Just how good is the B.audio DAC? Let’s give it some serious competition in the shape of the CH Precision C1.2, its conceptual and technological forebear: Serious in that the CH is highly-rated, serious in that the fully-loaded CH costs twice as much as the fully-loaded B.DPR EX. Strip the optional extras out of both units and the cost differential creeps closer to two-and-a-half times…
The side-by-side comparison is fascinating. In one sense the two DACs are incredibly close, in another they are quite distinct. Overall scale, presentation and perspective are astonishingly similar. Both DACs offer remarkable separation and stability, musical integrity and presence. What separates them is the relative sophistication of tonal and harmonic pallet, the dimensionality that results. Comparing the two on the Sinfonia Concertante the spread of the soundstage and separation of the instruments is remarkably consistent. The B.audio offers a lighter, more illuminated picture and tonality, big on vitality and agility, especially from the soloists. It’s an impressive performance. But switching to the C1.2 brings a more relaxed sense of pace and musical cohesion, shape to the instruments and the phrasing. Where the B.audio highlights technique and pace, the CH’s grasp of instrumental character, notes, phrases and musical articulation is greater. Both DACs are essentially neutral, but the CH carries even greater harmonic texture and resolution that it binds into a more relaxed and fluid presentation. Going back to our physical analogy, both DACs give a clear picture of the music’s structural skeleton (in terms of both time and space) but the B.audio offers the pared back, ripped physique of a cage fighter, where the CH has more flesh on its bones. In the same way, the B.audio is all about quick, sharp attack and recovery, the CH offers a more languid appearance, albeit one full of latent threat – a bit like a heavyweight boxer approaching the ring: you just know it can explode into action as soon as required.
Clear as a bell…
The distinctions carry over to other recordings and genres too. Play ‘One Cool Remove’ (from Shawn Colvin’s Cover Girl – Columbia 477240-2) and the B.audio separates the beautiful close harmonies of Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter, capturing the diction and enunciation of the whispered counterpoint to the opening vocal, easily separating the two voices. The CH adds greater colour and character to each voice, combining them seamlessly on the harmony sections. The backing instrumentation has a greater sense of substance and purpose on the C1.2, more attack on the B.audio. Ultimately, the CH is the more musically convincing and relaxing performer – but it is no means the slam-dunk that the price differential suggests it should be. The longer you listen, the more you appreciate the differences and their importance, but by the same token, the two products are close enough that I can see a listener choosing either on the basis of musical and system preferences. Which is an outstanding performance from the B.audio. Yes, it sacrifices configurability and upgradability to the more expensive product and, in absolute terms the CH is musically superior in terms of the all-critical criteria of human insight and expressive range. But nothing else I’ve heard gets anywhere near as close to it as the B.audio – and certainly not at this price. The last product that did was the late, lamented Neodio Origine S2 and if the B.audio fills those shoes, that is serious praise indeed.
