英国媒体HI-FI WORLD评测旷世音响CMA600i [全文翻译]

旷世音响

评测媒体：HI-FI WORLD
评测员：Martin Pipe
要点摘录：
An excellent DAC and an even better headphone amp are combined in a single package of relative affordability. If you take headphone listening seriously, treat yourself to a demo!
参考翻译：
CMA600i是解码和耳放俱佳，价格实惠的一体机, 如果用耳机听音乐是你生活的一部分, 你值得一试！

英文原文：
Eastern Promise
Martin Pipe is impressed with Questyle’s CMA600i, and its headphone amplifier technology.

China’s Questyle, a relatively-new entrant into the world of high-quality audio-in this country-has been attracting interest of late. Much of this is down to its QP1 personal music player, which is intended to challenge the likes of Astell and Kern. What’s next? A natural move is to embody all of the groundwork in a DAC/headphone amplifier that enables you to enjoy its benefits at home. Questyle introduced the CMA800i for this purpose but now offer the less expensive CMA600i ,reviewed here.

The new CMA600i misses out on the choice of digital-filter characteristic(the website claims you can do this, but no switching is provided-and it’s not mentioned in the manual!) but adds a balanced headphone socket in the form of a 4-pin XLR socket. Pretty good for a “budget” product! That said, you still get the two 6.35mm jacks of the dearer model.

Another change is the DAC chip: instead of the CMA800i’s Wolfson WM8741. Questyle has specified the AKM AK4490EQ(described by its maker as a premium 32-bit 2-channel DAC) for its new baby.

The AK4490EQ in the CMA600i processes DSD natively, unlike the Wolfson. Both chips offer differential outputs, a property that has been harnessed by Questyle’s engineers, so the most is made of the “full balanced output design” highlighted in the CMA600i spec-sheet. This states that four sets of amplifier circuits are involved in the driving of balanced headphones.

Which brings me neatly to Questyle’s proprietary amplifier technology-the culmination of a 2004 university project undertaken by company founder (and die-hard audiophile) Jason Wang. CMA first saw the light of day in Questyle’s CMA800  headphone amplifier, back in 2007. Claimed benefits include a significant reduction of distortion -especially transient intermodulation distortion, which can yield harness and listening fatigue. A low impedance output helps the amplifier drive difficult loads, and you also get an extended frequency response. Such benefits can be seen in the test reports that accompany every CMA600i-quite unique for gear in this price range!

Internal construction is neat, but a few “bodges” could be seen in our sample-presumably a pre-production unit. High-quality components are much in evidence and the mains power supply is a “linear” type fed by a toroidal transformer. A row of audio-grade electrolytic capacitors help to minimise ripple and hum.




And it’s all easy to use. There’s even a remote control, but all it does is mute the output and adjust volume. The handset’s input-selection buttons don’t work; you can only do this with toggle switches. Annoyingly, a two-stage operation is involved here, as you must switch between the optical and coaxial input using a rear-panel switch!

More positively, a pair of phono sockets enable the CMA600i to be used with line-level analogue sources. The instructions suggest that they only work with the headphone amp-however, the volume-controlled signals are available on the line outputs too- a feature that certainly increases the flexibility of the unit! Indicators confirm that you’re listening to a PCM or DSD source- a great setup aid for those using PCs as USB sources.

On which subject, Questyle has-like the Italian valve-lovers Unison Reseach-gone to the trouble of explaining how to set up your computer and player software (in my case, Foobar 2000). I was able to quickly configure my Windows 7PC and get listening to DSD files natively.

SOUND QUALITY
With the CMA600i I used Oppo PM3  headphones, a Windows 7PC(interfaced via USB) and a Cambridge CXN streamer (connected via coaxial digital). Non-headphone listening involved an Arcam A49 integrated amplifier and a pair of Quadral Aurum Wotan VIII loudspeakers.

First up-and in the spirit of this summer’s Olympics-was the 2000 Continental CD of Estudando O Samba, a mid-seventies album by Brazilian artist Tom Ze-who was later to prove such an influence on David Byrne. The rhythms and lush instrumental textures of this quirky-yet-accessible samba-influenced album came across well, as did the frequently-simple stereo placement (guitars, percussion and vocals locked to left, centre and right!).

