Gadgetory

hey guys I'm Dimitri with Haruka Knox and today we're taking a look at this little guy this is the d1 DAC from audio engine and as we start to dive into the world of audio with headphone reviews headsets and speakers today we're going to try to answer whether or not a DAC is a useful addition to your audio equipment the DAC is a digital to analog converter your audio from your computer is rendered in zeros and one so the digital format and the DAC converts that to an analog wave format so basically producing cleaner sound and getting rid of all the digital interface today we're going to take a look to whether ask whether or not the DAC is a useful addition but whether or not the d1 is a good starting point if you plan on upgrading your equipment and price that $170 you do have to consider whether you care enough about your audio for such an investment and generally as you audio preference grows so do your interest and making sure you best out of your sources but let's not get fooled by the size of the device bigger doesn't mean smaller in this situation audio engine has made sure to house this in the robust metal casing with rubber front and rear plates I know the look shouldn't really matter but the really clean design is appreciated for on desk setup specs wise the d1 is a 24-bit 96k low hertz tag and that's very important is audio fidelity matters at 24-bit recordings it does require USB power and luckily anything above USB 1.1 will be sufficient at the back we also have an optical input and a pair of stereo RCA outputs that would be ideal for connecting to your speakers at the front play of a volume knob with some resistance so it's not too loose and you can really fine-tune your volume there's an illuminated power switch that will automatically switch the audio source through the deck to wherever it is connected to without you need to go into your audio properties and do it manually now it is a little bit surprising to see a three-and-a-half millimeter jack here for your headphones instead of a quarter inch adapter as this DAC is sort of targeted towards the audiophile and higher level headphones but it does complement its portability factor the d1 also serves to prime purposes like I said the headphones but also the speakers at the end here so the d1 has a built-in amp for your headphones so it will power anything pretty well up to 250 ohms I had the volume knob around 25% with the HD 5 5/8 for a pretty comfortable listening experience so meaning there's more jews left for higher impedance headphones the second news are the RCA outputs at the back for connecting speakers or to another dedicated amp for example that's very popular now our audio engine a 5 plus was a perfect fit with the d1 DAC to drive clean audio into this very cable setup now comparing audio quality between the built in DAC on my notebook and the d1 was pretty obvious the high end was much more evident with faster attack treble was crisp but not harsh and there was a very evident awakening of the background for live recordings not in a bad way per se but my laptop couldn't handle such detail separation so generally the d1 manages to really pull out the detail out of your audio without and I actually didn't notice any bass boost instead they provided better based resolution listening to angel from Meza 9 delivered much tighter bass without bleeding into the mid-range and that's actually a very good thing to preserve audio fidelity now using the DAC with our a5 + speakers was a totally new experience it really allows you to listen to music from a device that doesn't support RCA inputs and that's one major advantages of having this external device now for the hundred $69 price tag you really would want to utilize both of the headphone and the speaker functionality for this DAC now the question is you know whether or not a DAC is a useful addition and probably for me it really depends on how you view your audio a year ago I probably wouldn't have considered the DAC because maybe I wouldn't have noticed a difference but now as you sort of start to discover the whole new words world of how different things sound and how you prefer your audio it's perhaps something of a consideration if you want that audio fidelity this will also allow you to expand in the future because the RCA inputs aside from sort of connecting your speakers can also be added into an external amp and so this key device can just be served as a DAC you can also add a different equipment later on in the road so perhaps this is not a bad place to start so with the d1 we've got a compact footprint and have build quality with a headphone amp for under 250 ohms that tightens the base without any coloring the RCA and opticals are obviously welcome along with the DAC itself that handles detail beautifully without harshness now if you cough dimension is the absence of an optical cable I'm sure that three-and-a-half millimeter headphone jack is not optimal but it does suit the d1 thanks to its portable nature the price is not really con unless you don't utilize the full functionality of the d1 and that is the RCA outputs for speakers or an amp and front jack for your headphones and with that said anyone looking to upgrade from stock computer audio will be pleased and we're giving the d1 our approval with the damn cord now I know that this type of addition to your existing audio setup is not going to be for everyone but what do you guys think do you think this is going to be something for you let us know in the comments below perhaps if you already own a dad or an M combo share your setup so others can see and perhaps I'll move on to that direction make sure to like this video if you'd like to see more audio reviews later on the road or down the road make sure to subscribe for more similar reviews as well and we'll see you in the next one