⌈ dCS IS A BRITISH COMPANY based in Cambridge specializing in digital audio sources - D/A converters, SACD and audio file players. It debuted in 1987 with its military (radar) business. The first A/D converter, the 950, in 1989, was intended for recording studios, and it wasn't until 1996 that versions of the company's devices were developed for home audio systems. We are testing its BARTÓK HEADPHONE file player in the latest APEX version. ⌋

IF YOU ASK THE PEOPLE at dCS which technology is most important to them, without a moment's hesitation, they will answer: the Ring DAC, and immediately afterwards add: the Apex (dCS is a stylized abbreviation for Data Conversion Systems; the company styles the name Apex in turn as APEX). The first is related to the heart of their equipment, a DAC of their own design, first introduced as early as in the company's first product, the 1989 dCS 900 DAC for recording studios. The second is a relatively new development and is one of the major changes made to the Ring DAC, introduced in March 2022.

As you can see, everything revolves around the D/A circuit, which converts the digital signal into analog. In the case of the dCS, it's a discrete circuit with semiconductor-switched resistors, which are controlled and switched by an FPGA chip. The key, then, is this chip's software, which the company says is the "mapping algorithm," and it "makes the difference", if I may say so. And it's the software, more than the power supply, components, output analog circuits or chassis that made the difference in the sound of this British company's equipment.

The first version of the Ring DAC stayed on the market for a surprisingly long time - probably because it was an exceptionally refined product, in addition to being the first converter on the market with real 24-bit resolution. The first change was not introduced until 2017. The 2020 APEX would thus be only the third software version of the dCS D/A converter.

▌ Bartók Headphone Apex DAC

The manufacturer says:

The latest dCS Bartók APEX DAC is a distillation of our past, present, and future - 30 years of innovation in a single beautiful, flexible, and future-proof chassis embodying the essence of dCS. It combines a DAC, Music Streamer, Upsampler, Pre-amp, and (optional) Headphone Amplifier. Sharing the same electronics as our Vivaldi and Rossini systems, it features the latest generations of our pioneering Ring DAC™ APEX, clocking architecture, and digital processing platform - a unique combination of hardware and software unrivaled in its sonic and technical performance.

Bartók APEX combines precision engineering with an elegant and timeless aesthetic. Standard-setting build quality means Bartók APEX withstands even the most intensive use and reliably delivers superb sound quality at all volume settings and outputs. With flexible and upgradable software and hardware, Bartók can grow and evolve, providing a state-of-the-art listening experience for years to come.

⸜ The next generation: Bartók APEX DAC, → dCSAUDIO.com, accessed: 12.06.2024.

The Bartók Headphone Apex DAC is an audio file player equipped with digital inputs, variable output voltage ("preamplifier") and a headphone amplifier; a slightly cheaper version without the latter is also available. As usual with companies that entered audio from the computer systems side, and IT in general, it sees its functionality differently - for dCS it is a digital-to-analog converter, hence the DAC in the name.

This is a large, solid device with a clear, functional - I'm speaking from experience, not quoting an advertising brochure - user interface. One, there is a knob that we use to navigate through the menu and also to control volume, and two, the display is quite clear. It allows us to read, albeit small, the album titles and artist name, information about the type of file or digital signal, and also selected settings.

And that's important, because dCS really offers a lot of options and adjustments in its devices. We can choose from three, so-called, "mappers", originally written for the Vivaldi Apex DAC, later made available for the Rossini series devices, and now available for the Bartók. The mappers control how the data sent to the Ring DAC's core is presented, so it controls its basic parameters. In the latest version, Bartók offers three mapper settings. We can also choose between different digital filters. For the PCM signal we have six filters at our disposal, and for DSD we have five. And we can, finally, upsample the input signal either to DXD, DSD64 or DSD128.

FILES • The FILE TRANSPORT used in the tested device allows playback of PCM files up to 24 bits and 384 kHz and DSD files up to DSD128 in DFF and DSF formats. This section is connected classically, via an Ethernet cable to a router or LAN switch. Like several other companies, such as Lumin, dCS does not provide for wireless connectivity. This is the only module of the device that is purchased externally, though still independently modified.

The player is operated by the Mosaic Control application, common to all products from this manufacturer. It is available free of charge in app stores. In it, we get access to all basic streaming services, such as Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify, as well as to files stored on a NAS drive, via UPnP or Roon RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport) protocol. But we can also use a feature called Tidal Connect and control playback directly from the service's app. Unfortunately, Mosaic does not then "see" the playlists we have accumulated on Tidal.

