The Well-Tempered Computer, an introduction to computer audio

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Halide DAC HD


Asynchronous USB audio class 1 DAC

  • Power – supplied from USB connection. LC filtered (two pole passive) and down regulated; separate power rails for digital circuitry and master clock. 
  • Drivers – Plug and Play, using Streamlength™.
  • Supported rates – 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz (user selectable), at 24 bit resolution. 
  • DAC: Wolfson WM8716 
  • Length – 2 meters standard, other lengths available.

Website Halide
Price: US$ 550

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Soulution 590 USB converter



Asynchronous USB converter.
24/192 USB class audio 2.
Driver for Win

Digital outputs:
- 1 x SPDIF (RCA)
- 1 x AES/EBU (XLR)
- 1 x Optical (Toslink)

Website
Price: CHF 3.000

FlacWavLoader with SoX SRC

For those who think WAV sounds better but like the convenience of a well tagged FLAC there is this little program by Mike Galusha.
It converts FLAC to WAV.
It writes the output to a folder but on systems with sufficient memory the file is cashed so memory playback too.
It calls your media player
The latest version also added SoX for resampling.

http://www.mikegalusha.com/
Price: freeware

Sonata media player

If you think that dbPoweramp is one of the best rippers and format converter available and JRiver the best media player, Sonata it a media player to look for as it is an integrated version of  both dbPoweramp and JRiver.
It caters for classical music by supplying tags like genre, style, composer, work, conductor, orchestra, soloists, singers, period, instrument, etc.
They build their own proprietary classical database called SonataDB that now counts +40,000 albums tagged by musicologists and that incorporates hi-res covers art.
Website
Price: €99.00

Monday, December 19, 2011

Wyred4Sound Music Server



  • Wireless control 
  • Supports 24 bit 192 kHz files 
  • Coaxial, Toslink, I²S outputs 
  • Automatically copies CDs using built-in drive 
  • Network file uploading 
  • 1TB of on-board storage 
  • Internet Radio 
  • 3rd party apps such as Pandora®, MOG and more 
  • Interfaces with Sonos Zone Players 
  • Back-up the hard drive contents with one click 
  • Fan less 
  • Low power consumption 
  • Formats: AAC, APE, AIFF, Apple Lossless, Monkey's Audio, FLAC, QuickTime, MP3, MPEG-4, Musepack Ogg Vorbis, MPEG-4 SLS / HD-AAC, WAV, Windows Media, WMA Lossless, WMA Pro, Wavpack 

Price: US$ 1,999.00

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Elan JazzMaster 10CX

Coaxial active monitor

System 2 way active
Price $2499 CND (piece)
Drivers Coaxial
10 inch woofer
1,4 inch titanium dome tweeter
Frequency Response 35 Hz to 20 000Hz (extended LF),
45 Hz to 20 000Hz (normal),
55 Hz to 20 000Hz (restricted LF) ±2dB on-axis, anechoic
Cabinet Bass reflex, dual port
Digital input N/A
Analogue input XLR
Amp 2x 170 W Class D
Crossover DSP: 96 kHz, 24 bit AD / DA conversion, 28 x 28 bit multiplier with 56 bit accumulator, double precision processing.
Crossover at 2,5 kHz
Website: Elan

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Find HD Music




Find HD Music is a search engine for finding high resolution music downloads on the web.
The search engine lists high definition (24bit) downloads that are available from the major HD music vendors such as HDtracks, iTrax, Linn Records, Naim Label, eClassical, The Classical Shop, Channel Classics and HIGHRESAUDIO as well as smaller sites such as Melba Recordings.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

ExaSound E18



DAC with volume control and headphone out.

  • ES9018 SABRE32 Reference DAC
  • 8 channels at up to 32bit/384kHz (USB only)
  • Asynchronous USB interface 
  • Ultra low jitter 
  • Galvanic isolation 
  • Bit-perfect ASIO Driver Reference-class specifications
  • Automatic sampling rate switching 
  • Plays DXD 352.8 kHz 


Price: $2000
Website

Friday, December 9, 2011

Ayon Skylla II


Manufacturers description:

Ayon Audio is pleased to introduce the superb Skylla II DAC featuring a fully balanced digital and analog design. In its digital section, four Burr-Brown PCM -1704K DACs are arrayed in a true differential dual mono configuration. The differential gain stage is composed of two 6H30 high-current tubes per channel. The Skylla II DAC features a vastly overrated, high capacity power supply for the 6H30 analog output stage with tube “bridge” rectification, choke coupling, three oversized power transformers, two for the analog and one for the digital section. The Skylla`s sound is rich and detailed, highly transparent and holographic, the resulting sound field representing an complete, realistic reproduction of the recording, a life-like mirror-image of the original performance. The Skylla II DAC provides audiophiles with a new, exalted level of digital playback experience, comparable only to the best available analog sources.

