlike

come

cohercnt suffer

detail

have

Perhaps

the and

insmment

power and

and

outstanding

nuances players

ofFernando

Reference

subtly

the system

The sound

euphonic

nor

oedible

has

a wholly

next rip

EoJqlwest.

Gaye classlc,l

Marvin

the Greperine.

noise

detail

The

of this

tonal colour:

and

in its sound

a beautifullY

is also

witi Frisell

in front

guitar standing

insffiment

Each

dynamically

of note

overall

the

believable

I have

involving,

and

some

across,

and cohesive:

exaggerated

fiom

although

authentic

what

vivid tonal

variety of

the

produces, along

vibrant texture

Equally

drums.

and the

inject into

Carter

William

DAc

tlle authoritY

is also from

leaps out

from

supremely

ffack defines

glodously

of the

shaPe and

is among

musically

high-end

tlle music

drama

impresses

colour

ability

Sor

tragrimoJ

convincingly

but

witi

handles

experienced:

can

low

neither

or overblown:

Frisell's

his take

and

feature.

substalce

desirable

It's

Head it

There is

whatsoever

this live

transparent

the terms

every

etched

prcsentation.

and

crafted

playing to the

and the

drums

fon r'ard

sound of

ensemble.

to the

painstakingly

as well

space

The

most

the

as in

wholly

inviting

I have

set-ups

completely

it does

d]'namics

genuine dpamics

ald imPact.

most is

the

guitar

of the

the

sounds

to convey

feel and

*le

playing

shows

with

impressive

groove the

per{otmance

early

dle

that

be equally

the bass

timing

and

not

fie

is the

work

scrupulous sumptuous

guitar and Linn

piece. The

alive in

)010s in

have rendered

when

the space

Records

instrument

the space

ftont ofme.

challenging

and

lifeless

brings out

the AR rcsonance

its strings.

The

voices

and

ability

accurately

benchmark equipment

Reference

DAC certainly

disappoint. player reminds

which

BDP-1,

absolutely

and this

minor

is integrated,

facility

Audio Research,

to me and

sense

memory

singing

Will Tear

this stick,

stick

the Joy

Us Apar|

Ferhapswhat impressesthe

is the vivid

6oloMr

accompaniment

piano, is a wimessed

so before

bought

perfomance

then as a

DAC demonstrates

communication I expected

renders same

musicality

and been

a CD of

memento.

the

detail,

rendering

a solo baroque

texture

around

recording

24,/192

virtlally

betweed

ManY

the sound

insmtment

devoid of

to reproduce

at which

fleeds

lts

characte4

its fullbodY

the vibrant

is another

all high

to excel and

ability to

me of

the same

offers

the Bryston

nothing

as I am

as far

it makes

it to test

I use

collection

Coughlan

Mary

Division

to tlrc

tonal

the

ofjust

performance I

intimately

from

pedormance

tiat I had

only

atother

song there

of the

The

all

and unforced

the riPPed

emotion

drama,

witnessed

the

it, in

ofthe

comes

tie Neat

DACS

of this

as rather

but

vitality

female

end

the

doesn't

USB

act as a

facility...

Wlen

else.

concerned

it is in the

far more

tracks.

classic,Iote

most

guitar

acoustic

had

a week

moved that

Jive Coughlan

and

Reference

dle

fluidiw

ard

the

with

and

flat,

only

a >

RcAdighal

xlRamlogue

*rF9

RcAanalogue

outPr.rt

12V

tfigger

Ethernet

8 C digitel

iuLY 2013 ltllgdc€

input

remote control

output

port

input

Page 3

Ghoice

EXOTICA

Q&A

Dovid

DG: We wanted itto bea flexible

digital media bridge

the ever-growing

tostandard digitalinputs,

Gordon

Corp

monoging direclor

philosophy

Ms: Explainthe

behindtheRefe'e'nceDAC?

digital device, acting asa true

reat connectivity and flexibility

in a UPnP/DLNA network, acting

work asa wired or wireless streaming media renderer, with music servers and avlunerfor internet

H ow w ovld

sound ot ahe Reference

It usesthe

section as our components, so it maintains the

same son ic standards

the Reference 55E and Reference

Phono 2SE. Some

include exceptional resolution of

detail coupled

structure,

a natural musicalflow

whatsortot cusaomer

say thaa it

First and foremost, someone

most accurate and involving

forthe

musical reproduction from a

source. Th6t could besomeonewith

a singlesource a Pc), ora

seruerwho

music, orsomeone

flexibility

the household to

musicfrom a device likean iPhone.

person

That

Android app to remotelyselect music

controlthe Reference DAC.

