DCS Delius DAC Reviewed DCS
- By: Ken Kessler
- - Reviewer's System
- Category:
- Audio Reviews, Source Component Reviews (Classic)
- Resources & Links:
- Source Components ,
- View Ken Kessler's Reviews
- January 11, 2009
More than a few learned colleagues regard dCS converters as the finest digital processors money can buy. Sensitivity to this fact, though, shouldn't impress the observer: every brand, however awful, has a fan base, if only the designer's Mom and Dad. dCS, though, managed to acquire King Of The Hill status while being both embarrassingly low-key
Like the Elgar which set everyone into worship mode, the new - and far less expensive at £5000 - Delius is a 24/192 D/A converter with clean, clutter-free, slope-free styling to match the Purcell Digital Upsampler recently reviewed by MC. (Elgar, Delius, Purcell - surely the next dCS triumph must be named Lennon?) Its 460x405x65mm (WDH) case features a mix of satin and matte finishes, with a black glass top plate. dCS struck a nice compromise between the grim utilitarianism of studio gear and the frippery of fashion-dictated audio styling, the centre panel and lucid display given prominence by being a taller, separate housing. The four tiny buttons - power, input select, mute, and function select - have a luxurious feel and short travel, while the back is filled with pro-grade connectors. It's an ideal duality if you crave a balance between domestic ergonomic and aesthetic acceptability
A fully-loaded, obsolescence-defying converter, Delius is also a proper digital pre-amplifier by virtual of six inputs and digital volume and balance controls; keep this in mind when judging its price, because it
Delius' heart is the discrete, proprietary dCS Ring DAC, a version of the DAC seen in the Elgar, with 5-bit/64 times oversampling architecture that 'avoids the limitations inherent in the conventional one bit and multibit off-the-shelf converter ICs that are the basis of most other D/A converters.' It boasts greater linearity than conventional DACs and a resistance to degradation over time or due to temperature variations. Its sample rates are 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192kS/s, with 24 bit resolution, and the device benefits from software and hardware upgrades (from a PC, via rear-panel ingress). Amusingly, it's a development of A/D converters they produced for airborne radar, where the A/D can be a major limiting factor in the overall performance of the radar. I loved this bit, regarding dCS' non-hi-fi pursuits: 'Only the best will do. Anything less and you risk being blown out of the sky.' As opposed to merely being blown away.
Blessedly, and to allow space in this two-page allocation for other than a mere litany of operational specifics, the unit comes with 60pp owner's manual and a laminated flow-chart similar to the ones found with the more complex A/V processors on the market. And you
In terms of 'customisability', this thing seems limitless. The function menu, either through the front panel buttons or via remote, allows you to tamper with more than any tweaker has a right to expect. Four selectable reconstruction filters are available for each sample rate, affecting the frequency response in the ultra-sonic region above 20kHz. Juggling the gains, you can enjoy an improvement in stereo imaging 'at the expense of a slight increase in aliasing', the latter manifested by a not-entirely-unpleasant increase in brightness in the sound.
Delius can mute and 'unmute' instantaneously or gradually. As dCS points out, when justifying what might seem about as necessary as an electric carving knife, that 'Ramping the volume is generally more pleasant to the ear, but in some cases an instantaneous mute may be preferable, for example when carrying out listening tests where the ramping volume levels could be distracting.' Ditto for the display brightness control, which allows the display to match the ambient light level in your listening room or to switch it off completely. For year, purists have argued that display illumination affects the sound, while those more concerned with merely aesthetic considerations might simply prefer not to have a bunch of numbers glowing during a listening session because it's distracting. Either way, the choice is yours.
dCS believes that the quality of the Phase Locked Loop (PLL) Bandwidth has a major influence on the overall performance of a D/A converter. To ensure that the high accuracy of the dCS Ring DAC is not compromised, dCS designed a discrete PLL and clock recovery circuit with two selectable settings: 'Narrow' sets the PLL turnover frequency to an extremely low value to ensure excellent jitter rejection, optimising performance with high quality sources. The 'Wide' setting provides a higher PLL turnover frequency, for 'the playback of high jitter sources that might otherwise be unusable'.