The unit we received for testing still had an older version of Tidal Connect implemented. It allows playback of MQA files of all types of resolution, but FLAC only up to 16 bits and 44.1 kHz. The Version 17 software, made public in the second half of 2023, allows playback of files called Max, available on Tidal. These appear to replace MQA files on that service. It means that if you want to play higher resolution FLAC files than 16/44.1 from Bartók, you have to play the music directly from the Mosaic Control app and wait for the update.

Let’s add, that the MQA signal is decoded only from the files, that is, via the USB input. The digital signal from a CD transport reading an MQA-CD is "seen" as a regular Compact Disc.

DAC • The D/A converter section offers an unusually large number of inputs: USB, 2 x AES/EBU, which can work separately or in tandem, with the same manufacturer's SACD transport, RCA, BNC and optical Toslink. The "widest" are the former, like USB, accepting PCM digital signals up to 24 bits and 384 kHz and DSD up to DSD128, and the dual AES inputs behave similarly. To RCA and BNC we can send PCM 24/192 and DSD/64 signals in DoP, and to optical PCM 24/96. Thus, priority is given to file transport, as well as the first two inputs.

That’s what manufacturer says about this section:

With APEX, we've reconfigured the Ring DAC's circuit board and developed a new analogue output stage. This has allowed us to further reduce distortion, and increase linearity, resulting in a range of measured and sonic improvements - including an even greater sense of dynamic drive, detail, finesse and vitality.

⸜ ibidem.

PREAMPLIFIER • And there is also a "PREAMPLIFIER" section. I always have trouble defining whether this is an output voltage control or a preamplifier, but I assume that if the maximum voltage of the output signal is equal to or less than 2 V - the CD standard - we are dealing with the former, if higher - with the latter. In the case of the Bartok it's complicated because the user can choose this value for himself, between the settings of 0.2 | 0.6 | 2 and 6 V.

But OK, let it be - this is a preamplifier. It operates in the digital domain, in the Ring DAC circuit. The manufacturer declares that its operation is "transparent" to the signal and does not degrade its resolution. All the chips from ESS Technology have this type of attenuation build-in, and a refined version of the attenuator - called Leedh Processing - is offered, for example, by Lumin. So it is not an uncommon solution. However, it is worth knowing that opinions are divided about its "transparency". Regardless of what we think about it, the volume control in dCs is convenient, since it features a classic mechanical knob.

HEADPHONES • The headphone version of the Bartók DAC was the first device from dCS which included a headphone amplifier. That was until 2022, when the Lina series amplifier was introduced; more → HERE.

This device operates in class A, in a discrete circuit. The bias of the output transistors was chosen so that they do not generate too much heat. The signal path is fully balanced, up to the 4-pin XLR output. So these are, in fact, four independent amplifiers, two per channel. If we use the large jack ø 6.3 mm output, only two tracks work. The amplifier offers a fair amount of power, as we get 1.4 watts at 33 ohm load, and 0.15 watts at 300 ohm. The minimum recommended load is 33 Ω.

This device uses the D/A converter's volume control, as well as an additional software called Expanse:

As dCS Technical Director Andy McHarg explains, work on Expanse began following the launch of the dCS Bartók Headphone DAC. After creating a standard crossfeed function for the DAC's release, the dCS R&D team set out to explore what else they could do to bridge the gap between headphone listening and loudspeaker monitoring.

“We launched with a pretty standard version of crossfeed, which was still quite a lot of work and after that had launched, we thought we’d see what else we could do,” says Andy.

⸜ Enhancing the headphone experience: How we developed dCS Expanse, → dCSAUDIO.com, accessed: 12.06.2024.

The implementation of Expanse software in the tested device means that we can select one of two modes to help convert recordings intended for speakers to headphone listening. We can also disable this circuit.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • The Bartók APEX DAC audio file player stood on the top carbon shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition Mk II rackon its feet. Its sound was compared to the AYON AUDIO CD-35 HF EDITION SACD player and the LUMIN T3 file player. The Ayon also worked as a CD transport when evaluating the D/A section of the dCS; they were then connected using an Acrolink 7N- DA6100 Mk II cable.

