Musica USB30 DAC

Very rare Musica USB DAC in rare black. One of the most musical DACs ever made. Highly sought after, but hard to find. This is a DAC manufactured by a boutique audio company in Japan. Black with silk screening. An old school digital analogue converter which utilizes a Burr Brown PCM 2704 chip. This chip is limited to 16-bit 48Khz, so no high resolution 24-bit files. However since it resolves 44.1 Khz and 48 Khz, 192 Khz, 176 Khz, 96 Khz and 88Khz files will down sample perfectly. Signal is then passed through a 6111 tube. Simple but elegant design. Truly engaging sound. Specs do not always translate to great sound. This DAC is sublime.

The enclosure is made from two materials. The bottom, front and back panels are made from bent, metal sheets. Metal was also used for the shield behind the tube. The rest of the front, back and the top cover are made from plastic. The engineers believe that metal in the vicinity of the electronic circuitry is a curse.

Here are some reviews :
High Fidelity - Musica Ibuki Review
Marcin Ostapowicz - Co-creator of Jplay software

As the reviews state, so good you will be tempted to use this for your 16-bit files and another DAC for your 24-bit files. If you are trying to find that magical old school sound this is the DAC you want.