Heard the Auralic Altair G1 via a friend's set-up last week, which sat in for testing. I know his system quite well - it consists of S.P. Technology Revelation speakers, a Crown Studio Reference II power amp, and the Blue Cheese Audio (BCA) Roquefort DAC/preamp. The latter is Danish developed by another friend of mine, initially release around 2010 and with the aim to compete against the best DAC's out there. It is still available, and retails in Denmark for +$10,000.
The BCA is, to my ears, a monitor-DAC in the best sense of the word: extremely transparent, revealing, natural/authentic sounding and with very little sonic signature. Not least: it sounds expertly balanced. With the sonics of the BCA fresh in mind the Altair G1 comes off somewhat "buffed-up" with a more voluminous low end and a slightly sprightlier overall presentation, while also leaving a hint of hardness. There was perhaps an added sense of holography as well. My first thought was that the placement of the speakers needed to be re-arranged together with some acoustic treatments (i.e.: moving a carpet on the floor a bit and adding some small DIY bass traps) to properly fit the newcomer, but still it's an indication of the inherent characteristics of the Altair G1 relative to the now trusted BCA.
The outcome surprised me, as I expected the close to 10 year old BCA development (although it's upgradable to some degree) would show its age-related limitations to a contemporary design, cheaper it may be, but it's a thought provoking wake-up call and a denouement even in the wake of the common sentiment that DAC development is ever progressing, these latest 5 years not least; a great DAC 10 years ago is still an excellent DAC today, period - regardless of what the industry and (highly dubious) reviews wants to tell us.
What has progressed significantly is integrating streaming capabilities and overall user interface/GUI, and moreover the range of connectivity of the Altair G1 - like connecting a USB-harddrive or an internal one - makes for a great all-in-one package at a very reasonable price. Mind you, the Altair G1 delivers lovely sonics, but it won't beat an old master like the BCA, let alone fully approach it. Nevertheless, my friend has opted for the Altair G1 as he has come to the end of the road with PC-based playback of local files (he finds it bothersome and downright annoying), and thus was willing to make a small sacrifice with SQ replacing his BCA (which is now in my hands).
The BCA is, to my ears, a monitor-DAC in the best sense of the word: extremely transparent, revealing, natural/authentic sounding and with very little sonic signature. Not least: it sounds expertly balanced. With the sonics of the BCA fresh in mind the Altair G1 comes off somewhat "buffed-up" with a more voluminous low end and a slightly sprightlier overall presentation, while also leaving a hint of hardness. There was perhaps an added sense of holography as well. My first thought was that the placement of the speakers needed to be re-arranged together with some acoustic treatments (i.e.: moving a carpet on the floor a bit and adding some small DIY bass traps) to properly fit the newcomer, but still it's an indication of the inherent characteristics of the Altair G1 relative to the now trusted BCA.
The outcome surprised me, as I expected the close to 10 year old BCA development (although it's upgradable to some degree) would show its age-related limitations to a contemporary design, cheaper it may be, but it's a thought provoking wake-up call and a denouement even in the wake of the common sentiment that DAC development is ever progressing, these latest 5 years not least; a great DAC 10 years ago is still an excellent DAC today, period - regardless of what the industry and (highly dubious) reviews wants to tell us.
What has progressed significantly is integrating streaming capabilities and overall user interface/GUI, and moreover the range of connectivity of the Altair G1 - like connecting a USB-harddrive or an internal one - makes for a great all-in-one package at a very reasonable price. Mind you, the Altair G1 delivers lovely sonics, but it won't beat an old master like the BCA, let alone fully approach it. Nevertheless, my friend has opted for the Altair G1 as he has come to the end of the road with PC-based playback of local files (he finds it bothersome and downright annoying), and thus was willing to make a small sacrifice with SQ replacing his BCA (which is now in my hands).