TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
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Marenius DAC-S2 DIGITAL-TO-ANALOGUE CONVERTER
A key component in any digital playback system, a good digital-to-analogue converter ensures you can hear a sound accurately and mix it accordingly. Alistair McGhee gets comfortable with the Marenius DAC-S2 to see just how transparent a sound the red Swedish box actually provides.
THERE ARE only three nations in the world that are net exporters of pop music: the US where it all started; the UK, home of the Beatles and Adele; and, well what is your guess? Sweden wouldn’t have been top of my list, but they do, in fact, round out the top three. With all that music pouring out of Swedish studios it’s good to see some Swedish pro-audio gear reaching out beyond the Nordic borders. I first came across Marenius when looking for location equipment as the company makes portable recorders and high-spec battery-powered mic amps. Its latest product, however, is more general in application: Marenius has launched a DAC. In the world of hi-fi it has
long been recognised that digital-to-analogue conversion is a tricky and highly important business. Right now there are at least two British made hi-fi DACs that will leave you no change from £5,000. It began with two-box CD players – transport in one, DAC in the other – which have been in the upper end of the market for years. The argument runs, however, that the importance of the conversion process transcends the needs of CD playback. Every digital playback system might benefit from high- quality digital-to-analogue conversion, and with computer replay the order of the day in most studios the scope for professional solutions is significant.
THE BOXES Talking of two-box solutions, the DAC-S2 comes in two red aluminium boxes that are purposeful and feel good in hand. The remote power
46 August 2013
supply is small enough to be tucked away somewhere and there is a nice, long, high- quality locking din lead between the PSU and the main DAC. Round the back of the main DAC you’ll find the I/O with balanced (XLRs) and unbalanced outputs – optical, unbalanced SPDIF (coax) and AES balanced (XLR) digital inputs. Round the front are three small switches, a headphone output and what Marenius describes as a ‘cripplingly expensive’ P&G volume control for the analogue outputs.
IN OPERATION In use the S2 is simplicity itself: plug in and power up using switch number one, select your input from switch two, select outputs from switch three, and then set the volume with the silky smooth volume control. The output switch offers line outputs and/or headphone output, while the input switch selects between the three digital inputs. Sample rates up to 96kHz are converted and the volume control acts on both headphone and line out signals. A green LED signifies power on while each selector switch has three LEDs to confirm your selection.
YES, BUT WHY? Having established that the Marenius is a good-looking box that is simple and flexible to use, the question remains, ‘why would I want to use it?’ The answer is simply audio quality.
Just about every piece of digital kit now comes with analogue outputs, and even if they didn’t, the DAC-S2 would be an expensive option if all you wanted was any old analogue version of your signal and quality wasn’t important.
HOW DOES IT SOUND? ‘I’m drinking sweet champagne / Got the headphones up high’ – yes, life as an Audio Media reviewer is pretty good. Sadly unlike Joni, I’m not flying first class into Vegas, nor sipping sweet champagne, but I do have my headphones up high because everything through the S2 sounds
“The mix seems really tangible and you feel confident that you are hearing the heart of the sound.”
Alistair McGhee
fantastic. Returning to one of my projects from last year, the vocals sound great, sweet and perfectly balanced. The imaging fixes the guitars in stone and the cajon has depth while retaining precision. In fact, the mix seems really tangible and you feel confident that you are hearing the heart of the sound.
INFORMATION Feature set
I really appreciated the bloom and gloss of the TC-M5000, but not enough reverb on the guitar – remember great monitoring doesn’t hide your mistakes, au contraire. Having enjoyed the S2 for
some weeks now I got into the habit of taking notes anytime I felt I was hearing more. ‘Bass, resonant with authority but always gripped and tuneful’ – this is one of the first things to strike me. ‘Snares crunch’ satisfyingly, guitars have ‘a sharper edge’, previously unheard keyboards appear shyly from the melodic shadows, cymbals are crisp and musical. On older projects tape hiss and pre-echo are clearly audible and I even heard the squeak of chairs that had to-date slipped by unnoticed. One of the hardest qualities of mixing to describe is getting instruments to ‘sit in the mix’ while retaining their individual character. Not only do we want ‘everything louder than everything else’, but we want everything mixed to perfection with everything else. To pull off
• Balanced (XLR) and unbalanced outputs • Optical, unbalanced SPDIF (coax), and AES balanced (XLR) digital inputs
• Sample rates up to 96kHz • Noise Floor: -140dB
www.marenius.com
this impossible trick, we need monitoring equipment that is as transparent as possible to allow mixing engineers and producers to make the changes they want, confident they are hearing the authentic sound of their project. That is the sort of experience you get from the Marenius.
WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? Nothing is perfect and I do find the red LEDs on the S2 slightly too bright. If you must have an external clock input or support for sample rates above 96kHz then the Marenius DAC-S2 is not for you. Otherwise, that volume control sets off the stellar sound beautifully. Great analogue sounds from a digital source – Sweden, thank you for the music.
THE REVIEWER ALISTAIR McGHEE began audio life in Hi-Fi before joining the BBC as an Audio Engineer. After 10 years in radio and TV, he moved to production. When BBC Choice started, he pioneered personal digital production in television. Most recently, Alistair was Assistant Editor, BBC Radio Wales and has been helping the UN with broadcast operations in Juba.
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