Meridian Explorer USB DAC Preview

I'm always on the lookout for a good quality and feature-rich USB DAC. It's an important device if you plan to use external speakers for your laptop of desktop computer. It's a total bonus if the DAC includes a nice headphone amp and the ability to handle both outputs as needed. Today, Meridian released its Explorer USB DAC. It's basically a pocket-sized high-resolution USB DAC that the company built to deliver the best possible audio from a PC. Since this USB DAC has analogue outputs for both headphones and stereo analogue audio, the Explorer can be used in a variety of applications from private headphone listening to full system playback.

Explorer essentially replaces a computer’s internal sound card with a USB-powered DAC. The system uses Meridian's resolution enhancement technologies and makes any audio file, from MP3 to high resolution, sound its very best.

The Explorer is fully compatible with either Mac, Linux or Windows computers. It's a fully asynchronous, USB audio class 2 DAC and uses premium parts such as high quality filter capacitors, 6-layer pc board, and an elegant all metal enclosure. The Explorer is also hand assembled at Meridian’s Cambridge factory, and the company touts that it's engineered from the same DNA as Meridian’s 800 series Reference products.

The Meridian Explorer USB DAC will sell for around $299.

I've got it on my short list for reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.