Ayon Audio
Price:  € 5500,-


Saturday, December 3, 2011

Wyred4Sound mINT

Mini-Integrated amplifier

Inputs
2 analog
S/PDIF 24 bit 192kHz
Asynchronous USB 24 bit 96kHz

DAC: ESS

Output
Pre-amp out
Headphone out
ICEpower amp 100 wpc in 8 Ohm

US$ 1,499.00

Website

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WAV vs FLAC


One of the many endless debates in computer audio is WAV vs FLAC.
Some people report an audible difference. Most of the time in favor of WAV.
Other says this is plain make belief, placebo, etc because when FLAC is converted back to WAV the result is bit identical.
Others argue that the processing power to convert FLAC to raw PCM is higher than in case of WAV so this might affect the timing (jitter).

An obvious downside of WAV is the lack of a tagging standard resulting in poor portability of the tags between media players / playback devices.
FLAC has a well-supported tagging schema.

From R14.1 on dbPoweramp has an option: uncompressed FLAC.
Now you have your uncompressed WAV with the tagging capabilities of FLAC.
Looks like the best of both worlds.

A bit more:

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Klangwerk Ella


System 2 way active
1 tweeter
3 midrange/woofers
Price € 13.200 (pair)
Frequency Response 36 - 22000 Hz (-6dB)
Cabinet Bass Reflex
Dimensions 1130 x 216 x 190 mm
Digital input
-
Analogue input XLR
Amp Class G  120 + 40 W rms
Crossover 1600 Hz

Website Klangwerk

Friday, November 25, 2011

Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus



  • Twin Wolfson WM8740 24bit DACs used in dual differential configuration
  • New Anagram Technologies ATF2™ 24-bit/384kHz audio up-sampling / jitter reduction
  • Optional Digital Preamp mode allowing connection directly to power amp or active speakers
  • 24-bit/96kHz driverless USB Audio 1.0
  • 24-bit/192kHz USB Audio 2.0 with ASIO or kernel streaming modes.
  • USB class 2 driver for Win
  • Asynchronous USB transfer 
  • Selectable digital filters - linear phase, minimum phase and steep
  • Balanced XLR audio output and RCA phono output
  • Two 24 bit digital inputs (with optical or coaxial for each)
  • External input for optional BT100 Bluetooth receiver - allows audio to be streamed and up-sampled from any paired Bluetooth device

Price: £349.95

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Manger MSM C1

Type Active 2-Way System
Price from € 13200,- per pair incl. 19% VAT
Cabinet Enclosure closed
Dimensions (H x W x D) 44.8" x 10.6" x 8.4" (1139 x 270 x 214 mm)
Weight 105.7 lbs (48 kg)
Frequency Range 30 Hz – 40 kHz
Drivers Tweeter: Manger Sound Transducer, Bandwidth 80 Hz – 40 kHz, Rise Time 13μs
Woofer: 8"(200 mm) fibreglass-Polyester sandwich cone, 38 mm voice-coil
Crossover 330 Hz
Amplifiers LF: 250 W @ 8 Ohms
HF: 180 W @ 8 Ohms
Power Bandwidth HF: 250 kHz (-3 dB)
Input XLR-3 (balanced)
Finish Silk matt as per RAL, Nextel or piano finish

Website: Manger

Friday, November 18, 2011

Centrance DACmini PX



DAC 24 bit
Headphone out: 1.5W (headphone output, total), drives 32...600 Ohm headphones
Speaker out: 50W (speaker output, total), drives 4...8 Ohm speakers 
Line out

Inputs
USB: 24 /96 adaptive mode 
S/PDIF: Up to 192 kHz Coax
Toslink

Price: $1475.00
Website: Centrance


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Highres recordings

CD quality is 16 bit / 44.1 kHz sample rate.
Today you can buy 24 bit / 192 kHz recordings.
 Can your gear resolve this?


