Qualiton 300B Integrated Amplifier

Overview

The Qualiton 300B is an integrated stereo amplifier with 2 x 25 Watts output power, built

around the captivating sound character of 300B power tubes. This amplifier harmoniously

blends our classic heritage with modern details: it features refined vacuum tube circuits,

which we have enhanced with several additional functionalities. In shaping the overall

sound character, our primary goal was to move away from the pronounced coloration often

associated with amplifiers utilizing the 300B tube. Instead, we envisioned a smooth,

musical and balanced vacuum tube amplifier that excels across the entire audio frequency

range.

Technology

Powered by 300B

The 300B is a directly heated power triode that hardly needs an introduction. Originally

developed by Western Electric in the mid-1930s for amplifying audio in movie theaters, it

later became a favorite among audiophiles and one of the most successful vacuum tubes in

history. Its outstanding sonic properties led us to name our top-of-the-line integrated

amplifier after this phenomenal power tube. Its high linearity and low distortion serve as

the perfect basis for the amplifier's power block, in which we combine it with our own

custom output transformer for excellent low and high frequency behavior. Additionally, we

have integrated the newest iteration of our Automatic Bias System for continuous and

precise control of the quiescent currents, providing a seamless user experience.

Custom Output Transformers

The transformers of our amplifiers are custom-designed and built in our in-house

transformer workshop. Our output transformers are constructed using high-permeability,

large cross-section toroidal magnetic cores, which undergo initial impregnation during the

production process. Following this, the winding process begins, utilizing a multi-layered,

sectioned, and specially arranged winding configuration. This meticulous design ensures

optimal performance across both low and high frequencies. Once the winding is complete,

the transformers are encased in metal shielding cans to minimize electromagnetic

interference. Finally, they are potted using an epoxy compound to eliminate mechanical

vibrations and associated noises.

Custom Power Transformer

Just like our output transformers, our power transformers are also custom-designed and

built in our in-house transformer workshop. We manufacture them with the same

precision and attention to details: the high-permeability, large cross-section toroidal cores

are also impregnated, and then the winding process follows. The parameters of the

windings are designed to avoid saturation of the magnetic core and to ensure efficient

operation even under heavy load conditions. It is important to note that we use double

electromagnetic shielding for our power transformers. Finally, we employ the same epoxy

compound used to pot the output transformers to eliminate mechanical vibrations and

associated noises.

Automatic Bias System

This circuit continuously monitors the behavior of each tube and regulates the bias

voltages accordingly, ensuring the smallest possible output voltage noise while

guaranteeing the highest degree of linearity of the output stage. Additionally, it prevents

the sensitive, high-permeability output transformer cores from saturating by precisely

equalizing the quiescent currents of the power tubes. Furthermore, the bias system

incorporates a built-in soft-start function, which prevents the tubes from drawing

excessive current during start-up and eliminates pops and noises. The result is that no

further adjustment is required once the electron tubes supplied with the unit have been

installed; the Automatic Bias System takes care of everything.

Filament Soft-Start

To significantly extend the lifetime of the power tubes, we have implemented the Filament

Soft-Start feature, which limits the current flowing through the heating filaments to a safe

level during start-up when the tubes are cold. The transient current of a 300B's cold

filament can exceed eight times the nominal heating current, which poses a risk of

damaging the expensive power tubes in a short time. Therefore, each of the filaments of the

300B's is fed from its own stabilized DC power supply, and the soft-start circuit ensures

that the transient current in each filament remains well below 2 Amperes throughout startup,

providing sufficient protection for the tubes.

Highly Optimized Layout

During the design phase, a significant amount of engineering time was devoted to the

layout details of the whole integrated amplifier. Our top priority was to maximize the

signal-to-noise ratio and completely eliminate mains related signal components from the

audio frequency spectrum. To achieve this, we separated the audio circuits as much as

possible from the power supplies that cause the most electromagnetic interference.

Additionally, we repackaged a substantial portion of the internal structure of the amplifier.

By utilizing our highest-quality printed circuit boards, we have created a modular, robust,

and high-performance layout.

Pragmatic Audio Design

In terms of audio design, we firmly believe that:

• A really good tube amplifier should be compatible with as many loudspeakers

as possible.

• A well-designed tube amplifier should exhibit Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

below 0.5% across the entire power spectrum, from milliwatts to rated power,

spanning 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

• Ideally, the THD vs. Frequency plot should remain flat when measured at a fixed

output power.

• The transient response should remain fast and controlled throughout the entire

audio range, which goes hand in hand with the frequency response being wide

and flat.

• A tube amplifier can have low noise and an exceptional signal-to-noise ratio.

• Thoughtful work, good technical parameters and excellent sound quality can

coexist in a high-end tube amplifier.

In the preamplifier and driver sections, the 12AX7 and 12AT7 tubes play a crucial role in

achieving these goals. Furthermore, their DC-stabilized filament supply and circuits with

low offset and stable DC operating points ensure resilience against parameter variations.

Relay-Controlled Input Selection

The amplifier features a total of five analog inputs: four unbalanced and one balanced.

Selection between these inputs is accomplished using precision, low-power, ultraminiature

Japanese relays with ultra-low contact resistance gold overlay silver contacts, all

of which are controlled by a microprocessor. The front panel Status Display indicates the

currently active or inactive inputs.

Relay-Controlled Volume

Our 100-step relay-controlled stereo attenuator features 25 microprocessor-controlled

signal relays that switch a total of 48 precision metal film resistors. Programmed with a

custom attenuating characteristic, it enables fine adjustments across the entire operating

range of the volume control. At position 0, it is completely muted. The stereo tracking is

exceptionally accurate. The signal relays are precision Japanese-made low-power types,

featuring ultra-low contact resistance gold-plated contacts.

Multifunction Control Knob

We have updated our front panel rotary knob, which now serves multiple functions. In

addition to adjusting the volume, it can power the device on and off from stand-by mode.

Furthermore, when the amplifier is active, it also acts as an Input Selector.

Remote Control

The remote control features a black anodized aluminum finish. Alongside the basic

VOLUME UP and VOLUME DOWN functions, it also includes a convenient MUTE function.

You can power the device on and off from stand-by mode using the POWER button. When

the amplifier is active, this same POWER button also functions as an Input Selector. To

return the amplifier to stand-by mode, simply long-press the POWER button. Additionally,

the remote control allows you to fine-tune the brightness of the status display, with three

preset levels to choose from. You can access the brightness control menu by long-pressing

the MUTE button.

Status Display

The microprocessor-based Input Selector and Volume Control System features a Status

Display. The display material is scratch-resistant smoked plexiglass. By default, the top

section of the Status Display indicates the volume value. During user action, the display

becomes more intense, and then it dims to a lower brightness after a few seconds. Users

have the option to select from three preset brightness levels. The stand-by mode's red LED

is located in the lower section of the Status Display.

Aesthetics

Our approach to the visual design centers around maintaining visual neutrality. We

intentionally avoid overdesigning the appearance, aiming for aesthetic simplicity and

cleanliness. Our products are not meant to be theatrical or ostentatious; rather, they

seamlessly integrate into the audio system's interior without disrupting the user

experience. However, we add unique touches, such as the chassis folded back at a 45-

degree angle, a stainless steel logo badge, a custom rotary knob, or simply the sight of the

gourgeous-looking vacuum tubes.

Protective Features

• The amplifier is equipped with a practical protective cover that serves a dual

purpose: it shields the vacuum tubes from physical damage and protects the

user from the tubes’ hot surface.

• Furthermore, we have implemented mechanical protection on the vacuum tube

sockets, preventing the expensive power tubes from being damaged due to

possible incorrect installation.

• The amplifier’s turn-on and turn-off sequencing circuit is designed to eliminate

any unwanted pops and noises. The circuit ensures that the speakers are only

connected to the outputs after the start-up time has elapsed. It actively

monitors the presence of mains voltage, and if it detects an absence, it swiftly

disconnects the loudspeakers from the output terminals. When turning off the

amplifier, it disconnects the speakers first. This thoughtful design enhances the

overall user experience and protects your audio equipment.

Special Components

• Tested and Selected Vacuum Tubes:

The power tubes in all our amplifiers come in matched quads. The preamp

tubes are selected for low noise, symmetry and minimum distortion.

• Gold-Plated Ceramic Tube Sockets:

Ensuring reliable connections.

• Gold-Plated Audio Terminals:

Enhancing signal transmission quality.

• Film Capacitors:

We exclusively use film capacitors in our audio circuits for optimal

performance.

• Ceramic Composition Resistors:

These resistors are placed in critical positions to enhance reliability.

• Long-Life, High-Temperature-Tolerant Capacitors:

Employed in our power supplies to withstand demanding conditions.

