ЦАПы — Luxman DA-250

The DA-250 is a USB digital-to-analogue converter with a headphone amplifier and preamplifier functions from the Japanese brand Luxman. It replaced the DA-200 and was presented by Luxman as the core of a desktop audio system, accepting a computer, a CD player or other digital devices and also one analogue source.

Key specs that matter

Inside works a Texas Instruments PCM1795 with a 32 bit digital filter, and incoming signals are up-converted internally to 352.8 or 384 kHz at 32 bit. The USB input takes PCM from 32 to 192 kHz at up to 32 bit and DSD at 2.82 and 5.64 MHz. Digital inputs total four and analogue outputs three - unbalanced, balanced and a headphone jack. One coaxial and two optical inputs accept PCM with 16, 20 or 24 bit words, and one coaxial plus one optical output pass the digital stream on. Supported sampling rates run through 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz. Line output is 2.5 V at 300 ohm on RCA and 2.5 V at 600 ohm on XLR. The headphone output delivers 130 mW per channel into 600 ohm, 400 mW into 32 ohm and 200 mW into 16 ohm. Frequency response is 2 Hz to 50 kHz within 3 dB, distortion is 0.001% and IHF-A weighted signal-to-noise reaches 118 dB. The case is 364 x 81 x 279 mm and weight is 5.4 kg.

Engineering and use context

Level control relies on LECUA, the Luxman Electric Controlled Ultimate Attenuator, so the DA-250 can also work as a preamplifier. Maximum output voltage is 8.7 V on RCA and 10 V on XLR. The headphone section was upgraded against the DA-200 with a discrete buffer circuit for greater drive capability. The analogue input is digitised by a built-in Texas Instruments PCM9211 A/D converter. The single analogue input is unbalanced, and Luxman classes the whole unit as a two-channel D/A converter. Mains supply is 230 V at 50 Hz or 115 V at 60 Hz depending on region, and consumption is 20 W.

Pairing

Both line outputs can go to a stereo power amplifier directly or to an amplifier with balanced inputs, and the headphone socket suits sensitive low impedance models as well as high impedance studio types. The box holds an RD-24 remote control handset and a power cable, and the LUXMAN Audio Player software runs on Windows 10 and Mac OS X for file playback over USB.

Alternatives

The Luxman DA-07X is a 440 mm wide USB converter with dual ROHM BD34301EKV chips, PCM to 768 kHz, DSD to 22.5 MHz and full MQA decoding, plus an AES/EBU input, in a 92 mm tall case weighing 12.8 kg.