Let’s do some calculations (always tricky in my case)

Playing 192 kHz is 1/192.000 sample per second= 0.000005208333333333330 s
If the clock driving the DAC has an intrinsic jitter of 10 nano seconds then time step produced at DA conversion fluctuates between:
0.00000001 = 10 ns
0.000005218333333333330 +10 ns
0.000005208333333333330
0.000005198333333333330 -10 ns

Obvious the fluctuations in clock speed are pretty close to the time step.
Ok, let’s use a better clock, one with an intrinsic jitter of 1 pico second.

0.000000000001 = 1 ps
0.000005208334333333330 +1 ps
0.000005208333333333330
0.000005208332333333330 -1ps

In this case the variations in the time step look more decent.
The higher the sample rate the more import low jitter values become.
Of course jitter performance is far more complex but it looks like even a clock with an extreme low intrinsic jitter of 1 ps is not able to generate the correct time step.
So our gear can’t play 192 kHz with the right timing!

A bit more: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?4402-Timing-is-everything

Friday, November 11, 2011

Rein audio X-DAC


1. Digital input:
USB 2.0 Interface:16Bit, 24Bit sampling depth; 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz sampling
Coaxial RCA / Fiber Optic:16Bit, 24Bit sampling depth; 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz sampling
Clock jitter (44.1kHz): S/PDIF less than 100PS; USB less than 100PS

2. Line output
XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced
Dynamic range: greater than 114dB
SNR (A weighted): greather than 114dB
Total harmonic distortion: less than 0.0006%
Frequency Response (20Hz~20KHz): +-0.5dB
Max Level: RCA Line 2V rms; XLR Line 6V rms
Output Impedance: 100O

3. Other
AC power input Specifications: 220V, 50/60Hz
Power consumption: <20W
Color: Black
Case Material: iron case, aluminum wire drawing process panel
Dimensions (cabinet): 220x190x65 (mm)
Weight: about 2.2kg

4. Interface
Faber Optic x 1 input
Coaxial RCA x 2 input
USB (Type B) x 1 input
RAC unbalanced x 1 output
XLR balanced x 1 output

5. Features
XLR Balanced output
Support S.PDIF input format: PCM
Support the highest digital input format: 24Bit/192KHz
Manual input selection
USB 1.1 PC interface, Drive support: Windows XP / Server 2003 / VISTA / 7, Support ASIO 2.0

Website Rein Audio

Monday, November 7, 2011

HIGHRESAUDIO


Highresolution music download-service HIGHRESAUDIO expands its offering with Universal Music.

Among the repertoire are new releases and for the very first time Classical Masterpieces from Bach, Bruch,
Debussy, Haydn, Mahler, Liszt, Vivaldi and others in studio-master quality with a sampling-rate of 96kHz, 24-bit from Decca Classics and Deutsche Gramophon.
More Genres such as Jazz, Pop and Rock are to follow in the next coming months from Universal Music.

Other labels available: 2L, Abeille Musique, ACOUSENCE, Acoustic Music
Records, AEOLUS Records, Animato, Bee Pop/Jazz, B-Ton, Carpe
Diem Records, DACAPO, Chaos, Chandos, Delos Music, ECM,
Fondamenta, Intergroove, Jazzland, KML Recordings, Laborie,
Melisse, NAIM Label, Naxos, Neuklang, New Amsterdam Records,
Ozella Music, PentaTone, Songlines, Sony Music, Stockfisch,
Termidor, Universal Music, Winter & Winter, Yarlung Records,


The average album price at HIGHRESAUDIO costs around 20 € (£17) and tracks 2 € (£1,70).

Website: www.highresaudio.com

Monday, October 31, 2011

NAD DAC 1

DAC connected wireless to the PC using a USB transmitter.


Input:  USB 2.0
Output:
Analogue 2 x RCA Jacks
Digital 1 x Coaxial RC Jack

SPECIFICATIONS
  • Sample Rate 48kHz/16bit
  • THD+N 0.05% (ref 0dBFS)
  • Signal to Noise >-80dB
  • Analogue Output Level 2V
  • Coax SPDIF 500mV ± 50mV
  • Frequency Response 20Hz to 24kHz ±0.5dB
  • Digital-to-Analogue Converter Burr-Brown TI PCM1781
  • Time Delay <18ms
  • RF Band 2.4GHz
  • Transmission Range 40m (line of sight)
Price: $300
Website: NAD