When the Delius is switched off, all settings, including volume, balance, digital filter, mute speed, display brightness and others are saved in non-volatile memory and are restored at switch-on. Also at switch-on, a rigorous self test on its digital processing is performed automatically; it also continually analyses the input signal and flags errors if they occur for easier trouble-shooting. The Delius has four de-emphasis settings, the unit de-emphasises according to codes in the input data. Also available are manual selection of 50/15µs, which was used on some early CDs, CCITT J17, which is a broadcast radio standard, and the option of no de-emphasis regardless of codes in the input data.
DCS feels that the first two modes hold special interest for audiophiles, as they enable the Delius to deal with any CD, whether or not it was recorded with pre-emphasis and whether or not the emphasis identification flags in the data stream were correctly set when the CD was mastered. Because the de-emphasis is performed digitally, the filter curves are extremely accurate. Furthermore, digital de-emphasis filters ensure that it will be easy to update the Delius to accommodate any new digital standards which might require de-emphasis, as opposed to DACs where de-emphasis filtering is implemented in the analogue domain, thus requiring potentially expensive hardware and software updates. The Delius can, for example, already process the Sony DSD format; it is, after all, based (like the Elgar) on hardware similar to the professional dCS 954 D/A converter found in major studios, which has had DSD processing capability since May 1998. But, because there is currently no consumer interface for DSD, this function is not yet accessible; once the standard emerges, dCS will release an upgrade.
One quickly determined preference was the use of XLR AES/EBU connections between Delius and the Purcell upsampler (with which I fell in love...), with RCA coaxial from my transport of choice, the Marantz CD-12. The Delius (and Purcell) were fed, both with and without pre-amps, to the McIntosh MC275 commemorative edition, Unison Research Smart 845, and Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 power amps, while Wilson WATT Puppy 6 speakers were used for monitoring throughout.
After a suitable warm-up, the listening began. And it was the cause of immediate confusion. Quite evidently, I was hearing digital source material played back with a previously-unattainable level of clarity and - more importantly - warmth, the latter aspect (and only the latter) reminiscent of the late, lamented, all-tube CAL Tempest II. Such an audio satori is rare, while twice in a year is miraculous and I'd had two in the previous four months: Wilson WATT Puppy 6 and Theta Dreadnaught. This was too much. Utter seamlessness from top to bottom, precise resolution of the finest details, transparency to rival the character of a full-range electrostatic speaker, transient attack with absolutely no overhang, total freedom from digital nasties...the list of benefits was even greater in number than the catalogue of Delius' features.
Left in the demo pile from a previous session was the sublime soundtrack to
Turning to solo vocals, 'unplugged' material and even wholly synthetic works, different virtues were made evident; after all, orchestral grandeur has little to do with Dr John's solo piano recordings or a session with the Persuasions' a capella. I suppose that the most singularly impressive and convincing aspect of playback through the Delius was a sense of palpability, a sense that the images weren't just three-dimensional but also possessing mass. It is, by any definition, what is required if you believe that the task of a hi-fi system is to replicate a real musical event in your home. Anything else is Viewmaster-flat images, like the aural equivalent of cardboard cut-outs. And I cannot avoid the obvious: using the Delius as a pre-amp eliminates whole stages of unnecessary extra circuitry and the concomitant noise and distortion an extra component brings to the table.
It opens a whole new can of worms. Maybe CD was really better than we ever knew. How sad that the requisite components - Linn's CD-12, the dCS converters, and the like - only arrived in time to show us this, just as we witness the re-classification of CD as 'obsolete'. But don't take it too hard, and wallow not in the cruel irony. If, as I, you've been building up a CD library since '83, you probably have hundreds of discs which will benefit from a dCS makeover. And then there'll be 96/24, SACD, DVD-A...
Keywords
DCS Delius DAC Reviewed DCS, D to A converter, DCS, audiophile DAC reviews
- Lyra Dorian Mono Cartridge Rev...
