Heed Audio DACtilus 3 DAC

In designing the Dactilus, Heed's aim was to create a D-to-A converter device which makes any digital source – CD players, DAB tuners, etc. – more enjoyable to listen to in musical terms. Used with higher ranking digital components it still holds its own against many on-board DACs with its strikingly different approach – a less analytical and processed presentation of music which conveys the musical message in a very fluid, natural, rhythmically engaging fashion.

Even the primal Dactilus 1 with Heed's first-ever DAC circuitry, the Dactil 1.0 module was capable of doing all that. The present generation Dactilus 3, equipped with Heed's Dactil 1.2 DAC module, is capable of 24bit/192 kHz high resolution signal processing while extending upon the virtues of the earlier model, injecting extra transparency, information retrieval and dynamic capability.

The features list is modest: optical (Toslink) and electrical (Coax SPDIF) digital inputs (selected using a rear-mounted switch) or an asynchronous, 24bit/192 kHz capable USB input into a single unbalanced output.

At the heart of the Dactilus 3 lies our Dactil 1.2 DAC module, which is based on a highly integrated Wolfson D/A chip. It handles all sources up to 24bit/192 kHz high resolution signals and, in spite of its striking minimalism, is capable of achieving astonishingly good performance.

In order to avoid undesirable electro-magnetic interference within the chassis, the Dactilus has no on-board power supply, employing an external PSU. This can be upgraded with our Q-PSU for maximum performance.

FEATURES:

• S/PDIF, optical and USB 2.0 inputs
• Upgradeable DAC and USB card system
• Buffered analogue output
• Separated, upgradeable power supply