With the router, the player was connected via my system, consisting of a SILENT ANGEL N16 LPS dual LAN switch, with its two modules in series, powered by a TIGLON TPL-2000A cable and via a TIGLON TPL-2000L LAN cable; more on this → HERE ˻PL˺; the router was powered by a JCAT Optimo 3 Duo power supply.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ BARNEY KESSEL, The Poll Winners, Contemporary Records/Tidal, FLAC 24/192 (1957/?).
⸜ CASSANDRA WILSON, New Moon Daughter, Blue Note/Tidal, FLAC 24/96 (1995/2013).
⸜ NAT ‘KING’ COLE, After Midnight, Capitol Records/Tidal, FLAC 24/192 (1957/?).
⸜ FRANK SINATRA, In The Wee Small Hours, Capitol Records/Tidal, FLAC 24/192 (1955/214).
⸜ DEAN MARTIN, This Time I’m Swingin’, /Tidal, FLAC 24/96 (1960/?).
⸜ MADELEINE PEYROUX, Secular Hymns, Impulse! Records/Tidal, FLAC 24/96 (2016).
⸜ NINA SIMONE, Wild Is The Wind, Philips/UMG Recordings UCCU-41027, „Nin Simone 90th Anniversary Series”, UHQCD (1966/2024).
⸜ TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO TRIO, Midnight Suga, Three Blind Mice/Impex Records IMP8308, Gold HDCD (1974/2004).

» The tracks used in the test can be found on a playlist on Tidal → HERE

˻ I ˺ FILTERS

I'M STARTING WITH FILTERS and other selecteable software features, because only after these are fixed will I be able to say more about the Bartók sound. And that's because the differences between the two are quite significant. For example, going from the top of the list in the "dCS Processing Platform" tab, when it comes to upsampling, DXD seems to be the setting that results in the most dynamic and direct sound. The energy is highest at this setting, and the percussion kick drum strokes, as in ˻ 6 ˺ On a Green Dolphin from BARNEY KESSEL's album The Poll Winners, or the double bass’ sounds, are the strongest and most contoured.

It's a good sound, but upsampling the signal to DSD64 smooths it out a bit which works out for the best. The energy is no longer as immediate and the bass doesn't make the furniture in our room shake as much, of course with good material, but it's still strong "forward" playing. The change to DSD also withdraws the higher treble slightly. This isn't exactly a good thing, as we lose a bit of information from that range, but it also makes the midrange sound nicer, now smoother, fuller and more pleasant. Likewise the bass - it is softer in this setting and does not go so low.

Perhaps that's why I liked the upsampling to DSD128 so much. Timbre-wise it's close to DSD, but there are no problems with softening the sound, I think I got the most believable timbres and the best balanced presentation in this setting. Both the upper treble and low bass are softer here than with DXD, but have high energy, softened and softened in DSD64. In fact, it's enough to listen to the noise in the opening sequence of that aforementioned track to know that how DSD128 upsampling shows it is closest to the truth..

Digital filters seemed less important to me after that. Of course - affecting sound, but still, the choice of upsampling seemed more important to me. But still, after several trials, I chose Filter 6 for 192 kHz sampling frequency files and Filter 4 for 44.1 and 48 kHz. In both cases, the vocals, whether by NINA SIMONE in ˻ 3 ˺ What More Can I Say?, or NAT ‘KING’ COLE’s in ˻ 5 ˺ It’s Only a Paper Moon sounded in the liveliest, most energetic way, while not losing what I gained by upsampling to DSD128.

Filters 1 through 3 proved less interesting. No. 1 sounded too harsh, which was especially noticeable with the trumpet in the song sung by Cole, and Nos. 2 and 3 extinguished the energy and lost some of the detail. Filters 5 and 6 only work with higher sample rates, so with the remaining recordings I decided to use filter No. 4, as it most closely resembled that of No. 6.

And finally, "mapping", more important than filters, slightly below upsampling. Here I quickly decided that M2 was what I was looking for, recalling what I got when I went from DXD upsampling to DSD128. So in the end, my Bartók setup looked like this:

Upsampling → DXDX2 | PCM Filter → 6 | DSD Filter → Filter 5 | DAC Mapper → MAP2

˻ 2 ˺ PLAYER

THE WORLD OF AUDIO IS A WORLD OF GOSSIP, this we know, but it is also a world of believers. Once rooted, the thread of faith holds firm and does not let go. That's why when someone, sometime, somewhere and for some reason said that dCS converters sound bright, and then repeated it often enough, this "truth" in part of our world took hold. This is nonsense. I've known this company from the very beginning, still from professional equipment, I've followed the development of its lineup and I see it differently.