Sunday, October 30, 2011

April Music Eximus DP1


DAC/Pre/Headphone amp


Digital Input:
1 USB 2.0 + driver for Win
USB receiver: XMOS (asynchronous USB audio class 2 24 bits/192 kHz)
1 I2S 100 Ohms TTL Level,
2 SPDIF coax 75 Ohms,
1 AES/EBU, 110 Ohms,
1 Toslink

Analog Input: 1 RCA, 1 MINI JACK
Analog Output: 1 RCA, 1 XLR, 1 Headphone

Receiver: Cirris Logic C58416
ASRC: TI SRC4192 (can be bypassed)
DAC: TI PCM1794A

Price: US$ $3,200
Website: April Music

Ubermuzik Tiny Tube DAC V2



USB receiver: Tenor TE7022L 24 bit / 96 kHz adaptive mode USB
Tube: Shuguang Psvane Series 12AT7-T

Output:
can drive 32-300 ohm headphones
RCA out

Price: US$ 225
Website: Audiohub


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Finite Elemente Hohrizontal 51


· Wall shelf with integrated Dock for iPod® or iPhone® and integrated sound system
· Connections for TV, Computer and MP3 players
· Chargin function for iPod® and iPhone® (except iPod 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation and iPod shuffle)
· Remote control

Frequency range: 50 - 25.000 Hz (-6 dB)
Amplifier power output: 2 x 50 W (incl. overload protection)
Power input voltage: 100 - 240 V (50/60 Hz)
Inputs:30-Pin-Dock for iPod/iPhone, Line-In, USB audio
Outputs: Composite Video
Load capacity: 10 - 25 kg (depending on the condition of the wall)
Dimensions / Weight:B 1000 x T 300 x H 51 mm / 10 kg

Website: http://www.hohrizontal-51.de/

Monday, October 24, 2011

Chapter Audio Notepad



150W into 8 ohms a Class D amplifier
DAC
USB input
Apple's Airplay protocol.
Streaming up to 24/192 via Ethernet, 24/96 wirelessly.
Price: $2,500 (available in December)
No specs yet on the Chapter Audio website.

Friday, October 21, 2011

CYP AU-D160

USB DAC with analogue out (RCA), headphone out and Toslink.
Price: £150.00
Website: Cyp
  • Supports standard sampling rates - 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 192kHz
  • Supports Bits : 16 Bits / 24Bits
  • Power supplied by USB BUS Power
  • The Headphone, R/L and Optical ports will simultaneously support audio output
  • ASIO driver supported
  • USB Audio Class 2.0 with asynchronus mode and driver for Win
  • 500 MIPS, 8 threads, XS1-L1 processor (XMOS)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Audio Pro Living LV3

Two technologies not very common in the home are combined here.
It is an active speaker so an amp per driver
You can connect it wireless to your PC or any piece of analogue using their wireless transmitter.

Amplifier: 100W + 2 x 35W digital Class D,
Adaptive biquad coefficients for EQ and DRC filters.
Thermal and short-circuit protection.
Tweeter: 3 x 1” silk dome
Midrange: 4.5”
Woofer: 6 1/2”
Frequency range: 30 – 24.000Hz
Crossover frequency (digital): 300/3000Hz (24/24dB/octave L/R)
Dimensions HxWxD: 750x220x220 mm

Built-in wireless receiver in each speaker
- Wireless full CD quality sound
- Works with both Mac and PC
- Plug ‘n play, no software needed
- Extensive multiroom possibilities
- RF band: 2.4GHz
- Sample rate: 48 KHz
- Dedicated proprietary protocol network

AudioPro website
Price:€ 1.699 (pair)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

B.M.C. DAC1 Pre HiRes USBII

DAC with preamp.
Asynchronous USB (24/192) with driver for Win.

Price: € 3.248
Website: B.M.C.

ADAM ARTist 3



Normally you won’t find speakers on the Digital Audio Blog.
Nothing digital about speakers.
This one is different.
It is an active speaker with USB input allowing you to connect them straight to your PC

Inputs
Analog: XLR / RCA / 3.5 mm mini stereo jack
Digital : 16/48 adaptive mode USB

Height x Width x Depth:10" (252 mm) x 6" (150 mm) x 7.5" (185 mm)
Price:  €698,- (pair)
Website: ADAM
More about active speakers

Friday, October 7, 2011

Peachtree Audio Grand Pre control center


DAC/preamp/headphone amp with volume control and defeatable tubed output.
Price: US$2995
Website: Peachtree

Manufacturers description:
  • Reference ESS Sabre32 DAC knocks jitter down to <1 picosecond for accurate sound reproduction
  • Galvanic Isolation eliminates noise generated by switching power supplies in source components
  • New asynchronous I2S 24/192 USB input provides the best connection between computer and DAC 
  • VCA gain control for minimal noise and cross talk replaces the commonly used potentiometer 
  • New Bascom King tube buffer rejuvenates poor recordings and compressed audio

b-DAC



DAC with volume control and remote.

