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Meridian Direct DAC Stereo digital-to-analog converter with asynchronous USB input

Item # 795DIRECT

Attention music lovers! Meridian has given their superb Director digital-to-analog converter a new name: Direct DAC.

Attention music lovers! Meridian has given their superb Director digital-to-analog converter a new name: Direct DAC.

1 question - 1 answer

Item # 795DIRECT

Shop all Meridian DACs

About the Meridian Direct DAC

Dave Bar

Enjoy greater realism from your digital music sources

Attention music lovers! Meridian has given their superb Director digital-to-analog converter a new name: Direct DAC. But rest assured, the only thing that has changed is the name. You still get the exact same performance and features as the Director. Plug this compact, high-performance DAC in between your computer or digital music player and your hi-fi system, then sit back to experience improved sonic realism. The Direct DAC takes the place of the processor inside your player or PC, and precisely transforms the digital signals into rich, densely layered sound. Instruments gain harmonic complexity and vocals spring to life with the dynamics of a live performance.

Enjoy greater realism from your digital music sources

Meridian Director connected to a laptop computer

Meridian Direct DAC connected to a laptop computer.

Attention music lovers! Meridian has given their superb Director digital-to-analog converter a new name: Direct DAC. But rest assured, the only thing that has changed is the name. You still get the exact same performance and features as the Director. Plug this compact, high-performance DAC in between your computer or digital music player and your hi-fi system, then sit back to experience improved sonic realism. The Direct DAC takes the place of the processor inside your player or PC, and precisely transforms the digital signals into rich, densely layered sound. Instruments gain harmonic complexity and vocals spring to life with the dynamics of a live performance.

Inside the Meridian Director

Audiophile-grade components help give the Direct DAC its impressive sound quality.

Crafted with care for better sound

Renowned for their state-of-the-art audio and video components, Meridian builds each Direct DAC by hand in Britain to the same exacting standards as all of their high-end products. Its elegant, anodized aluminum case comes packed with the highest quality components, including audiophile-grade capacitors, resistors, and gold-plated phono jacks to extract better sound from all your digital sources.

Hear the asynchronous USB difference

Standard USB outputs from most computers pose a serious limitation to sound quality. That's because while you're trying to listen to music, your PC is busy performing virus scans, data backup, and other background tasks that may take priority over your tunes, causing it to alter the data rate to suit its own needs. Unfortunately, this situation results in timing errors within the digital data stream — known as "jitter" — that adversely affect sound quality. Jitter can make your music sound harsh and edgy, and smear subtle details.

The Direct DAC solves this problem by reaching out to your computer through the USB interface, and instructing it to relinquish control of the data stream timing. In its place, this advanced DAC inserts its own separate, or asynchronous, clock to precisely control the timing of the data rate, reducing jitter to the vanishing point. You'll hear a stunning improvement in low-level ambient detail along with a wider, deeper soundstage. And since not all audio content is encoded at the same sample rate, the Direct uses two discrete onboard clocks to optimize itself for different types of audio files or streams, for even greater timing precision.

Praise for the Meridian Director (a.k.a. Direct DAC) from Sound & Vision

"The Director is the best under-$1,000 way to improve computer audio that I've heard so far."

— From Mark Fleischmann's review in Sound & Vision, December, 2013
Read the full review



High-res audio

Enjoy high-resolution audio

Along with all the sonic benefits the Direct DAC provides for your compressed and CD-quality music files, it also has another trick up its sleeve — it decodes high-resolution data streams of up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution, so you can enjoy better-than-CD audio quality. (Free USB driver download required for Windows® PCs.) If you download high-res music files from HDtracks and other audiophile sources, this DAC will ensure that you hear them in all their glory. The Direct also upsamples all incoming 16-24bit, 44.1/48kHz digital audio to a 24-bit, 88.1/192kHz signal to resolve finer detail, even from compressed music sources.

Meridian Director inputs and outputs

The Direct DAC offers multiple digital inputs for your sound sources.

Flexible inputs for your gear

The Direct's multiple inputs are ready to take on your digital music sources, such as an Apple TV®, a Sonos® Connect, a game console, or even your old CD/DVD player. A 3.5mm hybrid jack provides input for S/PDIF digital signals, either coax (via a 3.5mm mono jack) or mini-optical. Two adapters are included: one allows standard coaxial S/PDIF RCA cables to be used with the Direct DAC while the other allows standard Toslink optical cables to be used.

