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While downsizing, Esoteric's C-03 and Octave's MRE-130 monos left the building and the Metronome MT One integrated slipped in, factory intended to marry the CD One T stable mate. The April Music and Meier DACs each connected to one of its inputs and the digital IC was toggled by hand.
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These converters were nearly identical twins. Curiously, to my ears the Stello's upsampling features (none, 96kHz and 192kHz) were more audible than the Meier's. After due switcheroo in an attempt to establish a baseline, I concluded that if anything, the Stello—it also physically ran warmer to the touch than the always cool StageDAC—had a modicum more warmth. This was by way of somewhat softer image outline contours particularly on vocalists. Many audiophiles favor very strong image lock which relies on sharp edges. Personally, I side more with live music at a reasonable distance where that element isn't as acute. Hence I gave the DA100 Signature the nod. But, this approached hair splitting. However, a quite practical upshot could be that if you listen predominantly at low volumes, some additional articulation might be extremely useful. If you like it loud meanwhile, a touch less focus sharpness could be more comfortable. Wherever your loyalties lie, these two machines were virtual stand-ins on sound while Jan Meier's beat the Stello to a bloody pulp on features.
Many of those features reminded me of those stacked Swiss army knives. Unless you're an outdoors man, such a knife's ale punch, mini saw, corkscrew, scissor, screw driver and sundry what-nots will rarely see action. They'll be more bragging rights than relevance, more eventuality than actuality. Ditto the StageDAC. If you don't do headphones, half its features are pure excess and those which remain relevant span precious little scope of sonic changes. None of those comments however affect the competitive sonics. It just means more switches than necessary for most. Yet should headphones feature in your diet, there's no doubt that the StageDAC trumps the Stello any day and twice on Sundays.
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Act V: USB vs. S/PDIF: With my MacBook Pro streaming uncompressed files via Entreq USB cable, this became a rerun of the above, with USB taking the Meier role, S/PDIF the April position. The differences again were very slight but USB did have the sharper edges, S/PDIF a somewhat more 'organic' softness or flow. Very first demo impressions could suggest a detail advantage for the PC feed but more prolonged exposure would call the 'old way' possessed of a small but persistent advantage also in timbral girth where USB could inject just a tinge of white. I've heard USB clearly whup ass on S/PDIF before. Not here. This was near equality but ultimately, S/PDIF still came out ahead.
Verdict: Jan Meier's Corda StageDAC packs a surprising amount of features which particularly for the headfi aficionado will prove very attractive. As a fixed-output D/A converter run into a preamp or integrated, this machine is squarely competitive with April Music's Stello DA100 Signature which enjoys a very high-value reputation. But the German can do more, not the least of which are its variable outputs to take on preamp functionality. For the rest, you could think of it as a Stello Plus which went to Bozeman/Montana for a secretive HeadRoom modification. Personally, I find Jan Meier's Natural Crossfeed more effective and powerful than HeadRoom's. While its potency is directly correlated with the musical software to span the gamut from dead obvious to not at all, for can jams I'd run it nearly exclusively in wide, max amplitude and on one of the two stronger delay settings. I didn't find crossfeed relevant for loudspeakers but your mileage could vary.
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During times when discretionary incomes for our hobby are tight, high-value propositions are most welcome - particularly when we're not talking €10,000 somethings that performs like 20K elsethings but a machine that's priced well below €1,000 yet combines the functionality of nearly three boxes. Seeing how I related to half those functions as nearly exclusively relevant for headfiers, the one feature that's arguably lacking is a headphone output.
That's where Herr Meier has you covered with his Corda Symphony.2 and the forthcoming Concerto [right]. In short, the StageDAC is a lot of bang for the buck and a hero for the euro.
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Quality of packing: Very good.
Reusability of packing: A few times.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: No concerns.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect.
Website comments: Very informative, with in depth information on the crossfeed filter and all the digital filter/sampling options.
Human interactions: Prompt and courteous.
Pricing: Right on the money and competitive with Far East offerings yet designed in Germany.
Final comments & suggestions: A no-brainer for headphone lovers who already own a standalone headphone amplifier (or a superior headphone socket on a speaker amp or integrated such as by Leben or Luxman). The crossfeed filter benefits are most potent on large-scale classical music. |
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