As one might expect, a good sense of rhythm is needed to complement this sort of music-and the CMA600i didn’t disappoint, as it drives the music along with natural pace and purpose. It also sounded very clean and detailed, providing insight into the subtleties of how the album was put together-yet not at the expense of musical enjoyment.


A busy but well laid-out interior, with the (linear) power supply selection on the left. The middle section is occupied by the CMA output amplifiers, while the DAC circuitry can be seen on the right. High-quality components are in evidence, but on close inspection some circuit-board bodges are  evident.

Such analytical qualities were also put to good use with Radiohead’s latest offering (A Moon Shaped Pool, CD, lossless rip). With lesser systems, this album-and, come to think of it, some previous albums by this iconic band-can sound rather murky and indistinct, in part due to the electronic treatment and other studio trickery they employ. Yet here, what they’re getting at was revealed clearly-especially with my Oppo PM3 headphones.



Beautifully-machined casework gives the CMA600i a distinctly luxury feel. It’s a pity that you have to switch between coaxial and optical inputs with that rear-panel switch-a more convenient switch on the front of the unit switches between the selected digital source and USB. “Soft” switching would be more convenient- and make remote control of source selection a possibility.

There was a natural tonal balance that didn’t colour frequency extremes. Bass and kick-drum within The Numbers was tight and correctly-proportioned, while the percussive elements at the higher-end of the spectrum had just the right amount of “bite”.

These attributes proved useful when listening to a selection of classic house-music and techno cuts (careful 24/28 vinyl rips); the excitement and flow were well conveyed, with no tiresome over-exaggeration. Similarly, the rhythms of Steve Reich’s Music for a Large Ensemble (ECM CD, lossless rip) pulsed along nicely, with delineation of the instrumental strands and the tonal colours they impart.

On which subject, the solo instrument of Moart’s Clarinet Concerto (Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Martin Frost, BIS SACD-lossless rip of CD layer) was beautifully-defined. Every nuance could be heard, and Frost’s clarinet was in perfect balance with the orchestral backing.

Finally, i tried a DSD64(Blue Coast DSF download) of Jenna Mammina and John R. Burr’s When I’m Called Home- a beautiful piano/vocal duet. It was evident through listening that the recording was a simple “one-take” affair, the resulting delicacy and emotion of the performance laid bare. That said, i found that-although excellent-it didn’t quite have the same organic “flow” that I’m used to with the Chord Hugo TT.

Great though the Chord is the headphone amp built into the CMA600i is arguably more capable. The effortless drive and dynamics it can deliver are little short of incredible. With appropriate cabling, i even had it getting useful sound levels out of a pair of small speakers (B & W LM7s). I wouldn’t recommend doing this for long periods, but this trick certainly shows off the potential of Questyle’s.



This little handset serves several different Questyle products, and some of its functions aren’t relevant to the CMA600i. You can mute the output or raise/lower the volume (the CMA600i’s level control is motorised), but remote selection of input isn’t possible.

CONCLUSION
An excellent DAC and an even better headphone amp are combined in a single package of relative affordability. If you take headphone listening seriously, treat yourself to a demo!

MEASURED PERFORMANCE

The headphone outputs delivered 8.2V maximum, far above the 1V-2V necessary for headphones, and the rear balanced XLR audio output delivered this  too, the Phono socket (unbalanced) outputs  swinging 4.1V maximum before overload. They are easily able to drive external power amplifiers, which typically need 1V.

Dynamic range measured a very high 120dB via all digital inputs, S/PDIF and USB, due to very low levels of noise and distortion. Our distortion analysis shows just 0.03% at-60dB with 24 bit, rising to 0.21% with CD (16 bit), both good results with CD being self-limited as always by 16 bit quantisation noise.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE                           DISTORTION


The USB input offered the same results all round as S/PDIF, the main difference being ability to accept up to 768kHz sample rate PCM.

With 192kHz sample rate PCM, frequency response extended to 45kHz before rolling away gently to 96kHz upper limit. However, the optical input has a 96kHz sample rate limit so extends no further than 45kHz and falls silent with 176.4kHz or 192kHz sample inputs.

The balanced 4-pin XLR headphone output delivered 14V out maximum and had a gain of x8 from the rear mounted analogue input sockets-both high values.

The CMA600i measured very well in all areas. It has a particularly good digital convertor with wide dynamic range and this alone puts it ahead of most rivals.

