The Rega DAC is a 16/20/24-bit at 32kHz to 192kHz digital to analogue converter incorporating an enhanced version of the Rega designed circuit. Developed to be simple to set up and use, the Rega DAC is designed to optimise performance from any two channel PCM digital audio source such as a CD player PC or streaming device.
With the PC/Laptop and MAC now widely accepted as creditable mediums for storing and streaming music. The use of high quality lossless files such as WAV, FLAC and ALAC offer performance through the DAC equal to and in some cases better than red book CD.
Housed in a custom aluminium and steel case and boasting a pair of Wolfson DAC IC's, 5 user selectable digital filters, two isolated Co-axial inputs, two Toslink SPDIF inputs and an isolated USB input. The Rega DAC is designed and engineered to perform way above its class.
The input stage comprises a Wolfson digital receiver with a high stability low jitter clock. The receiver and PLL have their own dedicated power supplies. The DAC stage comprises of a pair of parallel-connected Wolfson WM8742 DAC's, which are driven via a buffer stage, which ensures the integrity of the data being fed to the DAC IC's similar to the arrangement used in the Isis (Rega's refrerence CD player). Great care has been taken to remove noise generated by the PC and other input sources. During development this was identified as a major drawback with many DAC's on the market today.
The output amplifier employs a discrete differential multiple feedback filter and output amplifier, with a high cut-off frequency for use with higher sample rates. We decided not to use a sample rate converter and process the data at the incoming sample rate which keeps the signal processing to a minimum. Jitter was minimised by synchronously clocking the digital data with our receiver PLL (removing any jitter from the input signal).
All the capacitors associated with the analogue signal path are Nichicon FG bypassed with MMK polyester capacitors, and low impedance conductive polymer capacitors are used for DAC decoupling. The power supply utilizes a toroidal transformer, fast rectifier diodes and again Nichicon FG capacitors. There is a power supply for the control microcontroller, separate from the digital & analogue audio stages. Special attention being paid to the inter IC control signals ensuring the control data noise is kept to a minimum.
Detailed Fact SheetWhat Hifi ReviewTone Audio ReviewWhile there are definitely some other DACs at this price point that offer more functionality, the Rega’s strength is offering truly great sound from its SPDIF input, regardless of resolution. Personally, I’d still rather have outstanding 16/44 through the SPDIF input than multiple input options with mediocre performance. If this is your philosophy as well, I think the Rega DAC would find a very good home on your equipment rack.
Tech Radar ReviewIt's hard to find anything to criticise. The technical performance is as assured as the subjective and for the very modest price, this seems to be very much the product to beat just now.
Positive Feedback Review...sounds so good and is so much less expensive, I can confidently recommend it as the most music for the money, all of which leads me to the conclusion that one should never assume that one's setup is optimal.
What Hifi ReviewThe Rega has a sweet tonal balance that balances insight, bite and refinement beautifully. The Rega really stands out from the competition in the way it handles rhythms: it’s crisp, and conveys the momentum in a piece off music superbly.
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