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Meridian Direct DAC

Meridian Direct DAC

It’s no secret that pocket-sized USB DACs have a lot going for them. I know from experience that Meridian’s Explorer is a superb little performer (Issue 234). But, miniaturization also has its limits. For example, what if your listening habits swing in two different directions—between the portability of playback-on-the-hoof and home-system integration? Seems the busy engineers at Meridian have been thinking the same thing. Meridian’s answer is the Direct. Like a crossing guard at the digital/ analog intersection the Direct brings to the table a larger resume of technology and connectivity—well beyond that of the plucky little headphone streamer.

The Direct is a USB DAC that bundles digital inputs and a set of analog outputs in a single compact package. It’s designed to benefit systems that lack the USB input required to accommodate computer-based audio. And it can also bring an aging CD player (with a SPDIF out) back to relevance, or grab an optical signal from an Apple TV, or even hook up with a headphone preamp.

Not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes, the Direct carries the extruded-aluminum ovular-capsule design of the Explorer into a larger form factor. At one end, a button selects either USB or SPDIF input, with a trio of LEDs indicating the sample rate. (The unit can decode digital audio streams up to 24-bit/192kHz.) At its other end are a USB2 B socket and a 3.5mm optical/ coax hybrid connector (adapters are included).

Meridian Direct DAC

However unlike the mini-jack output of the Explorer, the Direct uses a pair of unbalanced RCA output jacks, allowing audiophiles to use high-end interconnects. The Direct includes a wall-wart power supply that also operates in connection with the USB input in instances when a computer’s USB interface is not being used. Proudly handmade in the U.K., the Direct is upper crust all the way, from packaging to craftsmanship.

Action!
Added size and cost have enabled Meridian’s engineers to unleash some of their core technologies, many of them gleaned from the Reference 800 Series. These include Meridian technology enhancements such as upsampling and an apodising digital filter. The Direct also uses music-grade power-supply capacitors, while its four-layer PC board minimizes noise.

Ease of use is paramount in this segment. While full-size mega-DACs can bewilder the audiophile with a plethora of set-up choices, getting the Direct up and running is virtually hassle-free. For me it was as simple as taking the provided USB cable out from my MacBook and into the Direct, and selecting the Meridian DAC from the SOUND submenu within my laptop’s SYSTEM PREFERENCES.

 

Quiet on the Set
The sonic performance of the Direct is a clear notch above the fairly high bar set by Meridian’s jaunty little Explorer. Though similar to its smaller sibling in tonal balance, the Direct offers subtle improvements in the areas of low-level transparency and micro-dynamic resolution. When following a delicate orchestral harp line, the metallic sustain of a percussionist’s triangle, or the high-pitched strings of a 12-string acoustic guitar, the Direct shines.

Meridian Direct DAC

However, where the Direct really comes into its own is in spatiality—an arena in which, until recently, only premium digital players could compete. In defining the ambient boundaries around instrumentalists, the Direct captures much of the realism and dimensionality that less expensive players lack. For example, as I listened to the Chopin Nocturnes [Alba] performed by Janne Mertanen, the placement and contours of the piano began to eerily materialize in my room. At times I could nearly hear each individually struck note up and down the keyboard. And—such is the greatness of the latest generation of lower-cost DACs—the soundstage no longer sounded flattened, as if projected on a screen. Rather, the Direct reproduced dimensional space with greater ease and specificity. And, while its presentation wouldn’t be mistaken for analog, the coolness that once characterized digital sound has largely thawed out.

Where the Direct falls a little short is in a subtraction of orchestral textures, an almost glassy smoothness that dulls the tingle of micro-dynamic peaks and the transient sparkle that I’ve observed in costlier DACs. I often cite excerpts from Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella on the Argo label as one of my vinyl and digital favorites; this is because the recording offers a level of orchestral naturalness and a gentle authority that immediately captures a listener’s attention. Compared with the top-notch on-board DAC in the mbl C31 player, the Direct slightly blurs the individual voices within string sections—and the air among the players is less noticeable. The wave-like ripples from the skin of a firmly struck bass drum are also slightly blurred.

Meridian Direct DAC

The Direct doesn’t have a headphone preamp, but since I was given the chance to audition Meridian’s new Prime headphone amp, I grabbed my trusty AKG and Cardas ’phones and listened to the Direct via the Prime’s analog inputs. According to Meridian the digital architecture of these two components is very similar, and this played out sonically as I listened to a series of pop selections from Norah Jones and Mary Stallings, and high-res material courtesy of HDtracks and Reference Recordings. Tonally these units are a virtual mirror of each other with noise-free backgrounds, rock-stable imaging, authoritative and controlled bass, and lifelike timbres.

The Direct is a musically satisfying, cost-effective solution for inoculating a system against digital obsolescence. Without protest it fills many roles, makes for a willing travel companion, and is a sonic knockout in the bargain. Caught between two audio worlds? Meridian’s Direct knows the path to both.

SPECS & PRICING

Inputs: USB, TosLink
Output: One pair RCA
Dimensions: 3.28″ x 5.5″ x 1.3″
Weight: 9 oz.
Price: $699

meridian-audio.com

Tags: FEATURED

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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