• Mains Filtering:

We use mains filtering on the primary side of the power transformers, with the

purpose of filtering out any incoming interference that may be present on the

powerline.

QLN Reference 9 Review - Twittering Machines

One word kept coming to mind each time I thought about writing about the Qln Reference 9 Loudspeakers—Yes.

Within minutes of getting them situated in Barn, which took all of a few minutes once Mark Sossa of Qln did all of the hard unpacked work, I was nodding my head in affirmation along with the music. Yes.

You may remember my review of the Qln Prestige Five written back in May of 2022 wherein I wrote, among other positive things:

The Qln struck me as hitting that delicate balance between micro and macro on the slightly fleshier side, which in my experience and according to my tastes means—fasten your seat belt, this is going to be one helluva fun ride.

After spending about 8 weeks with the Reference 9s playing music on the Barn’s A-Side, I will tell you up front, it was one helluva fun ride.

The new Qln Reference 9 are the company’s “statement level speaker”, a 3-way design that incorporates a new proprietary 7” Kevlar midrange and 9” woofer with a coated thin Carbon sandwich cone that join a 25mm soft dome tweeter, a further refinement of the tweeter found on the QLN Signature Stand Mounts.

The slanted front baffle is so raked to provide “perfect time alignment between the drivers with a focus on correct phase behavior.” A single pair of WBT Nextgen binding posts await around back along with the rear-firing port. The cabinets attach to solid aluminum bars that sit on Qln’s footers to stabilize their 145 lb. heft.

The company specs the Qln Reference 9’s sensitivity at 91dB (SPL 2,83V 1m, 100-10kHz), with a 4 Ohm impedance and low frequency performance reaching down to 25Hz (-3dB). The Ref 9s are designed and manufactured in Gothenburg, Sweden, which is where the company was founded in 1977 by Nils Liljeroth and Lars Quicklund, while Mats Andersen, the Ref 9’s designer, joined the company in 1982.

To my eyes and taste, the Ref 9s are an elegant looking speaker without shouting, which is my favorite kind of design as I find shouty design, HEY LOOK AT ME!, annoying real fast. These Qln’s are also manufactured to a very high standard, as were the Prestige Five and every other pair of Qln speakers I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing first hand at shows. And let me sneak this in here—in the grand scheme of hifi things with all things considered, looks + performance, the Qln Reference 9 strike me as offering a lot of refined pleasure for the buck. While it does no one any favors to talk about value when talking about pleasure, heck some people just don’t enjoy experiencing joy so why pay for it, you can certainly spend more than the cost of the Ref 9s and get less.

Here’s a quote about the Ref 9s taken from the Qln website that’s worth sharing:

We at Qln prioritize designing speakers that faithfully reproduce the human voice and natural instruments. It is the balance between driver size, cone material and cone weight that determines how a speaker will sound and perform. The integration between all parts in a speaker is to us the most important thing in music reproduction. We don’t want to listen to any aspect of the speaker, we just want to listen to music and come as close to the original recording as we can. The Reference 9 embodies these principles better than any speaker we have ever made.

While it’s been over 2 years since the Qln Prestige Five left the Barn, I have no doubt that the Ref 9s are a better speaker.

During much of their Barn stay, the Ref 9s were driven by the recently reviewed, and well loved, Vinnie Rossi BRAMA Integrated Amplifier (review) while the review Octave Audio V 70 Class A Integrated Amplifier (more info) also took a well deserved turn. The Barn resident Grimm MU1 (review)/totaldac d1-unity w/Live Clocking Option (review) handling the bits but I also sent pure analog their way in the form of records spun on my Michell Gyro SE/Sorane SA1.2/EMT HDS 006 front end with the Aurorasound VIDA MK.II Phono Stage in play. Cabling was all AudioQuest and consisted of Firebird and Thunderbird interconnects, ThunderBird Zero speaker cables, and Thunder High-Current AC power cables. Hiding in plain site is my custom, by me and Box Furniture, Fallen A rack (see full Barn and system details).

Have you ever tuned a guitar by ear or sung along with a song? When you get it right, it’s obvious, as obvious as hitting a long ball with a bat as opposed to fouling one off or buying a pair of shoes that offer nothing but comfort as opposed to pain. Listening to music through the Qln Reference 9 sounded and more importantly always felt that kind of right.

Wild God is a big splash of a record with choruses rejoicing beginning just moments into the first track. Nearly cinematically.

Here’s one thing Nick Cave had to say about it:

Wild God… there’s no fucking around with this record. When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it.

Big records that are meant to hit and lift are better served by a hifi that can hit and lift in a big way, filling a room or Barn with inescapable energy, transforming listening into a kind of contact sport for the soul. In my experience, the better the quality of reproduction, the deeper and richer the experience and the Qln Reference 9s driven by the Vinnie Rossi BRAMA with the Grimm MU1/totaldac d1-unity turned the Barn into a resoundingly lovely and rich world for Cave & Co’s secular sermonizing. Every pair of Qln speakers I’ve heard offer some of the smoothest and perfectly saturated sound I’ve experienced but the Reference 9s add a refined richness, greater reach, and a more physically involving sound that acts like an open-armed invitation to losing one’s way in music.

And Wild God is a record you want to dive into all the way without any strings of past favorites, and for me Nick Cave offers a rich mine, attached. A kind of free floating engagement buoyed by some of the most engaging reproduction I’ve had the pleasure to live with in Barn, thanks in large part to the Qln Reference 9.

Romance from Fontaines D.C., the band’s fourth studio album released on 23 August 2024 on XL, is a big splash of a record, bigger and splashier than their previous records, all of which I loved. And I’m loving this new arena-sized Fontaines D.C. that sounds freer and musically richer, less raw than their previous work. Scale, some brute force, and the ability to remain calm and resolving through even the heaviest squalls are all required traits for the hifi in charge of delivering all of Romance’s largess and the Qln Reference 9s, now driven by the very capable Octave Audio V 70 Integrated Amplifier and its very hearty 50 Watts of output power (into 4 Ohms), projected a stadium-sized and highly refined sound image in Barn.

The Qln’s, whether driven by the Vinnie Rossi BRAMA or Octave V 70, offered full range sound with deep hefty well defined and formed bass and a kind of rich silkiness all the way up to the highest strings and things adding up to some of the most inviting sound I’ve had here in Barn. In these terms—a rich, rewarding, and inviting sound—the Qln Ref 9’s remind me of my beloved DeVore O/96, which is among the highest compliments I can give a pair of speakers.

Recorded live in Berlin in 1975, Terry Riley’s hypno-masterpiece Descending Moonshine Dervishes recently got the reissue treatment from Beacon Sound. And as they say in hifi reviews, I bought it (the LP). This recording captures Riley playing his just intoned tuned Yamaha YC 45D electric organ fed through delays over the course of nearly an hour and I am convinced that given our full attention for that span of time, our mind and body will offer nothing but thanks in return. This is hypnotic stuff, trance-inducing electronic ragas whose subtle shifts in tone, timing, and chord structure draw us in to the timeless space of Riley’s fervent, near fever-pitch, music rich mind. Here, you need a hifi that can reproduce the tiniest micro-shifts in terms of resolution, dynamics, tones, textures, and overtones, along with the bigger picture that moves along like swells in the deepest of deep seas. Once again the Qln proved to be more than ready for Terry Riley and every sound and movement, no matter how subtle, he coaxed from that Yamaha YC 45D, creating a rich cloud of sound that filled the space of the Barn with living energy.

While it’s coming up on a year since I reviewed the Rockport Atria II Loudspeakers (review), that at the time cost $38k/pair, I can still remember how “stunningly real” and “shockingly present” they sounded. Based on that recollection and a re-read of my review, I’d say the Rockport’s excel at lighting up reproduced music with a kind of kinetic full range energy that makes the Qln Ref 9s sound tilted more towards rich, warm, and inviting. These words are not meant to describe a binary choice, i.e. better or worse, rather they are intended to highlight differences in voicing that directly translate into our experience of music. Or to put it another way, listening to music on the hifi is not a sprint with a medal waiting for the winner across the finish line. I will also note that I reviewed the Rockport’s mainly using the Soulution 330 integrated amplifier (review) that is among the most refined and exciting amps I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with so its voice is also part of the equation. While I wish I had the Soulution 330 here to pair with the Qlns, reviewers, and this may come as a shock to some, do not get to keep everything we review.

Fritz Hauser’s Solodrumming is a Classic Album that belongs on every audiophile’s to-do list.

From the liner notes:

On the occasion of the exhibition “Idea, Process, Result” we have searched for the correlation between architecture and music. Throughout “Klangenthüllungen” (Sound Revelations), as we labeled the concerts, the participating musicians developed their performance in accordance with the spatial conditions. with its long reverberation [7 seconds], the glass-roofed court of the Gropiusbau is a subtle partner; delicate in its silence and powerfully surging when charged up rhythmically.

