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ABOVE: Tr
lo coaxiauoptical
S/PDIF digital
ins areioined
by USB
2.O and AES/EBU
ins, two
US&A
sockets and wired/wireless
Ethemet.
CoaxiauoPtical
and AES digital
outputs are
included alongside
singleended
(RCA) and balanced
(XlR)
analogue
outs
MARKTHVINSON
NO5I9
Despite sharing the outline design
of its ESS Sabre-based
DAC
stage and fully balanced
'Pure
Path' analogue line stage
with
the N'585
[HFNApr'15]
and N'526
[HFN
Dec'16] the
N'519,
free of high level amplifier or [ilM/MC
phono
options,
carves
its own niche as Levinson's
purist'Digital
Audio
Player'. At full
volume
(80
on the TFT display), the
N"5 1 9 offers a
full 1 3.7V
output via its 73ohm balanced
XLR outputs
(1
2.7V at odBFs
via CD) with
an A-wtd S/N ratio of 118.4d8
and distortion
iust
0.0005-0.0045%
(zOHz-zOkHz, re. 0dBFs). Harmonic
distortion drops
as low as 0.000 1 5% at
1 kHz over the top 30dB
of the N"51 9's dynamic range and
is only slightly higher
at
0.0005-0.0008% at
2OkHz. Note that this
is
with
24-bit source
material
-
with
15-bit CD data distortion
is 10-20d8 higher
at
l kHz below
-5dBFs
[see
black trace,
Graph 1 below].
Similarly,
resolution is within a very tight +0.05dB
over a I00dB
range
with 24-bit inputs and within t0.2dB
with 16-bit CD.
With the
'Sharp' (standard
FIR) digital
filter engaged, the
response is flat to within
-0.1
7/20kHz with CD and
48kHz
digital inputs, extending to
-'l.2dB/45kHz
and
-6.5d8/90kHz
with 96kHz
and 192kHz digital inputs.
The
'Slow'
filter option
offers a stronger
-3.1
dB/20kHz cut than either
the
'Fast'
or
'Minimum
Phase'
filters (-0.1
9dB/20kHz),
and a
poor
5.7d8
rejection of stopband artefacts
(26kHz re. 22kHz at 48kFs),
but there's significantly
less
pre
and
post-ringing
on transients.
This will be a
good
choice with 96kHz/192kHz
media. Jitter,
meanwhile, is
phenomenally
low at
<lOpsec
with 24-bit data
at all sample rates across all S/PDIF
and
USB
inputs and
is at the
'16-bit
threshold of
'l
1 5psec with CD
[see
Craph
2, below].
PM
4
{0 40
.100
(Oc.r.asing)
Ugital
signal LGVGI
>>
@
ABOVE: THD vs. digital level over a 1 20dB
range.
48kHzl24-bit S/PDIF & USB at
lkHz
(red)
vs. 44.1kHzl
16-bit CD at lkHz
(black,
dashed) and
20kHz
(blue)
-2000 -1000 0 1000
<<
Jifrcr Frcquamy
>>
ABOVE: High resolution
jitter
plots
via S/PDIF & USB
l48kHzl24-bit,
black) and CD
(44.1kH2/16-bit, red)
3dG
oltl
every recording
I
tried.
lt's fast, deft
and wide open, whether
playing
the
driving
rock
of
Blondie's Pollinator
IBMC
5382634021,
where the
powerful
drumming
and charging
rhythms are tautly defined,
or the
close-focused but atmospheric
choral singing
of St6le Kleiberg's
affirmative Mass For
Modern Man
{2L
2L-1361, in which the instrumental
textures are richly delivered
against
an ethereal backdrop.
TOTAI,
SURETOOTEDNESS
The'block diagram'
screen-printed
under the lid
[see
inside shot,
p38]
shows the CD transport
quite
literally front and centre
inside the
N"519,
and that's
just
how
it
sounds,
for this is a do-it-all
digital music
source
Preamp
that
just
happens
also
to
be a
very fine CD
player.
lt
may not
quite
be in the same
league
as, say, the Marantz
SA-'l 0
[HFN
Mar
'161
when auditioned
purely
as a CD
player,
the
latter delivering a
rather
more vibrant view
of the music,
but
then that's
hardly the
point,
given
the other abilities
of the N"51 9.
And it displays
those other
abilities when used
as a network
player/preamp
or
from
USB
storage,
delivering everything
from hi-res
quality
Tidal and
Qobuz
streams
all the way through
to DSD with
real
power
and
impact, and total
surefootedness.
That's very much
in
evidence with
the excellent
recent
Channel Classics
release
of Mahler's
Symphony No 3
[Budapest
Fest Orch/
lv6n Fischer;
CCS
SA 38817,
DSD'l 28
via
NativeDSD.coml, in which
the
ambience and
presence
of the
recording is never
in doubt.
When driven via
my Mac
computer
through
its
asynchronous
USB
input the
N"519's sound
was
arguably
lacking
some warmth,
although when
the same
files were
replayed
via an
intermediate
Mutec
MC-3+
USB
[HFN
Feb'17],
reclocked
and
formatted
for the N"5 19's S/PDIF
input,
the
performance
blossomed
with
far
greater
generosity.
Via USB
or S/PDlF,
the N'51 9's
performance
is
hugely impressive,
although
this
looks like
yet
another
example of
the traditional
S/PDIF
connection
delivering
the
goods
with that
bit more
conviction,
nailing the
music's'soul'a
little more
convincingly.
Even
if such differences
may boil down
to a
matter of taste,
and system
configuration,
for
many audiophiles
it's
also
worth
remembering
that
you
can
further
tune
the sound
using those
digital
filters
and the PLL
lock selection.
Opting for the
'slow'
filter setting
typically
adds
a smidge of
warmth,
and
is
technically
better
suited to
higher
(88.2kH zl96k{z)
media, while
choosing
the
'wide'
PLL
position
softens
the sound
marginally.
But,
again,
adjusting
those settings
will
be
down to
preference,
and
as
the
inherent sound
of the
N"51 9
is one of directness
and
maximum
information,
if that's what
you
want
from
your
system
you'll
not
go
far
wrong
here. c)
Even
if it's impossible
to dismiss
that eye-watering
price
from
your
thinking,
the N'519 still
delivers a
hugely informative
and
powerful
sound
whatever
you
choose
to
play,
and
has absolute
control
over its sonic
landscaPe.
Some might
argue for
a tad more
warmth
or colour,
but then the
sound can
be subtly tuned
to
suit
personal
tastes,
and there's
no
gainsaying
the impressive
features and
flexibility
here.
Sound
0uatity:87%
0
-100
E
^0
.9 -20
i
-lo
o
E.o
t
-oo
g
-100
-t
20
3500
E
13.7vrms
/
73ohm
(Balanced)
A-wtd
s/N
Ratio
(cD
/
s/PDrF
/
usB)
r18.2dB
i
1r8.4dB
/
118.4d8
Distortion
{1
kHz. 0dBFs/-30dBFt
0.0005%
/
0.00017%
Dist. & Noise
(20kHz,
0dBFs/-30dBFt
0.0045%
/
0.0003s%
Freq. resp.
{20H2
2OkHz
I
AskqzlgokYzl
+0.0
to
-0.2d8/-1.2d8/-6.5d8
Digital
iitter
(CD
/
S/PDIF
/
USB)
115psec
/
<1opsec
/
<l0psec
Resolution
@
-loodB
(CD
/
S/PDIF
/
USB) 10.2d8
/
10.05d8
i
10.05dB
33W
(1W standby)
438x146x406mm
/
l6.4kg
JULY 2017 www.hifinews.co.uk
41