That isn't to say though that Exogal doesn't have years of hi-fi expertise at its disposal. Exogal was founded by industry heavy hitters Larry Jacoby, Jeff Haagenstad, Jan Larsen and the heart of the engineering team, Jim Kinne.

Jim is best known for his years developing products for Wadia including the exceptionally well regarded Wadia 27 decoding computer, Wadia 270 CD transport and Wadia 790 Power DAC.

While Jim believes measurements in the field of engineering are important, he designs products for optimal listening first. He feels that a product designed in such a manner will test well, whereas the opposite isn't always true.

As a brand, Exogal follow the philosophy “You can't create the future while clinging to the past”. A bold statement, one that perhaps suggests Exogal are more about revolution rather than simply evolution.

All Exogal products are designed and built in Minnesota, USA. Locally in Australia, Exogal products are distributed by Queensland based Crux Audio.

Features

Let’s take a closer look at one of the brand’s first products, the Exogal Comet DAC which sells for $3,500 RRP.

The Comet DAC has a small profile, with a nicely machined aluminium body and a piano black feature on the top, highlighting the Exogal logo.

The front houses a small square monochrome display, which while looking elegant, can sometimes prove difficult to see depending on how much light is in the room. It certainly can’t be read from a distance.

I get the impression that Exogal weren't interested in making a component of unnecessary proportions that looked beastly for the sake of it, as this unit measures in at just under 5cm tall, 29cm wide and 19cm deep. This is helped by the fact the Comet DAC uses an external power supply.

Input connectivity is very flexible, featuring an asynchronous USB Type-B input (which supports up to DSD128), AES/EBU, BNC (labelled SPDIF), Toslink as well as a line level analog input, meaning you could use this as a dedicated pre-amplifier should you wish.

Audio signals are processed using Jim's own programming via FPGAs. The USB input can accept up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM data rates, DSD64, and DSD128 in DOP (DSD over PCM) format.

The Comet DAC also features Balanced Out, RCA Out and Headphone Output.

Both Balanced and RCA outputs can be used simultaneously and the single ended outputs are able to be programmed as either stereo out or as Centre/Subwoofer designation. Very versatile!

Exogal have more recently also provided a remote app supported by both Android and iOS devices.

The app connects to the Comet DAC via Bluetooth and gives you an on screen display, showing you the volume level, input and output, and of course replaces the standard remote which, all things considered is a little humdrum.

I found myself using the remote app over the supplied remote for the duration of the review period.

Exogal also offer an optional power supply upgrade (+$1000), however this review was performed using the supplied stock power supply.