Fritz Hauser has, from my point of view, made the best use of its acoustical peculiarities in a most elemental way. The Sound Pictures of Fritz Hauser lead from the real, limited, architecture to the insubstantial, endless space of our imagination. The symbiosis of architecture and music, in times of unlimited acoustical-synthetical possibilities, is genuine. ~ Bernhard Strecker, Berlin July 1985

In addition to being a great record for testing a hifi’s merits, Solodrumming captures a true master at his craft, live with no electronics or overdubs which, if you give it a listen, seems impossible coming from one human. And if Solodrumming is a test, the Qln Reference 9’s passed with flying colors as they reproduced the cavernous space of the Gropiusbau and Hauser’s crazy super-human mastery of it and his kit playing together, turning time and space into shimmering, resounding timeless energy. When a system is capable of reproducing this music at this level, the experience is transformative in that it focuses one’s complete attention on the music, sounds, space, and time (and timing) to a smile-inducing, head-shaking, time-bending degree. Masterful.

There is no doubt that the Qln Reference 9s are among the most musically moving and sonically engaging speakers I’ve had the great pleasure of spending time with in Barn. In many ways including their rich, rewarding, and inviting sound combined with their refined quiet elegant appearance allow for complete and easy entry into deep communication with any music you ask them to play. To my mind and in my experience, the Qln Ref 9s are an end game speaker that requires but a one word directive—Yes.

Merason Reuss - Hans Beekhuyzen

Merason Reuss, Editor's Choice Award - the-ear.net

“The Reuss has the characteristic sound of Merason DACs, it is fast, agile and highly engaging. The tonal balance is very even handed and makes some other DACs sound a bit thick and blurred, but if you prefer a warmer, smoother sound then this might not be the converter for you. That said everything depends on the signal and the source providing it as well as the loudspeakers and amplification, the Reuss doesn’t have a thin balance but it doesn’t fudge the issue either, it tells it like it is. And it tells it in pretty compelling fashion.”

— Jason Kennedy

Full review can be found here

QLN Prestige 1 Review - AudioKey Reviews

This excellent and insightful review of the Prestige 1 begins on page 84.

AXPONA 2024 Recap - Best in Show!

“Now for my best of show award. To me, the competition wasn’t even close, although I readily admit to NOT getting to all the rooms. The best room I heard the entire weekend was by Mark Sossa at Well Pleased AV. Hands down.”

— Chris Connaker

Full report here

Photo courtesy of Stereophile

“This system had synergy and sweetness whether playing Mark’s favorite hip-hop from Gang Starr or my selections of contemporary tenor giant JD Allen or old school tenor swinger Illinois Jacquet. It played all types of music with sensuous appeal and fine ambient detail, with a dynamic range that took me by surprise on Jacquet’s high-flying saxophone shouts and the intricate orchestral shading of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, with exceptional depth, rhythmic speed, and texture.”

— Ken Micallef

Full report here

Photo courtesy of Twittering Machines

“Think liquid. This system was long on refinement, offering some of the sweetest sounds of music I experienced at Axpona 2024. Lovely, just lovely.”

— Michael Lavorgna

Full report here

Photo courtesy of Part-time Audiophile

“The Well Pleased Audio Vida brands, if you haven’t noticed yet, are always supremely synergistic.”

— Marc Phillips

Full report here

AXPONA 2024: Andrew Quint on Loudspeakers under $40,000 (Absolute Sound)

Qln Reference 9 ($42,000)

“Yes, I know it’s a little beyond my price category, but Jonathan didn’t get to hear it and I did. The Swedish manufacturer’s new flagship is a 3-way design with newly developed midrange and bass drivers, plus a textile-dome tweeter with a frequency response that’s said to be flat out past 30kHz. At the low end, the -3dB point is 25Hz and, on the basis of a quick listen, the Reference 9 seems ready to play with the big boys, in terms of dynamics, bass power, detail, and spatiality. The fact that it was driven by Vinnie Rossi’s Brama integrated didn’t hurt.”

Photo courtesy of Audiokey Reviews

“A track I know very well—“Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia)—and which served as my onsite comparator across AXPONA was distinguished further by this system. Wow! Historically, it has been difficult to get consistently good music, but here again in the WELL PLEASED room was beautiful music that had gravitas and weight, air and ambiance—dimensionality—and great clarity.”

— K.E. Heartsong

Full report here

New QLN Reference 9 Loudspeaker

Gothenburg, Sweden – April 8, 2024 – Qln is proud to announce the release of the highly anticipated Reference 9 loudspeaker. The new, state of the art 3-way designed Reference 9 will make its world debut at AXPONA 2024 in room 1428.   

Qln Reference 9
We at Qln prioritize designing speakers that faithfully reproduce the human voice and natural instruments. It is the balance between driver size, cone material and cone weight that determines how a speaker will sound and perform. The integration between all parts in a speaker is to us the most important thing in music reproduction. We don’t want to listen to any aspect of the speaker; we just want to listen to music and come as close to the original recording as we can. The Reference 9 embodies these principles better than any speaker we have ever made.

 Key features:

- 3-way bass reflex speaker with 6 dB crossover between midrange and tweeter.

- Cabinet made off 40mm Qboard®, sandwich design with visco elastic damping layer.

- Custom designed 9” coated, ultra-stiff carbon sandwich cone woofer.

- Proprietary 7” Kevlar cone midrange driver designed by Qln featuring hexagonal copper voice coils for increased dynamic performance.

- Custom designed 25mm tweeter featuring a unique air flow magnet system and new acoustic chamber design eliminating any compression, reflections, and resonances.

- Crossover with copper foil capacitor, low loss copper foil coils and non-inductive high-power resistors.

- Solid core internal cable with acoustic isolation material.

- Adjustable de-coupling footers made of a non-resonant polymer material.

• Sensitivity: 91 dB SPL 2,83V 1m, 100-10kHz

• Low frequency performance: -3dB 25Hz

• Impedance: 4 ohms

• Amplifier requirements: 50-300 Watt RMS

• Cabinet: 40mm Qboard® design

• Terminal: WBT Single wire

• Dimensions (HxWxD): 1050x300x650mm

• Weight: 65,0 kg each

• Standard finish: Walnut Matte, Rose Piano

 For more information, please visit www.qln.se or contact mark@qln.se

Merason DAC1 MKII Review - Twittering Machines

“The Merason DAC1 Mk II turned out to be the perfect kind of guest, taking part in making music that became conversations across time and place and people and me, never once breaking the magical spell that music can cast on the careful listener. To my mind, and in my experience, the Merason DAC1 Mk II is as agile a DAC as I’ve heard when it comes to serving up a well-balanced musically satisfying whole.”

— Michael Lavorgna

Find the full review here

Merason DAC1 MKII - Parttimeaudiophile

I have an ongoing dilemma with reviewing digital audio. I never seem to have all the pieces I need to test out DACs, streamers and servers. (Digital cables can occasionally be an issue as well.) Why? Because I still don’t own a DAC of my own. I just thought I’d review DACs until I felt I really needed one, and then I’d pull the trigger on something down the road. That’s why I had to beg Mark Sossa of Well Pleased Audio Vida to lend me the Merason DAC1 Mk II converter when I did.

This was a few months ago, when both the Antipodes Oladra music server and the Innuos Pulsar network streamer were lounging idly around the periphery of my listening room, waiting for their purposes to be fulfilled. Mark and I had been discussing a review of the Merason DAC1 Mk II for quite a while, and suddenly the Time Was Now. Fortunately, Mark was Johnny-on-the-Spot and had the Merason shipped to my house in just a couple of days. I don’t like starting off a review with a stodgy account of the beginning of the review process–“my editor called me and asked if I was interested, and I said yes!”–but my digital gear struggles highlight my need to choose a DAC and be done with it.

Words and Photos by Marc Phillips

The Merason DAC1 Mk II, however, was far more than just a quick solution to a sticky problem. I have a warm place in my heart for the Merason Frerot DAC I reviewed a couple of years ago–it was the first DAC that adhered to my Five Minute Rule, where I wanted to hear music no more than five minutes after plugging in the USB cable. (Or coax, or S/PDIF, or whatever else you got.) It was also the first DAC I reviewed that sounded truly nice to my ears, mostly because it lacked that “phase-y” quality I encountered early on with DACs and streaming.

You might recall that Dave McNair reviewed the Merason DAC1 shortly before that, and gave it his enthusiastic approval. So you might think that the Merason DAC1 Mk II is merely a new improved version of that DAC, but it’s a little different from that. It’s reflected in the increased cost–the Merason DAC1 was priced at $6,000 USD, while this Merason DAC1 Mk II costs $8,500. But the world of digital-to-analog converters is constantly moving forward at a quick pace, and a second version of a stellar product often says volumes about the original design, and not the latest improvements in tech.

