Recording - September 2020 - 56

REVIEW

SPL Mercury

Mastering DA Converter
D/A conversion on 120v rails? Yes!
BY JUSTIN PERKINS

arlier this year, SPL (Sound Performance Lab) started shipping its
new Mercury Mastering DA Converter, a mastering grade digitalto-analog converter with phenomenal German build quality that's
available in red or black. It's designed for use as a main monitoring
converter, to listen to various sources in your studio or to feed an analog
mastering chain-not at the same time of course, but I tried it in both
scenarios, and here's what I found.

A 120v Rail Converter

Mercury is built on the unique 120v
DC Audio Rail Technology found in most
SPL products, providing the unit with
exceptional headroom and dynamic
range. Conversion is handled by AKM
Velvet-Sound® technology, with sampling
rates up to 32-bit / 768 kHz, and Direct
Stream Digital up to DSD4. From an audiophile perspective, Mercury is future
proofed for many years to come.

Digital Ins

Mercury makes for a high-quality digital
monitoring hub, with two AES/EBU inputs
(one of which supports AES dual wire for
sample rates up to 384 kHz), two S/PDIF
connections, two TOSLINK connections,
and USB for use as an audio interface.

Big Simple Buttons

One thing I love about Mercury is the
big and simple buttons for changing
what source is feeding the DAC. There
are no confusing menus to scroll through,
or special tricks needed to access all the
56 RECORDING September 2020

options and features. You can pretty
much start using this thing right out of
the box without reading the manual (the
opposite of another converter/interface
I happen to be reviewing right now).
There's a very thoughtful MUTE button
for those who are using this as a monitor
controller or guarding against feedback
loops when configuring your routing.
It also has a big button to change the
clock sync source, and unlike a few
other converters I own, you can see the
sample rate and additional info on the
bright, clear, illuminated screen from a
distance, to be sure nothing is amiss.
Mercury is very responsive to sample
rate and source changes with no significant or bothersome lag. Everything is very
instant and smooth, with no fighting or
waiting for it to do what you want it to do.

The Backside

The backside features classic SPL jack
labeling that can be read right side up
or upside down, something I've always
loved about SPL gear.

Mercury features two sets of stereo
outputs. One set is fixed, and the other is
variable, controlled by a pot on the front
and perfect for adjusting the speaker level
when using Mercury as a monitor controller. All attenuation is done in the analog
realm rather than digitally, thus avoiding
bit depth discrepancies due to digital attenuation-a very clever and thoughtful
design. Use the fixed full-level outputs
if you plan to use Mercury with a monitor controller or mastering desk. At first,
I thought having separate jacks for the
fixed and variable outputs was a strange
choice, but now I see why it makes sense.

In Use

I found Mercury extremely clear
sounding, even when playing back very
loudly mastered material. Some converters struggle when they are pushed to the
extreme top end of the digital loudness
scale. However, Mercury always sounded solid and detailed.
Whether streaming hi-resolution music
from TIDAL, DSD tracks from J River Media Center, or recent mastering projects
I've been working on, everything sounded very pleasing. Clear and precise, but
not fatiguing or misleading. I also did
a few 'in the box' mastering sessions
from my home setup using the Mercury

Recording - September 2020

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