A pair of gold-plated RCA outputs lets you connect the Direct to your home audio system's receiver or integrated amp. Or feed a set of powered speakers to create a high-end, compact desktop stereo.

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Product highlights:

  • supports sample rates up to 24-bit/192kHz for listening to high-resolution digital music sources
  • asynchronous USB technology for reduced timing jitter and better sound with computer audio sources
  • Meridian Resolution Enhancement technologies including up-sampling and apodizing filter
  • separate crystal oscillators for 44.1- and 48kHz-based sample rates offer minimal jitter and improved performance
  • incoming LED sampling rate indicators helps verify source quality
  • durable anodized aluminum case
  • 3.5mm S/PDIF digital audio input jack accepts mini coaxial or mini-optical connections (full-to-mini coax and optical adapters included)
  • USB (Type B) input for connection to a computer
  • powered by USB connection — no need for external power supply when connected to a USB source (using optical/coaxial input requires using the included AC USB power adapter)
  • supported sample rates:
    • USB: 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz
    • optical: 44.1/48/88.2/96kHz
    • coaxial: 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz
  • operating system requirements: Windows® XP (SP3), 7, 8, and Mac® OS X® 10.6.4 (Snow Leopard) or later
  • Meridian USB audio driver required for Windows computers (free USB driver download available from Meridian Audio website)
  • plug-and-play USB operation with Apple Macintosh computers
  • external AC USB power supply included
  • 3-3/16"W x 1-7/16"H x 6-3/4"D
  • weight: 9 ounces (without power supply)
  • warranty: 2 years
  • If connecting to a TV, please make sure you can select "PCM" output in its audio menu. This DAC is not compatible with Dolby® Digital signals.
  • MFR # Direct

What's in the box:

  • External DAC
  • AC power adapter (w/ attached 6' DC cord)
  • 4 AC plug inserts (US/AU/EU/UK)
  • Mini-to-RCA adapter
  • Mini-to-Toslink adapter
  • User Guide

Customer reviews for Meridian Direct DAC

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7 reviews

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More details on the Meridian Direct DAC

Mark G.

Features & specs

Design
Type ---
Built-in Rechargable Battery ---
Built-in Headphone Amplifier
Output Power ---
Output Impedance (Unbalanced) ---
Output Impedance (Balanced) ---
Audio Specs
Bit Depth (USB) 24
Max Sampling Rate (USB) 192
Bit Depth (S/PDIF) 24
Max Sampling Rate S/PDIF 192
S/N Ratio (Unbalanced, in dB) ---
S/N Ratio (Balanced, in dB) 0
THD (Unbalanced) ---
THD (Balanced) Not given
Supported File Types
PCM ---
DSD ---
DXD ---
MQA ---
Inputs
Total Inputs ---
USB Type B
Optical Digital 1
Coaxial Digital 1
3.5mm Digital 1
Stereo RCA Analog None
Stereo 3.5mm Analog None
Stereo XLR Analog ---
Headphone Outputs
3.5mm Unbalanced ---
1/4-inch Unbalanced ---
4.4mm Balanced ---
XLR4 Balanced ---
Other Headphone Outs ---
Line Level & Digital Outs
RCA Line Out 1
3.5mm Line Out None
XLR Line Out ---
Subwoofer Out None
Optical Digital Out None
Coaxial Digital Out None
Wireless Connectivity
Bluetooth ---
Wi-Fi ---
Apple-compatible ---
Android-compatible ---
General Info
Width (inches) 3-3/16
Height (inches) 1-7/16
Depth (inches) 6-3/4
Weight 0.5653 lbs.
Parts Warranty 2 Years
Labor Warranty 2 Years

Product Research

Features

External DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter): The Meridian Direct DAC is a high-quality DAC designed to deliver superior audio quality from today's digital sources, including computers media players, as well as legacy digital sources such as CD players, when listened to on an analog audio system.  The Direct DAC out performs the inferior DACs found inside your computer, laptop, network player, music server, or CD player. The Direct DAC will breathe new life into all your digital audio sources.

