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Musical Fidelity V90 DAC

Musical Fidelity V90 DAC

When it comes to computer audio, I must confess to being a bit of a novice.  I really haven’t felt the need to get into it in a serious way.

For some time,  I’ve been using an early model Musical Fidelity M-DAC.  I partner it with an old Teac VRDS-10 SE CD player (Trichord precision clocked). With its vibration free rigid disc clamping system and improved clocking, it  works really well as a transport. I have also used the M-DAC to improve the sound of other CD players, by hooking up to the Co-ax SPDIF output. For occasional computer audio listening, I feed the M-DAC with files from my own CDs which I have ripped, or downloaded higher resolution music files.

With the M-DAC and Teac combined, I’ve found the sound quality to be very good, and much improved over the internal bistream style DAC but, via USB, sound quality has generally hovered below that of the spinning silver disc.

However, I have harboured the inkling that there was much more potential in the computer USB approach, especially as the popular media player J. River now offers the option of reading the data from silicon memory (with its potential for cleaner data compared to the computer’s spinning hard drive).

Enter onto the scene the V 90-DAC. This small, cosmetically rather basic but neatly finished and sturdily-built anodised aluminium box, accepts SPDIF via Co-ax and Toslink, plus Asynchronous USB.  On the front panel it simply offers  switches for on/off and input selection (two optical, one co-axial and one USB) and a tiny LED data-lock light. Around the back are the four corresponding input sockets and left and right unbalanced phono outputs – no filter selections or any other fancy options.  It’s designed to work with Windows 98, ME, XP, Vista, 7 and 8, Linux and Apple OS, so could not be more flexible.  Initial set up and connection was easy. Once plugged in, the computer installed a generic driver and the only other step (with J. River) was to select the V90-DAC as the preferred, or default source.

 

The only minor frustration with my particular combination was that the lock light did not illuminate every time the PC was first connected and the track selected, or it would illuminate initially and then go out. Pulling out the USB lead and re-connecting it would get it to illuminate and play.  However, once locked and working, it would stay that way for the whole listening session.

Musical Fidelity V90 DAC

Asynchronous, by the way, means that the DAC takes control of the computer and reads data from it exactly in step with the clock in the DAC.  In this way, it is potentially superior to the SPDIF link, which requires circuits in the DAC to re-constitute the clock using phase-locked loops, (which by their very nature are always slightly out of step). 

Undoubtedly, the M-DAC does a good job with the signal from the Teac, despite the SPDIF link, so life is never so clear cut. Of course, data is usually re-clocked again before the DAC, but experience tells us that data timing cleanliness does make a sonic difference, even with re-clocking.

Asynchronous USB is in sharp contrast to the standard Isosynchonous method of connection, in which the DAC follows the computer and therefore has to correct for any timing errors it finds by re-clocking.  Needless to say, Asynchronous is claimed to sound better (and most reviewers and listeners have found it so).  In fact, it’s becoming de rigeur for high end DACs though, to be fair,  I have heard some very good ones which use Isosynchronous  connection but play close attention to re-clocking.

Things have moved on since the M-DAC was launched and one would rightly expect the V-90 to do better, particularly as the M-DAC’s Burr Brown 24 bit chip has been replaced in the V90 by the latest, more highly specified, Burr Brown 1795  32bit DAC chip.

The specification states 24 bits/96kHz maximum input, but digital to analogue conversion takes place 32 bits/192kHz regardless of the input data rate. To achieve this, data via all inputs  is up sampled  to 192kHz even if it is lower in rate or bit depth, thus shifting the frequencies of any supersonic spuriae upwards, well clear of the top end of the audible range. 

While internal ‘number crunching’  produces data to 32 bits, that does not, of course, imply any greater resolution than the original. However, the elevated data rate does obviate the need for a steep anti-image filter (with its associated rapid in-band phase shifts) so close to 20kHz for CD material. The filter is set to just under half the sampling rate, so 192kHz pushes the filter up close to 96kHz, with potential benefits for standard CD replay.

 

Anyway, I have been so pleased with the M-DAC, (which so far as I am aware is Isosynchronous)  that I was keen to compare it to the V90-DAC, with the Teac used as a transport, and via the SPDIF Co-ax connection.