NK

Output (Phono/XLR)   4.1/8.2V
Frequency response   4Hz-44.8kHz
Separation            92dB
Noise                -118dB
Distortion(24 bit)       0.03%
Gain                    x8

QUESTYLE CMA600i ￡1000
OUTSTANDING- amongst the best

VALUE-keenly priced.

VERDICT
A little operational inflexibility does not detract from what is a fine-sounding product, capable of driving practically any pair of headphones on the market.




参考译文：
来自东方的希望
旷世音响的CMA600i和他们的耳机放大技术给Martin Pipe留下了深刻的印象。

最近，旷世音响--中国高端音频行业相对较新的一家公司，一直备受关注。主要吸引人的是他们的QP1便携式音乐播放器，旨在挑战同类型的 Astell and Kern。那么他们的下一个产品会是什么呢？ 自然是将所有基础的功能集于一个解码耳放之中，使你可以在家里享受音乐。 为此，旷世音响推出了CMA800i，但是现在推出了一款更便宜的 CMA600i，本文既是它的评测。

CMA600i遗漏了数字滤波器的选择（官网上说可以选择数字滤波器，但是并没有提供切换，在用户手册中也没有提到！）。 但是增加了四孔平衡耳机插座，这对于一个低价位的产品来说相当不错！也就是说，再贵的机器上也是两个6.35毫米的插孔。

另一个变化是 DAC 芯片： 新的CMA600i不再是CMA800i里面的Wolfson WM8741，而是 AKM AK4490EQ（其制造商标明是32bit两声道DAC）。

CMA600i中的AK4490EQ芯片不同于Wolfson.，它可以处理DSD源码。这两款芯片提供不同的输出，这一特性现已被旷世音响的工程师所利用，所以在CMA600i 的规格列表中，特别强调了“全平衡输出设计”。这说明由四套放大器电路共同驱动平衡耳机。

这使我想到了旷世音响专有的放大技术，由这家公司的创始人Jason （王丰硕，一个骨灰级发烧友）在2004年的一次项目中发明。电流模放大技术首次为人所知是在旷世音响的CMA800耳机放大器里面，它诞生于2007年。这一技术的优点是能大幅度地降低失真，特别是瞬态互调失真。低阻抗输出有助于放大器驱动难推的负载，而且你也可以得到很宽的频率响应。在每一台CMA600i随机的测试报告中可以看到这些数据，这在这个价位段的设备中是一个独特之处。

内部结构整齐有序，但在我们的样机中可以看到几处“修补”，这大概是一台工程样机。高品质的元件显而易见，由“直线型”环形变压器为主电源供电。一排音频级的电解电容器帮助减少脉冲和杂音。



CMA600i简单易用，还配有一个遥控器，但它只有静音和调节音量的功能，手动选择输入的按钮不起作用，只能通过拨动面板上的开关来操作。烦人的是，在这里会涉及两级操作，因为你必须在后面板上的光纤和同轴输入开关之间切换。

更大的一个优点是，一对模拟输入接口让CMA600i可以输入模拟线路讯源。说明书中建议这对接口只配合耳机放大器工作，但线路输出的音量也可以通过音量控制进行调节，这个功能增加了机器的灵活性！有指示灯确认你现在听的是PCM 或是DSD讯源，这对于那些使用电脑作为USB讯源的人来说是一个很棒的设置辅助。

关于设置的问题，旷世音响费了很大力气去说明如何设置你的电脑和播放软件（例如Foobar 2000）。我很快地设置好了我的 Windows 7，然后就开始听本地DSD音乐文件。

音质
我用Oppo PM3耳机搭配CMA600i， 通过USB连接Windows 7电脑，同轴数字连接Cambridge CXN 串流播放器。除了听耳机，我还用了一台Arcam A49合并式功放和一对Quadral Aurum Wotan VIII音箱来听。

首先，我播放了2000 Continental CD of Estudando O Samba，这是一张70年代中期的专辑，出自一位巴西艺术家Tom Ze，后来证明他对David Byrne有一定的影响。这张桑巴风格的专辑诡异但容易懂，节奏感，乐器的质感和立体声相定位都表现地很好（吉他，打击乐和主唱的位置分别是左、中、右）。
正如你所期望的，这种类型的音乐需要良好的节奏感，CMA600i 没有让我失望，因为它呈现出了这种音乐的自然节奏，而且它的声音非常干净，细节丰富，在带来音乐享受的同时，让人能够感受到这张专辑在录制时候的细微之处。


