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When first plugging in the Helm Bolt, the Mac sets the Bolt’s Master volume in the Audio MIDI app (located in the Utilities folder on the Mac) to 1.0 (100 percent). Tidal gave me an alert that the volume was too loud and automatically adjusted it. Apple Music Apps handled it gracefully within the app’s volume control. Not Qobuz.
I find the sound profile almost dead neutral. I don't get the sense of anything being dominant or recessed as a result of the DAC. Lows, mids and highs all come across closer to what sounds "flat", but not lifeless, which surprisingly changed very little given the Meze's more v shaped profile, but very respectably for the Fidelio based on the same profile. The Helm Bolt is one such DAC. It’s small at only 95mm long and a width of 11.7mm, with a compact main housing that connects to USB-C input via a flexible cable. It’s much smaller than a comparable plug-and-play DAC like the Astell & Kern HC3. Just a side note: I tried listening directly from the TIDAL Android app, but it wouldn’t play through the BOLT. This wasn’t fully unexpected, as many DAC/Amps don’t work with the TIDAL Android app. The only ones I’ve been able to use so far are the iFi DACs. It does work with the TIDAL desktop app on Windows 10. I didn’t try iOS. I have noticed my battery on the phone drains faster. This is expected, but the rate is not unreasonable. But where the Helm Audio Bolt wins the day is how it treats vocals and allows all of the texture and decay of notes to seduce one into believing you’re listening to the real thing through a pair of headphones or loudspeakers.Regardless of what all that means on a technical level, it is fair to assume that THX certification is a good thing. It serves as an indicator of quality assurance and a high standard of performance. Amplification
Over the past 19 months, 10 of these devices have landed in my mailbox and while it’s nice to have a wide selection of portable DACs to listen to with a lot of different headphones and desktop systems — I’m starting to feel that most of them sound very similar. I was ready to move on to something else but then the Helm Audio Bolt showed up and ruined my summer plans. The dongle comes with a fixed USB-C cable, which is great for connecting to an Android device or a newer Mac, and, with the USB-A adapter, to a Windows computer. But using the Bolt with an iPhone requires the Apple camera adapter, which doubles the “snake” in length. Since the enclosure of this 8 g dongle is very small, the whole construct is effectively just an extension of the earphone/headphone cable.US headphone specialist Helm Audio has introduced the Helm Bolt DAC/Amp mobile USB digital analogue converter, which supports MQA, glows magenta and is: “aimed at elevating sound quality for portable devices… by providing studio-level quality to our mobile world.” The Bolt DAC/AMP doesn’t need a driver. It features a USB-C input that is compatible with MacOS, iOS, Windows 10, and Android. For iOS devices (like my iPhone 12 Pro) and computers without a USB-C port, Helm Audio includes a USB-C-to-USB-A converter in the box. Connect the converter and voila! You can use the Bolt DAC/AMP across a vast array of devices. Theo Nicolakis / IDG I really enjoyed the BOLT with the Andover Audio PM50 Planar Magnetic headphones (102 dB/mW), the Focal Elear (104db/mW), and the Sennheiser x DROP HD58X (104db/mW). The Hifiman SUNDARA at 94db/mW was a little too much. For serious audiophiles, a digital to analog converter or DAC is a must-own. While most modern devices such as smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players feature built-in DACs which convert a digital signal to an analog signal for use with headphones or stereo equipment, a dedicated digital-to-analog converter has a lot of benefits. Namely, the average DAC in a phone or tablet isn’t particularly high-quality. Enter Helm Audio’s Bolt DAC/AMP. It’s a high-end amplifier and digital to analog converter combo that supports high-resolution audio formats including the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) codec. Find out why the Bolt is essential for music-lovers in our hands-on Helm Bolt DAC/AMP review! What is the Helm Audio Bolt DAC/AMP – A High-end MQA-Certified Headphone Amplifier and Digital to Analog Converter
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