DACs

Audio Research introduced its first Reference series CD player in 2005 with the Reference CD7, then evolving into the Reference CD8. Both players received critical acclaim for their accuracy and naturalness. People still want to play their CDs, but they also want to add other digital sources such as computer audio and streaming to their music systems, so we created the Reference CD9SE CD Player/DAC. It combines the best of both, a super high-resolution compact disc player with a super high-resolution digital-to-analog converter that is stunning in its musicality.

What Hi Fi? love it ...

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/audio-research-reference-cd9-se

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We saw this first at the Munich Hi Fi Show last May and have been greatly anticapating it's arrival. Chord have consistently broken new ground with their DAC technology and this is the top of the class in the world today. Amongst it's peers ithis is the smart and healthy sixth former who is going to get into Oxbridge without even revising, and who hopefully goes on and finds a cure for cancer. We expect great things of you DAVE. 

Instead of traditional off-the-shelf solutions, Chord use an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) in its high-end DACS and their own software to do all the number crunching. And DAVE is no different. This newest arrival also features a high-grade filter with enhanced processing powers and full high-res audio support, including DSD and DXD files up to 768kHz. Outputs include XLR and standard RCA connectors, plus an advanced headphone output. Inputs include USB Type-B, two optical and four coaxial digital sockets.

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The DAC9 digital-to-analog converter decodes most current formats with state-of-the-art vacuum tube technology. Five digital connections - USB, RCA, BNC, AES/EBU, and Toslink - provide connectivity to all of your digital sources. Quad DAC architecture provides a balanced digital signal, wide dynamic range, and decoding resolutions from red book CD up to 384 kHz and native DSD sampling rates. A pair of 6H30 vacuum tubes are the heart of the analog circuit. Both balanced and single-ended connectors are provided for output connectivity. Native-rate upsampling and selectable digital filters allow customization of the digital signal.

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LEO GX.1 is a breakthrough in digital audio system clocking — the first master clock ever
that can feed a DAC directly with a working signal so precise we had to use new
benchmarks to measure its performance. Wider staging, pinpoint locational accuracy, and
an expanded dynamic range are just some of the benefits you’ll hear when you implement
LEO GX.1’s one-of-a-kind approach to clocking that literally bypasses the traditional
limitations of internal DAC clocks.

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This is the Rega reference class CD player and it is a thing of beauty. Moving away from a naming convention of heavenly bodies (and hence Roman deities) we have something distinctly more Egyptian in the Isis.

We are one of the very few dealers that keeps an Isis on demonstration in our store. We love it.

This is is a product manufactured to the highest achievable quality inside and out including Rega’s own unique CD technology and a custom solid anodised aluminium case weighing in at a notable 19 kg! We hope you enjoy this very special CD player; they have spent a very long time creating it, drawing on their many years of experience in specialist hi-fi manufacturing.

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The newest iteration of PS Audio's DirectStream DAC is absolutely scintillating in its ability to recreate digital source material. 

We have this unit sitting in the full PS Audio system with the BHK pre-amplifier, the 250 stereo power and the option of putting on the 300 mono blocks all feeding the PS Audio Aspen loudspeakers.

Dynamics, soundstage and depth are the key components that really set this unit apart.

We have had time now to play with the new Mt Massive software and as stated in all the hype, it really does make an enormous difference.

Have a read and a listen to what PS Audio have to say about the unit here

 

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The Altair G2.1 is the unit in Auralic's range that does it all. A Preamplifier, DAC and Streamer with options to put in a 2TB hard drive. 

The Preamplifier is also a full blown analogue preamplifier. Not only does it have the analogue line and Moving Magnet phono inputs, it also doesn't simply convert these into digital signals within the chassis. Rather they are kept completely separate from the digital circuitry. Also the volume control is an analogue design based on resistive ladder construction. A less noisy, cleaner choice than other designs out there. Such all-in-one units have tended to use cheaper less fullfilling preamplifier modules that I normally recommend customers to bypass. That's not the case here. As oppossed to the G1.1 the preamplifier section on this unit has an increased output level and a HDMI input and a Home Theatre Bypass. You can also disengage the preamplifier stage if your using it with an offboard preamplifier. 

This unit also employs galvanic isolators in between its sensitive tesla processors and audio circuits to keep its noise floor absolutely inert.

The Tesla G3 processing forms the basis of this unit's streaming platform. It has Quad core, 64 bit processor...the best of the best.

Also a superior power supply and thick copper shielded chassis with isolating feet mean that noise and vibrations are kept to an absolute minimum. Couple that with a pair of super accurate clocks reducing jitter and this is a unit that stands above others in its category.

Clean, effortless sound and a unit that ticks all the boxes without compromise.

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There is something mesmerising in the sound of a Chord DAC/headphone amps. The unleashing of the music in its raw tangible beauty into your living room. The space the music inhabits seems to expand the boundaries of a room like a Tardis. And the instruments and vocalists seem to come together forming this 3D image of the broader soundstage. 

For those of us who spend far too much time listening to music, it's that feeling of being transported through time and space into where the music was performed. Like a trip in a Tardis, this is what a Chord Dac can deliver.

And they've got all the cool flashing lights and even a port hole to look through to see naked circuitry inside! 

 Chord Hugo TT2 official page 

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This is a clever design of a DAC utilising 4 different DAC chips for one ultra linear feed which is fed into a class A output stage.

More musicality and more refinement than Dacs that use a single, or even a double, chip.

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For the uninitiated in the digital realm of HiFi, the exact purpose and functionality of the M Scaler can seem perplexing. A unit that sits between your digital source and your DAC to drastically improve the digital signal....isn't it all ones and zeroes at that stage? How can you make ones and zeroes better?