- Manley Steelhead Phono Stage R...
- Proceed PCD (PDP & PDT) Compac...
- Radford WSCD1 CD Player Review...
- SME 20/12 and 312S Tonearm Rev...
- Tivoli Radio Combo System Revi...
- V, Inc Bravo D2 DVD Player Rev...
- Antex Triple Play Satellite Rad...
- Apex DRX-9000 Recordable DVD Pl...
- Audio Alchemy Digital Decoding ...
- Audio Analogue Maestro Settana ...
- Audio Analouge Maestro CD Playe...
- Audio Research DAC1 Digital To...
- Audio Research CD3 CD Player Re...
- Audio Research DAC2 Digital to ...
- Audio Research PH5 Phono Preamp...
- Audio-Technica AT-ART1 Phono Ca...
- Audiovalve Sunilda Phono Amp Re...
- Basis Turntable Reviewed ...
- Blue Angel Cartridge Reviewed...
- Bow Technologies Wizard Compact...
- Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD Pl...
- Bravo D1 DVD Player Reviewed...
- California Audio Labs Tempest I...
- Chord DAC 64 Digital To Analog ...
- Chord One CD Player Reviewed...
- Clearaudio Statement Turntable ...
- Copland CDA 266 Compact Disc Pl...
- Copland CDA822 Compact Disc Pla...
- Counterpoint DA-11 Transport Re...
- DCS Delius DAC Reviewed DCS...
- Day Sequerra FM Studio Tuner Re...
- Denon AVR 2807 Receiver & Denon...
- Denon DL-103 Cartridge Reviewed...
- Denon DVD 2900 Universal Player...
- Denon DVD-1600 DVD-Audio Player...
- Denon DVD-2500 DVD-Video Player...
- Denon DVD-500 DVD-Video Player ...
- EAR 324 Phono Stage Reviewed ...
- Esoteric Audio Research 834P Tu...
- Garrard 301 Turntable Reviewed...
- Garrard 501 Turntable Reviewed...
- Genesis IM-5200 Loudspeakers Re...
- Go.Video Dual-Dec DV-3130 DVD/V...
- Grado Statement Reference Cartr...
- Gryphon Competition Isolation D...
- Harman Kardon DVD 101 Reviewed...
- Harman Kardon DVD 25 Reviewed...
- Harman Kardon DVD50 DVD Player ...
- Humax DRT800 DVD Recorder with ...
- JVC HR-XVC25U D-VHS Deck Review...
- JVC XL-FA900 DVD Changer Review...
- Kenwood Sovereign DV-5700 DVD P...
- Koetsu Urushi Black Cartridge R...
- Krell DVD Standard DVD-Video Pl...
- Krell KAV-280cd player, KAV-300...
- Krell MD-20 CD Transport, Krell...
- Linn CD 12 Compact Disc Player ...
- Linn LP12 Turntable Reviewed...
- London Decca Reference Cartridg...
- London Super Gold Cartridge Rev...
- Lyngdorf CD-1 Player Reviewed...
- Maplenoll Turntable Reviewed...
- Marantz CD-11 SE Compact Disc P...
- Marantz CD-16 CD Player Reviewe...
- Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature ...
- Marantz CD52 MK IISE Reviewed...
- Marantz DV8400 DVI-Enabled Univ...
- Marantz SA-11S1 SACD Player Rev...
- Marantz SA-15S1 SACD Player Rev...
- Mark Levinson No. 30 Digital to...
- McIntosh C2200 Amp Reviewed...
- McIntosh MVP851 DVD Player Revi...
- Meracus Imago CD Transport Revi...
- Meridian 586.2 DVD Player Revie...
- Mimetism CD 20.1 CD Player Revi...
- Mitsubishi DD-8030 DVD Player R...
- Musical Fidelity 3D Compact Dis...
- Musical Fidelity kW 25 CD Playe...
- NAD PP-2 Phono Preamp Reviewed...
- NEC ND-3500A DVD Recorder Revie...