Am I ready for an $8,500 DAC? I had the same hesitation while reviewing the $29,000 Antipodes Oladra music server, and I had to up my digital game and do a little research first. The Merason DAC1 Mk II however, was as simple and easy to use as any other DAC out there. In this case, it’s all about sound quality, and I’m all over that. When it comes to the DAC of my dreams, I don’t need endless features or connectivity options. I want it to be simple and I want it to sound great. I’ll pay handsomely for those qualities alone.

Inside the Merason DAC1 Mk II

For me, Merason is Daniel Frauchiger, the Founder and Managing Director of this Swiss company. I know Daniel–I usually meet up with him at High End in Munich. We’ve downed schweinshaxe together, along with some nice German beer. He seems quiet and serious, but he’s always up for some fun. And he makes great DACs.

The path he took was unique–he started in the ’90s as a mechanic but he was always fascinated with audio reproduction and the technologies behind it. Here’s the basic story, as told on the Merason website:

“Daniel turned to audio engineering because he didn’t understand why digital audio reproduction still couldn’t keep up with analog when it came to musicality and emotion. He set out to find someone who had designed a promising circuit for digital-to-analog conversion. Together they further developed the circuit until Daniel was satisfied with the result and could henceforth enjoy high-resolution digital music alongside vinyl and audio tape. Thus the first product from Purson, now Merason, – the DAC1 – was born.”

The Merason line of DACs starts with the affordable Frerot DAC, which can be matched to the pow1 external power supply–which I thought improved the sound quality across the board when I reviewed it. Recently, the Merason Reuss joined the line-up, placed in between the Frerot and the DAC-1. The Merason DAC1 Mk II is the current flagship, and it offers all the latest in terms of features and technology and, of course, digital thinking. For example, there are 12 power supplies in the DAC1 Mk II, with each of the two output channels using a separate linear supply with an oversized transformer.

Daniel explains the changes from the original to the Mk II:

“For some time now, I have been thinking about how the DAC1 could be further improved in the constant search for something even better. I knew that this would not be easy: our DAC1 had won several awards, the reviewers agreed that the DAC1’s sound was outstanding, and we received a lot of positive feedback from distributors, dealers and enthusiastic users.

“I saw potential on three levels where I wanted to start:

“The first concerned the layout and construction of the PCB. The PCB of the DAC1 was 2-layer, which meant that signals, power supply and earth had to share the space and preferably not get in each other’s way. A multi-layer structure would not only significantly increase the limited space, it would also make it possible to better shield the sensitive signals from interference and ensure the power supply with a much lower impedance. The argument against a multiple construction was that this would build up capacitance (hence the original 2-layer construction), which could have a negative effect on the sound. A test immediately showed that this fear proved to be unfounded.

“The second was the choice of components. Whereas in the previous DAC1 only THT components were used in the signal path, the test showed that surface-mounted components (SMD) produced a significant sound gain due to shorter contact paths and less metal mass. At the same time, the mica capacitors previously used for low-pass filtering were replaced by polystyrene capacitors, as it was found that these were superior to the mica capacitors in the new constellation.

“As a third measure, the way in which the power transistors were mounted and cooled was improved. An ingenious system with disk springs guarantees optimum contact pressure on the heat sinks at all times. In addition, by mounting one transistor on each side of the heat sink, a possible drifting apart of the temperatures could be further reduced, which further reduced the already low harmonic distortions.

“All in all, the three levels of measures result in a calmer sound. The sound stage has become even wider and deeper. The dynamics have increased; it seems as if the new DAC1 Mk II plays louder than its predecessor, although the levels have remained the same. At the same time, the resolution is even more detailed and the bass even more intense. The transparency has increased once again, and – assuming a high-quality playback system – the sound now floats completely detached in the room. In short: the new DAC1 Mk II now plays in a higher league.”

The Merason DAC1 Mk II employs two Burr Brown 1794A converter modules for starters, but Daniel adds his magic from there:

“For a 5 dB improvement in dynamic range, each channel has its own device. The analog current signal is elaborately converted into a voltage signal in a discrete setup, which is buffered in Class A technology and routed to the output. The DAC1 Mk II is fully balanced, i.e. a total of four independent channels are implemented from the two converter modules to the output.”

Input formats allowed include everything from 44.1 kHz@16 bit to 176.4 kHz@24 bit (USB) to
192 kHz@24 bit. Input connectivity options include one USB, one RCA, one Toslink and one AES input. (I used RCA as well as the Computer Audio Design USB II-R cable for USB.) The Merason DAC1 Mk II is also a Swiss product, which means that the fit and finish are stunning, and the innards are laid out in a very clean and neat fashion with the highest quality parts possible. Despite all that, the DAC1 Mk II weighs just 12 pounds, and is small enough to be placed comfortably on most equipment racks.

Set-Up

I auditioned the Merason DAC1 Mk II in a number of system configurations during its stay. I used it, of course, with my laptop as a server, streaming Qobuz–although I’ve decided to stop evaluating converters in such a limited manner during a review. (I’m beginning to think my laptop was the cause of all that “phasiness” I encountered early on, not the DAC.) The Antipodes Oladra music server and the Innuos Pulsar network streamer presented an incredibly stable digital platform for my audio systems, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that the Merason was an ideal tool for judging the sound quality of the other digital components in the chain.

The Merason DAC1 Mk II, quite frankly, is built for speed. By that, I mean it’s simple and streamlined in operation, and glorious when it comes to sound. That’s what I’m looking for in a converter, after all.

I was also able to use the Merason DAC1 Mk II for my new, sprawling headphone rig–it was a perfect match for the Innuos Pulsar network streamer in this configuration. (By perfect, I mean that the Innuos and the Merason combined to deliver some of the best sound quality I’ve heard while streaming.) This is the point, once again, where I start rhapsodizing about days passing by quickly, curled up on the sofa, engaged in one listening marathon after another.

Merason DAC1 Mk II Sound

So many manufacturers of DACs, streamers and servers talk of “analog sound” as an ultimate objective for digital playback, and I have to admit they have my attention when they make such claims. Indeed, my favorite DACs are the one that seem to diverge from the type of digital we’ve been experiencing with CD players all these years. While CD players have been called “analog-like” in the past, I believe newer digital technologies do a far better job of realizing that auditory illusion.

I’ll mention one of my favorite DACs for just a second–the Lab12 DAC1 Reference I nominated for 2023 Best Value and 2023 Product of the Year. (I know that some of you will immediately ask me which DAC I prefer, the Merason or the Lab12, as soon as this review goes live. Please don’t.) What the Lab12 DAC achieves is a tube-like sound from my digital formats, a warm and soft and seductive sound that’s similar to what the Lab12 Integre4 integrated amplifier brings to a hi-fi system, as well as the Lab12 Melto2 phono stage. It’s a “trademark” sound I love.

The Merason DAC1 Mk II is, after all, twice the price of the Lab12, so it doesn’t make sense to compare them directly. But the Lab12 gives me an analog sound that reminds me of classic turntables–Thorens and Garrard idler-drives, Linn Sondeks, EMT. (I dig each and every one of those designs, by the way so that’s a compliment.) The Merason DAC1 Mk II, however, reminds me of modern analog rigs that extract an incredible amount of information from the grooves in a far more neutral manner. The Merason doesn’t sound like “digital,” but it does push me down the road to analog sonic perfection where I’m hanging out with Kronos, Tech-DAS or Nagra ‘tables. I hear a poise in the Merason, a confidence that suggests you’re getting it all and it’s being delivered in an effortless manner and it sounds like music every step of the way.

What does that mean? First, the Merason had more detail, more dynamics, bigger imaging and soundstaging and low frequency performance that was far more solid and stable. The Lab12, on then other hand, is going to whisper in your ear and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. If my digital ambitions were more advanced, I could see owning both DACs–just like I can see the reason for owning two phono cartridges, or two loudspeakers with completely different design approaches.

Here’s the best part: while I sense that the Merason DAC1 Mk II is retrieving more musical information than I’ve heard from any DAC I’ve reviewed so far, there was never a moment where I thought that the sound was “digital.” To be honest, I avoid product reviews where I suspect that might be the outcome. If your gear lacks warmth and romance, you really don’t want me reviewing it. I’ll probably send it back to you.

The precision of the imaging on the Merason DAC1 Mk II, as well as the Big Sky Country soundstaging, was very effective at providing the space needed for a more relaxed and open presentation. (My favorite gear tends to emphasize size over intensity.) Good things happen when everything has space to move around, breath and flourish. Even with the headphone rig, I was surrounded by big open spaces.