Manufacturer’s Description:
  • USB, SPDIF and optical inputs, low jitter SPDIF output 
  • Balanced and single ended outputs, including volume control, drive your power amp directly 
  • Low jitter Tentlabs clock (<1ps rms jitter) feeding the sample rate converter and dedicated reclocking stages 
  • 12 independent supply regulators 
  • SRC4382 upsampler, selectable sample rate 
  • 24 bits 192kHz PCM1792 DAC, al inputs reclocked 
  • -117dB distortion at 0dBfs (thd 0,0006%) 
  • Selectable filters and phase 
  • All functions remote controlled 
  • Striking design, includes milled aluminium front panel and stainless steel cabinet 
  • USB input 16 bits 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, no drivers required
  • All other inputs 24 bits 32 kHz up to 192 kHz
  • SPDIF output 75 ohm / low jitter / sample frequency selectable

Price: €979.00
Website: http://www.tentlabs.com/

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Simple Audio Roomplayer


Simple

Resolution24 bits, no sample rates specified
NetworkingEthernet 10/100, 200MB/s PowerLine Homeplug AV
InterfaceController software for PC/Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch.
Digital inputsnetwork, USB port
Digital outno
Analog inRCA, 3.5 mm stereo jack
Analog outRCA, , 3.5 mm stereo jack
Operating systemnot specified
Streaming protocolnot specified
Audio formatsMP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF,FLAC ALAC

Expected to be introduced fall 2011 starting at £500.


Website: Simple Audio

Sunday, October 2, 2011

M2Tech hiFace Evo

Asynchronous USB converter used in conjunction with proprietary drivers which allow for Kernel Streaming, Direct Sound and WASAPI operation.

Sampling frequencies (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192
Resolution (bits): 16 to 32
Inputs: USB 2.0, supply, master clock
Outputs:
S/PDIF x2 (RCA & BNC)
AES/EBU (XLR)
optical Toslink™
optical ST
I2S (RJ-45)

Price: $499.00

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB


  • Input: High Speed USB 2.0 asynchronous connection - type B receptacle 
  • Supported operating systems: Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows (Alpha USB Windows driver) 
  • USB audio class 2 compliant
  • Outputs: switch selectable, coaxial SPDIF - BNC, 75Ω or balanced AES type - XLR, 110Ω
  • Supported sampling rates: 44.1kHz to 192kHz 
  • Supported word lengths: up to 24-bit

Great care was taken in the design of the Alpha USB to isolate the noisy computer/USB environment from the digital audio output. The USB receiver and processing are powered by the computer, while the output master clocks and line drivers are powered by a separate isolated linear power supply.
Two key factors combine to achieve the excellent audio performance of the Alpha USB - the unprecedented degree of electrical isolation between the USB input connection and the audio output and the very low noise/low jitter performance of the individually tested audio output master clocks.
Source: Berkeley Audio Design

Price $1895

Friday, September 30, 2011

Auralic 24/192 USB DAC



USB audio class 2 compliant DAC
Driver for Win available


According to their website:


ActiveUSB™
Resorting to the ActiveUSB™ technology from AURALiC, ARK MX+ has overcome the transmission limitation from traditional Asynchronous USB which could only adjust +/- one clock cycle error of data package in isochronous clock. With mass data buffer technology and multi-stage, high resolution PLL circuit, ARK MX+ could buffer audio stream as long as 2 seconds, which could prevent time-based jitter resulted from the limitation of computer.


Nice to hear somebody talking about "traditional Asynchronous USB"!


Frequency response: DC - 20KHz, +/- 0.02 dB
Signal/Noise: 118 dB, 20Hz-20KHz, A-weighted
THD+N: <0.0005%, 20Hz-20KHz at 0dBFS
Dynamic range:124dB, 20Hz-20KHz, A-weighted


Output port
Balanced analog output, 4Vrms
Single-ended analog output, 2Vrms
AES/EBU Digital Output*

Input port
USB 2.0 Input** (44.1KHz-192KHz, up to 32Bit)
S/PDIF Digital Input (44.1KHz-192KHz up to 24Bit)

Price: $1499

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

KingRex UD384 & Upower



Kingrex has launched two new products, the UD384 DAC and SPDIF converter, and a matching power supply, the Upower.


