RHA’s DACAMP M1, set for release later this year, is a portable device which integrates a DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) and a headphone amplifier. In basic terms, these elements combine to let your media player and headphones produce high fidelity, reference-grade sound.
If you are wondering whether this is worth adding to your audio setup - believe me, it is. To understand why, an outline of how DACs work might be useful.
Overview of DACs and Headphone AmplifiersWe first have to look at the types of information that are conveyed through audio devices.
An analogue audio signal is the continuously changing voltage that passes through the cables of microphones, speakers and headphones. Variations in this electrical signal represent the shifting air pressure of sound waves.
Put simply: when a microphone picks up a sound, it sends a corresponding charge down its wires. Vice-versa, a set of headphones know the which sound waves to reproduce because they receive the analogue signal that represents those sound waves, via the cable.
For recorded audio, these analogue signals need to be stored somewhere if we want to use them again. Digital storage is by far the most common modern method. When a signal is stored digitally it is represented by a binary code (a set of 1s and 0s) on the hard-drive of a media device.
A DAC is a processor that takes the stored binary code and turns it into the analogue signal that will make your headphones reproduce the original sound that was recorded. A headphone amplifier takes the analogue signal that comes out of the DAC and provides it with electricity, boosting the signal to a level where it is audible through headphones.
When attached to a less powerful onboard DAC and amplifier, components that most computer and smartphone manufacturers do not particularly focus on (mainly for economy of space and production costs). Even high-end headphones can suffer from a loss of detail and volume and will not be able to realise their potential functionality or sound fidelity. An external device like the DACAMP takes over from the playback device’s on-board DAC and amplifier and raises the level of intricacy with which the binary code is converted back to analogue, as well as increasing the amount of electricity supplied to the headphones.
What does this all add up to for you? It's simple: the final sound is crisper, clearer and louder. The separate amplifier uses its extra power to manage the varying impedance levels between devices and headphones, so that there is less distortion of the stored signal in the final sound. And, of course, it raises the potential volume without risk to your headphones or sound quality.
Introducing the DACAMP M1RHA’s DACAMP M1 performs these basic purposes and raises the game even further. It has a frequency response from 1Hz to 100Khz, so it can convey the broadest, richest sounds available to the human ear, and power in-ear models from 8-150 ohms and bigger XLR-based headphones from 8-600 ohms without disruption.
It also houses two asynchronous USB ports, meaning that the DAC controls the rate of data transmission from the devices plugged into them. This prevents audio ‘jitters’ caused by background processes on said devices - such as web browsing or gaming - and allows the audio to flow through smoothly and uninhibited.
The DACAMP is a versatile, powerful device that will get your headphones and media device working to their full capacity. If you want to improve your listening experience without buying a new set of headphones or player, then it's worth adding to your audio setup.
The RHA DACAMP M1 will be on sale later in 2016. For more information, check the DACAMP M1 product page.