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Audio Research DAC9
Digital that sounds like analog
Digital advances quickly and Audio Research continues to stay at the performance forefront.
Our perspective and love for analog reproduction helps make our digital components sound superior musically. The DAC9 is a vacuum-tube analog section combined with the latest digital design, capable of decoding DSD music files and PCM files up to 384kHz.
Selectable digital filters & quad D-A converters
Audio Research designed two separate data paths to the DAC9’s D-A converters: one for PCM files, and another to handle serial DSD files at 1x and 2x DSD clock rates. This assures proper integer decoding eliminating interpolation distortion errors that degrade sonic purity. Native sample-rate upsampling is available for all inputs, up to 384kHz for non-DSD (PCM) music files.
Selectable digital filters are available for customization. An asynchronous USB input, along with four galvanically isolated SPDIF inputs, assures all of your digital sources will integrate with the DAC9. We pioneered using quad D-A converters, with each channel using dual stereo DACs running in mono to increase dynamic range and lower the noise floor.
The digital side mates to a vacuum-tube analog section that uses a pair of 6H30 dual triode tubes. The DAC9 is a balanced design with a Class-A, zero feedback analog section with no capacitive coupling.
Like other products that have preceded it, the DAC9 combines remarkable resolution with relaxed musicality. Audio Research’s sonic legacy—clarity, dynamics, dimensionality, and musical authority—are obvious and thoroughly engaging.
After more than 50 years, our focus remains the advancement of the state-of-the-art in music reproduction. Every component is meticulously hand-crafted and personally auditioned befor it leaves our Minnesota facility.
Our attention to detail, customer service, and product support create unprecedented value. An Audio Research component is more than a purchase, it is an investment.
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Professional Reviews 90/100
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
92/100
Build Quality
89/100
Features Connectivity
88/100
Value for Money
89/100
Rich, organic tone and a spacious, non-fatiguing presentation define the DAC9, with Tom Lyle, Jim Clements, and Vade Forrester praising its musical flow, detailed vocals, and wide soundstage. Add tube-driven warmth, strong bass, and flexible digital filtering, and it becomes a compelling high-end DAC for listeners who prize realism over clinical edge.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Delivers a musical, organic sound that feels engaging and non-sterile, with tube warmth that enhances realism.
Creates a wide, deep soundstage with excellent imaging and clear instrument separation.
Retrieves fine detail and vocal nuance without sounding etched or analytical.
Offers strong bass and convincing dynamics, keeping music full-bodied and alive.
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Cons
Lacks modern extras like network playback, Bluetooth, and a built-in volume control.
Requires attention to system compatibility, including a Windows driver and reported Linux streamer issues.
Its large chassis and front handles can make shelf fitment awkward.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 92/100
Reviewers consistently describe the DAC9 as musical, organic, and highly engaging rather than clinical. They praise its warm but clean presentation, strong sense of flow, and non-fatiguing character, with several comments about a wide-open soundstage, vivid presentation, and natural, seamless integration across the frequency range.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
94/100
The DAC9 is repeatedly described as musical, organic, and involving, with a warm yet clean presentation that avoids the sterile quality some reviewers associate with all-solid-state DACs. Reviewers say it draws the listener into the music, sounds authentic rather than hi-fi, and supports long, stress-free sessions without fatigue.
Resolution and Detail
91/100
Reviewers praise plentiful detail and nuanced retrieval without crossing into an analytical or etched sound. They mention delicate vocal phrasing, layered depth, clear separation, and the ability to reveal harmonic structure and recording space while staying sweet and organic.
Digital Performance
92/100
The DAC9 is credited with a clean, transparent, and low-glare digital presentation, including remarks about silence between notes and smoother sound with less glare when upsampling. Reviewers also describe it as effortlessly capturing rhythmic changes and sounding convincingly natural rather than overtly digital.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
89/100
Reviewers are positive about the DAC9’s construction, calling the parts quality first-rate and the power supply substantial. One review does mention concern about the thin, resonant top cage, but the overall impression is of a solid, well-made component that feels engineered for the long term.
Features Connectivity
88/100
The DAC9 offers a strong spread of digital inputs, including USB, AES/EBU, BNC, coaxial RCA, and Toslink, plus selectable digital filters and upsampling to 384 kHz. Balanced and single-ended outputs are present, but it remains fairly purist: there is no volume control, and reviewers note the need for a Windows USB driver and limited compatibility with Linux-based servers.
Value for Money
89/100
Reviewers frame the DAC9 as expensive, but also as a component that can compete with and even better converters costing much more. Several comments say it belongs in systems at or above its asking price, and one review calls it an easy recommendation thanks to its sound quality and looks.
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Authorized dealers for Audio Research DAC9
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- 3mA Audio — online and in-store — Houston, Texas, United States (website)
- Absolute Sounds — in-store — London, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Ambiance Concert — in-store — Angers, Pays de la Loire, France (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Area Hifi — online and in-store — L'Eixample, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Aris Audio — in-store — Salt Lake City, Utah, United States (website)
- Audible Images — in-store — Melbourne, Florida, United States (website)
- Audio Advice — online and in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
and 94 more verified dealers