Unequivocal audio perfection? Close
We’re sure you’ve noticed b y this point, but we’ve gone a little audio loco this issue. Yes indeedy, including this sweet little number here—the DA-300USB—this issue alone will feature no fewer than 13 different acoustic reviews. So what is it that makes this little device so important? Well, in short, it’s all about completing the holy trinity of audio perfection. The Denon is a key ingredient, one that needs pouring into that mixture. In short, if you haven’t already digested our first feature this issue, it’s all well and good having hi-fi headphones, but if you’re not powering them through a solid and dependable amp and D/A converter, you may as well not bother. That said, the Denon DA-300USB is hardly cheap—at $500, you could easily buy an AMD R9 Nano for this kind of money. So the question has to be put: What exactly goes into building a DAC like this?
Well, first you start with the hardware. This little beauty features a total of seven separate PCBs, a high-resolution Texas Instruments PCM1795 digital-analog converter, and a grand total of nine isolator chips, ensuring as little noise as possible makes it between you and your audio. All of this comes together to ensure you net yourself a nice 112dB signal-to-noise ratio for squeaky clean listening. On top of that, the DA-300USB has a frequency response between 2Hz and 100kHz, can sample music up to 24-bit 192kHz, and can decode both 2.5MHz and 5.6MHz high-resolution DSD files.
As far as connectivity goes, this isn’t your standard go-to PC audio component. There’s a single 6.3mm headphone jack in the front (3.5mm adapter not included), two TOSLINK/SPDIF inputs in the rear, one coaxial input, one RCA analog-out, and—more importantly for us—one USBin (cable also not included).
It’s certainly enough to drool at. Denon has been manufacturing audio equipment in Japan for well over 100 years now, and it shows. Unlike the vast majority of options out there, the Denon DA-300USB is crisp and classy, with a small overall footprint. It can be mounted horizontally or vertically, with a low-noise OLED display reorienting depending on which way you position it.
But surely, all this is null and void, technojargon designed to lull the unsuspecting into purchasing this audio black hole? How does it actually sound? That depends on what you’re using to test it with. For our testing purposes, we used a combination of different headsets, ranging from $25 Sennheiser ear-buds, all the way up to $400 Oppo PM-3s. Overall, we found the soundscape was deep, crisp, and clear. Classical and epic scores benefitted most, not suffering from any muffling, thanks to overpowering bass vibrations. It was a joy to listen to. Punk, metal, and synthetic music (here’s looking at you, dubstep), on the other hand, took a minor step back. As these generally tend to be quite bassdependent, they weren’t as enjoyable here as on Creative’s Sound Blaster X7. That’s not to say it was a terrible experience, as the DA-300USB has a habit of erring on the side of tone as opposed to bass vibration. However, it was a similar story in gaming—the treble and mids were crisp, and the lower third was warm. Warm enough to enjoy, but if you’re looking to blow your eardrums up with those luscious ludicrous low-frequency explosive vibrations, you’re going to be a little disappointed, especially for this kind of money. Other downsides? The DA-300USB doesn’t come with a USB 2.0 cable as standard, and it doesn’t come with a 6.3mm-to-4.5mm adapter either.
The DA-300USB has a lot to say for itself—it’s a $500 music lover’s dream. If you’re into high-quality music and sound, the DA-300USB is the device for you. But if you’re more of a gamer, ready to spend a weekend fragging noobs listening to Deadmau5, you’re probably going to be better off with Creative’s X7 Sound Blaster instead. Zak Storey
SPECIFICATIONS
DAC Texas Instruments PCM1795
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 112dB
Headphone Amp 50mW, 32 Ohms
Connectivity 1x 6.3mm headphone jack; USB 2.0-in; TOSLINK/SPDIF-out; coaxial-out; RCA analog-out
Dimensions (WxHxD) 4.5x6.9x7.2 inches