It has been about 1 month since I received the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 and during that time I have listened to and/or run it for at least 200 hours. If it needs more break in time, I couldn’t tell and while the sound did even out a little over that time, its basic character stayed pretty much the same.

The Lotus DAC1 measures out at 13Wx10Dx3H which makes it bigger then expected, but its capacious backside allows for excellent spacing between connectors. Around back you will find 5 inputs comprising USB, Coaxial, AES/EBU, Toslink, and I2S with two chunky, widely spaced output connectors. To sweeten the deal, the power supply is built in and you can use your own power cables on the IEC socket. As a special bonus, this product is made in Taiwan, for those that think there are just too many products coming from China.

Enough of the physical, now for something more meta-physical!

The Contenders

In this corner we have long time semi-retired champion Aragon D2A MkII and ready to tag in at moments notice we have the Cambridge Audio 740C CD Player. Obviously, putting the 15 year old Aragon up against new technology might be unfair, but for it’s time the Aragon had a lot going for it. On the other hand, the PureAudio vs. Cambridge should be a good fight.

The Aragon sports a Burr Brown 18bit DAC, which allows it to get very close to 16bit accuracy. Its secret weapon is the discrete filter and output buffer. Most of the circuit is actually that discrete output stage, which gives the Aragon the most neutral tone of the three competitors, but its overall tone is on the dark side.

The Cambridge Audio 740C sports dual 24bit Wolfsen DACS running at 384KHz sampling rate with high quality opamp filters and output buffer that are setup in a balanced configuration. The Cambridge also throws in access to the DAC via three digital inputs. This is a versatile fight strategy.

The PureAudio Lotus DAC1 weighs in with a 32bit/192KHz AKM 4399 DAC from Asahi-Kasei company of Japan. For lower noise, it does its filtering and buffering with 4 single channel LME49710. The USB receiver is a Tenor TE7022l which will accept 16bit/24bit at 44.1K/48K/96K and will down convert higher bit rates. When it comes to living peacefully with your PC, we might have a winner.

Sound Off

I will be breaking this down from the top to the bottom, but in the interest of simple and complete, it has to be said that the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 does have a character. It is pretty easy to spot particularly when you hear it next to something that may seem more neutral.
All of the IC’s inside are socket mounted, so ever the tweaker, I investigated drop in alternatives for the filter and buffer opamps. What I learned was that the LME49710 have a characteristic sound, which is described as a detailed forward midrange with a slightly recessed bottom end.

Hmm, funny they should say that!

In case you are wondering about cabling, I used all Atlas interconnects, which where the Atlas Compass digital cable, Atlas Voyager interconnects and Atlas Questor interconnects. Power cable came from Unity Audio with fat 14 gauge wire and chunky connectors. The DAC1 indeed benefits from a better power cable, even if it’s just fat wire with good quality connectors.

The Upper Cut

The treble range of the Lotus DAC1 was a pretty good match to that of the Cambridge 740c. Both the DAC1 and 740C sounded ever so slightly rolled off in the top end. This gave them a smoothness that worked well with most music and helped with some poorly recorded tracks. The Lotus DAC1 did lean towards rounding out sound like bells or symbols making them sound almost sweet.

The Aragon sounded more metallic, and in some cases could sound harsh. Could this be the old school converter trying its best or just aching joints and sagging capacitors? Probably a bit of booth, and while detail/substance might have been lower, I could more believe I was hearing metal.

If I where to give the prize for most transparent treble range, it would have to go to the Aragon D2A. Actually, if transparent where the only criteria, the Aragon would be champion in this three way melee. Once again, the Aragon’s discrete output stage plays its hand.

Torso Jab

The biggest difference could be seen right here in the mid range. With the Lotus DAC1, what we have is an obvious boost in the presence region down to the lower mids. This is the detailed midrange that the LME49710 opamp is purported to possess.

This might sound unpleasant, but combined with the sweet treble; you get something ever so happy. It’s much like someone opened the curtains on a beautifully sunny day, and yes for a moment you might squint, but then it just makes you happy.

The PuerAudio Lotus DAC1 brought so much detail, out of the music. I could hear how close the singer was to the mic. I could hear how the snare drum shell vibrates and how an acoustic guitar moved around on the lap of the guitarist. I could hear how the fingers moved on the bass strings, the skin catching on the spiral wound wire. It added life, rhythm, pace and a bit of a smile. Rock and Metal guitars exploded with joyous over the top exuberance.

While this smiley sweet demeanor can be habit forming, I did feel that the overall tone was unrealistic. I used to record guitars, drums, voices, and I have heard them live most of my life. The DAC1 was great at reproducing details, but didn’t capture the “is it live” vibe. Overall, its middle tones leaned towards cool with a very lack of harmonic fullness.

