MBL 1611F

Digital to Analog Converter MBL 1611 F

In today’s digital world, consumers have endless options when it comes to enjoying music. They can use streaming services from Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer or Apple, to name but a few. They can also listen to their favorite playlists from mobile phones, tablets, USB sticks and, of course, conventional portable media in CD/PCM formats. Yet no matter the format, all devices share the same need – to convert digital music data into the analog world, something a tiny microchip can adequately manage.

Or you can move beyond adequate to brilliant with a 23-kilogram (50 lbs.) D/A converter firmly planted on solid brass pillars milled right in our own factory; a stand-alone device whose creators have left nothing to chance: the MBL 1611 F. Under the massive, gold-plated cover plate, two top-end converter designs – 1-Bit/Delta-Sigma and Multibit – take care of the accurate assignment of analog voltage values to the digital music signals. The combined technological strengths of each converter create a fantastic sense of aural space and the meticulous reproduction of the finest overtones, without compromising tight control of the deepest octaves. Together they deliver the delicate fragility of the most emotional musical passages, or thundering chest-pump bass notes when the data demands it. Using “single-stage” output electronics, the music signal leaves the digital/analog converter in the most direct way, either via balanced (XLR) or single-ended (RCA) outputs, ensuring as little interference as possible with few contact surfaces and short signal paths. The reward for this circuit layout: an incredible 117 dB signal-to-noise ratio.

The 1611 F displays similar flexibility on the incoming side. An impressive array of XLR, RCA, Toslink (optical) and USB inputs await digital signals with up to 24-bit resolution and a 96 kHz sampling rate. In order to reduce unwanted jitter often associated with inferior USB players such as computers, mobile phones or tablets, a superb master clock takes charge of the timing and provides stable square-wave signals for precise processing of the bitstream to come. Ideally, when playing CDs, the converter receives its signals already perfectly prepared into bite-sized chunks by its dream partner, the MBL 1621 A CD transport, and astonishes the listener with a playback quality that is unrivalled.

The MBL 1611 F at a glance

• Chassis milled from a single block of aluminum
• Natural reproduction through group-delay-optimized digital and analog filters
• USB input (Audio Class 1) with Master Clock Mode for asynchronous, jitter-free data transfer
• Commanding signal-to-noise ratio of 117 decibels
• Combination of Delta-Sigma and Multi-Bit conversion
• MBL True Peak Technology to eliminate mastering inaccuracies
• Perfecter partner for the MBL 1621 A CD Drive
• The possibility of connecting a PC/Mac/iPhone/iPad via USB; no driver installation required
• Separate power supplies for analog, digital, and display functions
• “Roon Ready” network input card (optional) for seamless connection to the Roon platform

Technical Specifications