Intro
Contents
The Audiolab D7 is a d/a converter with headphone jack and volume control. How good is this little DAC? Let’s check it out!
When you say Audiolab, you say Peter Comeau. And right behind him, Jan Ertner. Two experienced pros who put the Audiolab firmly on the map over the years.
Audiolab, now under the safe wings of the IAG group, is a popular brand and has many followers. They have a four major series, the 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 lines along with some stand-alone products. One of those standalone products is on our bench today: the Audiolab D7 d/a converter.
Construction and appearance
Years ago, i owned a beautiful silver Audiolab 8200 combo stacked on top of each other when this was still allowed. This sleek set sounded very detailed but rather analytical. But we absolutely loved the design. Sleek, clean and modern.
The Audiolab D7 has the same pedigree but differs ever so slightly from its predecessors. The silver colour is more matte than we remember and its limited width, only 18 cm, means it does not have the same appeal as the full-sized units. But you quickly get used to that, especially when using it on a desktop.
Then you start to notice how user-friendly this device is and how sturdy it is made. As always, the build quality is excellent. The screen is small but the important information is easy to read.
The Audiolab D7 has two rotary knobs. One to control the volume and one for the menu. The latter is extremely intuitive. You can scroll between inputs, select filters, control balance and so on. Everything is clear and easy to find. You don’t get lost, as is sometimes the case with some other brands.
Versatile
The Audiolab D7 is primarily a d/a converter, but also a headphone amplifier and preamp. The DAC part is based on the ES9038Q2M chip from our friends at ESS Sabre. Using USB, this DAC converts PCM up to 768kHz and DSD up to 512. The optical and coaxial inputs, of two each, go up to 24/192kHz.
The DAC chip is not simply ‘plugged in’ but is given its own clock, a separate power supply and filtering is done ‘Post DAC’ and entirely in class A. The included 12V linear power supply ensures clean control. We didn’t feel any ‘itch’ to upgrade this time round, but it’s possible.
Rather surprising are the XLR outputs alongside the more common unbalanced outputs in this price range. There are also two digital outputs, one optical and one coaxial.
On top of that, the D7 is also a fine headphone amplifier with an output impedance of 2.35 ohms and a load impedance of 20 to 600 ohms. Inside is a separate current feedback circuit that will drive the bulk of headphones effortlessly. There is a decent preamp function that you can use with those XLR outputs, to connect to a pair of active speakers or your power amplifier.
Handy
And for added bonus there’s Bluetooth, with aptX and AAC support. MQA files and streams are fully unfolded if required. The Audiolab D7, and by extension its big brother D9, are in fact the successors to the illustrious M-DAC. Big shoes to fill.
And before we forget. It comes with a nice remote control which is compact, fits well in your hand and has just enough buttons to operate the unit smoothly.