Both the Aragon and Cambridge 740V where tonally flat with no midrange bump and the midrange presentation sounded more neutral. The Aragon again missing some of the details, and even though there was easiness in the sound, I could tell it just was not giving me everything in the bits.

The Cambridge 740C, compared to the Aragon, did indeed bring more details and it filled out the midrange in a more cohesive correct way. What the Cambridge and Aragon lacked was the pace and drama of the Lotus DAC1. The DAC1 was rhythmically stronger and had a seductive wow factor.

Below The Belt

Comparing the bottom end of the Lotus DAC1 to the Cambridge 740c was relatively simply, since both where so similar. While I originally thought that the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 suffered from recessed lower frequencies, this is an illusion brought on by the slightly forward midrange.

Both the DAC1 and 740c had fine bass extension and detail, though still not as natural and easy as the Aragon. The DAC1’s midrange boost, accentuated the details in various instruments, like the snap of a kick drum skin, the resonating body of a cello, the vibrations of bass guitar strings, and this time the sound had correctness. The effect was much like boosting 200Hz to 600Hz, which adds a touch of clarity to most low frequency instruments.

In the low registers, the winner is the Aragon D2A Mk II. Here the Aragon plumed the depths and pulled out the sweet rumble in the jungle. The all discrete output stage was paying big dividends. Neither the DAC1 nor the Cambridge 740c could match the low end extension and detail. The Aragon lets you hear the delicate inner workings of the subterranean.

Time Out

OH, did I mention all this listening was done with 16bit/44.1K audio files? Since the Aragon can not play high resolution recordings, and I had no way to feed high res files to the Cambridge 740c CD player, I choose to use redbook audio.

I did however listen to high res files with the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 and this is where the DAC1 really seems to shine. While the overall character still remained, that of the forward midrange, the overall tone smooths out quite a lot. I was listened mostly to tracks from B&W’s Society of Sound which are recorded in Peter Gabrial’s studio and provided as 24bit/48K files.

With these files the Lotus DAC1 sound smoother, more even, though still highlighting the mid range, but now the lower frequencies came forward and the treble, perhaps still a little rolled off, melded so much better with the midrange. It was a lot more cohesive with less spot lighting.

Other high res recordings had the same effect, bringing a bit more richness, more body, and more cohesiveness. The overall effect was very positive, both felt and to a lesser degree heard with all 24bit recordings. Would I call it a major difference? Probably between major and minor, lets call it minor plus.

We Have A Winner

The PureAudio Lotus DAC1 is a well rounded DAC with plenty of input options, which include USB at 24bit/96K, and offers up every possible sampling rate you will need. It is a well build, roomy steel chassis that includes an internal power supply. It is even tweak friendly, with all its IC’s and Opamps already in sockets, just itching to be replaced.

It has a sunny disposition that may be just what you are looking for, but its versatility may be its trump card and it only gets better with high resolution recording. As a bonus, it is made in Taiwan, which speaks to its quality over those units constructed in China, but necessarily brings its price to around $500US.

At this price point, the number one competitor would have to be the Cambridge Audio DacMagic. Since the DacMagic is slightly less good then the 740c CD player, I can only conclude the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 would slightly better the DacMagic, with the only big difference being that overall sunny tone.

If you are in the market for a USB DAC for your PC, the PureAudio is a great place to start, with its Tenor USB receiver, you get 24Bit/96K and that is better then the DacMagic. Why mess with USB-SPDIF converters when a USB cable will do?

If you are looking to add this to a home stereo, you might be better off with something like the Cambridge Audio 740c CD player, which gives you 3 digital inputs to play with. Yes, the Cambridge costs more then twice as much, but you can still play your CD collection while you are working on moving it over to a music server.

If you already have a decent transport or have already integrated a music server into your high quality playback system, at this price the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 would do a great job. If your system also accommodates DVD playback, the Toslink input has you covered up to 196K!

If you plan on spending 2 or 3 times the cost of the PureAudio, most any converter with a discrete filter and buffer output stage should provide better sound quality. I wouldn’t exactly call the Lotus DAC1 or the Cambridge 740c veiled, grainy, gauzy or even noisy; but they still sound a little “opampy”, for lack of a better word.

In the end, I really like the PureAudio Lotus DAC1. It is not perfect, but one can get used to its qualities. I will probably try chip swapping, and most likely will look into discrete opamp replacements, like the Burson Audio models. If the discrete amp evens out the tone, this maybe just be a killer product.

You can find the PureAudio Lotus DAC1 on eBay. It is being sold directly by a Taiwanese distributor, and I can only imagine that is what keeps the price relatively reasonable.