“MBL’s C41 takes gold!” announces the headline on the cover of the latest issue of Hi-Fi News, as Andrew Everard reviews the German brand’s newest addition to its Cadenza line, with editor Paul Miller providing lab reports.

”The C41 is a digital-only DAC / preamp that boasts custom reclocking, digital filtering and a trick that side-steps ‘digital clipping’,” writes Everard in the magazine’s December issue.

It “combines the functions of network player, DAC and preamplifier, and is usable straight into a power amp”. For the purposes of this review, the power amp in question is MBL’s Cadenza Line C21.

With both the new C41 and the C21, “You get the solidity of build and finish concomitant with that whole ‘Made in Germany’ thing,” notes Everard. Designed very much for the home audiophile, MBL’s Cadenza Line “doesn’t probe the higher reaches of high-end daftness” but instead brings “a distinct air of ‘sensible’”, insofar as it deliberately avoids cluttering its components with unnecessary ‘bells and whistles’.

That said, “neither unit is what you’d call a shrinking violet”, in that both are clearly designed for aesthetic elegance as well as superb sonic performance. The new C41 in particular is “striking in its looks” and delivers real “equipment rack presence”.

Under that elegant hood, the C41 sports some clever MBL tech that sets it apart from competitors. The company’s own True Peak Technology (TPT) is the aforementioned ‘trick’ that tackles digital clipping, while its Core Volume Control (CVC) takes a distinctive approach to adjusting output level, ensuring that the signal suffers no loss of information on its journey to the output stage. Add to that a three-step process to tackle jitter and the application of MBL’s own in-house technologies to the DAC chip, and what you get is a product that’s significantly smarter than your average DAC / streamer.

The result is a player that “communicates so much of the music’s heart and soul that it’s impossible not to get on board!” concludes Everard.

To read his review in full, pick up a copy of the December issue of Hi-Fi News.

Find out more about MBL’s C41 network player and locate your nearest specialize retailer at www.mbl.de/en