ЦАПы — Hegel D50

The D50, named The Raven, is a standalone DAC from Hegel, the Norwegian electronics company, and the only converter in its current catalogue. It has no streaming, volume control or network functions, and its outputs run at a fixed level. Hegel announced it in early 2025 for shipping in May 2025 at USD 4,900, EUR 4,895 or AUD 8,495. It sits alongside the Viking CD player, the V10 phono stage, the P20 and P30A preamplifiers and the H20 and H30A power amplifiers.

Key specs that matter

Inputs are one AES/EBU, one BNC coaxial and one RCA coaxial connection, each accepting up to 24 bit and 192 kHz, DSD64 over DoP and MQA, two optical inputs up to 24 bit and 96 kHz, and one USB input up to 32 bit and 384 kHz with DSD256 over DoP. Outputs are RCA and balanced XLR, both fixed at 2.5 V. Bandwidth extends from 0 Hz to beyond 100 kHz, signal to noise ratio exceeds 100 dB, the noise floor is about -150 dB and distortion is below 0.0002%. The D50 draws less than 20 W in use and less than 0.5 W in standby. It measures 430 x 99 x 305 mm and weighs 6.6 kg.

Engineering and use context

Hegel places the DAC chip, a latest-generation device the company does not name, on a separate raised board above the main circuitry to keep it away from interference. The circuit board traces have rounded corners to keep impedance low. Two low-noise toroidal transformers, both shielded in steel, supply the digital and standby circuits and the analogue circuits separately. Three master clocks are fitted, one for the S/PDIF inputs and two for USB, dedicated to the 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz families of sample rates. The AES/EBU input uses a transformer-balanced RS422 receiver that handles both weak and strong signals, and S/PDIF data is unpacked on a custom card and reclocked before conversion. The D50 switches to an input automatically when it detects a signal. The housing and feet are aluminium, the front plate is milled, and the display can be dimmed. Because the output level is fixed, the D50 works as a pure source rather than as a digital preamplifier.

Pairing

A preamplifier or integrated amplifier is always needed, such as the Hegel P30A or an H-series integrated amplifier, connected through XLR or RCA. The Viking CD player can feed its BNC digital output into the D50, and a computer connects over USB.

Alternatives

Hegel has no other standalone DAC in its current catalogue.