Well, it's all about the Taps...the digital Taps that is. Taps refers to how many times and therefore how accurately the unit revisists the algorythm that's going to create the analogue Wave Form from the sample rate that's given by the source. Normally DACs would perform this function themselves but no DAC, not even Chord Electronics very own Dave comes even close to the amount of Taps that the M Scaler has. Normally an ordinary DAC would have a 100-tap filter, the Dave has 164,000-tap filter but the M Scaler has 1,015,808-tap filter!

In Rob Watts own words "If you have a conventional filter with 100 taps, you will recover some of the transient information. A 100-tap filter gives you sufficiently good frequency-domain performance, but not in the time domain. . . . Every time you increase the number of taps, you improve the perception of pitch, timbre gets better—bright instruments sound brighter, dark instruments sound darker—the starting and stopping of notes becomes easier to hear, the localization of sounds get better. There is less listening fatigue—the brain has to do less processing of the information presented to it to understand what's going on." 

And that perfectly sums up what you hear when you add an M scaler to a Chord Hugo TT2 or the Dave. It's an opening up of the musicality getting this normally step wise wave form of a CD player or 44kHz back to the most accurate analogue Wave Form you can possibly get. 

And this is where the M Scaler is particularly special because it's the most accurate digital device out there by a long margin. And that's because of the Taps. Turn on the Taps!

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Synthesis has just released a new Compact Disc Player ROMA14DC+. It uses a pair of  ECC88/6DJ8 on the output stage for warm sound characteristics. The particularly configuration is used to obtain a very low output impedance and extremely large bandwidth.

The Roma 14DC+ has USB "B" type, DSD 5,6MHz and optical input. The 32Bits of resolution give you a fantastic sound stage and a perfect sound reproduction. The TEAC mechanism is specially developed for audio reproduction guarantee at this CD Player high quality performances.

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This is something of a reincarnation product but with rather cutting edge digital disc and streaming tech . . Made in Japan with love. Physically the SA30 is actually gorgeous, the photos don't do it justice, it really exudes a quality aesthetic presence. In combination with the matching amp it is a piece of Hi Fi art that will make people who know nothing about stereo want to go and fondle it inappropriately ...

StereoNet on the Model 30 release 

Marantz UK site for the SACD30 

"Hi-Fi News" loves the Model 30 

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The very popular Altair G1 has transformed into the Altair G1.1. A lower noise floor than its predecessor meaning more music and more detail. It does this by adding a High-Mass base plate which is a feature that has filtered down from Auralic's higher end units.

It also has an improved Femto clock which gives the DAC extra precision.

The onboard headphone amplifier has undergone a revamp as well. Now even more powerful.

The Auralics have a very musical sound and suit a range of systems. 

For the HDD installation Kit it is an extra $195

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A superior high quality CD player where no detail has been overlooked in the circuitry design. Extensive measures have been taken to make sure the inherent jitter from the loading mechanism doesn't reach other sensitive circuitry.

A 32bit DAC is paired with 192KHz Upsampling capability giving tremendous results. 

This high quality DAC can be used separately as well. This means you have a multitude of different options for your digital sources - 2 Coax, 2 optical inputs and Type B USB. You also have the option of RCA or balanced XLR out.

Feature packed unit that doesn't disapoint musically.

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It took a while to get here but its very good ....The Hugo 2 is uprated from the first version ... It's smaller and more expensive!

The Hugo was a problem for us. It was so good that people stopped buying our other inventory of DACs. Although ostensibly a portable product it sounded so very lifelike that it was being used as the main engine in peoples home audio setups.

This new one is just an exquisite bit of crafted alloy. When you hold it you dont want to let it go ... the glowing buttons while slightly Flash Gordon are delightful in operation and make perfect sense ... after a while.

The Hugo 2 has four digital inputs. seven hours of battery life, and does the numbers up to 768KHz digital ...

Official website for the Hugo 2

"What Hi Fi?" on the Hugo 2

"Hugo 2 user manual PDF

 

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The Roma 69DC has USB "B" type, DSD 5,6MHz and optical input. 32Bit of resolution give you a fantastic sound stage and beautiful sound reproduction.

Using a ECC88/6DJ8 on the output stage in as differential amplifier for a perfect matching with the Dac's output (Asahi Kasei AK4495S ), obtaining a very low output impedance and extremely large bandwidth. Paticular attention has been dedicated to the headphone output. Using a high-fidelity driver, we obtained a incredible natural sound performance, the sound stage is simply perfect!

To back this up the design has an over size shielded power transformer for reduce the interference. An array high grade metalized polipropilene capacitors controlling the audio signal circuits. The all important component of this unit are run by a multi stage fully regulated power supply.

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A standalone DAC to enhance the performance of your whole system.

Built to last and with dedication and passion to creating the best sound, this Musical Fidelity is a winner for the music enthusiast.

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We are preparing for the arrival of new models of marantz SA CD players and as such it is time to sell our demo units of the current stock. This particular unit is Black and in great condition. It comes with box and accessories and a three year factory warranty.

Marantz CD players have often been the port of last call for that particular customer that is searching for music in a digital realm where everything measures well but is post apocalyptically sterile to the listening. There is also that small but significant in our fanatics base of people for whom SACD is the only answer. And for them these high end Marantz players are the go to product for real quality and realisation of the potential of the format.

This new piece of kit has been voiced and refined by the Marantz dream team sound engineers and is an excellent external Digital to Analogue Converter for your other digital sources.

 

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This is the new version of a very dear favourite. A richness to the sound that does away with the brittleness and edge normally associated with the sound of cds. This CD player is the most 'vinyl' sounding CD player I've ever heard.

The new unit has some updated aesthetics but keeps the same internals as the older Saturn R.

We are expecting stock of the Saturn Mk3 in July.

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