Listening Sessions

I mentioned that the Merason DAC1 Mk II was matched with the Innuos Pulsar network streamer and the Antipodes Oladra music server for the bulk of its stay. For a few weeks, in other words, when all of the pieces were in place, I had a full-fledged audiophile sound system that possessed some of the same impressive qualities I hear in big systems at the high-end audio shows. When I first started playing around with DACs and streamers and servers, I always had that sense that I wasn’t doing everything I could to extract the best performance. I constantly imagined some digital audio guru walking into my listening room, making a few changes to the connections, and proclaiming, “There. Doesn’t that sound much better?”

Once I had the Innuos and the Antipodes and the Merason chugging along in unison, I felt like one of those gurus who sits in the corner of an exhibit room and runs flawless demos all day long with a smart phone. Once again, I’ll clearly state that the reason I was finally persuaded to join the world of digital streaming was to play DJ for myself, and to do it in a way that was spontaneous–I hear one song, and it reminds me of another, and another and then I realize I’m up several hours past my bedtime. Call me a workaholic.

The Merason DAC1 Mk II was a brilliant guide for my first encounter with Peter Gabriel’s i/0, his first album of new material in over twenty years. I hoped that i/o would benefit from the passage of time in the same way Tool’s Fear Inoculum did–namely, that a musical performer or group already known for lavish production would take modern recording technologies and deliver some true reference recordings for the first time. i/o is dense and ambitious–I expect no less from Gabriel, but I didn’t expect the multiple layers of my appreciation.

At 73 years old, Peter Gabriel hasn’t missed a beat. He’s still endlessly intelligent, imaginative, and joyfully/mysteriously global. I know, a mere DAC doesn’t create those kinds of impressions, the performance does, but Gabriel casts such a wide sonic net that the Merason’s sense of control and organization makes it easier to digest, arrange and fall in love with this complex music.

The Merason DAC-1 was also the converter I was using when I finally dug into the “Definitive Version” of New Order’s Low-Life. I love this album because it was one of three favorites released in the mid ’80s that consoled me when I moved from Southern California to Virginia after college and was instantly mired in musical culture shock. (The other two, by the way, were The Smith’s The Queen Is Dead and R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction.) In other words, this album always has deep meaning when I listen to it, and when I hear a remastered version that sounds this good I expect to feel emotional.

Let’s face it–like Peter Gabriel and Tool, New Order’s earlier output is more impressive for content than audiophile fireworks. This new version of Low-Life is so crystal clear, so deep and layered and quiet in its presentation, it gets about 50% closer to what it would sound like if it was recorded today and not 1985. The Merason had a hand in making me truly emotional about this experience, mostly because I was reminded of how Low-Life sounded when I was young and inexperienced (yet still enthusiastic) about being an audiophile. While I listened to this new edition, I remembered the time I invited one of my buddies over to hear “The Perfect Kiss” from Low-Life. I couldn’t explain why I loved that track so much because I was a classic rock kinda dude back then and I hated dance music. “There’s just something lurking underneath this music, something dark and fascinating,” I told him. “Blech,” he replied. “Turn it off. It’s disco.”

The point? When more of the music gets through, it gets you thinking about everything important. The Merason DAC-1 Mk. II did that time after time. This is the sort of device that forces you to re-evaluate all of your favorite and not-so-favorite music, unearthing more reasons to listen to just one more track before you go to bed.

Merason DAC-1 Mk.II Conclusions

After exploring the world of digital audio over the last couple of years–even more intensely through 2023 than I thought possible–I’ve developed some solid opinions when it comes to DACs. At a recent high-end audio show, I sat with a bunch of industry people (yes, we were smoking cigars) and someone in the group described converters as the digital equivalent of a phono cartridge. The DAC, like cartridges, adds most of the flavor when it comes to the sound of your rig. I had to agree with that assessment–I’ve found that DACs sound very different from one another. I’ll even go as far as saying that the DAC must be auditioned by its prospective owner before buying, because a digital rig needs to include a device that caters to your personal preferences.

I’ve run into a number of DACs that are ideal for my taste in high-end sound. Aside from the Merason Frerot, there’s the CEC DAC-1 I reviewed a couple of years ago–that was the first time I fell in love with a DAC purely based on sound quality. The Lab12 DAC I reviewed earlier this year was another stellar choice–the tubes really gave my digital rig an instantly “correct” tonality that satisfied my need for analog-like warmth. I was also mightily impressed with the inboard DAC in the Audio Note UK Cobra integrated, especially with its unsurprising synergy with the Audio Note UK CDT One transport.

Then there’s the Merason DAC-1 Mk.II. This is the DAC that has impressed me the most so far on the basis of sound–at least in my reference system. It’s not just about the warmth, it’s about the way it combines that analog-style tonality with loads of detail. I feel like I’m beating a dead horse when I say that lone combination of strengths is my ultimate goal in this hobby, but that’s what my favorite gear accomplishes with aplomb.

Add in ease-of-use and a no-nonsense user interface, and the ability of the Merason DAC1 Mk II to work seamlessly in a number of system configurations, and it becomes obvious that Merason, and Daniel Frauchiger, is at the forefront of digital audio in 2024. Highly recommended.

CAF 2023 Report - Twittering Machines

“Vinnie Rossi’s BRAMA Integrated amp lit up the Qln Signature speakers with glorious room-filling music that had not a hint of artifice while offering as much detail and rich resolution as your ears can handle. This is another system that took no effort, no adjustments, to connect to the music in play.”

— Michael Lavorgna

Merason DAC1 MKII review - Digital Inspiration!

“The DAC1 MkII is a more even handed and refined converter than its predecessor, you get all the magic of the music without a slightly edge of the seat experience because the new DAC1 is essentially more relaxed and background noise levels are lower. It is highly transparent and revealing while avoiding the spirit dulling neutrality found in other high end DACs, in other words it is alive to the vitality and spark of the music and delivers high resolution in a fluent and extremely engaging fashion. Truth be told I have made enquiries about purchasing a DAC1 MkII so that I can continue to enjoy it. Interestingly Merason have recently released the Reuss DAC at a lower price point and I might give that a spin before taking the plunge, if my patience holds up.”

— Jason Kennedy

Full review here

New Merason REUSS DAC

Swiss producer niedal audio lab announced today the launch of its long awaited Reuss DAC which will join Merason’s award winning converter line. CEO and brand owner Daniel Frauchiger states “I am excited about the Reuss. Our passion for music drives us each day and our new Reuss provides the purist musical quality and experience at an impressive price. A ‘must have’ for all Audiophiles”.

The new Reuss’ namesake is inspired by the famous river in Switzerland where it’s fluidity of sound merges with Merason’s DNA of “less is more” and where “the main focus is on music quality”. Following the successful DAC1 Mk II release, niedal audio lab has once again succeeded in producing a sonically outstanding digital-to-analog model at an affordable price. The Reuss’ clean and neutral timbres, rich and energetic sound, distinctively deep and wide stage with precise localization and defined bass are just some of its outstanding qualities. Available in black and silver, the Reuss has an elegant, sleek, and slim aluminum housing with a solid front panel grinded by hand.

Made in Switzerland at their manufacture in Burgdorf in accordance with strict quality processes and controls. SMD components are primarily used as in the Merason DAC1 Mk II. The printed circuit board responsible for conversion and buffering has a 6-layer construction to prevent interference from occurring in the first place.

All power elements are cooled directly via the chassis and thus remain thermally stable. Components have been meticulously selected based on their sound characteristics and measured performance with listening being the final arbiter. The proven BurrBrown PCM1794A, one per channel, is responsible for the conversion to achieve the highest dynamic range.

As with all Merason products, the circuit topology is symmetrical, i.e. there are a total of 4 independent channels. The individual power supplies have a linear structure, with three transformers responsible for supplying power to the analog and digital circuits.

The switching power supply, which is necessary for the standby mode, is completely deactivated during operation to eliminate possible interferences from the start. Available inputs are one SPDIF in RCA and in Toslink, one AES and one USB Audio Class 2.0. The dimensions are 454 x 275 x 50 mm³ and weighs 6 kg.

Price - $5,500

QLN Prestige 1 review - HiFi Club Korea

“Qln Prestige One. I would like to summarize that for the first time in a long time, a speaker with a wonderful tone that can properly express the full scale has appeared. Bookshelf speakers on the market tend to do quite well in the mid to high range, but there are many products on the market that are a bit unsatisfactory in the low range. I think that the prices of competitive products are a bit too much for convenience, but this product is the first product in a long time to come out in this price range that expresses the low-range scale so well that it can reproduce a fairly complete scale without any regrets. There is.

Basically, it can be said to be a speaker that has a rich, thick and attractive tone, and some say that it is a speaker that combines the strengths of Sonus Faber and Wilson Audio. It seems like he’s talking about Sonus Faber’s great tone and Wilson Audio’s resolution, but I personally think it’s an explanation I can sympathize with to some extent. Since the low-range reproduction ability is so excellent, I think it is a very suitable product for listening in a wide space with the volume turned up to a high level and the sound booming. In that respect, I think this product is an attractive product with unrivaled competitiveness.”

