Hegel Launch new reference D50 DAC - The Raven

Hegel Launches new Reference DAC - The Raven

The Hegel D50 DAC, known as "The Raven," is a premium digital-to-analogue converter released in February 2025. Its design embraces simplicity, focusing solely on digital-to-analogue conversion, deliberately leaving out features like network streaming and preamplification to reduce any noise or interference that could compromise sound quality.

At the heart of the D50 lies the latest ESS 9039Q2M DAC chip, carefully positioned on a dedicated board to minimize noise and ensure a clean signal path. The unit features dual toroidal transformers—one dedicated to digital processing and standby power, and the other to analogue and sensitive digital components. These transformers are shielded and come with advanced filtering, ensuring clean power delivery, which can also enhance the performance of other connected equipment when the D50 is grounded properly.

The D50 incorporates multiple high-precision master clocks to combat timing errors and jitter, with separate clocks for SPDIF signals and USB signals at 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sample rates. This precise clocking system guarantees accurate signal processing and top-tier sound reproduction.

A standout feature of the D50 is its "DAC Loop" functionality, allowing users to bypass the internal DAC in compatible Hegel amplifiers, providing a direct and high-performance digital-to-analogue conversion path that improves overall audio quality.

The D50's design draws inspiration from the Norse mythology ravens of Odin, Hugin and Munin, symbolizing clarity and precision. This design metaphor reflects the DAC's ability to deliver highly detailed and accurate sound without colour or distortion, preserving the integrity of the original recording.

Scheduled for release in May 2025, the Hegel D50 "The Raven" is priced at £4250 and is available to pre-order here