REVIEW

need to review within my normal parameters and that means in a system that I am familiar with end to end. However, and as mentioned a couple of times now, one of the big advantages of a unit like this is its one-box and a pair of powered speakers convenience. I recently spoke as part of a panel of four at the Munich High End show about the future of HiFi and i mentioned in that I thought the future was a tablet/screen and something like the Altair with powered speakers. You can watch the video here.

SOUND OF THE AURALIC ALTAIR G1.1

I set the ALTAIR in the upstairs listening room with our LAB12 pre, Merrill Thor amps, and Qualio IQ speakers. Normally I would have an Auralic streamer going into the same system but using the external LAB 12 DAC Reference. So, essentially, what I am comparing is the digital processing on the ALTAIR G1.1 to our usual DAC - simplistically speaking, of course.

First of all, it’s pretty clear from the outset and without fannying around with any of the settings and filters that LIGHTNING DS and the ALTAIR allow, that this is a great-sounding DAC. It’s very difficult for me to say this is better than previous ALTAIRs I’ve heard as I don’t have one to compare side by side, but in comparison to the LAB 12, my first impression was that it was a more “precise” and perhaps a little more analytically sounding. This is not to say that the ALTAIR is clinical in its presentation of music, because it’s just not. By clinical I think what people mean is that a product sounds a little brittle and harsh at the top-end – not a feature of the sonic presentation of the ALTAIR at all! In fact, I would say that the overall sound of the ALTAIR is very balanced and very organic – a pleasure to spend extended periods of time with. All the detail of a recording is there with the ALTAIR in place, but the detail is not overwhelming or “in-your-face” in any way, and why I chose to use the word organic.

The detail I mentioned is carried through to the soundstage and placement of instruments within that stage. Listening to a current favourite of mine, Miles Davis’ Doo-Bop, had the beats laid out with a high degree of accuracy and then Davis’ horn taking front-centre and being slightly elevated in the mix with the occasional rap vocal coming out into the room from the mix. All of this is, of course, influenced greatly by the speakers and the amplifiers we have in this system, but it would be quite easy for a lesser product to mess this up…the ALTAIR doesn’t mess this up at all and I’d suggest it may even enhance it a little.

I find that one of the big influences that different DACs bring to the table are the different tonal colours they have and impart to the music you are listening to; some are warm sounding, some are clinical, whilst others are brittle and harsh in what they add. I would suggest that the ALTAIR brings a very neutral presentation of the timbral aspect of the music and the instruments you are listening to. José James’ version of Strange Fruit is a great example of this and his vocal maintains its goosebump-giving quality on his version, whilst the handclaps retain their correct reverb and snap. Likewise, the deep reverby quality of the backing vocals is presented with a wonderful roundness and texture. The slight vibrato on James’ vocal that is apparent on some of the longer-held notes remains wholly intact and very nicely presented, as is the impression of the different mouth-shapes he uses in his rendition of this classic tune. Some of these are time-related factors and this would suggest an accuracy in this regards in the character of the ALTAIR. This impeccable timing aspect of the ALTAIR’s performance is echoed on the A Certain Ratio’s “Mind Made Up” album where busy sections of the record could become a bit of a mush…they don’t become a mush, but nor are the individual parts of the record artificially layered in the stage.

The NAXOS 128DSD version of Jazz at the Pawnshop taken from the analogue masters puts the listener at the first couple of tables back from the stage and centrally placed. Again, there is a natural and precise feeling that the ALTAIR imparts to the sonics. Nothing sounds forced or pushed to the fore and the natural ambiance of the recording space is maintained and brought out by the ALTAIR. Clarinet sounds resonant and like a clarinet should, whilst small taps on the cymbals during I’m Confessin’ are in-the-room lifelike.

The lack of overall embellishment of a track is brought out when you play a pretty flat-sounding master, and rather than the ALTAIR having a pushed presence band of frequencies to make badly mastered tracks sound a bit livelier, the tracks are laid bare and still flat sounding. This really is a positive aspect in that I consider the role of high-fidelity music reproduction being able to produce what they are fed with and without enhancement..the old “crap in, crap out” scenario. However, even on a particularly flat-sounding trance tune from 2000, the sound, and particularly the sound of the filter resonance of the Roland TB303 sounded as distinct as it is in reality. Play Robert Miles’ Children and the ALTAIR comes alive and brings out all the nuanced detail that this masterpiece of modern trance is made up of and the room is filled with music.

I did test out the headphone amplifier on the ALTAIR G1.1 and all is good. It works well, went loud and kept its composure very nicely. I can’t see anyone that bought this box ever feeling that perhaps they might need a better-quality headphone amplifier.

Quibbles

DS LIGHTNING app is iOS only and I really do think it is about time that AURALIC embraced those that use Android devices, though I do understand the reasoning behind their dropping support for it – “There are simply too many different hardware specifications and manufacturers’ customizations to provide a uniform user experience across Android devices.”

Auralic says that the Lightning DS app will be slow to set up large libraries. However, they quote absolutely HUGE libraries, and for the normal person with normal collections, this do it once and set to monitor for additions will be relatively speedy.