But I also understand where this could have come from. As with Soulution, a company whose amplifier is for me one of the "anchors" of my listening system, and Harbeth speakers, which are for me the most important part of it, the belief in the bright sound of Cambridgeshire products comes from two things. The first is objective: they are very pure sounding devices, decoding a lot of information from the digital signal. There is no warming, emphases, etc. in them, instead there is clear attack, there is energy, and there is also strong differentiation.

Remember, what we said about streaming services in several KSS tests and meetings? Well, that the more information, the harder the file player's processor works, and it's often the case that it's the simpler ones that perform better in listening tests, because they don't "stress" the device.

It will be the same with the Bartók and us as part of the system. In the sense that if we are not used to a lot of information, we don't know what a live drum sounds like, what energy a guitar amp has or how a trumpet plays, we will not appreciate what this device offers.

With that comes a second caveat, related to the system. The vast majority of presentations I've attended at various shows emphasize the attack of the sound of the dCS equipment and do not allow it to develop. But if conditions are optimal, we have everything under control, their sound is absolutely full. This was once the case with the Vivaldi system, then with the Vivaldi One SACD player, and now it is with the Bartók file player. But it's important to know that this, however, is an accurate and precise sound. There is no question of Lumin's euphony, nor is there the warm sound of devices based on discrete R-2R-type pickups, such as → DENAFRIPS TERMINATOR PLUS, → TOTALDAC D1-UNITY or → HIBIKI SDS DAC.

That's why the double bass opening track ˻ 1 ˺ Strange Fruit from CASSANDRA WILSON’S New Moon Daughter album was so perfectly clear, as was the short reverb, seemingly natural, of the small room in which it was recorded. The trumpet in the left channel, on the other hand, had a long reverb, and although it was softened by the distance in which it was shown, there were plenty of harmonics in its sound, there was also attack, there was energy. Likewise, by the way, in the guitar in the right channel - a guitar with a metal box, we should add.

Anyway, already before, because with the vocals from the mono recording ˻ 10 ˺ Last Night When We Were Young, from FRANK SINATRA's album In The Wee Small Hours, released in 1955, I heard what I'm talking about, and that's precision, that's clarity, that's credibility. Because, you see, credibility can be achieved in several ways, and all of them will be equivalent, although absolutely incompatible. dCS, especially in the tested player, has chosen the path associated with giving information in a strong way, without softening it.

t's a bit like a concert situation. Recordings listened to at home can be warm, dense, round - and that's what we're looking for, that's credibility. But if we go to a concert, we expect energy and immediacy of sound. We want to "feel" the sound on ourselves. And that's how Bartók plays. If the recording is warmer, let it be DEAN MARTIN singing in ˻ 3 ˺ You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You, it will be warmer, the same as with MADELEINE PEYROUX in ˻ 1 ˺ Got You On My Mind from Secular Hymns. However, if the recording is set higher, like the aforementioned Sinatra, or even like Martin, the dCS will show it strongly and directly.

In doing so, the device differentiates the soundstage differently than, for example, turntables or tube amplifiers. It emphasizes edges rather than rounding them. This gives a precise drawing with a wide distribution of soundstage edges. Depth is not particularly exceptional, it would be better with the Rossini series and, above all, with the Vivaldi. The tested player shows everything close to us, at arm's length rather than plunging the instruments into the space far behind the speakers. This is not the case here.

˻ 3 ˺ DAC

RESOLUTION IS THE FEATURE that is most important in this device. Together with the precision of the attack and the ability to distinguish even small details in the soundstage, it results in something that is "default" in digital, but rarely realized. It's a DAC whose resolution is almost at the level of what I've become accustomed to in my Ayon player, and that's a lot indeed.

But the DAC in the dCS also plays in its own way. Unlike a complete player, the DAC shows sound with a more strongly receding foreground, building the presentation more in depth than in front of us. If we have a big strong vocal, as in some of NINA SIMONE's recordings from the album, Wild Is The Wind, it will be shown in a big way, but its energy will be located a little further away from us, more behind the line connecting the speakers.

The same was true of the double bass and piano from TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO TRIO's Midnight Sugar album. As we are accustomed to on the Three Blind Mice release, the piano is penetrating and bright, almost attacking. The acoustic version on the HDCD from the Impex label is softer, more "humane", but still... the dCS in the role of DAC showed this sonority and immediacy, more strongly than the Ayon also showed the cymbals.

