YBA's First Portable Is a 126-Resistor R-2R Ladder With No Bluetooth

YBA has spent four decades building the sort of equipment that lives on a rack in a listening room. This month the French high-end manufacturer put something in a pocket instead. The VIBE P1, a portable DAC and headphone amplifier announced at a YBA launch event on 11 September and now reaching a wider audience through English-language coverage, carries a discrete resistor-ladder conversion stage, a claimed 1330mW of balanced output on external power, and — pointedly — no Bluetooth of any kind.

It sells for 649 euros, or US$599, and is out this month. An optional PU leather case is on the way; YBA has not said what that will cost.

A new series, not a side project

The P1 is the first product in what YBA calls the VIBE Series, a new family the company frames as an extension of its existing engineering into personal listening rather than a cheap doorway into the brand. The launch presentation, reported in detail by Porta-Fi, positions VIBE as a fresh creative direction from founder Yves-Bernard Andre and the engineering team — explicitly not an entry-level range.

That matters mostly because of what the series sits next to. VIBE follows YBA's DESIGN Series, which covers the YT302 SACD/CD transport, the YD302 DAC, the YP302 headphone amplifier and preamplifier, the YA302 integrated amplifier and the YM302 streamer, along with the compact DESIGN ONE SACD/CD player. The P1 is the point at which that lineage leaves the equipment rack.

126 resistors, and two ways to use them

The conversion stage is the headline. Rather than a packaged delta-sigma chip, the P1 uses a 19+5 segmented R-2R architecture built from 126 precision thin-film resistors. Segmentation of that kind splits the ladder so that the most significant bits are handled by one group of elements and the remainder by another, which is a common approach to keeping a discrete ladder's linearity manageable at the top of its range.

Two sound modes are offered: OS and NOS — oversampling and non-oversampling — selectable by the listener. Neither source has reviewed the P1, and there is no verdict here on how the two modes compare, or on how a ladder converter stacks up against the chip-based alternatives that dominate this category. The architecture and the modes are specifications, and that is how they are reported.

Downstream, YBA has built the amplifier around two ADA4610 devices and four BUF634A buffers. The published figures are 278mW into 32 ohms single-ended and 1080mW into 32 ohms balanced, with the balanced figure rising to 1330mW into 32 ohms when the unit is connected to external power. The sources describe the outputs as single-ended and balanced without specifying connector sizes, so the jack complement is not something we can confirm.

The missing Bluetooth

The P1 has no Bluetooth at all. This is not a cost omission dressed up after the fact — YBA addressed it directly at the launch. Asia-Pacific Brand Director David DAI said the decision follows the company's traditional philosophy of optimising each interface it does provide and maintaining signal purity, rather than bolting on every connection option available.

Whether that reasoning persuades you probably depends on how you use a portable DAC. For a listener who plugs a phone or a DAP into a dongle-style device by cable and leaves it there, wireless is dead weight. For anyone who expected to pair a portable to a laptop across a desk, its absence is a hard constraint rather than a philosophical position. Both readings are fair; the notes here are simply that YBA made the choice deliberately and said so out loud.

What the P1 does gain on the wired side is what YBA describes as its USB M1 receiver technology, brought to the company's portable products for the first time. YBA claims support for bandwidth up to 196Mbps — a manufacturer figure, presented as such. There is also a 10-band EQ operating at 384kHz.

Looks borrowed from upstairs

Visually, the P1 works in a titanium colour scheme and lifts two cues from YBA's larger equipment: the "smile window" feature from the SIGNATURE Series and the mirror glass aesthetic of the GENESIS Series. It is a fairly transparent attempt to make a pocket device read as part of the same family as the full-size gear, which is consistent with how YBA is pitching the whole series.

What comes next

The P1 will not be alone for long. At the same event YBA previewed the W1, a streaming product aimed at two-channel and desktop systems, housed in a one-piece enclosure with a circular display. It is due to make its first public appearance at the Beijing International Headphones Expo. No price and no date have been given for it, and it has been previewed rather than launched — so treat it as a signal of where the VIBE Series is heading rather than a product you can plan around.

The short version

• Price: EUR 649 / US$599, available this month. Optional PU leather case to follow, price unannounced.
• DAC: 19+5 segmented R-2R built from 126 precision thin-film resistors, with selectable OS and NOS modes.
• Amp: 2x ADA4610, 4x BUF634A. 278mW single-ended into 32 ohms; 1080mW balanced into 32 ohms; 1330mW balanced into 32 ohms on external power.
• Connectivity: USB with YBA's M1 receiver technology, claimed to support up to 196Mbps. No Bluetooth.
• Extras: 10-band EQ at 384kHz; titanium finish with SIGNATURE Series "smile window" and GENESIS Series mirror glass cues.

Battery capacity, running time, dimensions and weight have not been published by either source, and no supported sample-rate ceiling has been stated. Those gaps will presumably close as the P1 reaches reviewers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the YBA VIBE P1 and what does it cost?

The YBA VIBE P1 is a portable DAC and headphone amplifier, the first product in the French manufacturer's new VIBE Series. It was announced at a YBA launch event on 11 September 2026 and is priced at 649 euros or US$599, with availability stated as this month. An optional PU leather case is planned, price unannounced.

How is the YBA VIBE P1's R-2R DAC built?

The YBA VIBE P1 uses a 19+5 segmented R-2R conversion architecture assembled from 126 precision thin-film resistors rather than a packaged converter chip. It offers two selectable sound modes, OS (oversampling) and NOS (non-oversampling). YBA has not published a supported sample-rate or DSD ceiling for the unit.

How much power does the YBA VIBE P1 deliver into 32 ohms?

YBA quotes 278mW into 32 ohms from the VIBE P1's single-ended output and 1080mW into 32 ohms balanced. The balanced figure rises to 1330mW into 32 ohms when the unit is connected to external power. The amplifier stage uses two ADA4610 devices and four BUF634A buffers.

Why does the YBA VIBE P1 have no Bluetooth?

The YBA VIBE P1 omits Bluetooth entirely. At the launch event, YBA Asia-Pacific Brand Director David DAI said the decision reflects the company's traditional philosophy of optimising each interface it does provide and maintaining signal purity, rather than adding every possible connection option to the device.

What else did YBA announce alongside the VIBE P1?

Alongside the VIBE P1, YBA previewed the W1, a streaming product for two-channel and desktop systems with a one-piece enclosure and a circular display. The W1 is set to make its first public appearance at the Beijing International Headphones Expo. No price or release date has been given for it.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: Porta-Fi — YBA Enters a New Listening Era with VIBE Series and P1 Portable DAC/Amp, Darko.Audio — YBA's VIBE P1 puts an R2R DAC in your pocket.