Mahwah, N.J. – Denon plans March availability of its first USB DAC, the DA-300USB at a universal advertised price of $499.
The 32-bit, 192kHz asynchronous DAC connects computers to hi-fi systems via USB-B port to bypass the computer’s lower quality sound card. The DAC also incorporates a headphone amplifier stage and features one coaxial and two optical digital S/PDIF inputs. Those inputs can be used to connect other digital music sources such as game consoles and media streamers, to improve sound quality.
The DAC’s USB-B port streams music in native format from a PC in multiple formats for decoding by the DAC. The formats include MP3/MP4, AAC, ALAC, WAV, and FLAC HD in up to 24 bit/192kHz resolution. The DAC also supports the DSD format with 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz resolution delivered natively or via DoP (DSD audio over PCM frames).
The compact unit measures 7 by 7 by 2 inches and can be positioned horizontally or vertically. The front panel features a power button, headphone output, volume control, input-selector switch, and an OLED display that shows selected input, headphone volume and input-signal resolution. The display reorients itself when the unit is positioned horizontally or vertically.
