Up to 84% in savings when you subscribe to The Absolute Sound
Logo Close Icon

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Audio Analogue Vivace DAC

Audio Analogue Vivace DAC

Audio Analogue was founded in 1996, and made its mark with the now-celebrated budget Puccini SE integrated amplifier, which is still sought after and makes its mark on the second-hand market. The company’s HQ is located between Pisa and Rome, near Lucca in Tuscany. This is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, hence the name of its first product.

The golden ‘ear’ behind the company is Claudio Bertini, a Hi-Fi dealer and founder who had his part in the voicing of the Vivace DAC. The DAC is also made in partnership with Airtec, a high-end cable company, which makes the cabling within the DAC. Airtec cable is also found in the higher-end offerings from Audio Analogue.

The DAC, which is based on the Texas Instruments’ PCM1795DB chip, has a wide range of inputs which all work to 24bit/192KHz: asynchronous USB, three co-axial, four optical, and a single AES/EBU. It also has both balanced and unbalanced outputs, a decent quality headphone stage, and a fairly comprehensive remote control. It is fully qualified to act as a digital preamp, too. However It doesn’t have DSD capability, nor Bluetooth, which are starting to be more common these days, even in this price range.

Audio Analogue Vivace DAC

The front panel comprises a white-on-blue screen, which shows the present input and sampling frequency. A knob controls the volume if in pre‑amp mode, and is disabled if you chose the direct option. I found the controls a bit fiddly, but once set up the DAC was fairly straightforward to operate. There is a multi-purpose handset, which seems comprehensive and accesses the same menus as the front panel.

Using the Esoteric K-05 CD player as a digital transport, I played Barenboim, conducting the Berlin Phil from the keyboard, playing Mozart’s Bb piano concerto no 18. I was immediately struck by the timbre of the string section, in the overture before the piano entry. The strings had a lushness to them, particularly the higher strings. It’s a glorious sound, which was sumptuous and rich. The woodwinds similarly have a beautiful shade of timbres. This is not a DAC that makes instruments sound the same, but rather zooms in on the differences between timbres and leads the ear into the colours of the music. There is not an ounce of shriek from the top end; it is silky and smooth and is closer to an analogue source than I’d expect from a mid-priced DAC. The bass by contrast seems a bit shy, and under represented. However, the rest of the system consists of a wide-bandwidth VAC valve pre and power amplifier, with B&W802D speakers mounted on Townshend Seismic cradles, a combination which is capable of showing lower octaves precisely. I can imagine that when this DAC is used with smaller speakers, which wouldn’t delve so low, the lack of bottom end grunt wouldn’t really be detectable.

 

I have noticed that a significant upgrade is possible, in the areas of bass and soundstage with an external high-grade clock. I have experimented with a Rubidium Antelope clock with the Esoteric and noticed the incredible difference this can make to those two areas. The Vivace has no clock inputs, as you might expect at the price. However I’d be curious to see what an atomic clock could do with the Vivace, in terms of bass and space. I’d hazard a guess that combined with the inherent beauty of the midrange, the result would be something really special. That curiosity alone shows the DAC’s potential.

Audio Analogue Vivace DAC

Moving to some large-scale Tchaikovsky, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as conducted by Solti [Decca], there was again that beautiful patina to the sound. The pizzicato bass notes in the strings were sonorous, but lacked some leading edge incision, the soundstage was less deep, and there was less separation between instruments, when compared to a more high-grade solution. What the Vivace did so well, though, was to bring the life and energy of Solti’s performance out, making the performance compelling to hear.

This is both a highly musical and capable DAC, which would suit in particular a classical listener with smaller speakers. It has real qualities, a beautiful midrange which sings and glows and is enticing to listen to. It can bring music to life, but may not be for someone who wants bass-driven propulsion to their listening. It represents excellent value for money and would be a significant upgrade for someone with an older CD player with a less competent DAC section to it.

Technical Specifications

Type: Solid-state high-resolution PCM

Digital Inputs: One AES/EBU, three Coaxial, 4 Toslink, and one USB 2.0 (adaptive and asynchronous)

Analogue Outputs: One stereo single‑ended (via RCA jacks), one balanced (via XLR connectors). Both outputs are configurable for fixed or variable level operation.

DAC Resolution/Supported Digital Formats: All PCM from 44.1KHz to 192KHz with word lengths up to 24-bit

Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz, ± 0.5dB

Distortion (THD + Noise): < 0.01%

Output Voltage: 4.5Vrms Analogue Balanced (XLR)

User Interface: Blue Graphic LCD128 × 64 and remote handset

Dimensions (HxWxD): 8×44.5x35cm

Weight: 5kg

Price: £1,249

Manufacturer: Audio Analogue

Tel: +39 0572 030964

URL: www.audioanalogue.com

UK Distributor: Decent Audio
Castlegate Mill, Quayside
Stockton on Tees TS18 1BZ

Tel: +44(0)5602 054669

Tags: FEATURED

Read Next From Review

See all

Adblocker Detected

"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."