Verdict
Some niggling start - up issues aside , the Helm Bolt is a hearty plug - and - dally DAC that ’s available for a comparatively cheap amount . Its headline feature of MQA has been palliate by Tidal ’s late move to FLAC , but PC and Android users will still be able to benefit from MQA rendering from the Helm Bolt .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
And with the Helm BoltDAC , it ’s a digital - to - analogue converter that aims to give your audio a full-grown boost without the demand for a large investment as it ’s now available for just timid of £ 100 / $ 100 . This order it alongside the likes of theEarmen Eagle , a DAC I like a lot when I reviewed it . Can the Helm Bolt best its carrying out ?
Design
The number of plug - and - play DACs in the market has grown in popularity of late , the kind of small , commodious amplifier that could be used at home but easily taken outside of the house with a roving machine .
The Helm Bolt is one such DAC . It ’s minuscule at only 95 mm long and a width of 11.7 mm , with a stocky main housing that connects to USB - snow stimulation via a compromising cable . It ’s much pocket-sized than a like plug - and - play DAC like theAstell & Kern HC3 .
The build quality is upright for its small proportions , the compromising cablegram gives some leeway if you ’re connecting to a source in a tight space , and it come in with a USB - A adapter to connect to a laptop computer , PC , or non - USB - C - compliant informant . It ’s only big enough to admit a 3.5 millimetre output to hook up a wired earphone .
There ’s an LED that showcases file type and frequency sampling rate , as well as a soft carry pouch for tape drive , and that ’s it for the Helm Bolt DAC ’s purpose . It continue things round-eyed , which will appeal to those interested in boosting audio with minimum fuss .
Features
The light-emitting diode shows three types of file / sampling charge per unit . Purple is MQA , used by the like of Tidal medicine cyclosis . Red refer to HD tracks greater than 48kHz , and Blue equalize SD track up to 48kHz . The Helm Bolt can playback PCM and DSD up to 384kHz and 5.6MHz respectively .
The Bolt use an ESS Sabre DAC with a three - oscillator design claimed to be better than a undivided oscillator design due to its “ superior frequency curl ” . The DAC is positioned in a shielded headphone connection for optimal EMI ( electromagnetic interference ) to isolate it from the USB and cut down XT straining ( where a signal on one channel leaks into another ) . The shielded cable television service also helps to better the conduction of the sign from reference to the DAC as well as isolate from EMI .
It ’ll also mechanically decipher a headphone ’s ohmic resistance and adjust the output grade , either at 1V for earphone ’ impedance at less than 150ohms or 2V for more than 150ohms .
There is THX credentials ( like theTHX Onyx ) , and compatibility for Android and iOS mobile devices , as well as macOS and Windows 10 . The Helm Bolt roleplay as a renderer forMQA music files , so when paired with a decoder ( the Tidal app ) , the Helm Bolt can perform the final ‘ unfold ’ and unlock the selective information within the MQA stream for the in high spirits quality playback .
Performance
A slightly singular trait I ’ve noticed with the Helm Bolt DAC is that it does n’t always toy audio when connected . Whether it ’s a compatibility government issue or the DAC not amply operate , I ’m not sure . It has a mind of its own , lick fine on some occasions or defy to on others , the system recognising it as “ ESS USB Audio ” instead of “ Helm MQA ” . It can be very grumpy .
But enchant it on a good 24-hour interval – you’re able to order it ’s in the mood when it goes through its proper start - up successiveness of red / blasphemous flashing light source – and the Helm Bolt DAC move a transparent and balanced quality with audio played through aSivga Robin SV021 . There ’s no obvious attempt of the DAC to add or change the audio signal through process whether through passion or crispness . It feels that what I get wind is coming straight from the medicine streamer ’s server as intended .
Take a track like Bear McCreary ’s Rodan from the Godzilla : King of the Monsters soundtrack ( Tidal ) where there ’s plenty of energy to the percussive beats , a surging forward momentum and large - scurf dynamics , and the Helm Bolt regurgitate it in an unflurried manner . The drumbeats stock raft of weight unit and power but not in a manner where it becomes the focus of the caterpillar track .
The sense of surge impulse is carried well through the song , though perhaps with not as much clarity or detail as expect – with some track Tidal sound warmer than other services , and a subsequent listen on Apple Music reveals a knifelike sentience of detail and clarity , as well as a better signified of small and larger scale harmonic , plus a blanket soundstage to indulge in .
But that speaks to what I write earlier in that the Helm Bolt does n’t add together its own characteristics , it only accentuates whatever is furnish in the flow .
With Avishai Cohen and Big Vicious ’ Hidden Chamber ( Tidal ) , there ’s a pleasing magnificence the Helm Bolt elicit from Cohen ’s cornet carrying out . It also exerts tight control over the song ’s dynamics , astutely capturing the small , quieter moments that earmark the more expressive portion to bear out more . It ’s a presentation that sounds fluid , dynamic , and lively , but also rude .
With Tidal adding FLAC to its service , it ’s become harder to find MQA files , in special on iOS , which rather invalidate the headline feature of this DAC in 2023 . A switch to PC and a listen to Air ’s Alone in Kyoto presents the same sort of control as before with esteem to track ’s kinetics .
The luminosity of the eminent frequency notes is brought out with some decent extension and clarity : there ’s a beneficial firmness to the pianoforte bill , the breadth of the soundstage is nicely described , while the Wave that crash in the scope towards the track ’s closing impart neatly to the track ’s overall ambience . The Helm Bolt knits it together in an effortless way . It does leave some detail and asperity on the table when compared to the Earmen Eagle , which if I were to choose between the two , the Eagle would be my preferred alternative .
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Should you buy it?
The Helm Bolt DAC is exceedingly dim-witted to habituate with its jade and play mathematical process that permit you get on with delight your music .
It works fine with the Windows PC , Android , and iOS devices I ’ve connect it to , but there are other occasions where it just does n’t want to work .
Final Thoughts
As a portable DAC the Helm Bolt works effectively to hyperbolize audio without leaving any obvious trace of processing . It ’s dewy-eyed to use , and its nag - and - play surgical procedure have in mind you could get straight to listening to music without fuss .
Or at least there would n’t be fuss if it were n’t for some niggling bulge out - up issue that terminate up with no sound played . The Helm Bolt went on cut-rate sale in 2020 , and this military issue does n’t seem to have been resolved . What the ancestor of it is I ’m not sure , but it ’s frequent enough to irritate . I have found connecting the Bolt to a equipment via the USB - A adapter or just plugging it in and out can remedy the payoff , but not always .
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FAQs
Yes you could as this is a plug and play DAC with a USB - atomic number 6 connection . Those with older iPhones will have to use the Lightning to USB - blow adapter to associate .
