Digital Processor Reviews

Apparently accurate reproduction of a Bösendorfer piano is no small achievement, but the piano is just one instrument, albeit one with wide dynamic and frequency range. A large orchestra playing Mahler is a different kind of challenge. Jason Victor Serinus favorably reviewed Rafael Payare and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal's recording of Mahler's Symphony No.5 (Pentatone PTC5187067) in the September 2023 issue of Stereophile. His only caveat was that it "may lack ultimate transparency." Perhaps so but, listening to the 5.1 channel 24/96 download from pentatonemusic.com, I cannot fault it. The opening trumpet call leads to an orchestral explosion dominated by the full brass battery plus timpani and bass drum. The brass is clear and thrilling, and the drums pack a wallop—but try to direct your attention to the maelstrom going on in the lower strings.

Audio nerd that I am, I needed to compare this recording with some other modern recordings of this movement. None of the stereo versions could compete in sheer weight or the perceived size of the orchestra. None of the other multichannel recordings (footnote 7) revealed the interweaving surges of the cellos and basses with as much detail and the sense of proportion I heard from Payare and his Montrealers. What I heard played back via the Hapi and the rest of my 5.3-channel playback system may not be ultimate transparency—don't we always want more?—but it challenges disbelief.

It did not take symphonic power, multiple channels, or even a recent recording to demonstrate the Hapi's complete competence. That was achieved with just three instruments via the 50-year-old classic Waltz for Debby by the Bill Evans Trio, recorded live at The Village Vanguard in New York on June 25, 1961. Back when the recording was made, I had only a passing interest in jazz records, but much later I became hooked on the 2002 DSD remaster of this album (Analogue Productions, CAPJ 9399 SA). Now it has been remastered again, by Concord and Craft Recordings, offered on LP and as digital files. I downloaded 24/192 FLAC files, in stereo.

This recording captures a relatively intimate, though public, occasion when Evans and his colleagues communicated to the audience warmly and gently with a smile and a wink. Listening to these recordings, we feel close to the music but also to the company of listeners we have joined, whose rustlings, comments, and cordial applause are audible. The 2002 AP version captures this but with a somewhat claustrophobic ambiance, typical of the Vanguard in the early '60s. Via the Hapi, you can almost smell the cigarette smoke. Switching to the 2023 Craft version, all that's still there, but now we are sitting at a better table. Our perspective on the musicians is less obscured. The individual instruments are more discrete, and it is easier to hear and appreciate the delicacy of the playing. Listen to the wistful "Some Other Time" and hear the amiable balance in the give and take between Evans's piano and Scott LaFaro's bass. Listen, toward the end, to the tender conversation between the piano and Paul Motian's cymbals. The Hapi honors both versions, though I'm happier with the new one.

TRPTK is a small Dutch recording company with a growing repertoire that ranges from interesting to adventurous, all of it remarkably well-performed and spectacularly well-recorded. They have aggressively expanded into immersive audio, but that's for another day. It has not escaped notice that they consistently, but not exclusively, use Merging Hapi in their recording and mastering setups. What's more, their mastering suite has five KEF Blade Two speakers (footnote 8); I am using three Blade Two Metas in my review system. I may not possess the ears of Brendon Heinst and his team, but these commonalities suggest that I could listen to TRPTK recordings burdened by fewer elements in Floyd Toole's Circle of Confusion.

As one of my Records to Die For 2021, I selected the TRPTK recording of Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel, with Maya Fridman on cello and Artem Belogurov on piano (DXD download, TRPTK TTK0009), a collection of themes from the eponymous opera, arranged by Fridman for cello, piano, and gong! I concluded, "It is devastatingly realistic." Played now with the Hapi and KEF Blades with which it was mastered, it is even more remarkable, but I have no better words. This is turgid, uneasy music, punctuated by moments of soaring beauty. This performance kept me gripped and agape from beginning to end. The cello and piano were frighteningly present, about 10' from my listening seat. The presence of the loudspeakers was wiped from my consciousness. The impact was stunning.

Comparisons
Functionally, the three multichannel DACs compared—the Hapi MkII, the exaSound s88, and the Okto DAC8 Pro—are all somewhat different. All three use ESS D/A conversion devices, though different ones. With each change, I tweaked the gain settings with a pink-noise signal and monitored the output with a voltmeter at the speaker terminals to be sure they were equal in level. When that was accomplished, audible differences were elusive in A/B comparisons.

I would be happy living with any of these DACs. However, I tend to choose the Hapi over the others due to my growing expectation of consistency and equanimity across the range of recordings. An example of what I mean: In the process of surveying some two dozen recordings of the Mahler 5, I realized how strikingly unique each recording sounded. The Hapi seemed simultaneously to favor all of them by realizing all their favorable qualities—and to favor none of them by exposing their various lapses and limitations. Crucially, the Hapi MkII, as configured, is unique in this trio in supporting more than eight channels. (Mike drop.)

Conclusions
If you have read this review from the beginning, you know that this is a professional device and not a consumer-level "plug-and-play" component. Setup requires downloading and installing a couple of apps, yet it is less intimidating to do than to read about. A one-page quick-setup sheet, which comes in the box, is all you need to get started. The downloadable, 114-page user manual will help you with the details and to solve problems. The Merging website is rich in support, with a Knowledge Base and many tutorials, docs, and downloads. All it takes to employ the Hapi to its full potential is commitment and some patience.

What you get with the Hapi MkII equipped like mine is a state-of-the-art DAC with 16 channels suitable for multichannel and immersive formats or for several actively managed, multiamped loudspeakers. The AES3 and S/PDIF inputs and outputs offer options for direct connection of sources, the addition of more channels, or direct connections to active, DSP-based speakers.

I was drawn to the Hapi MkII because of its support for 16 channels in high-resolution PCM and DSD and its high output voltage capability. I bought it based on its technical specs and its acceptance by luminaries in the recording industry, harboring the hope that it would sound as good as or better than what I already owned. It has met all these expectations and enhanced the joy and satisfaction I get from my music system beyond my expectations.

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Footnote 7: In alphabetical order, the other multichannel recordings were by Claudio Abbado, Ivan Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Helmut Haenchen, Mariss Jansons, Simon Rattle, Markus Stenz, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Benjamin Zander, and David Zinman.

Footnote 8: See trptk.com/studio.