Dual mono DAC

Preciso

Turns the digital signal from your transport into clean, precise analog sound. Two SABRE DACs, one for each channel.

4.8 · 10 reviews

Buy in the shop, Preciso See tech specs Find a dealer

Volumio Preciso from the front: a black front panel with the Preciso name, two grey knobs and a small display that reads USB, 0.0dB and PCM 44.1kHz, in a dark grey case.

Made in Florence

The highlights

2×ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M DACs, one for each channel
768kHzPCM at 32-bit, plus DSD512, over USB and I2S over HDMI
−122.5dBTHD+N, total harmonic distortion plus noise
128dBsignal-to-noise ratio
4Vrmsbalanced output on XLR, and 2 Vrms on RCA
0.5dBsteps of hardware gain control, for preamp mode

Reviews

What reviewers and owners say

Audiophilia

Star Component

“…one of the best deals you’ll find for performance at the price.”

Jesús González-Monreal, Audiophilia.

Read the review

Independent reviews

Hi-Fi News & Record Review Sound quality 85% · Highly Commended
“…a cost-effective upgrade and a solid foundation for a hi-fi or head-fi system.”
July 2025 · Read the review in Hi-Fi News & Record Review
Hifi Pig 5 Hearts award
“…great value for money and a sound quality that does punch above its price.”
Stuart Smith · September 2025 · Read the review in Hifi Pig
SECRETS of Home Theater and High Fidelity
“The Volumio Preciso DAC is the best ESS Sabre-based DAC I’ve ever listened to…”
Chris Groppi · September 2025 · Read the review in SECRETS of Home Theater and High Fidelity
TNT-Audio
“…works flawlessly, is extremely versatile, visually original and appealing, and sounds good.”
Lucio Cadeddu · September 2026 · Read the review in TNT-Audio

Volumio doesn't pay for reviews. Reviewers test units supplied by Volumio or its distributors.

From owners

4.8

10 reviews on shop.volumio.com

“Volumio Preciso was a truly remarkable upgrade for my audio chain.”
Oleg Demtschenko · July 2025
“Set it and forget it.”
Bart Rehrig · February 2026

Read all 10 reviews

Preciso on a wooden sideboard between headphones on a stand and a turntable, with records, books and a brown bottle on the shelves below.

Preciso is made in Florence. It measures 27 × 15 × 5 cm.

Two Volumio team members check a main board at the assembly table in Florence, with a stack of finished boards beside them.

Made in Florence

Assembled by hand, in Italy

Preciso is designed in Florence and assembled there by hand, by the team that also writes its software. Each unit is checked before it leaves the lab.

More about Volumio in Florence

Look inside

Built on three pillars

Mirrored dual mono DACs, separate linear power for the analog and digital paths, and carefully selected parts where they count.

A close-up of the Preciso circuit board, with DUAL MONO DAC printed on it next to a chip.

Dual mono DACs

Two ESS ES9039Q2M DACs sit in mirrored, isolated circuits, one for each channel. The channels stay separate, crosstalk stays very low, and each DAC gets an optimized signal path.

A close-up of the Preciso circuit board, with MEMS CLOCK and ANALOG LINEAR PSU printed between capacitors and chips.

Dual linear power

A dual linear power supply, with LC filtering and dedicated regulators, feeds the analog and digital paths separately. This reduces interference, keeps noise out of the signal and improves dynamic range.

The Preciso circuit board seen at an angle, with MEMS CLOCK printed between rows of capacitors.

Parts where they count

A precision MEMS clock, premium op-amps for the analog stage and a dedicated ASIC for the USB input keep the performance clean and stable.

One clock for both DACs
A single high-accuracy MEMS clock drives both DACs, for precise and coherent timing.
Matched channels
Both channels have matched circuit paths. The SMD parts were chosen for their electrical performance as well as their size, and C0G capacitors keep performance stable and free of distortion over time and as temperatures change.
USB on its own chip
An ASIC is a chip built for one task. Here it controls the USB input, for bit-perfect transfer with very low jitter.

Sound

Shape the sound. Set the level.

Choose a DAC filter, or none at all. Then set the level in fine steps, and connect Preciso straight to a power amplifier if you like.

