T+A DAC 8 DSD

摘要

The devil, as they say, is in the detail. So, yes, this is outwardly the same T+A DAC already reviewed to great acclaim [HFN Oct "12] but appearances can be deceptive. While it shares the same high quality casework, the new T+A DAC 8 DSD, selling for £2327, has now gained DSD capability, allowing to it convert files up to DSD5 12/22.58MHz. This brings it 'up to speed' with a wide range of other DACs on the market, and indeed takes it beyond most in this capability. Yet even that isn't the whole story: far from it. For not only does the new model use completely separate DAC sections for PCM-based audio and DSD, each with its own conversion system [see PM's boxout, p39], it has also had a wide range of upgrades to both its digital and analogue sections. That makes it even more suited for use as a 'digital' preamplifier, enabling it to be deployed together with the partnering AMP 8 power amplifier (£1587), which comes in matching 27cm-wide casework. The AMP 8, by the way, is largely unaltered [see HFN Dec '13], albeit with a change of LED colours to match the DAC's.