Premium Audiophile-Grade Components: Audiophile-grade components are utilized throughout the Meridian Direct DAC. The Direct DAC is enclosed in a sturdy, durable anodized aluminum extrusion case with molded end-caps. The external DAC features a sophisticated 4-layer PC board and direct-coupled to minimize noise and improve audio performance. The Direct DAC incorporates the highest quality components throughout, including audiophile grade capacitors, resistors. and gold-plated RCA sockets.

High Resolution Audio: The Direct DAC supports sample rates up to 24-bit, 192kHz and incorporates Meridian Resolution Enhancement technologies, including Meridian Upsampling and the Apodising filter, which audibly improves audio quality. The proprietary Apodising filter can actually improve the sound of some digital recordings by fixing recording faults. Standard sample rate signals (16-24 bit, 44.1/48kHz) are automatically upsampled to 24-bit/88.2kHz or 96kHz, allowing filtering to be carried out far above the range of human hearing.

Asynchronous + Low Jitter: The Direct DAC operates asynchronously using on-board, high-quality, discrete audio clocks for the USB and S/PDIF input, rather than low-quality audio clocks derived via USB from your computer. The Direct DAC's master clocking is done by separate precision reference oscillators for base sample rates (44.1 kHz/48 kHz) to minimize jitter and distortion.

USB Port (MAC/Windows Compatible): The Meridian Direct DAC connects to your desktop computer or laptop's USB (type-A) port via the DAC's USB (type-B) port; USB cable sold separately. The USB (type-B) socket allows the Direct DaC to be connected to your computer for playback of computer-based sources such as network audio and music server files, far exceeding the audio performance of a standard computer sound card. The Direct DAC can connect to virtually any computer with a USB port. Drivers for Windows; Macintosh, and Linux operating systems allow simple plug & play operation. The interface is USB Audio Class Compliant 2.0 HS, supporting 24-bit/192kHz resolution and data rates up to 480Mb/s.

Note: The Direct DAC supports Macintosh OS X 10.6.4 (Snow Leopard) or later; no additional drivers are needed. The Direct DAC is also compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows 7 SP1, or Windows 8; additional drivers are required and can be downloaded from the Meridian Support Site.

Digital Input: The digital input lets you connect your CD player, Blu-ray player, or music player with a digital output. This 3.5mm hybrid socket provides input for S/PDIF digital signals (2ch PCM only) via a 3.5mm mono jack. Two adaptors are included; one allows standard coaxial S/PDIF RCA cables to be used with Direct DAC, while the other allows standard Toslink optical cables to be used. The Direct DAC supports 24-bit/192kHz via the coax adapter and 24-bit/96kHz via the toslink adapter.

Analog Outputs: The Meridian Direct DAC is designed for connection to an analog audio system via its fixed-level stereo RCA outputs (2v RMS). The RCA outputs include anti-thump circuitry for trouble-free performance at switch-on.

LED Indicators: Three LEDs indicated the DAC's source input (Analog/SPIDF/USB). Three other LEDs indicate the input sample rate. When the 1x LED is illuminated, the Direct DAC is receiving a signal at 44.1 or 48kHz sampling: (upsampled to 88.2/96kHz). When the 2x LED is illuminated, the unit is receiving 88.2/96kHz. When the 4x LED is lit, 176.4/192kHz is being received.

Power Requirements: The Meridian Direct DaC can operate off of standard household current using the supplied AC power adapter. The Direct DAC can also be powered by a free USB (type-A) port on your computer.

Firmware Updates: Firmware updates can be downloaded from the Meridian Support Site to your computer and the connected Direct DAC.

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Customer Q&A

1 question already asked

Q
i stream music wirelessly from my imac through my receiver. can i connect this directly to my receiver?
michael  Mar 06, 2015
1 answer
A
I forwarded your question to an Advisor and they responded with the following: You can connect the Meridian Direct high resolution 24/192 DAC to your stereo using the stereo analog (Red and White RCA connections), see here: Analog Outputs: The Meridian Direct DAC is designed for connection to an analog audio system via its fixed-level stereo RCA outputs (2v RMS). The RCA outputs include anti-thump circuitry for trouble-free performance at switch-on. If you would like to discuss further you can contact an Advisor directly by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat.
kristina  Mar 10, 2015 (Staff)

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