UD384 (32bits/384Khz USB DAC )
Input: USB x 1
Analog output: RCA x 2 (Rx1 Lx1)
Digital output :SPDIF x 1        
Sampling rate support :44.1Khz, 48Khz, 88.2Khz, 96Khz, 176.4Khz, 192Khz, & 384Khz(384Khz for USB DAC only)
Supported bit rate: 16 / 24 /32bit
USB:2.0 high speed
Adaptive Clock Generator for Audio Streaming Synchronization
Asynchronous mode changeable through DFU Tool
Power requirement: 7.5V/250mA
Size: 110x82x24mm
Suggested RRP : US$429/pc

U Power
Pure DC output battery power supply unit
      I.       Two output :
A.    2.5mm DC jacket: 7.5V DC output
B.     USB A :5V DC output(through linear regulator)
II.       Major component: High quality Sanyo Li-ion battery.
III.  Power volume: 2600mA/hr. Included special design for isolated protect circuitry for two Li-ion batteries.
IV.  Using fully high quality aluminum for styling & cooling.
V.    Low battery indicator design for charging reminding.
VI.  CHG/DC OUT switch. Fully isolated the charging and discharging. It will free the AC noise from the charger.
VII.   Parallel charging- each battery cell could charge to its maximum by the design.
Suggested RRP : US$179/pc

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Denon DNP-720AE


  Denon


dlna 1.5 Certified (AUDIO ONLY)
Windows 7 Certified
Apple AirPlay Certified
USB iPod Direct/Flash/HDD
Made for iPod/Works with iPhone Certified
RadioDenon.com - access to over 12,000 Internet Radio Stations
Pandora Radio Streaming
Rhapsody and Napster Streaming
Price: US$499.99

QUAD Link D-1 USB DAC

USB DAC and converter to SPDIF


DAC Crystal CS4398
Sampling Frequency 44.1kHz - 192kHz
Maximum Sampling Frequency 192kHz
Digital input 1 x USB (asynchronous mode)
Digital output 1 x coaxial, 1 x Toslink optical
Output voltage       4V (unbalanced)
Output impedance  100Ω (unbalanced)
Frequency response     20Hz - 20kHz (+/-0.2dB)
Dynamic range 110dB



Unclear whether this DAC is USB audio class 2 compliant.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Abbingdon Music Research


Digital Processor-777 €3.600


24/192kHz Asynchronous USB Audio Class 2.0 (XMOS)
Thermionic Electron Valves
amplification stage:

2 x 6H1n-EV / 1 x 6H11P fitted
ECC88, E88CC, 7308, Cca, 6DJ8, 6922, 6H23n-EV optional
Total Harmonic Dist. + Noise (THD+N): <0.3%
Dynamic range:
>90 dB
Digital Audio Inputs: 2 x XLR/BNC with HD Valve Digital Input technology
2 x RCA/Toslink SPDIF Interface
1 x 24/192 Asynchronous USB

Website: Abbingdon Music Research 

Saturday, September 24, 2011

BitPerfect


BitPerfect is a simple high-quality audio player for OSX easy to use, audiophile grade music player that works with iTunes to deliver the highest possible sound quality.
  • Unobtrusive, minimal UI
  • Bit perfect output
  • Exclusive (hog) mode
  • Full memory playback with double-buffering to ensure continuous playback of large files
  • Automatic sample rate switching
  • Options for upsampling
  • Gapless playback
  • Integer mode (on supported DACs and supported versions of OSX)
  • Support for sound check
  • Playback from networked drives
  • FLAC support (via Fluke or other 3rd party iTunes FLAC importers) 
BitPerfect is for sale in the Mac App Store US$ 4.99

Friday, September 23, 2011

Boom





Foobar’s Peter Pawlowski has developed a new audio player.
It is a CD player style interface so minimalistic.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Cocktail Audio X10 Music Server

CD PlayerTypeSlot loading
FormatCD, CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R/RW

