Muse has introduced the flagship portable USB+Bluetooth DAC/headphone amplifier Muse HiFi M5 Ultra . Equipped with miniature Raytheon JAN6418 NOS tubes, modified ESS Audio ES9038Q2M DAC chips, QCC5125 Bluetooth chipset from Qualcomm, the M5 Ultra takes portable audio quality to a new level. The new product is equipped with two types of output amplification stage – tube and transistor, which can be selected depending on your mood and usage scenario.
Muse HiFi worked with ESS Technology to develop a 6418 variant of the ES9038Q2M DAC chipset, which is used in the M5 Ultra. The main purpose of this upgrade is to minimize electromagnetic interference that occurs when operating the JAN6418 tubes and the Bluetooth adapter. As a result, Muse HiFi claims that the M5 Ultra is completely protected from any kind of interference, promising clear sound with no noticeable background noise even in tube mode.
In addition, the Muse HiFi M5 Ultra uses an Accusilicon AS318B series 45.1584MHz/49.152MHz clock generator with ultra-low jitter, as well as seven digital filters for fine-tuning the sound.
The Muse HiFi M5 Ultra’s switching arsenal includes two output ports for connecting headphones – an asymmetrical 3.5 mm minijack and a balanced 4.4 mm one. Tube and Transistor modes are available for both outputs. At the same time, the Muse HiFi M5 Ultra has a three-level gain control – the gadget easily copes with most headphones. Muse HiFi is equipped with a Qualcomm QCC5125 Bluetooth chipset. Thanks to the design with two DSPs and a dual-core processor, the chipset supports high-resolution codecs LDAC and AptX Adaptive.
Muse HiFi M5 Ultra is equipped with a 3,000 mAh battery, which provides more than 10 hours of music playback. The device supports QC4.0 and PD Fast-Charging protocols.
The Muse HiFi M5 Ultra portable DAC/headphone amplifier is available now with a suggested retail price of $299.