But it was still a TBM recording, not a dCS recording, if you know what I mean. And what I mean is that while the Bartók Headphone Apex DAC plays with an open and powerful sound, by modifying the recordings in this way, it does not subordinate them to its sound, it allows them to "speak" in their own voice. And it is the voice of a strong, open, dynamic, resolving and forward-thrusting sound. There is no warming, no covering up of the system's flaws. And that's why with the dCS it's so important what it plays with because mistakes are not forgiving.

˻ 4 ˺ PREAMPLIFIER

AS WE'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU, Bartók uses digital volume control. But it is a sophisticated system, which is why many users of the company's players and DACs forgo external preamplifiers, connecting their devices directly to the power amplifier. So I tried this option as well.

The most important thing, it seems to me, is that the preamp section of the dCS itself in no perceptible way diminishes the resolution of the sound. It's a very similarly shaped, dense and clean instrument texture, equally saturated impact. The energy of the impact in this configuration seemed higher to me, because the front of the attack is clearly marked. On the other hand, the energy of the mass, the mass, was already similar "with" and "without" the external preamplifier.

The biggest change I noted was in the timbre. With its dCS attenuator, it plays more distinctly. The highs are clearer and more prominent with it. The whole is also more "lifted up" tonally, and the midrange is then pulled back. Apparently, the differences in question are not very big, but their intensity affects us quite strongly. Therefore, this type of combination will work well where the rest of the setup is warm, dense and has a low tonal balance. Because the dCS will add resolution and energy to it, show credible instruments in their high volume and "presence" - not a warm one, but clear.

˻ 5 ˺ HEADPHONES

A HEADPHONE Amplifier in components of the type that the tested dCS is, is usually nothing more but an "add-on". Not in this case, though. Listening to music through the HiFiMAN HE-1000 v2 headphones, and immediately afterwards through the absolutely open-to-everything, in-ear Lime Ears Pneuma, I better understood the designers' goals and the horizon towards which they were aiming.

It's still an open, sonorous and powerful sound, but darker than from the line output. You can clearly hear what was led one step further in the Lina series amplifier, namely a mastery of the sound, and one that brings out harmonics that give a wide and deep image - for headphones, of course. The bass doesn't go too low, it's rather open playing. So don't expect strong warm bass energy, because you won't get that.

The unbalanced output is clearly inferior to the balanced one (it's not the output, of course, but the way the signal is amplified). The latter has a deeper, more resolving sound, while the former shows a slightly "boosted" sound, going a bit towards what you hear on the speakers. It does not mean that this is bad, after all, I just wrote about how cool this device sounds like. And the point is that it can be done better. And a headphone amplifier with balanced output guarantees us this "better quality". Because it's just a great amplifier.

▌ Summary

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW how the albums you are listening to were produced, you are in the right place, on the right website. The dCS Bartók Headphone Apex DAC is a device that could successfully stand in a top recording studio as the main monitoring tool.

On the one hand, the point is that - like few other devices of its kind - it can convey the energy of a recording, and in a spectacular way. Secondly, its sound is amazingly clear. If you play music with a high-end external preamplifier, no part of the bandwidth is boosted, nor is any other part withdrawn. The device is also very resolving, so we will have everything in "view". And all this without the coldness that we associate with such a "monitor" sound. The Bartók has a very harmonically saturated sound with plenty of color information, including depth.

Without a preamplifier, the bands’ extremes are stronger and the foreground is quite close, so the sound can seem emphatic. But I know that many people are looking for just such an insight into the recording. The preamplifier as part of the system is the element that organizes the sound and gives it direction. If it's not there every detail in the system has to be worked out, because the order is composed from the small elements of each one.

We can determine the sound of the device by choosing digital filters, mapping, upsampling and even deciding whether or not to buffer the signal. The best part of this system seems to me to be the DAC with headphone amplifier, although the file transport section does really well too. And, to reiterate, we also have a very good headphone amplifier here, really exceptional. This is an upper echelon high-end.

▌ Design

FRONT AND REAR • The dCS Bartók Headphone Apex DAC has a solid enclosure made of aluminum plates, internally damped with bitumen mats. Unlike the more expensive series, the chassis walls are straight, and the front has no ornamentation such as milling, etc. There is a white-colored display, several buttons, used to select inputs and to operate the menu. On the right side is a volume knob, and next to it are two headphone jacks - a 4-pin XR and a classic 6.3mm "big jack.