- NEC ND-3500A DVD Recorder Revie...
- Nagra PL-L Preamp and PMA Mono ...
- Nakamichi DVD-10 DVD Player Rev...
- Onkyo DV-SP800 Universal Player...
- Oracle DAC 1000/CD 2500 CD Tran...
- Oracle Delphi III Audiophile Tu...
- Oracle Delphi Mark VI Turntable...
- Panasonic DMR-E80H Hard Disk/DV...
- Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD-R Reviewe...
- Parnassus Cartridge Reviewed...
- Philips DVD-962SA Reviewed ...
- Philips DVD750VR Reviewed...
- Philips DVD793C 5-Disc Changer/...
- Philips DVD793C 5-Disc Changer/...
- Philips DVD963SA DVD Player Rev...
- Philips DVDR80 DVD+RW Recorder ...
- Philips DVDR985 DVD Recorder Re...
- Pioneer DVL-909 DVD Player Revi...
- Pioneer DVL-919E Laserdisc and ...
- Pioneer Elite DVR-7000 DVD Reco...
- Pioneer DV-59AVi Reviewed...
- Pro-Ject Tube Box Phono Stage R...
- QUAD 99 Compact Disc Player Rev...
- Quasar LE Turntable Reviewed...
- Rega Planet Turntable Reviewed...
- Rotel RDV-1080 DVD-Audio Player...
- SME M2 Tonearm Reviwed...
- SME Series 30 Turntable Reviewe...
- SME Series I, II, III Tone Arms...
- Samsung DVD-P721M DVD Player Re...
- Sequerra Model 1 FM Tuner Revie...
- Sharp DV-HR300 HDD/DVD Recorder...
- Shure V15 Phono Cartridge Revie...
- Simaudio Orbiter Universal Play...
- Simon Yorke Turntable Reviewed...
- Sony 333 SACD Player Reviewed ...
- Sony A VD-S50ES SACD/DVD Receiv...
- Sony DVP-NS315 DVD Player Revie...
- Sumiko Pear Cartridge Reviewed...
- Sutherland 12dAX7 USB DAC and P...
- T+A K6 Integrated Amp and Compa...
- Technics SV-DA10 DAT Tape Deck ...
- The Finial Laser Turntable Revi...
- Theta Carmen Universal Player R...
- Theta Chroma Digital to Analog ...
- Theta Compli Univarsal Disc Pla...
- Theta DaViD DVD-Player Reviewed...
- Theta Pro Gen V-A Digital to An...
- Thorens TD124 Turntable Reviewe...
- Thule Space 250b Universal DVD ...
- Tivoli Audio PAL Music Playback...
- Toshiba 32HLX95 Cinema Series H...
- Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player Re...
- Toshiba RD-XS32 HDD/DVD Recorde...
- Toshiba SD-2800 DVD Player Revi...
- Toshiba SD-3900 DVD Player Revi...
- Toshiba SD-V391 DVD/VCR Combo R...
- Transfiguration Orpheus Moving ...
- Transfiguration Temper V Moving...
- Unison Research Unico CD Player...
- Vimak DS-2000 D/A Converter Rev...
- Wharfdale DVD-750 DVD Player Re...
- Wilson Bensch Circle Turntable ...
- YBA CD 2 CD Player Reviewed...
- YBA CD3a Player Reviewed...
- YBA Integre Integrated Amp Revi...
- Yamaha DVD-CX1 DVD Audio/ 5-Dis...
- Yamaha DVD-S530 DVD Player Revi...
- Z-Systems RDP-1 Room Correction...
- Zenith DVD2381 DVD Player Revie...
- Zenith XBV343 DVD/VCR Combo Rev...
Today's Top Story
California Passes Anti-Flat-HDTV Legislation To Try To Save Energy -
As a resident of California who owns a "green home" complete with new windows, high efficiency air conditioners, space-age insulation and drought tolerant planting on over two acres of hillside - today's decision to toughen standards on HDTVs is a... Click for more...
