Audioengine D1 Review: An Easy Way to Make AirPlay Sound Great

The rise of streaming audio frequency over AirPlay has made it potential to wirelessly take on music from your iPhone over your home speaker unit . But that data point comes through as a raw flow of 0s and 1s , and the healthy timber is n’t that great .

A digital - to - analog ( DAC ) audio convertor can clean up the stream , but it can also cost hundred of Buck . The Audioengine D1 is a capable , low-priced DAC that can make wireless audio strait wonderful . Here ’s why you need it .

What Is It?

A $ 170 DAC audio convertor with a lot of features that usually a net ton — there are USB and optical input , lines out to a pair of speakers , and a earphone ampere .

Who’s it For?

introduction - level audiophiles trying to optimise their equipment , or hardcore audio devil looking for a inexpensive , quality DAC for an extra set of verbalizer .

Design

The aluminum and soft - touch plastic frame is not flashy , but it ’s clean and handsome . expose screws on the front add a pro - grade look and make the guts accessible for repair .

Using It

Connect the D1 to a computer via USB , or use an optic comment from a computing machine , idiot box , receiving system , or Airport Express . Output the strait to an amplifier , to headphones , or to the gadget the D1 really seems designed for — a twain of powered monitor speakers .

The Best Part

The optical comment , which improves the quality of the streaming audio recording issue forth from an Airport Express or Apple TV . It ’s rarefied to find that ( along with the USB input ) on a DAC this tacky . The D1 ’s superscript hardware does the heavy lifting to clean up an audio data stream , bringing new life to Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II and a distich of Audioengine A5 + speaker system .

Tragic Flaw

The earpiece amp drives power - thirsty sets of rump via USB , and it ’s adequate , but it wo n’t switch anyone ’s world .

This Is Weird…

The D1 did n’t always pick up the opthalmic signal from a Samsung TV . It seemed to vary on a seed - to - source or line - to - channel groundwork . It could be the TV ’s geological fault , but other optic audio devices have worked far better in this gaze .

Test Notes

Using any type of hardware , music instantaneously comes to living , with greater pellucidity , response , and a little extra biff to the basso .

test USB audio spiritual rebirth with a 2009 13 - inch MacBook Pro .

Tested optical audio rebirth with an Airport Express and Apple TV .

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Used Harman Kardon Soundsticks II and Audioengine A5 + speakers .

Used Aiaiai TMA-1 , Grado SR80i and Harman Kardon CL headphones .

Mostly examine with 320 kbps MP3s , but also a handful of FLAC single file .

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Should You Buy It?

Definitely . If you use a comely stage set of speaker system to listen to a lot of music — and specially if you associate those verbaliser to a convenient cyclosis hub , so that you may well push audio from multiple devices — you’ll instantly appreciate the tote up quality the Audioengine D1 affords . It ’s easy to plug in and use , and it has to be the cheapest , easiest way to make a worthwhile upgrade to an AirPlay frame-up .

If you ’re just beginning to flirt with the world of advanced sound , this is a great first DAC to purchase . For $ 170 , you get the performance and feature of a more expensive spell of equipment .

Inputs : USB , TOSLINK optical audio

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