John
Brevity. Conversations in the Resonessence Labs room were short and sweet. It’s clear that fellow Brit Mark Mallinson doesn’t bring products to market to meet with the over-crowded US audio show calendar. He and his Canadian company march to their own drum.
Mallinson explains that despite commencing work on the original INVICTA DAC way back in 2008 it didn’t see daylight until 2011…and even that might have been too early when you consider it only played .wav files out of the gate. Subsequent firmware updates have thankfully piled on the features.
The INVICTA Mirus (double DAC, no headphone outputs) could be found driving their Hans Looman-designed, super-high end power amplifier. It’s a DAC, yes, but the inclusion of an SD card transport obviates the need for a host PC to supply the tunes. The Mirus’ all-in-one nature definitely sets it apart from the competition. Remind yourself of the specifics in the review full review here.
So what’s new?
Blink and you’d miss it: the Herus Plus. An extra US$50 gets you a Herus (covered here and here) with a logo that sits ever-so-slightly proud of the small enclosure and acts as a button for switching between apodizing and IIR (minimum phase) filters. Responding to end user feedback, the guys in white coats have improved the volume control sensitivity too.
The Herus Plus will sell for ~US$400 and begins shipping at the end of October ’14.
And if you want to know why the photo of the Herus Plus is blurred, blame Zu Audio + Peachtree Audio + Oban scotch + altitude = early morning shakes.
Mallinson promises fresh product announcements in the new year.
Further information: Resonessence Labs
