For the edition 9/20 of American Recording magazine, Justin Perkins wrote a great review about our Mastering D/A Converter SPL Mercury. You can find the complete review online and in the magazine. We really recommend to check it out! We provide you with a short summary here.
Features and Technology:
“Mercury is built on the unique 120V DC Audio Rail Technology found in most SPL products, providing the unit with exceptional headroom and dynamic range. Conversion is handled by AKM Velvet-Sound® technology, with sampling rates up to 32-bit/768 kHz, and Direct Stream Digital up to DSD4. From an audiophile perspective, Mercury is future proofed for many years to come.”
“One thing I love about Mercury is the big and simple buttons for changing what source is feeding the DAC. There are no confusing menus to scroll through, or special tricks needed to access all the options and features. You can pretty much start using this thing right out of the box without reading the manual.”
“Mercury is very responsive to sample rate and source changes with no significant or bothersome lag. Everything is very instant and smooth, with no fighting or waiting for it to do what you want it to do.”
In Use
“I found Mercury extremely clear sounding, even when playing back very loudly mastered material. Some converters struggle when they are pushed to the extreme top end of the digital loudness scale. However, Mercury always sounded solid and detailed.”
“Whether streaming hi-resolution music or recent mastering projects I’ve been working on, everything sounded very pleasing. Clear and precise, but not fatiguing or misleading. I also did a few ‘in the box’ mastering sessions from my home setup using the Mercury for monitoring, and I found it very easy and enjoyable to work with. Most of the projects I used it on were approved on version one, so that’s a very good sign.”
Conclusion:
“SPL is known for its exceptional build and sound quality, and the Mercury Mastering DA Converter is no exception.”