The Merason DAC1 Mk II is a high-end digital-to-analog converter featuring Burr Brown 1794A modules and a fully balanced design. With advanced input processing, multiple dedicated power supplies, and Swiss craftsmanship, it delivers a relaxed yet detailed sound, perfect for audiophiles who value musicality and precision in their listening experience.
Merason DAC1 Mk II: Precision Swiss Engineering for Pure Musicality
The Merason DAC1 Mk II is a testament to Swiss precision and a deep commitment to audio excellence. As the flagship model in Merason’s lineup, this digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is designed to deliver an immersive listening experience, combining advanced technology with fine craftsmanship. The DAC1 Mk II employs two Burr Brown 1794A converter modules, each dedicated to its own channel, ensuring a fully balanced design with four independent channels. This setup provides a 5 dB improvement in dynamic range, offering a more expansive and detailed soundstage.
Advanced Signal Processing
The DAC1 Mk II features a comprehensive input array, including USB, RCA, Toslink, and AES, with the USB input utilizing Amanero technology. This ensures a low-jitter music signal, further enhanced by precise oscillators and galvanic isolation across all inputs. The design effectively shields the sensitive digital signals from external interference, resulting in a cleaner, more accurate audio output. The digital signals are then converted into analog by the Burr Brown 1794A converters, and the resulting analog signal is processed through a discrete Class A output stage, which buffers the signal before it reaches your audio system.
Power Supply and Construction
The power supply design of the DAC1 Mk II is a highlight, with each functional unit receiving its own dedicated power supply, totaling twelve in all. This includes separate linear power supplies with oversized transformers for the two output channels, ensuring stable and noise-free operation. The meticulous attention to power management contributes to the DAC’s ability to produce a sound that is both dynamic and finely detailed. The DAC1 Mk II’s structure has been thoroughly tested and refined, with extensive listening sessions guiding the selection of components, from capacitors and voltage regulators to I/V converters and output stages.
Swiss Craftsmanship
Every aspect of the DAC1 Mk II reflects its Swiss heritage, from the manufacturing of the housing and control knobs to the placement of components and final assembly. The result is a device that not only performs at the highest level but also embodies the precision and quality for which Swiss engineering is renowned. The DAC1 Mk II is available in black, silver, and gold finishes, with a minimalist design that complements any high-end audio setup.
Conclusion: A New Standard in Digital Audio Conversion
The Merason DAC1 Mk II sets a new benchmark for digital-to-analog conversion, delivering music with a calm, detailed, and highly transparent sound. It excels in rendering complex musical passages with a natural flow and deep, controlled bass, making it an ideal choice for audiophiles seeking to extract the utmost fidelity from their digital music collections.
Additional information
Weight
5.5 kg
Dimensions
29 × 45 × 10 cm
Finish
Black, Champaign, Silver
Output Max
3 V RMS (balanced), max.
1.5 V RMS (unbalanced)
Frequency Response
20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.3 dB
THD+N
< 0.006 %
Signal-to-noise Ratio
> 120 dB
DAC
Twice BurrBrown 1794A, discrete I/V stage
Power Supply
230 V or 115V (one of them) AC / 50 to 60 Hz, 30 W.
Ambient Temperature
10°C to 30°C, 50°F to 86°F
Humidity Max
80 %, non-condensing
Input Format
44.1 kHz@16 bit, 44.1 kHz@24 bit
48 kHz@16 bit, 48 kHz@24 bit
88.2 kHz@24 bit
96 kHz@24 bit
176.4 kHz@24 bit (USB)
192 kHz@24 bit
About Merason
Merason Audio, a Swiss-based company, is recognised for its high-end digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that focus on delivering an exceptionally musical and natural sound. Rooted in Swiss precision engineering, Merason is known for designing DACs that prioritise the essence of music over technical complexity, creating products that resonate emotionally with listeners. The brand’s philosophy revolves around transparency, detail, and warmth, aiming to reproduce the purity of sound without coloring the audio signal.
