"Five Stars" – What Hi-Fi?
"Just What You Need" in a Versatile DAC
Digital audio is brilliant. But it needs to be analog audio before you can hear it. The way it ends up sounding depends entirely on how you convert the digital audio files stored on your computer, on CD or from your favorite streaming service. Cambridge Audio's DacMagic 200M performs the digital-to-analog conversion perfectly every time, letting your audio system sound better than ever before.
"Cambridge Audio’s flagship DacMagic 200M is the DAC equivalent of an all-inclusive holiday that not only offers flights, meals and accommodation but also throws in room upgrades, free excursions and unlimited ice-cream for the kids," reports What Hi-Fi?, April 23, 2021, which awards the DacMagic 200M the magazine's top rating of Five Stars. "And while we may have forgotten what holidays feel like right now, the fact that this digital-to-analogue converter is a generous soul should please anyone in the market for a well-equipped DAC for their hi-fi or desktop system."
"If you're looking for a versatile DAC and headphone amplifier to handle your assorted hi-res music library, Cambridge Audio may have just what you need," reports Becky Roberts at What Hi-Fi?, January 25, 2021.
Studio-Quality MQA Audio
DacMagic 200M is Cambridge Audio’s first product to support MQA, an award-winning British technology that delivers studio-quality sound in a file small enough to stream. TIDAL, for instance, uses MQA technology to deliver master-quality sound to its subscribers. Cambridge Audio’s DacMagic 200M can fully decode and playback MQA files, so they sound exactly like the original studio recording.
On the front panel of the DacMagic 200, you'll see an MQA LED. This lights up to indicate you're playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the artist or producer, or has been verified by the copyright owner. The green indicator is confirmation you are playing and decoding an MQA music file.
Powerful Processing
At the heart of the DacMagic 200M is a pair of extremely high-quality ESS Sabre digital-to-analog converters. They handle digital audio files up to 32bit/768kHz or DSD512 and can deal with digital music of any kind stored on CDs, smartphones, computers, or anywhere else.
Once a digital file is onboard the DacMagic 200M, the DACs convert it to an analog signal with all of its dynamics and detail intact. And because the analog signal it sends to your audio system is so astonishingly free of distortion – so precise and so lifelike, too – your music will sound more convincing and exciting than it ever has sounded before.
Well Connected to Your Digital Sources
You can send digital audio files to the DacMagic 200M in several ways. Digital optical, digital coaxial and USB inputs allow an easy wired connection of CD players, games consoles, laptops, and other digital equipment. And with built-in Bluetooth aptX reception, you can wirelessly deliver files from your smartphone or tablet.
DacMagic 200M has both balanced and unbalanced analog outputs for connecting to audio systems of all types, and its switchable filters give you different sonic options. In addition to delivering stunning sound to your speakers, DacMagic 200M has a high-quality headphone amplifier on board with a 1/4" jack. So you can enjoy DacMagic 200M’s thrilling sound quality in private.
Compact Size Fits Anywhere
Cambridge Audio has packed an incredible number of features and extraordinary technology into the compact chassis of the DacMagic 200M. The beautifully built, flawlessly finished steel and aluminum box measuring just 8.5" wide x 2" high x 7.5" deep. The compact size means it will fit discreetly into any existing audio set-up.
