A Few NotesBefore I give you my somewhat “finalized” subjective thoughts on the Classé Audio DAC-1, I just want to reiterate for anyone that might not realize that I generally like a smooth, laid-back sound with my audio gear. I seem to fatigue quickly and easily for often unexplainable reasons (could be young age, general hearing sensitivity and tastes, tendency to listen to harsh music and too loudly, gear I have on hand, chronic headaches from sinus congestion and allergies, etc.). Hence why I gravitated to NOS DACs for a while. The Metrums in particular got me involved in the music without setting me on edge, which most sigma-delta or even just most oversampling DACs apparently seem to do.
Also take note that I’m sharing these thoughts after using the DAC-1 with the JKSPDIF Mk3. This converter comes with a 15dB attenuator, which, in theory, reduces signal reflections. I never noticed a huge difference with it either way on other DACs, but it is almost required on the DAC-1 due to how much of a difference it made with the sound. Thus, anything I say could change noticeably if I were to try different gear in my equipment chain. I also only really had the Audio-GD NOS1704 and Yulong DA8 on hand for direct DAC comparisons, and any other thoughts are based purely on potentially faulty memory. Hopefully these notes will help you frame my subjective impressions and point of view when speaking about the Classé Audio DAC-1.
Subjective Listening Impressions and Other ThoughtsThere has to be something special about these older DACs and the chips or modules they used back then. It took very little time at all to recognize I was hearing something that just sounded different than what I was used to. My immediate thoughts beyond this were “BIG, 3D sound” and “very detailed across the spectrum.”
Holy crap, does this DAC have kick to it! And it’s clean and quick sounding, too. For example, if you’re a metal fan, this does wonders for double bass kick drumming. Both the NOS1704 and Yulong DA8 sound soft in comparison. More of a rounded “thud” in comparison. The DAC-1 is very dynamic and has lots of punch. It isn’t
quite as quick with internal micro-dynamics and shifts as the NOS DACs I’ve heard, but it doesn’t leave me wanting here. As a whole, it is more dynamic. Pretty good sense of blackness as well.
Some folks have said the DAC-1 can be a bit on the cool side of things. That’s hard for me to agree or disagree with. On one hand, it doesn’t have the bass and mid bloom I hear on some other DACs, like the NOS1704 and DA8. Perhaps the DAC-1 could use a bit more warmth for my tastes. I’d probably prefer that. On the other hand, the DAC-1 has a very full-bodied yet clean tone. Nothing really sounds thin or lacking. I think it’s just that it’s quick, clean, and detailed. It’s like the full-bodied tone of a NOS DAC but without the additional warmth and slight mushiness, if that makes sense. It has a good sense of pitch across the board, even in the bass. I suppose you could call it lean but muscly or buff and well defined in the sense it doesn’t have a false sense of warmth but sounds big in size, power, and tone, is impactful, and is detailed/defined in most or all regards.
The DAC-1 also doesn’t seem to have the same sort of grain as something like the DA8. I don’t think it’s quite as smooth and syrupy sounding as the NOS1704, which is probably expected, but detail does seem to flow fairly effortlessly on the DAC-1. It doesn’t bring background details to the forefront in the same way the DA8 does, yet still manages to sound more detailed overall. The DAC-1 seems to be one of the more resolving DACs I’ve tried, and it breezes through complex passages without seeming troubled at all. And even subtle cues aren’t hidden or smoothed. Lots of life and breath to the music. See
ms to pull out every little detail, but not necessarily in an exaggerated way.
If anything,
for my tastes, the DAC-1 might almost be too detailed. Too precise. Lingering cymbal crashes, for example, have a sort of sparkle, crunch, and/or decay and reverberation to them that makes them sound lifelike and full-bodied, but presented in such a way I’m not really used to from other DACs. And the airy, 3D, almost holographic soundstage makes everything easy to pinpoint and cuts through all the crap (this goes back to the “BIG, 3D sound” comment from earlier).
Yet, I think it’s this ability to dig deep and present seemingly every detail that almost starts to give me information overload, which can to listening fatigue. It’s almost like things become too textured and detailed for my ears to keep up with. However, I still can’t explain exactly what it is that starts to wear on me over time. It’s not like when doing side-by-side comparisons that anything stands out as wrong on the DAC-1. Quite the opposite, it’s more like a breath of fresh air when I switch to it. And a lot of times, the treble presentation seems a bit more laid-back or less in your face than other DACs in back-to-back comparison. More natural. Occasionally not, but usually. Again, very hard to explain. It’s not the sort of fatigue I got from the X-Sabre or other DACs that were either too sharp sounding, too lean, too grainy, etc. Maybe the DAC-1 is just a touch forward with upper-mids and treble. Maybe it’s a bit too powerful or lively sounding for my tastes (i.e. not relaxed or laid-back across the entire spectrum). Maybe I’m hearing some digital hash in some areas, like the cymbals. Very hard for me to say. Perhaps it really is just information overload on my end, as that’s something I experience pretty commonly even outside of audio. I suspect this is just my ears, tastes, and sensitivities being odd, and not something others would notice so much. I’m also still investigating changes to my equipment chain that might suit my needs better. I might just need to pair it with a bunch of laid-back gear.
I think these more “negative” thoughts are more a commentary on my tastes and sensitivities, as I’ve said a few times already, so take it as you will. This is coming from the guy that seems to prefer something like the Metrum sound, after all.
Anyway, one other thing I’ve noticed about the DAC-1 is that it seems to be fairly transparent in most regards. It seems to highlight the strengths and weaknesses in my gear more so than any other DAC I’ve tried. It’s more or less the opposite of a NOS DAC in this regard, which seems to just make everything easier to listen to, IMO. This is both a blessing and a curse. Things that sounded good before sound really good now, and things that were on the edge before start to become more annoying to me. Things that sounded bad before sound worse now, but probably in a more accurate way. Differentiating between amps and other gear changes is easier than before. The DAC-1 also doesn’t seem to sugar coat harsh or poorly recorded material. I suppose you could call it very revealing, or perhaps not very forgiving, but not in that sort of sterile or overly analytical way you’d expect. This is why I’m still investigating other gear, even cables, for the DAC-1 to see if I can’t get it sounding more relaxed and more to my tastes.
In a way, I want to describe the DAC-1 as sort of a best of both worlds. It seems to have the sort of precision you get from the PWD or X-Sabre without sacrificing tone, emotion, and musicality. It also just sounds more “real” than the sigma-delta DACs I’ve heard before. While it remains to be seen if I’ll keep it in the end, as I may just settle with the potential need for something very smooth and relaxing (don’t be surprised if this goes up for sale in the next couple months), I do feel like this is one of t
he best DACs I’ve heard yet despite having silly sensitive weirdo baby ears and tastes. Maybe I am just not worthy of the awesomeness within the Classé Audio DAC-1. I’m very curious how it would sound with different digital filtering methods, as I’m stuck with the 8x OS implementation for now. Not enough skillz to try modding it for something else like I know some have tried on other DACs. Maybe the upcoming Yggdrasil will be what I’m looking for, as what they’ve said about the filter and time + frequency domain optimization sounds promising. We’ll see.
UpcomingMeasurements coming up next. Same procedure as my most recent DAC measurements, so I’ll spare you those repetitive details for once. Spoiler alert: It measures well for being two decades old and makes you wonder about how far DACs haven’t come since then. I also took some pics of the DAC-1’s internals to share.
