Meridian - Explorer2 USB DAC

For the past few months I’ve been reading about a new encoding system developed by Meridian Audio over in the U. K. It is called Master Quality Authenticated or MQA for short. Devoted music lovers will be hearing more about this process in the future. For more go to their website. While music encoded with this process is still being developed, music streamer TIDAL has thousands of tracks (they claim 30K) which are available in a section called “Masters.”I was anxious to give it a try but of course you need a decoder. Several high end products have incorporated it in their equipment, but most of these are outside my price range. This little gem from Meridian isn’t. In fact, the price has dropped substantially from their original $400. I don’t often listen to music from my computers and when I do it is usually over DLNA in the house. Normally I would listen to TIDAL using my smart phone either via Bluetooth or connected directly to my Oppo universal player.With the Explorer 2, you must connect it to either a desktop or laptop computer using a USB port. It won’t work directly from a phone or tablet without some sort of technical manipulation and even then I’m not sure it would work with MQA. In any case, I hooked the 4” long oval device to my Windows 10-based laptop. I actually placed an Audioquest Jitterbug between the USB port on the laptop and the Explorer 2. The Jitterbug is essentially an inexpensive noise filter and works great, but that’s another review.You have the option of plugging headphones/earbuds directly into the Explorer 2, but it also has a separate port that you can run into your preamp which I have done. Frankly I was a bit stunned by what I heard. What a difference this little device has on the overall quality of the sound. It not only decodes MQA material but has an excellent digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that is a significant improvement over what is included on most computers including mine. Even with TIDAL’s standard streaming (HI FI setting 44.1kHZ/16bit), the sound is more robust, detailed and balanced. When you chose “Masters” you will get a list of options either by album or by playlist. With the MQA (96kHZ/24bit) engaged, the Explorer provides 2 variations of MQA.Occasionally you will find tracks or albums called studio grade. You will know as the Explorer 2 will light up 3 diodes. One light is for normal HI FI, 2 lights for MQA content and 3 for MQA studio. With MQA content what I’ve noticed most is more detail. That is, brushes on a drum, breathing by a singer, fretwork by a guitarist, whispered comments, etc. You can more easily pick out instruments you haven’t heard before. I’ve become a fan of a band called “War on Drugs.” Their sax player often plays a huge bass or baritone sax. I love the sound but frankly, it’s hard to pick out sometimes. Not with the Explorer 2 especially with MQA content. I’ve now found other bands using the same instrument, only I’ve not heard it before.Finally, especially in “studio” mode, there is a feeling of being inside the recording studio. There is a bit of sound decay, modest echo that captures the actual sound of the session before engineering tricks are applied. As you might expect, the differences with MQA will be mostly heard with high quality equipment. I would consider my system modest but good (Martin Logan electrostatic speakers, Emotiva preamp and amps, Audioquest and Morrow cables, etc.) I’m a believer and at this price, you can’t go wrong.

I absolutely LOVE this device. For the price drop from $299 to $199, this puts it right in the ballpark to compete with the industry standard USB DAC series by Audioquest, the Dragonfly DAC/headphone amplifiers. I own both the Dragonfly v1.2 and the Dragonfly Red v1.0. Both are great little devices. The Red sounds detailed and has plenty of power on board to drive very power hungry headphones efficiently. I have had no issue driving my Sennheiser HD 700 headphones (150 ohms) while my PSB M4U1 headphones are almost too sensitive for the amplifier (I usually output the device at about 18 to 24% with those. The biggest benefit of the Dragonfly Red is that it is highly efficient and draws very low current, therefore making it one of the few DAC/amps that can be driven by the output from a cell phone without the need for auxiliary power via an external battery. The only downfall with the red is the overly analytical sound.I didn't really ever notice this until I splurged as a birthday present to myself to purchase the Meridian Explorer2 to take advantage of MQA streaming through Tidal. As soon as I hooked up the Explorer, I was absolutely in love with the sound signature. The sound was maybe less precise than the Dragonfly, but it seemed to be a much more pleasing sound. It is slightly on the warm side without as much of the crystal clear high details you might experience through other amplifiers. This actually helps make for an easier, less fatiguing listening experience. I don't think this device is going to replace your reference DAC in your main home system. But for something to take on the road and hook up when working at the coffee shop, I can't think of anything better. This one is definitely a keeper. The biggest issue with this device is that it is primarily made to be used with fairly efficient headphones. It is perfect for driving my PSB M4U1 headphones. Compared to the Red which ran them at about 20% output, the Meridian needs to be at about 50% to get the same output. Going to the Sennheiser HD700 headphones, I have to increase from about 40 to 50% on the dragonfly to about 70 to 80% on the Meridian to get to moderate sound pressure levels. If you are planning to use this device with very inefficient headphones, I would either not recommend it or highly recommend that you consider an additional external headphone amplifier.Update: I know this device isn't necessarily recommended for smartphone playback. However, I have been able to successfully hook the Explorer 2 up to my Note 3 which I use for music playback utilizing the Audioquest Jitterbug going to the Audioquest OTG Dragon tail for Android. It sounds respectably good. But not quite the sAmerican quality as string through the computer's USB. But it can be done so that the Explorer can be utilized for on the go listening. I'll have to see how battery life is utilized.