In the current edition of legendary German HiFi magazine Stereo you can find a great review of the SPL Director Mk2. Of course we would like to provide you with some excerpts from the review here!
Look:
“The SPL Director Mk2… arrived…with a front panel in an attractive metallic red. The two round VU-meters are already so convincing design-wise – that doesn’t miss its effect on me either.”
Connections:
“The rear panel offers everything your heart desires and maybe even more – at least when it comes to analog high level sources, analog outputs and digital inputs.”
Tape Monitor:
“Not only fans of analog recording devices will welcome a tape monitor switch, but also those who want to loop in processors or equalizers.”
Technology:
“Internally, a special 60V high-voltage topology called ‘Voltair’ is used, which makes it possible to keep the electronic operating ranges, instead of at extremely fixed points, rather wider, which means that they remain constant and stable over long periods of time and even under very changing operating conditions.”
Converter:
“Essentially, the AKM4490 Velvet Sound is an absolute top-class converter module that can handle DSD up to 256 and PCM up to 768 kilohertz.”
Values:
“The noise and THD values in particular is indeed a reason for celebration – just like the converter accuracy of 0.1 dB, the low jitter or the output impedance of less than 70 ohms, which is important for the transmission quality over longer cable distances.”
Sound:
“The SPL supports the natural characteristics of instruments in the most pleasant way, or rather, it does not slow them down. Because there are components and even loudspeakers which, in an effort to achieve the best possible impulse fidelity, shorten the fading of instruments. As a result, even piano or tremolo beats in vocal parts are suppressed. The SPL device does not do that: There is actually no evidence of weakness whatsoever.”
Find the complete review with the conclusion in Stereo magazine (edition 8/2020).
You can get the magazine at your local newspaper shop or you can order it online.