On the back there is a really large number of sockets, all of them are well-made, they are good industrial classics from Neutrik. Even further back, four file-related connectors are grouped together. In the middle are the digital sockets - two AES/EBU RCA inputs, a BNC and a Toslink. Below them are three BNC jacks for an external clock. There are also RJ45 for Ethernet - an input and a "pass-through", and above that are USB inputs, type A and B, i.e. for a USB stick or drive, and the other for a computer or external file transport. At the extreme left there are analog outputs - XLR and RCA.

INSIDE • The electronics were assembled on several circuit boards. It's a modular design, so when a new version comes out, they can be replaced - this was the case with the Apex converter, which required an entire board replacement. Other changes are software-based, so you can download a new version of the software from time to time, which is how - in turn - it was with version 2.0.

The file transport is prepared by an external subcontractor. The chip is called Mosaic Processor by the company, and it is a system collection of hardware and software modules. For this purpose, dCS uses a modified Stream Unlimited S800 module. Since 2017, dCS has been writing its own firmware for this module, which, it says, has allowed it to "optimize sound quality and reliability." The chip is mounted vertically, on a motherboard. Before the signal reaches the DAC, it is overclocked twice in a PLL loop to minimize timing blur. In addition, the digital inputs are galvanically isolated.

Right after that, there is a very large Ring DAC Apex board. Its base is an array of resistors switched by semiconductor "keys". Their control is handled by large FPGAs, one per channel. That's where the "mappers" we've already mentioned are placed. Signal clocking is entrusted to two top-of-the-line VCXO crystal oscillators, the manufacturer says, one for each "family" of sampling frequencies. After the DAC there are integrated circuits, but after them there are only transistors working in class A. You can also see nice passive components here, like Wima polypropylene capacitors, standard in this type of equipment.

At the front panel there is a board with a headphone amplifier. It appears to be of discrete design, with signal amplification handled by transistors. The largest board, however, received the power supply circuit. It’s based on two transformers; the smaller one, a toroidal transformer, is part of the headphone amplifier's power supply. The larger transformer has been shielded and, so it seems, mechanically damped. It is bolted to the underside of the chassis by lossy elements to eliminate vibrations. On the power supply board you can see a lot of voltage stabilization circuits in many separate lines.

As it turns out, dCS uses a hybrid power supply. In an interview with Audiophile Style website, John Quick, then still a brand representative, later part of the Dynaudio family, said:

The PSUs in all our products since we introduced Scarlatti in 2007 have been a combination of linear and switching supplies. After the over-specified mains AC transformers, we establish DC PSU rails for all device sections requiring dedicated, regulated supplies with individual, proprietary switching power supplies that are all synchronized together (and to the audio clock!) for the lowest noise possible.

Local regulation of all analog circuitry is then done with linear PSUs - this includes the RingDAC analog board AND the separate HP amp in the BHD version of the Bartók DAC. In this way we’re able to utilize the strengths of both PSU approaches: linear (low noise, fast transient response), and SMPS (low-power consumption, wide input range while maintaining efficiency).

⸜ RAJIV ARORA, dCS Bartók DAC with Headphone Amplifier Review, → AUDIOPHILESTYLE.com, 23 October 2019, accessed: 14.06.2024.

It is an electrically and mechanically complex product in which the electronic part is as important as its software. ●

▌ Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

Supported formats and sampling frequencies:
PCM 44,1-384 kHz, DSD64-DSD128, DSD + DoP, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, MQA
Frequency range:
• Fs = 44.1 and 48 kS/s +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz
• Fs = 88.2 and 96 kS/s +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz -3 dB @ >38 kHz
• Fs = 176.4 and 192 kS/s +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz -3 dB @ >67 kHz
• Fs = 352.8 and 384 kS/s +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz -3 dB @ >100 kHz
• DSD64 +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz -3 dB @ >90 kHz
• DSD128 +/-0.1 dB, 10 Hz-20 kHz -3 dB @ >100 kHz
Output signal level: 0.2, 0.6, 2 or 6 V rms
Output impedance: 3 Ω
Minimum output loading: 600 Ω (recommended: 10 kΩ-100 kΩ)
Digital inputs: USB 2.0/1.0, 2 x AES/EBU, 2 x S/PDIF (1 x RCA, 1 x BNC) 1 x S/PDIF Toslink, 2 x Word Clock
Dimensions (H x W x D): 120 x 220 x 340 mm
Weight: 7.2 kg
Color: black or silver

»«

THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org