and

powercm pl

w hi ch

speakers wourdbe a Wedesigned the Reference DAC to

work with virtually

amplifier and speaker combinat;on,

not

iust

pair

itwith oneofour Reference

amplifiers, but in our facilities we also

use it with our

amplifiers and our marketing

manageris

love the way the Reference DAC

soundswith a

and speakers, modest to extravagant, because the inherent apparent with each one.

guiding

remarkably

that will

formats. In addition

it had to

radio.

drar acter ise the

same vacuum'tube analog

other Reference

with a very fine

great

airredat?

likea CD transport(or

person

wants to stream his

to allow other members of

DAc?

esta blished by

of those attributes

dynamic

impact and

woutd

media

using a

who wantsthe

playtheitown

can now

use an iPad or

itiet and

good

power

any

ou r own. l\4any

using itwith a DS225. We

peoplewill

Ds-series solid-state

va riety of electronics

quality

BXSIB 3itflF*'If$Fi$'.Bio'3$3o.

of soles

provide

for

grain

you

looking

digital

To my knowledge.

the€'s no component

match?

that compares to the An, so I had

coll€ction of units predominantly

3tre€mer snd a DAC with chose units lrom Naim

Audiq schowledged

as scrupulously musical

perf

the emotional of

Reference DAc delivers

extraordinarily pres€ntationq

passion

qualitie.!

high-€nd valve-hybrid

equipment in

particular refined

along with stanling

dynamics. winning

close to Naim's

musicality along with

sup€rb high-end

and sonic fines6€,

to use a

volume control. I

ormers excelling

porformanc€s.

asp€ctB

but also offers

expected of

a delicat6,

purity

ottone

lt offerc a

presentation:

The

clos€

full oI

poise

"'n.ooo

week or so before in a

1oo-seater venue.

surprisingly

Quite

Live album,

sorigYou Go to My Hecd, recorded

The l4lhole Afair, and the

with a small band, sounds not unlike

packed

Mary Coughlan's

al audiophile demonstrarion disc.

Each instrument is allocated

position

distinct

within an

soundstage. any of tie insmments within the

predominantly

songs such asA

to follow them

such are

dynamic

example,

quietly played

and acoustic

impressively wide and deep

It is easy to listen to

acoustic

lhrilltA Thrill, and

in meticulous detail

the levels of separation and

gradation.

follow the most subtle of

You can, for

cyrnbal

while the saxophone

it out in

abandon. The most impofiant element, though, is Coughlan's soulful

voice, which the AR combination

liont with near reckless

effortlessly renders with sensitivity and realism.

power

and dynamic

that of the live

performance

recently wimessed in a

compact enough for her

not to require her

The Nils

GirI In Motion,

AR's abilities with emotional

the

Lofgren Band Live album's

fieanwhile, shows that

content are not restricted solely to female artists norjust to vocals.

reveals the full measure

Lofgren appears

strings and

The oack Bdss & Dnim Intro on the

album

and its sole

to r,rrest ftom the

body of his Sffatocaster

genuine

audiophile

purpose

that it demonstrates the sonic

spectacularity of any equipment

through

which it is

pl4yed.

its ol,\,'n

space

line

patterns even

player

is dishing

phenomenal

Its sheer

contrast matches

I had

venue

truthfuly

system.

of expression

pleasure

appears to be

Proprietary

coupling c€pacitoG

UsBboord

board

digitel

High voltag€

regulatortube

Toroid transformer

Ior

lov, voltase

all

and digital circuits

Highvoftage

capacitor storage bank

Four6H3Otubes

in Class-A triode

analogue section

Gonclusion

The Reference emerge triumphandy deficiencies

DAC and

in ary respectj their

abilities in tems of masterly

of frequenry extremes, tonal colou4

leading edges, and dynamics are

absolutely beyond

reproach.

Lltimately the DAC

magnificent performance and

of what it offers for

Its musical

component in tems of its

great

performance is little

short ofsublime and

notjust a single try not to multiple

streame4

player,

stick iPod dock.

Finally

Reference provides

unit: it is, and I will

miss a single category; a

input DAC, a network

an intemet radio, a memory

pre-amplifier

it is worth noting that the

DAC'S display

me widr all the functionaliry

I need and its operation is, to me at

least, entirely intuitive. All

then, the Audio Research

DAC is an absolute

which angle

you

approach it from o

amplifier

with no

handling

emerges as a

value in terms

your

money

product

as a

and

panel,

round

Refercnce

winneq no matter

OUR VERDICT

Perfomance

LIKE:

*****

No choice

DISLIKE:

***** *****

of interconnects other

thanXLR WESAVFabulous

mjght benefit by beins

*****

OVERALL

*****

it is

66 flft*E

luLY 2013