Meridian reveals Explorer 2 DAC with MQA support

Following in the footsteps of the original Meridian Explorer, the Explorer 2 has a similarly slim, compact design, and is still handmade in the UK.

Promising to connect to virtually any computer with a USB port, with drivers provided for Linux, Mac and PC, the Explorer 2 upsamples all incoming audio signals to 176.4/192kHz.

The new DAC also supports Meridian's new MQA technology, which aims to package studio quality files in to smaller sizes for downloading and also streaming of high-res content. This is thanks to "a significantly more powerful DSP capability" compared to the original Explorer DAC.

MORE: Meridian Audio MQA paves way for high-res streaming

Meridian's apodising filter (inherited from the Reference 800 Series) is also on board, which claims to deliver a "clearer, more transparent sound."

MORE: Meridian Explorer DAC review

Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.

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