Latest Source Component Reviews (Classic)
Theta Chroma Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -
Given that Theta's sublime Pro Gen V is a device which consistently astounds me with its transparency, speed, coherence and freedom from digitalia, there should be no surprise that it's my reference converter. Much as I adore the Marantz DA-12... Click for more...
Meracus Imago CD Transport Reviewed -
No, I don't know what 'Meracus' means, and I stopped playing around with anagrams after I reached 'ear scum'. How about 'US Cream'? No way: Meracus is so decidedly, unabashedly a German company that it couldn't possibly apply. Oh, is... Click for more...
Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed -
On the surface, it's just another set of modifications, right? Another way to sell CD-63s, eh? I suppose that a cynic could look at it that way, but - after hearing the 'K.I. Signature' - the cynic would have to... Click for more...
Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD Player Reviewed -
It could have grown out of the ZZ-One integrated amp, a Siamese twin just itching to use its amplifying sibling as a plinth. Whether or not it should be 'stacked' is doubtful, given the ventilating properties of the ZZ-One's end... Click for more...
YBA CD3a Player Reviewed -
Blame the end of the Millennium, the coming of DVD, the arrivals of HDCD/20-bit remastering/XRCD, what-have-you. All I know is that we're experiencing a flood of deliberately off-the-wall CD players, and if this is anti-digital backlash, then it's over a... Click for more...
Wilson Bensch Circle Turntable Reviewed -
No puns about 'squaring the circle', 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?', 'circle jerks' or any of that stuff: the most-obviously named turntable since the Revolver is exactly the dream Wilson Benesch watchers hoped it would be. Its shape, its simplicity,... Click for more...
Theta Pro Gen V-A Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -
Not keeping tabs on other reviewers, I can't say if it's normal practice to use as a reference something which members of the public cannot purchase. Hot-rodded hardware, prototypes which never made it into production - there are plenty of... Click for more...
Rega Planet Turntable Reviewed -
Buying into certain 'schools' of audio thought requires the same kind of metaphorical lobotomy as becoming a slavish football supporter or joining a religious cult. In real terms - if you let the mind-set supplant part of your personality -... Click for more...
Quasar LE Turntable Reviewed -
'Gorgeous.' That's the word I kept hearing, every time someone noticed the Quasar LE turntable in for review. And one of the first to utter it was the owner of a Michell Orbe, itself no canine. What these individuals cooed... Click for more...
Linn LP12 Turntable Reviewed -
Military manoeuvres come no more complicated. Merely considering a 'top secret' review involving a panel of seven or so listeners is to court disaster, as 'secrets' and 'journalists' are mutually incompatible. But we knew, as the only British hi-fi magazine... Click for more...
Latest Source Component Reviews (Classic)
Theta Chroma Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -
Given that Theta's sublime Pro Gen V is a device which consistently astounds me with its transparency, speed, coherence and freedom from digitalia, there should be no surprise that it's my reference converter. Much as I adore the Marantz DA-12... Click for more...
Meracus Imago CD Transport Reviewed -
No, I don't know what 'Meracus' means, and I stopped playing around with anagrams after I reached 'ear scum'. How about 'US Cream'? No way: Meracus is so decidedly, unabashedly a German company that it couldn't possibly apply. Oh, is... Click for more...
Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed -
On the surface, it's just another set of modifications, right? Another way to sell CD-63s, eh? I suppose that a cynic could look at it that way, but - after hearing the 'K.I. Signature' - the cynic would have to... Click for more...
Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD Player Reviewed -
It could have grown out of the ZZ-One integrated amp, a Siamese twin just itching to use its amplifying sibling as a plinth. Whether or not it should be 'stacked' is doubtful, given the ventilating properties of the ZZ-One's end... Click for more...
YBA CD3a Player Reviewed -
Blame the end of the Millennium, the coming of DVD, the arrivals of HDCD/20-bit remastering/XRCD, what-have-you. All I know is that we're experiencing a flood of deliberately off-the-wall CD players, and if this is anti-digital backlash, then it's over a... Click for more...