— Yeom Dong-hyeon

Full review here

QLN Prestige 1 - HiFi Plus review by Alan Sircom

Qln Prestige One stand‑mount loudspeaker

Qln is one of those slow-burn companies that make the audio world something wonderful. Based in Gothenburg in Sweden, the company has a small but perfectly formed range of loudspeakers. Perhaps the best-known model in the range is the evergreen Qln One, which first saw the light of day at a CES in 1981 and was re‑released by the brand 40 years later. However, the Prestige One design takes the design cues and development from that original loudspeaker and runs with it.

In fact, Qln has developed three very different models from that original loudspeaker; this Prestige model, the paper-coned entry-level Qln One and the upcoming ne plus ultra Signature.

Slanted and truncated

The Prestige One is a compact stand-mount monitor-style speaker not too dissimilar in aspect and configuration to the original Wilson Audio WATT, although comparisons fade on even the most surface comparison (the original WATT has an inverted metal dome tweeter and weighed almost twice as much as the Prestige One). The slanted baffle and truncated pyramid of the Qln Prestige One harks back to the company’s original design from the early 1980s, and like that early model, this cabinet shape helps time-align woofer and tweeter, keeps most extraneous baffle effects at bay and reduces internal standing waves, thanks to its non-parallel layout. The thanks for the absence of cabinet effects is not solely the result of a good cabinet design; the cabinet material itself contributes substantially. Unlike most ‘boxes’ at this level, the Qln Prestige One uses a simplified version of its 22mm Qboard design. This is made up of a viscoelastic layer sandwiched between two layers of high-density fibreboard. This scheme was first promoted by Qln’s Mats Andersen back in 1995 and, while constrained layer damping has slowly moved into some other cabinet designs, few have as much experience with the technology as Qln, and as a consequence few loudspeaker cabinets are as free from distortion as the Prestige One.

There is also a substantial rear port on the Qln Prestige One, but the loudspeaker has minimal port ‘chuffing’ and the internal faces of the 22mm Qboard cabinet are damped with organic wool. The concern with any large rear port is not simply ‘chuff-chuff’ sounds that sing along with bass notes; it’s that so many ports act like musical cornflour; they are a thickening agent to bolster up the sound of a smaller loudspeaker by exaggerating the upper bass. To Qln’s infinite credit, this has never been a function of its designs, and the Prestige One doesn’t suffer the tell-tale bass bloom; it uses the natural roll-off of cabinet and loudspeaker driver to deliver a good, honest bass instead of an artificially boosted one.

Speaking of drive units, the Prestige One sports a Scan Speak made, Qln selected 177mm Kevlar cone mid/bass design with a copper ring in the magnet system, and a 25mm soft, textile-dome tweeter also has a copper ring in its ‘Air Circ’ magnet system, has a large roll surround and a substantial rear chamber. The two drivers have been chosen not just because they integrate together well, but because both do what Qln considers to be ‘best of breed’ attributes for their respective tasks; the woofer is optimised to deliver low intermodulation distortion and max out midrange dynamics, while the tweeter is free from reflections and resonances that are magnified in a tweeter.

Integration between the two drivers is key and the crossover is hardwired with baked air coils (my favourite kind, especially those dusted in cinnamon before baking) and polypropylene capacitors. Internal attention to detail continues in the guise of Qln making its own solid-core internal wiring; none of which is externally visible, but comes to rest in a pair of high-grade WBT plugs. There are also a matching pair of stands that come pre-assembled and are about as near mandatory as it gets!

Manual mode

The manual for the Qln Prestige One is a fine one. It relies more on ‘tell’ than ‘show’ (there aren’t many diagrams), but is informative and clearly written. It gives good instructions on placement, stand-height and run-in that are eminently sensible and free from ‘first, peel your elf’ style magic fluff.

This also proved to be an extremely forgiving and pliant loudspeaker in terms of partnering electronics. Yes, of course the better the equipment, the better the performance, and it’s probably not the kind of loudspeaker that responds well to low-power single-ended triode designs (that Kevlar driver needs some solid-state damping factor if it is to play beyond whisper quiet levels) but is otherwise extremely electronics friendly.

The Qln Prestige Ones I received had already seen some miles on the clock, so I can’t speak to their manual-recommended 50 hours to sounding good and 200-300 hours to sounding great. They sounded great right out of the box. And ‘great’ in this context translates to ‘being extremely impressed by the precision and depth to the bass.’ The important word in that sentence was ‘precision’; the Prestige One has a tidy, ordered and precise bass. There is good depth (especially in a small room) that belies the claimed -3dB point at 42Hz, and I suspect this is due to a clean and fundamentally honest bass performance without any blooms, booms or thickening along the way. As something of a tribute to the sad passing of Maxi Jazz, I felt compelled to play ‘Insomnia’ by Faithless [Reverence, Cheeky] with that drop and Sister Bliss’ epic riff followed by some extremely deep dance beats. These bass notes can thunder and wobble where they should simply ‘boom’, and the Prestige One does ‘boom’ very well indeed. It also gets close to nailing the Trentemøller test [‘Chameleon’, The Last Resort, Poker Flat], which has successive deep, almost square-wave notes that choke up any port. The Qln Prestige One falls into that rare group of ported speakers where the degree of congestion is extremely low. All signs of an extremely well-engineered loudspeaker.

The fun doesn’t stop with the bass notes, and is not limited to electronica. As you move up the frequency range, the same precision and control apply and it’s here I have to be mindful not to damn the product with faint praise. Precision and control could be read as euphemisms for an undynamic or boring sound and it’s absolutely neither of those things. In fact, if anything, the Prestige One is one of the most dynamic-sounding stand-mounts in its class. It’s an exciting performer too. However, that precision and control means it’s only exciting when the music is exciting, and its as dynamic as the music you play through the speaker. This is a good thing, as loudspeakers are often either easily impressed by music (and therefore prone to over-exuberance) or dour and over-damped. The Qln Prestige One is one of the few that sits squarely in the middle; letting the music flow without constraint or adding its own fingerprint. This is the easiest part to hear in the Qln’s performance because so many recordings occupy this midrange; Bob Dylan’s voice, for example, springs out against the rest of the band on ‘Hurricane’ [Desire, CBS]. It’s always distinct and as articulate as Dylan’s nasal vocal gets, but here it occupies the song, making the intensity of the lyrics all the more poignant.

Dylan’s voice does highlight perhaps the only mild shortcoming of the Prestige One; the upper end of his adenoidal voice can get a bit too nasal at times. Not ‘strident’ or even ‘hot’… but maybe ‘warmer’. However, that aside, what applies at the lows and mids, also applies to the treble, which is effortless and never peaky, whatever the music played. And the whole package creates an extremely good soundstage too. But, I think what really shines with the Prestige Ones is that ‘whole package’ part; a reviewer’s job is to tease apart the performance of a product, and that is something the Qln Prestige One singularly fails to allow; you are listening to coherent, cogent music at all times, and while a reviewer needs to be drawn into discussions about aspects of the loudspeaker’s performance, the whole really is so much more than the sum of the parts.

Top performer

Given Qln’s heritage, I was expecting something good, and I wasn’t disappointed. However, I wasn’t expecting something this good. The top-end two-way stand-mount world is a heavily contended one, with players big and small wanting to make everything from an upscale book-shelf model to a full-blown studio monitor. As such, it’s difficult for any loudspeaker to carve its own niche. But, I don’t think Qln has that problem; the sound is so intrinsically ‘right’ and ‘enjoyable’ and that holds whatever music you play through the Prestige One. Put simply, if you like music, you’ll love the Qln Prestige One!

Technical specifications

• Type two-way full-range rear-ported stand-mount loudspeaker

• Drivers 25mm wide surround, AirCirc magnet, soft dome tweeter; 177mm Kevlar cone woofer

• Sensitivity 87 dB SPL 1 Watt 1m, 100–10kHz

• Low frequency performance -3dB at 42Hz

• Impedance 8 ohms

• Amplifier requirements 25–250 Watt RMS

• Standard finishes Walnut Piano, Walnut Matte, White matte

• Dimensions (H×W×D) 390 × 265 × 372mm

• Weight 14 kg each

Merason DAC1 MKII review - HIFI-IFAS.DE

By a happy coincidence, Daniel Frauchiger was introduced to us in 2018, who with his company niedal audio lab had invented a digital/analogue converter under the brand name PURSON and brought it to the market for music lovers. We hi-fi IFAs seized the opportunity and were the first magazine to take a close look at the wonderfully musical high-end converter DAC1 – as its catchy name goes – and immediately took it to our hearts. It was nice to see that we were not alone in our assessment.

