Element vs Objective2

Recent discussions reminded me that misconceptions also surround Element, such as: ‘Element is an O2+ODAC in a nicer box / Element has an ODAC inside’ False: While both are designed for transparency, performance and features differ: 1.5W vs 0.6W output power is substantial. ‘Element clips’ False: Of course not! Like any good design, gain is […]

Read More

ODAC vs OL DAC

“Hey, I was just wondering what the major differences were between the ODAC and the OL DAC.” This fine question continues to pop up in emails, on the phone, on reddit, on Head-Fi, etc. I was excited to push OL DAC into the wild last November for a number of reasons. I’ve always placed great […]

Read More

Power is Volume

Edit (8/24/2023): Check out Sterling’s summary: Announcement of The Element has reminded us that output power is widely misunderstood. Most confusion can be resolved by understanding that Volume sets Power. In the world of audio, Power is the amount of energy that an amplifier can deliver into a specific load (ohms), at a specific frequency (Hz), […]

Read More

Best DAC?

Lately we’ve received several phone calls which start like this: Customer: “Hi, I’m new to high end audio. Does [insert product] have a DAC in it? Do I need a DAC?” From these discussions, two observations are clear. DACs are suddenly “hot” on the market. The majority of prospective DAC buyers, especially those new to […]

Read More