High End 2014 • Hot Product

The Exogal Comet DAC is interesting for a number of reasons, primary among them is that it was designed by Jim Kinne, the man behind the Wadia Digimaster processor. It is also more than a DAC -- it has a Bluetooth receiver onboard and can act as a streamer with a dedicated app for control. Add to this the existence of four processing algorithms that include an apodizing filter and you might appreciate why it is appealing. The fact that it sits in a solid-aluminum case and sounded very good when connected to a CD transport was icing on the cake (even if it was hard to tell whether the WBS speakers from Germany or the very shiny Amati 845 amplifiers were they key reasons for this). In Europe the Comet retails for a remarkably sensible €2200.