Meitner Audio DAC2X V2

The DAC2X V2 is a digital-to-analogue converter from Meitner Audio, designed to accurately reproduce the digital signal from various sources such as a PC, a music server, a satellite receiver or a mixing desk. It is a reissue of the DAC2X, revised using technologies developed for the brand's reference DA2 model.

The heart of the unit relies on the MDAT2™ DSP, which upsamples the digital audio signal to DSD512/8xDSD, eight times the standard SACD sample rate. This upconversion is paired with the MFAST™ system, a high-speed asynchronous architecture which, unlike conventional phase-locked loops (PLL) limited to jitter attenuation, eliminates it entirely from the processed audio stream. The unit also features an MCLK™ master clock and discrete differential DSD512/8xDSD D/A converters developed by Ed Meitner.

On the connectivity side, the DAC2X V2 accepts up to 24-bit/192 kHz as well as DSD via DoP across all its PCM inputs: AES/EBU, USB Audio, two coaxial S/PDIF inputs and two Toslink S/PDIF inputs. The USB Audio input goes further by supporting streaming up to DSD128/2xDSD and DXD (352 and 384 kHz), with proprietary hardware galvanic isolation dedicated to this interface. The XLR outputs deliver 4.6 V (+15.45 dBu) into 300 ohms in balanced mode, while the RCA outputs provide 2.3 V (+9.45 dBu) into 150 ohms in unbalanced mode.

This type of converter is aimed at a high-end hi-fi system whose user wishes to make use of several digital sources simultaneously, from an audiophile PC to a network player, without sacrificing the conversion quality specific to each stream. Its versatile inputs and balanced and unbalanced outputs allow it to be integrated into either a fully balanced chain or a more conventional setup.