MP3, FLAC, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, PCM,
PLS, M3U
Verstärker (eingebaut)Output30W+30W @1KHz, 8Ohm, 1% THD
Headphone100mW+100mW @1KHz, 16Ohm, 0.1% THD
Line out2Vrms @1KHz, 0.1% THD
Display3.5" color-TFT LCD
InputLine(AUX)-in (recording)
outputLine-out,speaker,headphone, SPDIF(Optical out)
ConnectivityNetzwerkWiredEthernet(10/100) LAN
Wireless (Optional)801.11b/g/n WiFi USB Dongle
USBHost X 2eaHigh speed 2.0 Host port
Target X 1eaHigh speed 2.0 Target für PC
Audio formatsMP3, FLAC, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC, Ogg Virbis, PCM, Playlist(PLS, M3U)
HDType8,9 cm (3.5") SATA(1/2) (*up to 2 Terabytes)
File systemNTFS/FAT32
Languagedeutsch, englisch, französisch, koreanisch, spanisch, russisch, portugiesisch, türkisch, griechisch, tschechisch, hebräisch
PowerAC adapter(24V/3.5A)
Dimensions18(W) X 9.8(H) X 14.7(D) cm

Price: € 299
2 TB + € 100

http://www.cocktailaudio.de/

Loewe Reference media center


Part of the Reference line including electrostatic speakers, subwoofer and a 52-inch LCD TV

Formats
  • Playable disks: DVD-Video, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW (Video Mode), Audio CD, CD-R/RW, CD+R/RW
  • Playable formats: CD-DA, FLAC (lossless Audio), WMA, MP3, AAC, WAV, PCM
RAID operation for data security
Database: Gracenotes

Connectors
  • Antenna FM
  • Audio analogue L/R In/Out
  • Audio analogue Out ( 5.1 channel output)
  • Audio digital In/Out
  • Component Video Out (cinch)/ Composite Video Out
  • HDMI In/Out
  • Headphones
  • LAN
  • RS 232 (RJ12)
  • USB 2.0
  • WLAN
  • iPod/iPhone Dock

Elipson MC-1 Music Server



Technical specifications
  • 2 x 120 W / 4 ohms ICEpower® Amplifier
  • Well® technology: High quality (16 bits/44kHz stereo) uncompressed wireless connection to connect your computer with USB dongle (provided) or iPod®/iPhone®/iPad® dongle (optional).
  • CD Player (MP3/WMA compliant)
  • Sensitive touch panel
  • Optical digital input
  • 2 analog stereo inputs (RCA)
  • USB input (MP3/WMA compliant)
  • MP3 analog input (3.5 mm mini-jack )
  • RDS FM / DAB / DAB+ tuner
  • Headphone output (3.5 mm mini-jack )
  • Pre-amplifier output
  • Subwoofer output
  • Lighting sensor
  • Supply :100-120V / 220-240V AC - 200 W
  • Remote control
A music server without network connectivity.
Wonder what a MP3 analog input (3.5 mm mini-jack ) might be.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Cambridge Audio Dacmagic+



According to Sempre Audio a new model including volume control and headphone out is on its way.

KRK Ergo

Firewire DAC with roomcorrection.
RoomPerfect ( Lyngdorf Audio) corrects up to 500 Hz
OSX and Win7 32/64 drivers
ASIO driver

Processing400MHz Analog Devices Blackfin® DSP
RoomPerfect Algorithm Sample Rate96KHz
Room Correction Frequencies20-500Hz
Room correction Filter 1024 tap Finite Impulse Response
S/PDIF Input Operating Range44.1 kHz to 96 kHz
S/PDIF conformityIEC60958-3
Dynamic Range96 dB system (component 118dB)
System THD+N<0.025% using 0 dBFS input and 22-22kHz Band Pass Filter
Internal Sample Rates44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz
Maximum Microphone Input Level-32 dBu
Maximum Line input Level+19 dBu
Maximum Line Output Level+19 dBu
Firewire ImplementationDual 1394a (Firewire400) ports
Dimensions: 180mm (7") x 55mm (2.2") x 107mm (4.2")
Microphone Length: 197mm (7.75")
Weight:610g (21.5 oz)
Power:1394 Bus or External 12v
Operating Temperature Range:40° F (4° C) to 110° F (43° C)
Review in Sound on Sound
Price: US$ 450.00