For the nationwide market launch in 2019, niedal changed the brand name to MERASON, and in 2022 the housing was revised with a facelift. At the beginning of 2023, the ambitious Swiss also added technology and presented the MERASON DAC1 Mk II in almost the same guise, but with a technically careful revision, for which Daniel took a year and a half. The adjustment of the price to around 8,000 euros was significantly different from the around 5,000 euros of the predecessor. We are all the more excited about the impressions of the latest work from the high-end manufacturer from the Bern region in our listening room and are taking a close look at the high-end Mark Two for you.

For the listening impression at home, the Rhinelanders also offer such test packages on their website for prospective buyers. So I can feel like a customer who takes the carefully packed DAC1 Mk II out of the transport box, makes initial contact and sets up the silver-colored device. The facelifted MERASON DAC1 of the first generation is already waiting in my hi-fi rack – also in silver. As expected, the two are like twins, because last year, as I already mentioned, MERASON introduced a new housing for the first generation DAC1, which is significantly more stable than that of the original version, that we tested in 2018. In this context, MERASON replaced the ventilation grilles with ventilation holes in the stiffer sheet metal. In addition, the front panels, which were made of extravagant white and black Plexiglas in the first edition, are now available in classic, chic, brushed aluminum in the colors silver, black and cider. The color of the front is also continued on the case.

At the High End 2023 in Munich, I asked Daniel why he hadn't changed the design of the cover of the successor model - like many competitors do. You can hardly tell the difference. His answer: "Why? The buttons are now silver and made of solid aluminum and no longer made of plexiglass.” Oh right. This is a bit reminiscent of the calm facelift strategy that watch fans of a certain Swiss watch brand appreciateOnly the Swiss with their special understatement can make a successor model with an additional price of around 50% visible on the market with only two silver buttons. Anyone who knows Daniel Frauchiger is not surprised. In his pragmatic way, he wants to convince the music lover with the core competence of a hi-fi device: the sound and not with any kind of chichi. Completely without vanities. And clean workmanship is a matter of honor, as with the predecessor, despite all objectivity.

The interested MERASON fan may now ask himself: What actually happens with the gap of around six and a half thousand euros between the entry-level model Frérot , which can be upgraded with the power supply unit pow1 , and the top model DAC1 Mk II? During the conversation, Daniel told me that he had another arrow in his quiver. Code name: Reuss . This digital/analogue converter will probably close the gap in the middle this year.

But this is about the DAC1 Mk II. In the listening room, I stack the two Swiss DACs and plug the cables. This is easy to do as the connector panel is practically identical. I digitally connect the NuPrime Stream9 via cinch via the MUTEC MC3+ USB Reclocker and MUTEC cable and via USB the LUMIN U1 mini via the innuos PhoenixUSB Reclocker via Boaacoustic Silver Digital Xeno USB cable – you want to be able to choose . The source for both players is the Internet or the innuos ZENith mk3 music server. Since all the cables from the predecessor below, including the power and analog XLR cable to the preamplifier, were already on the device, the DAC1 Mk II was, to my delight, ready to play about five minutes after opening the plastic box of the test package. It starts when you press the cylindrical, hard-separating power button - which is practical because you don't have to reach behind the device to save power.

The MERASON DAC1 Mk II also has a USB-B, a coaxial cinch, an optical TOSLINK and an AES/EBU digital input, which are switched through via a button (SELECT) on the front. Six green LEDs on the front indicate the status: four alternately the selected input, one an active, connected device (LINK) and another an active USB port (SENSE).

The USB input is based on Amanero technology, two precise oscillators in this setup should receive and pass on a music signal with little jitter. This is supported by capacitively working isolator modules, which ensure galvanic isolation. At the other inputs, the incoming signals are electrically isolated and jitter is suppressed by means of transformers. The aim of this is to keep external interference away from the sensitive signal.

As in the predecessor, the digital-to-analog conversion of the signal is carried out using two Burr Brown 1794A converter modules, each with two DAC channels. Using a separate chip for each channel increases the dynamic range by 5 dB. The 1794A is a proven converter chip that has been on the market for some time. He specializes in PCM and converts it up to 192kHz and 24bit. For comparison: Modern chips support PCM up to 384kHz and 32bit and also offer DSD and MQA conversion. The owner of the MERASON has to do without that. Why? Because the 1794A, Daniel Frauchiger is convinced, simply sounds wonderful and the digital playback for the vast majority of music fans takes place in exactly the bandwidth up to 192kHz/24bit. The widespread CD format is known to be 44, 1kHz and 16bit and many professional devices, for example, process digital signals internally at 96kHz. The question of the technical necessity of certain formats has to be answered by each prospective customer himself and is one thing, the other is the resulting sound, which cannot be measured in kilohertz and bits.

In every D/A converter - just like the conversion itself - the careful processing of the analog output signal after the chips is of fundamental importance. In the DAC1 Mk II, the resulting analog current signal is converted into a voltage signal in a discrete structure. Class A technology is used to buffer it before it is sent to the device output. The structure is fully symmetrical, so that in the case of a stereo signal, four independent channels (right and left each normal and inverted) are routed from the two converter modules to the output.

Each functional unit has its own power supply, of which there are twelve in all. The focus is on the two output channels, each of which is powered by a separate linear supply with an oversized transformer. When developing the Mk II, Daniel Frauchiger not only relied on electrotechnical theory, but also on extensive and intensive sessions with experienced listeners. All components and circuit variants as well as different layouts were thoroughly examined with regard to their influence on the sound. Capacitors, voltage regulators, converter components, transistors, resistors, signal processing, I/V converters and output stages are representative.

When it comes to manufacturing his treasure, Daniel relies on "Made in Switzerland". The housing, the front panel and control buttons as well as the printing, component assembly, assembly, commissioning and control are carried out exclusively in Switzerland.

So much for the theory, which can also be read on the manufacturer's website. During the conversation, Daniel told me his motivation for developing the Mk II and I got the obvious answer that he simply wanted to make the DAC1, which he put a lot of heart and soul into, even better. The project took about a year and a half.

Daniel summarizes the main modifications of the Mk II as follows. Modified are the significantly more complex and expensive main print with six instead of two layers, a thoroughly revised layout and, above all, the routing has been changed to minimize signal paths. In the Mk II, more and more SMD components are used because, according to MERASON's experience, they ensure a better sound in this constellation. With the new layout comes the use of polystyrene capacitors for the low-pass filter. The power transistors are mounted in pairs on the heat sinks with disc springs, which guarantee a clearly defined contact pressure. All this is accompanied by many detailed improvements that have found their way into the Mk II with a lot of time and patience.

Technical data

• Digital inputs (one each):
  USB-B, Cinch (unbalanced), Toslink (optical) and AES/EBU (balanced)

• Outputs: 1 pair of RCA (unbalanced), 1 pair of XLR (balanced)

• Output voltage: max. 1.5 V RMS (unbalanced), max. 3 V RMS (balanced)

• Construction output: discrete structure

• Frequency: 20Hz to 20kHz +/- 0.3dB

• Crest Factor/Distortion Factor (THD+N): < 0.006%

• Signal to noise ratio (SNR): > 120 dB

• DAC: two BurrBrown 1794A, discrete I/V stage

• Power supply: 230V AC/50 to 60 Hz, 30 W

Audio formats

• 44.1kHz@16bit / 24bit

• 48kHz@16bit / 24bit

• 88.2kHz@24bit

• 96kHz@24bit

• 176.4kHz@24bit (USB)

• 192kHz@24bit

sound

To start the listening session, I go back to the very first track that I heard after unpacking and connecting the MERASON DAC1 Mk II. The spontaneous first impression emphatically burned itself into my mind. On a whim I chose the Red Hot Chili Peppers with their recent album Return Of The Dream Canteen out of. With a tap of your finger in the NuPrime app, the RHCP can get off to a flying start with “Tippa My Tongue”. The drum roll at the beginning appears, accompanied by the funky bass, well dosed on the loudspeaker stage. The little witty but not surprising "ya-ya-ya-yaya" of the choral voices enters there - and then the electric bass kicks off really crisply. The impulsiveness that the DAC1 Mk II gives to this passage grabs me. It's clear to me that the piece is hearty, but here the Swiss DAC gives the piece a special touch.

This continues in title 2 "Peace And Love" almost even more impressively. The bass drum hits as hard as it can - but not just fat, but the Mark Two gives the impression of the skin stretched over the shell, which is being worked on by the drumstick of the foot pedal. The whole thing appears between the speakers in a plausible size. Then again the funky bass. Wow. I have the feeling that the electronics are getting the best out of the Diapason Adamantes V. Although the rhythm section already dynamically challenges the speaker, the voice of frontman Anthony Kiedis sounds just as natural and full of character as it does live on stage.

