Musical Fidelity M3x DAC digital audio processor
In line with what its award-winning M3 Series proposes, which has become one of the most seductive proposals of the moment in affordable High End, the renowned British firm Musical Fidelity has just launched a new addition to it: the digital audio processor (DAC) M3x DAC. High-level engineering meticulously elaborated constitutes the main letter of presentation of a product that offers an overflowing musicality to enthusiasts of modern digital sound.
Thus, in the new Musical Fidelity, we first find a D/A conversion circuitry complemented by an oversampling scheme based on the effective SRC4392 sample rate converter of the American Burr-Brown, a “chip” whose mission is to resync all signals PCM and “upscale” them to 24-bit/192kHz and send them to the PCM1795 (also from Burr-Brown), which can handle PCM encodings up to 24-bit/192kHz and DSD (native mode and via DoP) up to DSD256 (DSD files are not are resampled, playing in their original format). Regarding the analog output section of the M3x DAC, both the RCA and XLR sections include their own separator stage (“buffer”), using a circuit configuration that combines low noise, generous output voltage, and high capacity current delivery. In parallel, a high profit in the operating frequency range and a slew rate equally high make the distortion rate exceptionally low, ultimately making the sound presentation much more natural and believable.
A widely contrasted development of Musical Fidelity contributes substantially to what has been said: the toroidal power transformer “Super Silent,” whose low saturation core is ideal for general audio applications and virtually perfect for digital applications due to its extremely low electromagnetic radiation. The M3x DAC, which is Roon Tested pending, comes complete with printed circuit boards (PCB) specially adapted to the circuits they house, a 100% metallic mechanical construction (extruded aluminum on the front panel and thick steel on the chassis), to protect the entire assembly against external electromagnetic fields.
Technical characteristics
- High-performance digital audio processor (DAC).
- Executed with high-quality discrete components.
- “Super Silent” toroidal power transformer.
- Resampling of the incoming PCM signals.
- Compatible PCM up to 24-bit/192 kHz and DSD up to DSD256.
- Balanced and unbalanced analog outputs.
- Coaxial (2), optical (2), and USB (1) digital inputs.
- Roon Tested pending.
- Jitter level less than 48 picoseconds (peak-to-peak).
- Signal-to-noise ratio greater than 107 dB at 1kHz.
- The separation between channels greater than 115 dB at 10 kHz.
- Available in black and silver finish.
- Manufactured in the European Union.
- Dimensions: 440x100x385 mm (W x H x D).
- Weight: 6.8 kg.
