“After consulting my tarot cards to help determine when proper burn-in was achieved, I made sure all the cables in my system were directionally correct. That was followed by fine-tuning the system with various isolation pucks and power filter devices. Feeling like everything was now in order and it was a good ear day, I sat down to do some serious DAC listening. But first coffee. Always first with the oat milk latte.
Damn, there I go pulling your leg again. I didn’t do any of that. Except for the coffee.
Throughout several listening sessions in my home system, a clear picture emerged. I also took the Merason DAC-1 to my studio for a death match with a Prism Dream DA-1 to provide further intel, which I will reveal in a bit. Initially, I did a lot of comparing to other DACs. Later I simply listened to the DAC-1 on a wide variety of music. For me, the Merason DAC-1 was the clear winner.
Listening to music through the DAC-1 gave me a feeling similar to what I experienced when the most excellent Tidal Audio Prisma preamplifier was in my system. A feeling akin to putting on my favorite Brooks trainers for a leisurely walk through the park when the weather is perfect. The feeling when driving your car after getting it back from the shop after a full tune-up, or starting a craftsman project knowing you have ALL the tools necessary. There is zero to be concerned about so I can simply enjoy the victory of simply being with this activity.
For my ears – especially when listening to music in a digital format – this feeling is gold.
So what is it about the Merason DAC-1 that gives me the feels? The DAC-1 like other HiFi components that float my boat sits firmly in the Event Horizon zone of being extremely clean with non-detectable levels of coloration yet just a pinch of mojo. This mojo I refer to is in the form of a slight softness to the texture of the upper midrange. Let’s say the energy between 2 and 5k, that same area where our ears are most sensitive and in my case most easily fatigued by any excess of or distortion residing therein.
Music played through the Merason DAC-1 doesn’t sound subdued or dynamically mellow. But compared to some other DACs I have on hand, it’s the slightest bit relaxed. This incredibly small amount of smoothness is what I need when listening to a digital source, to be able to unconsciously forgive and absolve the music for being born in digital form. “Calm down, everything is gonna be ok little PCM file. It’s not your fault. We can hang out now since I got this attractive Swiss box for you to use. Those big arrogant discs with grooves won’t ever bother you again, I’ve made sure of that. Those bitchez can’t even.”
As nice as that relaxed nature is, my ear wants plenty of detail, gobs of layering, nuanced dynamic contrasts, slammin’ bass, and to have the DAC make me a sandwich at the end of a listening session. Is that too much to ask?
Compared to my other DACs the Merason DAC-1 had as much and in some cases more detail while retaining it’s wonderfully seductive relaxed listenability. Hey, wait a second. Didn’t I say the same thing about the infinitely charming BorderPatrol SE-1 DAC? Yes, I did.
The difference here is that the Merason has a similar easy-on-the-ear factor that I love about the BorderPatrol DAC, but the Merason is just that much cleaner. It has more detail, a wider and deeper soundstage, and a deeper and punchier low end. The low end is large AND tight. Complexity with no messiness. It’s also noticeably less thick in the midrange than the BorderPatrol. The BorderPatrol has just a bit more of a nose in the mids. I kinda like that but after comparing it to the Merason’s midrange portrait, it was a bit distracting. But there’s a huge difference in price here.
A/Bing against my Berkeley Audio Design Alpha II, Prism Sound Dream DA-2, Forssell MADA-2, and the DAC built into the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell preamp, I found that other differences emerged.
I’m not going to go down the list and pick apart everything that I heard, however I will declare the Prism DA-2 to be the only one that felt more accurate than the Merason DAC-1. In head to head, level-matched tests I set up in my mastering studio, the Prism had an uncanny resemblance to the sound of the Merason, except without the slight smoothing effect in the upper mids. The Prism was more present in this part of the spectrum, yet without any unwanted edge.
The test also pointed out that the output level of the Merason using the balanced outs is only three volts, which is a bit low for pro audio nominal output level. This translates to 6db lower than the Prism, which I have at -18 dbfs for the DAC/ADC roundtrip through the analog playground. Just to clarify, the 3-volt analog output of the Merason balanced outs (which on a lot of gear is usually in the range of 6db hotter than the RCA outs) is on the low side but still has PLENTY of juice for any home hi-fi setup, just less than optimum in a studio situation.
During focused listening while switching DACs, I could always pick out the Merason DAC-1 with its pleasingly fleshed-out midrange and plenty of smooth-sounding detail in the upper frequencies, all without the fairy dust on top or an extra helping of image width that some of the other DACs exhibited. This was most noticeable when comparing the DAC-1 to the Berkeley Alpha II. The Alpha II is a long time favorite of mine for its sound and features. Many folks love the sense of detail and spaciousness to the soundstage, but for me, the Merason DAC-1 communicates more of a holistic vibe as opposed to shining a bright light on every little textural element of a mix like I hear with the Alpha II. I routinely felt a sort of relaxed attention when listening with the DAC-1, a certain feeling of rightness that let me focus on the music.”
You can find the full review here