Merason’s flagship product, the DAC1 Mk II, exemplifies this approach. Utilising Burr-Brown PCM1794A DAC chips in a dual-mono configuration, the DAC1 is designed to provide highly detailed sound while maintaining warmth and fluidity. The DAC1 is noted for its transparent sound and immediacy, delivering an experience that feels alive and immersive. Despite its high resolution, it avoids sounding overly analytical, allowing the music to retain its natural, analog-like charm. Merason’s decision to focus solely on PCM and omit DSD support reflects their commitment to optimising performance for one format, rather than complicating the design with multi-format processing.
For those seeking a more accessible entry point, Merason offers the Frérot, a compact DAC that maintains the company’s core principles of musicality. Although more affordable than the DAC1, the Frérot still delivers a rich, emotionally engaging sound, especially when paired with Merason’s optional POW1 linear power supply. The Frérot, like the DAC1, emphasises simplicity and effectiveness, avoiding unnecessary features and focusing on delivering some the best possible sound at its price point.
Merason’s dedication to sound quality and minimalist design has earned them a reputation among audiophiles who prioritize musical engagement and warmth over technical embellishment. Each of their products is carefully crafted to bring out the emotional depth in music, ensuring a listening experience that is both transparent and deeply satisfying.
Reviews
Michael Lavorgna – Twittering Machines (Feburary, 2024)
“The Merason DAC1 Mk II turned out to be the perfect kind of guest, taking part in making music that became conversations across time and place and people and me, never once breaking the magical spell that music can cast on the careful listener. To my mind, and in my experience, the Merason DAC1 Mk II is as agile a DAC as I’ve heard when it comes to serving up a well-balanced musically satisfying whole.”
“I don’t know what music Daniel listens to privately, but looking at what the DAC 1 Mk II did with Scofield’s album, I would point to it as one of the leads. It’s a DAC with perfectly balanced proportions , with an internally complex, refined sound. The latter is slightly lowered, with strong support in the mid-bass and in the breakthrough with the midrange. The treble, on the other hand, is selective, resolving, but also dense and more “loose” than “biting.”
Marc Phillips – Part Timne Audiophile (January, 2024)
“Then there’s the Merason DAC-1 Mk.II. This is the DAC that has impressed me the most so far on the basis of sound–at least in my reference system. It’s not just about the warmth, it’s about the way it combines that analog-style tonality with loads of detail. I feel like I’m beating a dead horse when I say that lone combination of strengths is my ultimate goal in this hobby, but that’s what my favorite gear accomplishes with aplomb.”
Jason Kennedy – The Ear Hi-Fi Music Gear (October, 2023)
“When I reviewed the original Merason DAC1 a nearly three years ago what struck me about it was its speed and agility, it sounded like a Rega turntable or more obscurely a DNM preamplifier. Which in my book is a good thing, it means that music sounds less processed and more immediate, more real in fact. But this wasn’t enough for Daniel Frauchiger, the engineer who founded Merason as he has subsequently found various ways to improve the sound quality of the Merason DAC1 with only a few fundamental changes to components.”
“In a time where extreme high sampling rates and lots of features seem to reign, the Swiss company Merason brings a very basic DAC that does 192 kHz over SPDIF and AES/EBU, uses a seven year old DAC chip, has no remote control and no display. What are they thinking?”
James Parker & Paul Miller – Hi-Fi News (June 2021)
“The richness of the sound won’t be to every taste, but it’s never cloying or overplayed: instead, Merason’s DAC1 backs up its smoothness with power and unforced detail to consistently appealing musical effect. True, the limited format handling may rule the DAC1 out for some – it takes a stand against digital expansionism! – but its singularity of purpose pays off in a sound as appealing as it is easy to enjoy.”
“By a lucky coincidence, we were introduced to Daniel Frauchiger in 2018, who with his company niedal audio lab had invented a digital/analog converter under the brand name PURSON and brought it onto the market for music lovers. We HiFi-IFAs seized the opportunity and were the first magazine to take a close look at the wonderfully musical high-end converter DAC1 – that’s its catchy name – and immediately took it to our hearts. It was nice to see that we were not alone in our assessment.”
“The Merason Audio DAC1 is a device for the connoisseur who dares to deviate from the beaten path. But it is also simply a rock-solid d/a converter that everyone must have heard once. It is a dac that not only lets you hear everything but also draws you into the music. That can convey the emotion of an artist. With the DAC1 you get a unique d/a converter that you may never part with again. We certainly didn’t like putting it back in the box.”