Wilson Bensch Circle Turntable Reviewed -
No puns about 'squaring the circle', 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?', 'circle jerks' or any of that stuff: the most-obviously named turntable since the Revolver is exactly the dream Wilson Benesch watchers hoped it would be. Its shape, its simplicity,... Click for more...
Theta Pro Gen V-A Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -
Not keeping tabs on other reviewers, I can't say if it's normal practice to use as a reference something which members of the public cannot purchase. Hot-rodded hardware, prototypes which never made it into production - there are plenty of... Click for more...
Rega Planet Turntable Reviewed -
Buying into certain 'schools' of audio thought requires the same kind of metaphorical lobotomy as becoming a slavish football supporter or joining a religious cult. In real terms - if you let the mind-set supplant part of your personality -... Click for more...
Quasar LE Turntable Reviewed -
'Gorgeous.' That's the word I kept hearing, every time someone noticed the Quasar LE turntable in for review. And one of the first to utter it was the owner of a Michell Orbe, itself no canine. What these individuals cooed... Click for more...
Linn LP12 Turntable Reviewed -
Military manoeuvres come no more complicated. Merely considering a 'top secret' review involving a panel of seven or so listeners is to court disaster, as 'secrets' and 'journalists' are mutually incompatible. But we knew, as the only British hi-fi magazine... Click for more...
Latest Equipment Reviews
Rotel RA-1520 Integrated Amplifier Reviewed -
Rotel has been creating audio components for more than 46 years that have all been designed with the goal of bringing high-end audio technology to the more discriminating audiophile. Rotel's RA-1520 integrated amplifier retains the same focus, as this amplifier... Click for more...
Parasound 5250 Five Channel Power Amplifier Reviewed -
As an audio manufacturer that is very proud of its ability to design high-end audio components for the very discerning ears of Hollywood's engineers, Parasound is also insuring that their power amplifiers for the consumer market are second-to-none. The 5250... Click for more...
Vizio VSB210WS Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer Reviewed -
Sound bars have always been a bit of the redheaded stepchild of the home theater world for me, a replica of sorts for those unable to accommodate or afford a proper home theater. Of course I jumped to this conclusion... Click for more...
Definitive Technology Mythos 7 On-Wall Speaker Reviewed -
When it comes to perfect replication of professional theater sound, the most important component of any home theater's speaker configuration is the center channel speaker. This speaker not only has to deliver a movie's dialogue with crystal-clear audio imaging, it... Click for more...
Benchmark DAC 1 HDR Reviewed -
While analog reproduction of audio is all the rage these days, most, if not all of us have our music in some digital form. Be it on a hard drive, iPod, Compact Disc or server, we all need high quality... Click for more...
Definitive Technology UIW 75 In-Wall Speaker Reviewed -
One of the primary functions of a first-rate in-wall speaker is its ability to disperse superb high-end audio to every part of the room, no matter where the speaker itself is placed. The design team at Definitive Technology knows just... Click for more...
Outlaw Audio ECS-10 Subwoofer Reviewed -
A major problem in the past with small and compact subwoofers was their inability to deliver strong and deep low-end to the average soundstage. Outlaw Audio's design team was well aware of this challenge when they started developing the ECS-10... Click for more...
Toshiba REGZA 46SV670U LED LCD HDTV Reviewed -
LED backlighting is the way of the future for LCD televisions. Most of the top-selling LCD manufacturers now offer at least one line that uses LED backlighting. Some of these models only place the LEDs around the edges of the... Click for more...
Energy ESW-V10 Subwoofer Reviewed -
Energy is an audio manufacturer that is fairly well known for developing quality speakers at a mid-range price and now they are slowly getting into producing a more high-end subwoofer product line starting with the ESW-V10. The list price for... Click for more...
JVC LT-42X899 42-Inch LCD HDTV Reviewed -
If you have been looking for an HDTV that eliminates pesky motion blur while viewing action-packed Blu-ray discs, you should be very interested in what JVC is calling their "Clear Motion Drive III" technology. That technology is integrated into their... Click for more...





Comment on this article
0Post a Comment