With the maturity of DAC chip and technology, more and more DSD supporting decoders and players appear in the market, and even some walkmans have begun to support DSD audio. Today we introduce Don Curzio Don Juan DSD decoder from Opera Audio Obo.
Appearance and Introduction
Oubo Don Curzio Don Juan is a decoder that supports up to DSD128 (5.64M bit rate). It uses CS4398 decoding chip and XMOS asynchronous processing module. The whole body is made of metal, which is full of texture
The front panel adopts the metal wire drawing process. There is an LED screen on the top and three buttons below, namely, the volume button and the mode switch button
The top is a flat piece of metal with sand blasting process
The front panel and frame adopt metal wire drawing process, and the workmanship is also exquisite
Oubo Don Curzio Don Juan supports three input modes, namely optical fiber, USB and coaxial, suitable for PCHIFI users. The output supports a set of RCA interfaces and a set of XLR balanced interfaces, which are relatively comprehensive in terms of interfaces and can meet the needs of most users
There are four glue foot pads and a row of cooling holes at the bottom
Obo Don Curzio Don Juan's screen display and operation are relatively simple. Information such as input mode, volume, song code rate, etc. are displayed on the screen. The volume attenuation supports up to - 90db, but does not support volume attenuation when DSD passes through
Use USB interface as audio input. Don Curzio Don Juan supports a popular XMOS processor module, and uses USB ground wire isolation technology to isolate digital interference when using computers as sound sources.
The accessories of Obo Don Curzio are also quite conventional, including a power cable, a USB cable and a remote control
The remote control uses CR2025 button battery
Don Curzio Technical Indicators
24Bit/192Khz, USB DoP supports DSD64 (1bit/2.8M), DSD128 (1bit/5.6M)
Analog output: 2.5V RMS (RCA, XLR)
Analog output terminal: RCA/XLR
Digital input: 2 sets of coaxial, 1 set of optical fiber, 1 set of USB
Signal to noise ratio: more than 118dB (RCA, XLR)
Distortion: less than 0.002% (RCA, XLR)
Size: 104mm x 240mm x 263mm (HxWxD)
Weight: 3.7kg
Auditory sense
From the perspective of parameters and configuration, Don Curzio Don Juan has shown us the sincerity in the same price. How does it actually sound?
Audition environment
Audience equipment: Oubo Don Cuzzio Don Juan+Bryston BHA-1
Wire material: music ribbon blue heaven XLR balanced signal wire
Reference equipment: Audize LCD-3 (four pin balance port), OPPO PM-1, HA-1, AKG Q701, Mini Audio DX100, Aune M1, etc
Audio input: PC USB input, ASIO driver installed
Types of audition tracks: mainly popular vocals and acg, supplemented by musical instruments, movie soundtrack, etc.
Audio format: FLAC、WAV， Small amount of DSD audio
First of all, in terms of sound style, Don Cuzzio Don Juan is a decoder with delicate and soft sound, and the overall sound is straightforward and clean. The BHA-1 used in the audition is also an ear amplifier with a more straightforward voice and a more monitoring style. Another feature of BHA-1 is that it gives a full, solid and large sound field feeling. It can complement Don Cuzzio Don Juan. Under this configuration, it is a very neutral system with good quality and enough hearing endurance. As a comparison, HA-1 (using DAC part, also using BHA-1 as ear amplifier) is more powerful in sound and more stimulating in high frequency. At the same time, it can be heard that HA-1 with ES9018 as DAC chip has more information and better resolution. Don Cuzzio, on the other hand, has a higher smoothness of voice, especially in the connection of middle and low frequencies. It can be felt that this is a more mature and sophisticated tuning style, not just emphasizing the sound quality and stimulation, but pursuing a warm and sweet listening sense.
In terms of collocation, when using PM-1 for audition, Don Cuzzio Don Juan and BHA-1 can't find any major problems, but they seem too straightforward and lack personality. This combination handles the overall control of sound very well. There is almost no burr in the sound, which is more suitable for users who are seeking for hearing tolerance. With the combination of HA-1 and BHA-1, the sound is more enveloping, the density of IF is higher, and the low frequency playback speed is also significantly enhanced. Of course, PM-1 and HA-1 are originally "a pair", and it is expected that they will be more matched in style.
When using LCD-3 audition, the combination of Don Cuzzio Don Juan and BHA-1 is obviously better played. LCD-3 is thicker and more transparent than PM-1 in terms of medium and low frequencies. Its voice is also much more exquisite and overtone is prominent. It is a very personalized headset with mellow sound. This kind of earphone has a good chemical reaction with Don Cuzzio Don Juan. The straightforward and neutral front end, together with the resolution and the midfrequency featured earphone, makes people surprised. The midfrequency is moderately full and full of charm. High frequency transient, empathy and sense of space all have a certain level. With the combination of HA-1 and BHA-1, the overall sound quality is indeed high, but the high frequency has a slight sense of burr, and the human voice is also more obvious. The low frequency aspect is more brilliant, the texture is cohesive, and the low frequency speed is fast.
In addition, Don Cuzzio has another major feature that supports DSD decoding. We also use 1-bit/2.8MHz music, that is, DSD64 standard music, for audition (up to 1-bit/5.6MHz). As we expected, DSD has many advantages over ordinary music files in terms of information content, sound density, separation and sense of space. However, DSD resources have always been a problem. For ordinary users, it is always more practical to use the ordinary lossless format.
In general, Don Cuzzio Don Juan has done enough in functionality. The conventional RCA, XLR output, coaxial input, more distinctive USB input, and the front function and remote control can meet the needs of most users. In terms of sound quality, Don Cuzzio is not particularly outstanding, but he is also excellent enough. What's more valuable is that its mature tuning and straightforward and soft sound style make it easy to match. In addition, its full support for DSD makes it a good choice among the decoders at the same price.
