Audial S5: new DAC from Serbia

This year the Serbian company Audial celebrates its 15th anniversary. The company intends to celebrate this beautiful date with a number of interesting premieres, the first of which was the external DAC Audial S5. The novelty is built in the proprietary Audial design without oversampling. The device is based on TDA1541A multi-bit chips from Philips. In comparison with the previous model bearing the S4 index, the new product has an upgraded power supply and expanded switching capabilities.

In addition to the USB-B port and coaxial digital input, it adds an optical port and an I2S / PCM input via HDMI. There is also an I2S / PCM digital output. In addition, with a 4-channel USB interface and Philips Synchronous Data Protocol, two S5 components can act as a 4-channel USB DAC, capable of decoding digital streams up to 384 kHz. Analogue connections include both balanced XLR outputs and unbalanced RCA outputs.

The external DAC Audial S5 can be purchased directly from the manufacturer for 2,200 euros. Optional toroidal output transformers cost an additional €150.