内部布局紧凑而有序，左边 （线性）是电源部分，中间是电流模输出放大器，右边可以看到DAC电路。高质量的元器件显而易见，仔细观察可以看到电路板上有一些修补过的地方。

这个解析力很好的机器在播放Radiohead的最新作品A Moon Shaped Pool（CD无损抓轨）的时候，也充分发挥出了它的优势。我觉得这个乐队以前的专辑，如果与较小的系统配合播放，声音听起来可能会浑浊不清，部分原因在于电子的处理和录制的技巧。然而在这里，它们听起来非常清晰，特别是与我的Oppo PM3 耳机搭配来听的时候。





CMA600i的外壳做工精美，给人一种非常奢华的感觉。遗憾的是你必须得用后面板上的开关切换同轴和光纤输入，在前面板上有一个便捷的开关用于切换数字讯源和USB。“软”开关可能更方便一些，或许可以在遥控器上增加讯源的选择。

每个频段都没有染色，声音自然平衡。在The Numbers一曲中，低频和踢鼓的声音紧凑而协调，高频的打击乐力度恰到好处。

在听一些经典的浩室音乐和电子音乐（24/28黑胶抓轨）的时候，这些特点被证明非常有用，它很好地表达出了兴奋之情和说唱的感觉，没有让人厌烦的过度夸张。同样地，Steve Reich的Music for a Large Ensemble（ECM CD, 无损抓轨）一曲中的音乐节奏也很令人愉快，乐器和人声的线条都很清晰。

另外，Moart的这曲Clarinet Concerto（Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Martin Frost, BIS SACD 无损抓轨）里面的乐器独奏被优美地再现，可以听到每一处细节，Frost的单簧管和管弦乐保持着完美地平衡。

最后，我试听了一首DSD的歌曲（Blue Coast DSF下载），Jenna Mammina 和John R. Burr的When I’m Called Home，这是一首很美的钢琴/人声二重唱。能很明显地听出来这首曲子是一次性录制完成的，歌手微妙情绪变化暴露无遗，是一首很棒的歌曲，不过我觉得它跟我经常听的Chord Hugo TT说唱的感觉不太一样。

虽然说Chord非常好，但是CMA600i的内置耳机放大器的性能更好。它有着惊人的动态和轻松的驱动力。我用适当的电缆将CMA600i和一对小音箱连接（B&W LM7s），我听到了很好的声音层次。我不推荐长时间这样去听，但这一招的确展示出了旷世音响CMA600i的潜力。

  

这个小遥控器能用于几个不同的旷世音响产品，它有一些功能跟CMA600i无关。你可以用它将输出静音或者调高/调低音量（CMA600i 的音量是马达驱动的），但输入是不能通过遥控器选择的。

总结
CMA600i是解码和耳放俱佳，价格实惠的一体机, 如果用耳机听音乐是你生活的一部分, 你值得一试！

测试性能
耳机输出最大幅度8.2V，比耳机所需要的高出1V-2V，后面板上的平衡XLR音频输出也是这么大幅度，非平衡输出最大幅度 4.1V。它们都能很容易地驱动外部功率放大器，通常只需要1V。

所有的数字输入，S/PDIF和USB测出的动态范围都高达120dB，这应归于非常低的噪声和失真。我们的失真分析显示24bit -60dB只有0.03%的失真，CD音频（16bit）上升到0.21%。

         
频率响应                                                                 失真


USB输入和S/PDIF的测试结果相同，主要是处理768kHz PCM采样率信号的能力不同。

使用192kHz PCM采样率信号，在到达96kHz顶点之前，频率响应达到45kHz。然而，光纤输入96kHz采样率信号，频率响应不超过45kHz，176.4kHz或192kHz采样输入时变得很安静。

四孔平衡耳机输出最大幅度14V，后面板上的模拟输入接口有x8的增益，都是高值。

CMA600i各个方面的测试结果都很好。它有一个特别好的解码器，动态范围很广，单单这一点它就能领先于大多数的竞争对手。
输出（模拟/XLR）   4.1/8.2V
频率响应            4Hz-44.8kHz
间隔                92dB
噪音                -118dB
失真（24bit）        0.03%
增益                x8

旷世音响CMA600i ￡1000
优秀中的杰出
价格实惠

评价
操作上一点小的不灵活并不会影响这个产品动听的声音，它能够驱动几乎任何一副市场上的耳机。