By Kevin OBrien on May 7, 2026
MASTER FIDELITY 'NADAC D' DSD DAC REVIEW
We first caught wind of the NADAC D when reading about a '2025 Product of the Year Award' from Part-Time Audiophile, right around the 2025 holidays. This caught our attention, because these guys review A LOT of gear in one year's time. The sheer amount of high-end gear that goes in and out of the ptA review team's listening rooms is alarming. The fact that this particular manufacturer out of Canada, Master Fidelity, made the top of that list for all of 2025 is impressive. We know Scot Hull, the ring-leader of ptA. He's a good guy. When his team shouts something out from the rooftops, we listen.
With that being said, how does one begin to write about a product that is changing everything in High-End? Great question. We are continuing our coverage of this DAC after picking up the Master Fidelity Line at AXPONA 2026. What does this say? We were blown away by what we heard in Chicago, so much so, that we brokered a deal right then and there. We can confidently say, right now, after spending two weeks with the NADAC D (fully broken-in & up-to-date), we are more than glad we jumped in 'head-first'.
It can be risky to go all-in without really being all that familiar. It's what can make or break you as a business. What we heard in the GTT Audio room at AXPONA 2026 didn't seem like a 'risk' per say. It seemed like a one-off opportunity. That insight has proven itself to be invaluable. Let us explain...
The moment we powered up our demo NADAC D, we knew we made the correct choice. We've heard a lot of gear, but not like this. Enthusiasts like to talk in terms of 'flavors'. This is an entirely new set of ingredients! Sounds floated effortlessly outward from our demo gear and filled the entire space, and then some. Forget about walls and ceilings. The most striking feature that stood out right away: the tone. What we heard was natural and organic, not like digital at all. Think 'analog' here, which is exactly what was burned into our brains, similar to a vinyl-listening experience. Keep in mind, we played the unit for 400 hours prior to making any conclusions. Also, we've heard the reference pieces from the likes of EMM Labs, Playback Designs, Berkeley Audio, Bricasti Designs, and Lampizator. We know what 'good sound' is as far as DACs go, as we've heard quite a few over the years.
We've also been doing this long enough to know how to prepare for a review such as this one. You may as well burn-in the DAC prior to evaluation, or you'll just torture yourself with anticipation. We know better. What we initially heard was a product that was completely sorted, and completely astounding as far as digital playback standards go. It's akin to having your own reel to reel, but without the need to source the tapes. WOW! Don't tease yourself any further, go and hear this DAC as soon as you can.
As far as how MF is accomplishing this, we've heard they are producing their own custom single-bit chips, from the ground up, because there's simply nothing available that is up to MF's standards. There's also nothing currently available that can do what the custom MF converter chips are doing. This is why the cost of admission is so high. If you make something custom in relatively small quantities, you are going to pay. That is exactly what is happening with the MF NADAC series. But, we're so glad it is. When you hear what MF is doing, you won't want to listen to anything else, we assure you. Converters costing as much or more do not stand a chance, at all. In fact, they sound somewhat 'off' after hearing the MF solution.
This DAC sounds analog. When we say 'analog', we mean smooth, edgeless, refined sound that you can listen to for 12 hours uninterrupted. This is high praise. We have listened to some "high-end, cost-no-object, digital solutions", and were left scratching our heads. From what we can tell, every other manufacturer is using off-the-shelf chips. There are some exceptions, as there are to every rule. But, if these other manufacturers are making truly custom chips, they are doing something incorrectly, as their solutions do not sound like MF's. With Master Fidelity, we are talking about next-level silicon here.
More importantly, do not make any conclusions until you hear this box with your own ears. You may find yourself changing your system configuration to accommodate the NADAC sound. We are doing just that. It's that good. There's no alternative at this point because once you hear the NADAC D, you cannot un-hear it. Enough said.
As far as functionality goes, you can use the touchscreen display to modify settings until your heart is content. We found the menus easy to navigate / understand and selections extremely intuitive. In fact, we hooked up the NADAC D for the first time without instructions, it's that easy. The touchscreen gives you everything you need, as far as options go. You can adjust the screen brightness, and most any other parameter needed. Unfortunately, you cannot adjust the gain settings (or the 'left-right' balance) for the converter output. This is something we would like to see in the future from MF. This coincides with what is available from EMM Labs for their DV2 V2 offering, which should also be included with this piece, in our opinion. The only reason we say this is because we "ran out of volume" on a few DSD tracks we were auditioning with. More gain please. These albums are in the minority, but none the less, they do exist. This same condition could present itself if the user is implementing extremely low efficiency speakers. In the 80 dB range, to be exact. A "high gain" and "low gain" setting would rectify this issue quite easily. At the end of the day, this issue only presents itself on a rare occasion, but was worth noting.
