Audalytic AH90 streaming DAC review

Gustard has decided to bring a daughter brand to the market called Audalytic. The First Audalytic product is a streaming DAC called AH90, which packs a lot of features for a modest price. Given that Gustard R26 is one of my favorite DACs, I was curious to find out if Gustard can trickle down its know-how to the more affordable price bracket.

Build and Connectivity

Audalytic AH90 is made out of aluminium. It feels well made but it probably won’t win any design awards. The display is small and readable if used as a desktop device. It won’t be of much help from a few meters away in a typical room setup. The volume knob functions as expected and the power button is touch-sensitive. Two headphone outputs are placed in the middle of the front panel. One is single-ended 6.35 mm and the other one is balanced 4.4 mm out.

Moving to the back we find several digital inputs: USB-C, optical, two coaxial, and a network LAN port. Most of these are usual offerings, but the last one is of particular interest since it lets you connect AH90 to your local network. Once that is done, it can serve as an audio renderer – a more simple cousin of an audio streamer. You can use AirPlay, UPnP, or Roon to connect to this DAC and stream music either from your local network storage or some online music streaming service. I ended up using the Bubble UPnP application on my phone to play tracks from both Tidal and Qobuz streaming services, as well as some local files. Everything worked flawlessly.

On the output side of things, you have a choice of either single-ended RCA or balanced XLR analog out.

Features

As previously mentioned, Audalytic AH90 is not a fully fledged streamer, but a renderer instead. This means that it doesn’t have, or need, any kind of software. It acts as an audio renderer, bridge, or end-point. However you call it, the fact is that user interface, organizing your music in playlists, etc. is left to third-party software like Roon, Bubble UPnP, mConnect, etc. Those apps will handle all of it and send the audio output to AH90 which only needs to play it. Audalytic uses a powerful signal processor in the form of XMOS XU-316 that accepts any high-resolution format up to 768 kHz PCM and DSD512. Infamous MQA is also supported.

For D/A conversion a flagship AKM chip AK4499EX is used, accompanied by the AK4191 Delta Sigma modulator. The headphone amplifier is also onboard, but the power rating is not disclosed by Audalytic. So putting all of the tech specs aside, let’s find out more about real-life performance.

Sound

Audalytic AH90 sounds clean and clear, and I mean very clear and clean. This DAC prioritizes crisp and well-etched tone edges. All instruments and vocals are well-separated, and the overall level of detail retrieval is great. The bassline is fast, precise, and well-defined. So is the midbase that never colors the midrange or adds any midrange. Some will like this super neutral, mean, and lean sound signature, but some may wish for slightly more warmth and fullness. This sound character is the same across all inputs.

Moving from tonality and to dynamics – AH90 is capable of very quick, fast-paced sound. Microdynamics are great but big dynamic swings are not that impressive. If DACs were a boxer, this one would be Muhammad Ali, not Mike Tyson. Considering that, I find it pairs best with systems that already have a healthy dose of sound mass and fullness. In that case, AH90 will bring great precision and speed to the mix and add to the overall skillset of your system. In case your HiFi setup is already on the fast and lean side, this DAC might be a less good choice.

Finally, a headphone amplifier shares all of the same sonic qualities as the line output. So we’re talking about fast and precise sound best paired with slightly warmer and fuller-sounding headphones.

Comparisons

Matrix Audio Mini-i 4 is another streaming DAC with a similar feature set. Matrix boasts a nicer color display and arguably better, or at least more modern, design. That said, the Mini-i 4 costs one hundred dollars more and doesn’t feature headphone output unless you opt for an even more expensive pro model. Sonic-wise, these two DACs share the same tonality and qualities. There’s too little here to truly differentiate them so the ball is back in the court of features and pricing. Audalytic AH90 feels like a better value here.

Eversolo DMP-A6 is a more feature-rich streaming platform with even greater connectivity options, a touchscreen, a very rich OS, and a native well-designed UI. The only thing A6 is lacking compared to AH90 is a headphone amplifier. If that’s important to you then Audalytic might be a better choice. If not, I find that A6 is a more elaborate streaming platform and a better performer as well. DMP-A6 is equally clean and resolving, but brings more tone fullness to the table, as well as better dynamics. So if you don’t mind the price difference and don’t need a headphone output, Eversolo is a better performer and should be seriously considered.

Conclusion

Audalytic AH90 is a good-sounding DAC that comes with a very useful audio renderer and headphone amplifier onboard. Having all of the above in one well-made and well-priced device makes for a great value.