Eight filters, or none

Pick one of eight digital filters to fine-tune the sound. Or turn on NOS mode, a feature many listeners asked for. It switches oversampling off and passes on a raw, unprocessed signal.

Chart with NOS mode on: a sine wave on the left and right channels, peaking at about 3 Volt, drawn as a series of small steps. — The output with NOS mode on and off: left and right channels, amplitude in Volt over 1.5 ms.

Chart with NOS mode off: the same sine wave, smooth. — The output with NOS mode on and off: left and right channels, amplitude in Volt over 1.5 ms.

A preamp built in

Hardware gain control sets the level from 0 to −99 dB, in 0.5 dB steps. Connect Preciso straight to a power amplifier, with no external preamp.

Measured

Preciso has a THD+N of −122.5 dB. That is at the measurement threshold of today’s most sensitive audio test equipment. Its signal-to-noise ratio is 128 dB.

See the measurements (PDF)

Connections

Four ways in. Two ways out.

Connect a computer, smartphone or tablet over USB, or a transport over USB, I2S over HDMI, S/PDIF coaxial or S/PDIF optical. Then connect your amplifier, balanced on XLR or unbalanced on RCA.

The back of Preciso, labelled from left: BALANCED OUT R and L on two XLR sockets, with UNBALANCED OUT R and L on two RCA sockets between them, then OPTICAL IN, COAXIAL IN, I2S IN on an HDMI socket, USB, TRIG IN, TRIG OUT and DC 5V - 2A.

In

USB: USB-B 2.0, up to PCM 768 kHz / 32-bit and DSD512
I2S over HDMI: Up to PCM 768 kHz / 32-bit and DSD512
S/PDIF coaxial: On RCA, up to PCM 192 kHz / 24-bit
S/PDIF optical: On TOSLINK, up to PCM 192 kHz / 24-bit
Trigger in: 12 V on a 3.5 mm jack, positive on tip
Power: 5 V DC / 2 A, on a 5.5 × 2.1 mm barrel jack

Out

Balanced: XLR, 4 Vrms
Unbalanced: RCA, 2 Vrms
Preamp mode: Hardware gain control from 0 to −99 dB, to drive power amplifiers directly
Trigger out: 12 V on a 3.5 mm jack, positive on tip

The Volumio experience

Made for the Volumio experience

Preciso turns the signal from any streamer, transport or PC/Mac into sound. Pair it with a Volumio streamer such as Rivo Plus and you get Volumio OS: one player for all your music, on every screen in your home.

Volumio OS
The player inside every Volumio streamer: every source, bit-perfect.
The Volumio app
Set up, browse and play from your phone, on iOS and Android.

Discover the Volumio experience

Pairing

Complete your digital chain

Add a transport to feed Preciso, and Remoto to control it from your seat.

Preciso stacked on top of a Rivo Plus with a blue front, on a black mat on a wooden table. The Preciso display reads USB, 0.0dB and PCM.

Rivo Plus, Rivo or any transport

Paired with Rivo Plus, Rivo or any dedicated transport, Preciso completes an optimized digital chain. It can also work as a preamp and connect straight to power amplifiers.

Discover Rivo Plus Discover Rivo

Remoto

Remoto is the Volumio infrared remote. Use it to change the volume, the input and the DAC filter, with no app and no pairing. It is machined from solid aluminum, with a silver anodized finish, to complement Preciso.

Remoto is available as an accessory.

Discover Remoto

Preciso

Tech specs

Audio specifications

DAC: 2 × ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M
DAC filters: 8 digital filters for fine tuning
NOS mode: Switchable ON/OFF
Power supply: LC filtering and dual linear stage with dedicated line regulators for analog and digital paths
Preamp mode: Hardware gain control, 0 dB to −99 dB
USB input: Up to PCM 768 kHz / 32 bit and DSD512
I2S over HDMI input: Up to PCM 768 kHz / 32 bit and DSD512
S/PDIF coaxial input: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit
S/PDIF optical input: Up to PCM 192 kHz / 24 bit
Analog balanced output: 4 Vrms
Analog unbalanced output: 2 Vrms