This brings us to the age-old question of whether or not to use a preamp with this DAC. If you have a reference pre, and you love it, by all means, use it. If you don't have a reference preamp, use the included volume control until you can save up for one. A preamp is not a requirement with the NADAC D, but we have a feeling you'll really appreciate one in the long run. The major reason why is the gain issue we just mentioned, which will only come into play for the outliers, but the attenuation steps the NADAC D offers may also bother you. Volume is stepped in 3 dB increments, which for some, may not cut it. We find it's just fine. In fact, we actually prefer it, which was not what we expected upon first-look at the NADAC D specs. We usually end up "searching" for the proper volume while listening. With the NADAC D, we find a level that sounds close enough and then we leave it alone. This is the complete opposite reaction we have with our other 1 dB stepped attenuators that we endlessly 'play with' until we go crazy. Ultimately, you will have to be the judge.
The NADAC D USB input may also upset you, if you're like us. We love using USB A to B cables. The NADAC D requires the use of a USB C cable. There's only so many 'Audiophile-Grade' USB C cables on the market. If you don't want to use a USB C cable, you MUST use the Master Fidelity USB C to B adapter. (Standard USB C to B adapters will not work with the NADAC's extra deep USB input) YFS also makes one heck of an 'Audiophile USB cable', so we're not about to go back to the drawing board and make a bunch of new YFS USB C cables, at least not quite yet. Master Fidelity has their own USB C cable that is available for purchase directly. The MF USB C to B adapter, which is pictured below, is available directly from MF ($500 USD MSRP). This latter solution seemed like the best idea to us, and allows for the most versatility. If you already have a proper USB C cable, then don't worry about it.
You may ask yourself, after reading the (somewhat outdated at this point) Absolute Sound review of this same digital piece, how do you know if you have the most up-to-date version of this converter? If your DAC was produced in 2026, you should be all set. If it's older, it could be up in the air. The good thing is, these converters started their lives in 2025, so there's not many units "in the wild" that have original hardware / software. The software side of things is fairly straightforward. Feel free to shoot us an inquiry, and we'll do our best to help. The current software version, as of this review, is 1.5.2. If you have anything lower than that, you're obviously not current. The good thing is, if you bought your DAC in 2026, but don't have the latest software, that's an easy fix. If your DAC is from 2025, it may need to be verified by the manufacturer for the most current hardware configuration, and things get a little less clear. You will most likely need to send your DAC to the factory in Vancouver for hardware updates if you have one of the original NADAC Ds.
Now we'd like to touch on the various "filters" that are available with the NADAC D. There are 6 filter options to be exact. We ended up going with Filter 5, as it best represents the EMM Labs / Playback Designs sound we have come to love. This makes the sounds that come out of the NADAC D sound "real", not like a "copy-paste" scenario. With no pre or post ringing, this is the filter choice that best suits us. Here's a link to the user manual, in case you need it. The manual clearly shows the designations between the different filter options. We have the chart below for your convenience. As always, your mileage may vary.
Let us tell you about the external master clock that partners with this crazy DAC. It's called the NADAC C. Jitter is the enemy and this master clock will get you down to 66 femtoseconds @ 10 Hz. Phase noise comes in at an impressive -122 dBc @ 1 Hz. The NADAC C will run you the exact same outlay as the NADAC D ($27,500 USD MSRP). We could not justify the spend on such an expensive ask. If you have the funds, by all means. We believe the NADAC D combined with the NADAC C is the ultimate digital converting solution, regardless of money. But, it will cost you. It will cost you to the tune of $55,000 USD, to be exact. Ouch. We have plans to implement a Mutec REF10 SE120 external master clock in the very near future. Because once you hear what a solo NADAC D can do in your system, there's no reason not to lust for the next level. Although, with just the NADAC D, you're already there in so many ways.
When you hear the amazing achievements of the NADAC D sans clock, you won't need to concern yourself with such matters. Well, that is, until it's time for an upgrade. Because this audio journey never ends, does it? Drop us a line if you'd like to figure out a way into one of these units, or both. We'll go easy on you, we promise.
Thank you for spending your time with us.
Until next time...
- KOB