Hi-Fi Choice

Danish audio brand Copland has been absent from these pages in terms of new product launches for some time, but now it’s back with its long-awaited DAC 215 USB DAC/headphone preamp fed by a pairof ECC88 tubes. Described as a “Universal high-resolution DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier” it can be used as a headphone amp, preamp or as a pure DAC – the choice is yours. The Copland DAC 215 looks set to be bang on trend with its retro styling thanks to the rotary front panel controls for the volume level and input selection, and the faint glow of the valves from the headphone amp output section lurking behind the slatted grille will undoubtedly enhance any likely old-school feel for potential purchasers. But at the heart of the DAC 215 is a digital-to-analogue converter with multiple S/PDIF inputs, PCM, and DSD capabilities using the ES9018 Reference 8-channel DAC used in double-differential mode.

If the Scansonic name seems vaguely familiar it's because the brand has an illustrious history, being deeply rooted in Danish loudspeaker design and engineering. Scansonic goes back some 45 years to whenit was introduced as the name ona then-new line of loudspeakersfrom famous Danish drive-unit manufacturer ScanSpeak. Now owned by Dantax, the same parent company as Raidho, the brand’s loudspeakers are designed by the creator of the renowned Raidho range, acoustic designer Michael Børresen. As a result, Scansonic has plenty in common with the respected Raidho family DNA and pedigree, but at a fraction of the cost.

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Over the years, the BBC has done arguably more that any other broadcaster to push the boundaries of audio performance. Perhaps the best known fruit of its labour comes in the small but perfectly formed cabinet of the LS3/5A studio monitor loudspeaker. Originally produced for outside broadcast vans, it went on to become commercially available and is rightly recognised as something of a classic. Perhaps not so well known, but equally important in the grand scheme of things were BBC sound engineers Lee Taylor and Mallory Nicholls.