Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
'Whether used as a headphone amp, as a preamp or just as a DAC, fed from a Mac mini computer or via Ethernet using Roon, the Mola Mola DAC was never anything short of a total cracker. Simply, the sheer musical flow and vitality were spellbinding, as was the impressive of a total lack of artifice: there’s nothing mechanical or ‘technical’ going on here, but rather just great performances pouring from the speakers, drawing the listener in and making the temptation to listen more all but irresistible.'
ANDREW EVERARD, HIFI CRITIC 2020
DIGITAL THAT’S AS GOOD AS ANALOGUE
Responding to popular demand, Mola Mola launched the famous discrete DAC from the Makua as a separate unit.
Mola Mola’s Tambaqui DAC is the perfect upgrade for owners of complete high-end systems who want to retain the characteristic sound of their existing preamplifier whilst lifting their digital sources to another level. The converter is a two board stack. On the first board, all incoming digital audio is upsampled to 3.125MHz/32 bits and converted to noise shaped PWM. On the other board are two mono DACs, in which a discrete 32- stage FIR DAC and a single-stage 4th order filtering I/V converter, convert the PWM into analogue with a breathtaking 130dB SNR. This is near the theoretical limit for 24-bit files and far beyond that of even quad-speed DSD. Uniquely, distortion remains below the noise floor even for full scale signals.
With the addition of a lossless digital volume control and headphone outputs, it is also the ideal control hub of a minimalist audio system for music lovers who have moved on to a digital sources only system. This DAC, combined with a pair of Mola Mola Kaluga monoblocks constitutes the finest digital replay chain available, irrespective of price.