This becomes even clearer with the follow-up title “Reach Out”, which starts more calmly and illuminates the voice even better. The pronunciation of the words is wonderfully traced, with the singer seeming to lisp the "s" slightly. The Mk II reproduces this in a completely calm manner without overemphasizing it. After the recitative it starts. Anthony Kiedis shouts out what he has to say or sing, the guitars scream, the shooting gallery fires whatever they can and the stage seems to descend into chaos. The MERASON DAC1 Mk II doesn't mind the boys - okay, they're also around sixty now - and sorts it all out with great composure. The image remains stable and stretches seamlessly between and around the loudspeakers. And, very important, all this happens without annoying tonal inconsistencies. great too, how the D/A converter brings out the funky guitar in "Fake As Fu@k" or "Bella", transfers the power of the drums and puts the voice in the center of the action. Rarely heard a studio recording that sounds so vital and live. RHCP at its best.

And while we're on the subject of live, stylistically I make a clear shift to Kari Bremnes' phenomenal concert album Reise. A personal experience still impresses me when I was allowed to sit in the third row directly in front of Helge Norbakken's drum set and watch him work. Therefore, my favorite track on this album is “Sovngjengersken” (Sleepwalker), which features a brilliant solo from the drummer. The song starts again with a stage that stretches far in front of me and in which the charismatic voice of Kari Bremnes, which always seems a bit lost, is wonderfully embedded. And then the Norwegian drummer, who until then had been doing his duty in the musical scene, really took off. bam! As if he would push his implement a meter towards me and fill the room. He bangs his drums like there's no tomorrow.

As with RHCP, all of this acquires a power that does not displace the objectivity of the instrument. The MERASON DAC1 Mk II finely works out the body of the large drums, the ringing of the skin, reproduces the smaller, hard-tensioned drums impulsively in attack and tightly in the decay, giving the impression that drumsticks are at work here. All of this is mixed with the wonderful sense of rhythm and tension in the music, which is made by a human and not created in a computer. You can also hear Helge Norbakken's hissing, which probably substitutes for the hihats in the rhythm section. The man only has two hands and two feet. I feel like I was in row three again.

The following “A Riddle Beside Another Riddle” is quieter. Here comes the hour of the singer from Lofoten again. The stage belongs to her voice, to which the mk2 sensitively mixes Bengt E. Hanssen's singing in the chorus, which is easily differentiated. Before my eyes and ears there is a correct balance between the electric piano - the Mark Two leaves no doubt that it is one -, the drums and the vocals stepping half a step forward. Just like the overall musical events take place confidently in a nice width, height and depth in the loudspeaker level. So it neither imposes itself nor withdraws shamefully. This is also the case with the more dramatic "Skriek", which is inspired by Edvard Munch's painting. The song is already very demanding at its climax with the distorted guitar, but is repeatedly contrasted by the forgiving voice of Kari Bremne and then erupts in the brilliant finale. The MERASON DAC1 Mk II does its part with a steady hand.

A quick jump to Tori Amos' album The Beekeeper shows with the first track "Parasol" that the DAC1 Mk II has not bought the gain in dynamics, which can be easily understood in the bass, with a loss in musicality. The album is quite voluminous, but the D/A converter transports a lot of charm through the singing of the American singer-songwriter. Great is “The Power Of Orange Knickers” which features Damien Rice as a duet. I think I see both of them standing at a microphone in front of me. "Winter" from the album Tales Of A Librarian can also be experienced in a new way, which reveals new facets. "When you're gonna make up your mind, when you're gonna love you as much as I do. When you're gonna make up your mind, 'cause things are gonna change so almost...'. Tori Amos doesn't just sing these lines, he celebrates them. Even if the recording is certainly not the best, the intense performance touches the listener.

Actually, everything has already been said that, in my opinion, makes the MERASON DAC1 Mk II stand out and that can be applied to practically any genre of music. The dynamics in the fine and in the rough, when it matters; the gripping and at the same time the feeling for musical flow - mixed with an authentic spatial representation. At the end I would like to understand all this again in a smaller cast. My choice falls on the Lisa Bassenge Trio from Berlin, on my favorite album Three from 2004, which has accompanied me through half my hi-fi life. I find the cover alone incredibly likeable.

The Swiss high-end D/A converter cleverly manages to put a bracket around the three protagonists - vocals, piano and double bass - and the guest musicians on the Berlin's third longplayer, but at the same time leaves everyone enough freedom to listen to the easily share the stage. This atmosphere forms a good basis for the youthful, self-confident voice of the then 30-year-old Lisa Bassenge. The Mk II gives her a pleasing presence and positioning. The opening track "I got you" is a good starting point, as it is a surprising reinterpretation of James Brown's catchy tune "I feel good". The singing of Lisa Bassenge of thoughtful sensuality, accompanied by the gnarly double bass, whose strings like to hit the fretboard and the casually accompanying piano, livens up the Mk II atmospherically.

"Everything I Love" shines with a wonderfully casual brush on the drums and a pearly piano sound and catapults me to one of the capital's jazz clubs at once. But actually, I admit it, I only wanted to end the listening session with "We make music", which Lisa Bassenge recorded together with the unforgettable Ilse Werner. The old lady's singing is so touching, her whistling is so familiar – at least to those of us with experience of life – and Lisa Bassenge's voice is so refreshing that it's a joy. In addition, hardly any other title can describe the character of the MERASON DAC1 Mk II more aptly: it makes music.

Daniel Frauchiger has conscientiously further developed his highly acclaimed debut, the MERASON DAC1. Modest as he is, he added a simple Mk II to the name and only minimally revised the functional and chic case, as is otherwise known from the model update of Swiss luxury watches. But please don't let the looks fool you! With the DAC1 Mk II, which now costs around 8,000 euros, the music plays inside. A lot has happened there, which as a result makes the heart of the music fan beat faster. The high-end digital/analogue converter captivates the listener with impulsiveness and sensitivity at the same time from the very first beat. The dynamic and joy of playing takes the listener along without the musicality of the predecessor suffering - no, it is even more vitalized by it. He presents these character traits with an authentic three-dimensionality. The MERASON DAC1 Mk II, which specializes in PCM signals up to 192kHz/24bit, is musically worth every single cent, because it offers the finest enjoyment and creates an atmosphere at the fair of vanity that music lovers don't want to leave again enter it first. Equipped with these merits, it replaces its predecessor as a reference in the listening room.

Full review link can be found here

AXPONA 2023 Show Reports

Parttime Audiophile

Photo courtesy of Part Time Audiophile

“How did the Qln Prestige 3s perform with “Chocolate Chip Trip”? Actually, I totally dug it, so much so that I decided to create a new category in CCT testing, and the Qln Prestige 3s are currently the two-way Chocolate Chip Trip champions.”

Full report here

AUDIOBACON

Photo courtesy of Audiobacon

“I’ve got to admit, the high-end “value” contenders were tougher to find. But this room stood out as one of the top experiences for me. I’ve observed that whenever a Qln loudspeaker is part of the setup, I just can’t resist spending some extra time there. It’s no wonder that Well Pleased AV took home Best of Show at THE SHOW 2022 with their Qln bookshelf and Nagra electronics – this system was extraordinary.

As Victor Wooten’s “Miller Time” began, I was instantly struck by the exceptional musicality. The sound was rich, cohesive, and downright funky – I found myself nodding my head and tapping my feet, just jamming to the beat. Every instrument was a treat to listen to, from the bass and electric guitar to the keyboard and drums. The kicks had a authoritative and punchy quality, never overshadowing the other elements, while the string resonances were perfectly timed with just the right amount of decay in the room.

What truly brought the live performance to life were the authentic cheers and whistles from the audience, particularly at the track’s end. It felt like I was right there, immersed in the crowd and enjoying the show. Even the cymbals sparkled and shimmered, without ever interfering with the melody. I could effortlessly picture the musicians having a blast on stage, and I was captivated by the sound.

This system easily ranked among the most unforgettable experiences at the show, and I believe this track perfectly highlighted the magic of this setup. Major kudos to Mark Sossa for creating such a phenomenal room.”

Full report here

The Sound Advocate

“Well Pleased Audio/Vida’s room had my full heart at this demonstration! The QLN Prestige 3 speakers($12,000) filled the room with an outstanding soundstage and imaging quality way beyond their petite size. They had all the detail while remaining all day listenable and retaining the toe-tapping musicality. Powering the Prestige 3 was the Qualiton a75i integrated amplifier($9,250) giving the sound that all-so-familiar tube warmth but with the bass tightness and treble clarity of solid-state. Feeding the integrated amplifier was the Merason DAC1 MKII($8,000). This combination was touted by many knowledgeable people at the show as being one of the best displays overall if you are a music-first listener.”

Full report here