I anticipated an improvement and was not disappointed. It was definitely a step up, Playing the Bruch Violin Concerto (Kyung-Wha Chung, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe)  there was a deeper, clearer, smoother presentation with the new MF DAC, not merely smoother in the treble, but clearer and with a tangibly more ‘real’ sense of occasion and lyricism. There was also more of  that lovely ‘bloom’ which is part and parcel of the acoustics and sense of an event, captured in the original recording. Also, stereo images were firm and realistic.

Musical Fidelity V90 DAC

So far, so good, but what of USB replay from my Lenovo Windows 8 laptop? Using J. River set to replay from memory (with buffering) and replaying files ripped to FLAC from the same CD, I was certainly not disappointed. In fact, you could say I was rather awed!

Via USB input and V90-DAC there was even greater ambience and depth. That sense of occasion and ‘bloom’ even more in evidence.  Playing the Bruch Violin Concerto again, the  tone of Kyung’s violin was sweeter and harmonically richer – that distinctive sound of hair and rosin on string was more palpable and any sense of artificial hardness or harshness was banished. Indeed this now sounded much less like a CD and, simply more realistic, as if layers of muddle and hash had been removed. This is not merely a tonal matter, but one of essence. The sensation of depth, ambience – indeed of the whole performance and of occasion, were more convincing – like a breath of fresh air. I am convinced it was more faithful to the original signal captured by this classic recording. How ironic that to get closer to analogue one way is to go even more digital!

After playing a selection of CD discs and tracks, and genres via the Teac (Kraftwerk Minimum Maximum, Morcheeba Big Calm, Miles Davis Kind of Blue, etc.), and as ripped to FLAC files via the M-DAC and V-90 DAC, it was also clear that bass timing and definition were spot on, and a pattern quickly emerged. USB, via (buffered) J.River and V90-DAC, was clearly superior.  Next came the Teac coupled to the V90-DAC via SPDIF, followed by the Teac and M-DAC via SPDIF, and finally (unsurprisingly) the Teac with internal DAC. 

The V90-DAC clearly does a superb job via SPDIF and coax, and was very satisfying on it own account, but via USB it was significantly ahead of the spinning silver disc. USB replay via the V-90 DAC further reduced levels of hash and distortion, blurring or intermodulation, so that instruments and parts of an orchestra maintain their sense of separateness, relationships with natural acoustics and reverberation. Indeed, once heard it was difficult to go back! 

Playing a selection of higher resolution files, including Tim Hugh’s ‘Hands On Heart’ Live at Wigmore Hall (24bit/88.2kHz WAV, versus CD on Naim Classical), showed the dramatically greater naturalness of well recorded high res., but quite frankly, I was more enthralled at the prospect of hearing my old CDs afresh by using the V-90 DAC via USB. Now  I have a lot of ripping to do!

Of course, I must add the caveat that these findings were with my particular set of hardware and media player software and the same results are not guaranteed with other set ups.  (With a better transport, I may have been even more awed by silver disk replay). Either way, the V-90 is a clearly a remarkable DAC, and especially so for the money!

So, whether you are a new-comer wishing to dip a toe in the murky waters of USB audio, or a seasoned  silver spinner, the V-90 DAC will prove to be ideal. Apart from its rewarding high res. capability, it has the potential to give cherished old CDs a new lease of life in ripped format, or via a conventional CD transport or player –  and all for the bargain price of £199. What’s not to like?

Technical Specifications

DAC: 32Bit 192kHz (up sampled to 192kHz on all inputs)

THD:  0.0004%              20Hz-20kHz

Output impedance: 47 ohms

Maximum output: 2.2V

Frequency Response:  + 0, – 0.1dB         20Hz-20kHz

Crosstalk:   -104dB 20Hz-20kHz

S/N ratio: -117dB ‘A’ weighted

Total Jitter: 12ps

Power requirement: 12V DC 500mA (adapter included)

USB input: Asynchronous data stream at up to 24bit/96kHz

Connections:  1xCo-ax (RCA) 2x Optical (Toslink) 1x USB (Type B)

Line level Out:  2x phono sockets (L&R)

Power input: 1.3mm DC power socket

Dimensions: 47x170x102mm (HxWxD)

Weight: 600g (unit alone)

Price: £199

Manufactured by: Musical Fidelity

URL: www.musicalfidelity.com

Tel: +44(0)20 8900 2866

Tags: FEATURED MUSICAL FIDELITY

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