USB DONE RIGHT: Two magic boxes that let computer audio ...

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Eximus DP1
o begin with, what is it? Is
it a preamplifier? Yes. Is it a
digital-to-analog converter?
Definitely. A headphone
amplifier? That too, but first things first.
Let us discuss the often talked-about
wife acceptance factor. The very concept
whiffs of sexism, but it is an undeniable
fact that the ranks of audiophiles count
a lot more men than women. This can
seem to be an enigma, because the ranks
of music lovers include at least as many
women as men. Whatever the reason,
it is usually men who choose the music
system, but in many (most?) cases it is the
Which brings us to the Eximus DP1,
perhaps the handsomest audio consumer
product we have ever reviewed. Even
Albert Simon’s superb cover picture can
barely prepare you for the astonishing
look of this product. Built from a single
block of cast aluminum, it made us think
of the MacBook Pro laptop, which is also
cast aluminum, but with a Zen touch
that goes beyond. Look at the holes that
allow heat dispersion. Look at the amazing
pattern of leaves cut into the top, but
don’t miss the two wayward leaves that
are just above the volume control.
And speaking of the volume con-
woman who has laid out the furniture trol, you just know that knob didn’t
and designed the décor. That the two come out of anyone’s parts bin.
may clash hardly needs explaining. Things are not always as they seem,
A woman living alone will almost of course. Just as some “Japanese,”
certainly choose a smaller, more discreet “German” and “Korean” cars are actu-
system than a solitary man might, but ally designed in Europe and the US, so
the problem is less one of size than of the DP1 is from the California studio
design. True, some of the best loud- of Alex Rasmussen, who has also done
speakers and amplifiers are large, often cosmetics for such companies as Ayre
obtrusively so, but then grand pianos are and Constellation Audio. It’s truly a
large too, yet it’s almost unimaginable global world!
that anyone would say, “It’s too big, I The Eximus is from South Korea’s
don’t want that in my house.”
April Music, and we have run across
It’s never too big unless it’s ugly. the name before. An Eximus CD player,
42 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
with a full set of digital inputs, was
reviewed in UHF No. 86. CD players
are leaving the stage, however, and
standalone DAC’s are replacing them.
Choose your source: a CD transport (if
you can find one), your CD player (if you
still have one), or your computer, with or
without some sort of interface accessory.
The DP1 (the initials possibly stand
for “digital preamp”) fits right in.
It is now increasingly
common for preamplifiers,
amplifiers and even receivers
to have digital inputs, though
in many cases they’re an afterthought
that might better not
have been thought of at all.
Fortunately that’s not always
true. The Benchmark DAC1 HDR,
which was on the cover of our last issue,
is primarily a DAC (and a good one),
which includes a preamp. This one is
the other way around, though that’s a
distinction without a difference.
Although the emphasis is on digital,
there are two analog inputs. One of
them, unfortunately, is wasted in our
view, by being placed on the front panel.
Does anyone still use a portable player
as a source?
The rear panel, shown on the next
page, includes a good set of interfaces,
including one you may not have seen
before, labelled I 2 S, which stands for
Integrated Interchip Sound. This link
is for connecting a disc drive to a DAC,
and it separates the data and clock
streams for lower jitter. Though it was
developed in 1986, it is rarely used. PS
Audio uses it for its own transport and
DAC, but this particular connector is
proprietary. April Music does make a
transport.
The front panel has the analog input
already mentioned, a headphone jack,
and a source selector. A tiny LED indicates
the source resolution, glowing red
(44.1 or 48 kHz sampling rate), yellow
(88.2 or 96) or green (176.4 or 192). We
were surprised to find that the DP1
doesn’t come with a remote control, an
omission that could be a dealbreaker for
some.
Because the DP1 is multitalented, we
needed to do more than one evaluation,
in order to answer the questions we (and
you, probably) have.