Outboard DACs

Adopting the same chassis design and styling of the D50/Raven DAC is Hegel’s Viking CD player [HFN Sep ’23], and the similarities between the two don’t end there. Both have been designed as dedicated hi-fi separates, with no unnecessary frills or features to distract from their raisons d’être. The Viking, selling for £4500 and winner of the EISA 2023-2024 award for Best High-End CD player, offers a lengthy list of upgrades over Hegel’s earlier Mohican disc spinner [HFN Oct ’16], including a new slot-loading drive mechanism and laser pick-up. However, like that venerable unit, it plays CDs only – there’s no SACD support, nor digital inputs to make extra use of its onboard D/A conversion.

Of course, owners of both the Viking and the Raven will have the option of comparing the former’s AKM-based DAC [see PM's Lab Report] and balanced analogue output to that of its sibling, using the CD player’s BNC digital out to switch into transport mode. They will also end up with two identical RC8 remote controls [three if they also have one of Hegel’s integrated amps or its P30A preamplifier, HFN Jun ’23], but it’s always good to have a spare...