"Regarding our new converter engine, it was designed together with industry legend Andreas Koch but now is a Nagra-proprietary solution unlike the original HD DAC which used a module. The D/A features an FPGA with dedicated software so is equivalent to having our own chip. In this case the opportunity to team with Andreas was compelling and the result is apparent within the playback of the first notes of a recording.

"About sample frequencies, I do know that Andreas says that DSD256 is the best format for recording but DSD128 ideal for reproducing it. This is his field of expertise. To me the sampling frequency is already sky high with DSD256 and I don't think we need more. The design of the D/A and so many other parameters impact the sound way more than the format as you very well know. In fact, this is why I love our D/A. It sounds already marvellous on Redbook CD which is clearly limited in terms of bandwidth and resolution. This is a great benefit to the many music lovers who maintain sizable disc collections."

Z-out is 430Ω, max output 1.5Vrms. Output noise is -128dB, THD+N below 0.03%, crosstalk less than 100dB. As a single-ended machine, there are no XLR outputs. The universal mains voltage of 100-240V ±10% suggests that the built-in "next-gen silent" power supply is of the switching sort. The Classic DAC II weighs 5kg and measures 38x28x7.6cm DxWxH.

The manual recommends a 15-min. warm-up before all internal components reach thermal equilibrium. The classic rotary controller hides a new push feature to invert phase as indicated by the display as 'ø'. The remote offers mute, sequential input toggling, direct input selection and on/off. Fellow dancers in this everything-DSD party were my Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe and iFi Pro iDSD Signature. The first resamples all to DSD256, 512 or 1'024, the second based on BB silicon plays PCM up to 768kHz or resamples to 512/1'024 with Thorsten Loesch's upsampler.

An interesting aside notes that Cen.Grand's chief engineer tried to formally license the OEM Koch FPGA algorithm only to be turned down then roll his own. On the topic of native DSD files, I have some but none beyond 64. Yet my Audirvana Studio license can resample up to 256. Meanwhile Matthieu had Nagra's 70th Anniversary music compilation in DSD128 which he'd send me. It would become my first-ever native double DSD file. I was coming up in the world of Esoteric Fi. Better late than never.

Delivery was in two cardboard boxes quite oversized for the innards. Unpacking conveyed the intended experience of handling luxury goods, from fastidiously crafted protection to cloth draw-string bags and white gloves, manual and branded USB stick. The following picture gallery needs no comments.