Meitner Audio MA-1 DAC

Meitner
  • XMOS USB 2.0 High Speed ​​Interface: 16, 24 bit
    sampling rate up to 192kHz
    Thesycon USB audio class 2 driver for Win
  • Available Digital Inputs:
    • 1x USB
    • 1x AES/EBU (XLR)
    • 2x SPDIF (RCA)
    • 2x TOSLINK (Optical)
  • Word lengths up to 24bit, and sample frequencies up to 192kHz are supported on all digital inputs.
  • Analog Outputs:
    • Balanced (XLR)
    Output Line Level (0dBfs signal on AES/EBU input): 4.6Vrms
    Output Impedance: 300Ω
    • Un-Balanced (RCA)
Price:  US$ 7,000

Aesthetix Pandora DAC


  • Card-based DAC with three digital input slots.
  • AES/EBU, RCA Coax, Toslink standard on digital input 1 slot.
  • USB standard on digital input 2 slot.
  • USB capable of class 1 audio (96KHz, 24bit) and class 2 audio (192KHz, 24bit).
  • 2nd USB input optional.
  • Asynchronous USB, (Streamlength ™)
  • DSP based digital section using Motorola DSP56362 for digital filters.
  • DAC section based on Burr-Brown PCM1792A.
  • Analog section featuring four vacuum tubes in differential configuration.
  • Zero global feedback.
  • Balanced and single-ended outputs.
  • Volume control optional, allows DAC to drive a power amplifier directly. Switched resistor design.
  • Remote control of all functions.
  • Multiple stainless steel faraday cages isolate critical digital, analog and power supply sections.
  • Two transformers, one for digital circuits and one for analog circuits.
  • All aluminum chassis construction.
  • RS232 control.
  • 12v trigger.
  • Unit Weight: 35 Lbs
  • Dimensions: 18" width x 4 3/8" height x 18" depth 
Price:  US$ 5,000.-

XMOS XS1-L1 USB Audio 2.0

A DAC (the chip set doing the Digital to Analog Conversion) doesn’t understand anything about computer audio.
You need a converter to translate the USB input to a protocol (e.g. I2S or SPDIF) the chip does understand.
The XMOS is a popular USB class 2 audio compliant converter used by many manufacturers of asynchronous USB DACs. .
  • USB endpoints use the asynchronous synchronization
  • 500 MIPS, 8 threads, XS1-L1 processor
  • 2 Channel analog input
  • 2 Channel analog output
  • USB 2.0 high speed interface - supports multiple 24 bit, 192kHz channels with extremely low latency (3ms round trip)
  • Plug-and-play with Audio Class 2.0 enabled computers (native Mac OSX support, Thesycon Windows drivers available)
  • Audio Class 1.0 compliant - native Mac OSX and Windows support
  • Asynchronous clocking - complete control of the audio master clock

Basically a USB to I2S converter. Optional support for SPDIF/ADAT/MIDI

Lindemann USB-DAC 24/192

Lindemann


  • Asynchronous USB interface (USB audio class 2 compatible) based on an XMOS-DSP with 500 Mips. Resolution up to 24 bits and 192 kHz. Three separate clocks for USB, 44.1 kHz (and multiples) and 48 kHz (and multiples).
  • USB class 2 driver for Windows
  • Digital interface controller (WM8805WM8805
    with efficient jitter reduction due to buffer storage and adaptive PLL. Guaranteed jitter level < 50 ps.
  • High-precision master clock with < 2.5 ps timing jitter.
  • DAC WM8742WM8742
  • Minimum phase digital filter with apodizing behaviour.
  • Fully-balanced, analog output stage (ADA4927ADA4927
Price: € 690,-

Resonessence Labs Invicta


  • ESS SABRE32 24/192kHz DAC chip
  • Digital filtering DSP and controls via Xilinx MicroBlaze FPGA soft processor cores
  • Ultra-low phase noise oscillator master clock
  • 1 x Toslink input and 1 x Toslink output
  • 2 x BNC digital input
  • 1 x AES/EBU input
  • USB - asynchronous mode, high speed so probably USB audio class 2 compliant but no drivers for Windows available. USB firmware by Cypres Semiconductor.
  • All digital inputs are transformer coupled, galvanically isolated
  • 2 x headphone outputs on front panel, simultaneous drive and levels can be independently set
  • SD card (WAV format only, up to 24/192)
  • Low noise OLED screen
  • Firmware upgradeable (FPGA)
  • High quality AD797 J-FET operational amplifier output stage

The manual contains a lot of measurements.
Each measurement is accompanied by a short explanation, very instructive.
This DAC is linear up to 130 dB. An excellent values allowing for minimal full 22 bits resolution.
Price: US$3.995