The Well-Tempered Computer, an introduction to computer audio

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Hegel Super headphone amplifier

Digital inputs: USB micro
Outputs: mini-jack (analog) + optical mini-jack (digital)
USB interface: up to 24 bit / 96 kHz, plug & play
Noise floor: -140dB
Output impedance: Below 1 ohm
Dimensions: 1,6 cm x 4,1cm x 8,2cm / 0.6” x 1.6” x 3.2” (HxWxD)

Website: Hegel
Price: $399

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Audioengine D3

24 bit / 96 kHz DAC with asynchronous USB input and headphone out.

  • Full-scale output 2.0V RMS
  • Frequency response 10Hz - 25kHz (+/- 0.5dB)
  • SNR (DC to 20kHz) 110dB
  • THD+N (1kHz FS 96 kS/s) <0 .002="" li="">
  • Crosstalk -110dB
  • USB transfer mode Asynchronous (dual clock)
  • USB device class Type 1.1 or above
  • Input USB Audio Input bit depth up to 24 bits (upsampled)
  • Input data rate up to 192KS/s (96K native)
  • Output Analog audio mini jack
  • Output impedance 10 ohms
  • Suggested headphone impedance 12 ohms to 10Kohms
  • Headphone amplifier LME49726
  • D/A converter AKM4396
  • USB controller TI1020B
  • Power requirement USB 5V DC, 200mA
  • USB power filtering 2-stage redundant regulation
  • Product dimensions 19x12x6mm (including USB connector)
Website Audioengine
Price: $189.00

Thursday, November 7, 2013

AMI MUSIK DDH-1





Pre-amp with analog, USB, Toslink and SPDIF input.
Analog line- and headphone out
Digital out (Toslink)

32-bit Texas Instruments PCM1795 DAC
XMOS-based asynchronous USB input 24-bit/192kHz
1/8" analog input couple to a AKM AK5386 AD converter (24-bit/96kHz) coupled with the amp and the Toslink output allowing for digitizing analog input.
USB input coupled with Toslink output ( USB to SPDIF conversion)



Website: AMI MUSIK DDH-1
Price: US$549

Thursday, October 31, 2013

WiSA

WiSA is an open industry standard to connect speakers wireless.
It allows for lossless 24-bit audio with sample rates of  32, 44.1, 48, and 96 kHz
It supports 2 channel up to 7.1 surround.
It operates in the 5Ghz U-NII band.

At the present (2013) B&O is the only brand known to me using this standard.
As Pioneer, Onkyo, TEAC, Klipsch en Sharp are members of WiSA too, one might expect them to bring out models in the near future.



Beolab 17 speaker with WiSA and Toslink input

B&O Transmitter1 with analog and Toslink input.

References
The WiSA™ Association

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Cambridge DacMagic XS

Cambridge DacMagic XS £99.95



Connections Micro USB input, 3.5mm analogue output 
Digital to Analogue Converter ESS9023 24-bit DAC 
Sample Rates Supported
USB 1.0 mode: 16/24-bit, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz 
USB 2.0 mode: 16/24-bit, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz
Output Voltage 2V RMS
Max. Power Consumption 150mW 
Min. Headphone Impendance 12 Ohms
Frequency Response +/-0.2dB 20Hz – 20kHz
THD (unweighted):<0 .004="" td="">
SNR 103 dBr (unweighted) 
Crosstalk 66dB
Output Impedance 0.5 Ohms
Volume Steps 53 steps (54 different volume levels) 
Dimensions (W x H x D): 30 x 10 x 53.5mm (1.2 x 0.4 x 2.1’’) 
Weight 100g (3.5oz) 

ADL X1 USB DAC

ADL X1 USB DAC £395



  • Max headphone output at 1%THD @ 1KHz: 34mW(12 ohm), 60mW(16 ohm), 82mW(32 ohm), 86mW(56 ohm), 36mW(300 ohm), 19mW(600 ohm)
  • Channel separation 60~64dB (1KHz) 33ohms -50dB/<=±3dB
  • Frequency characteristics 20Hz~20kHz (±0.5dB)
  • Total Harmonic Distortion 0.033% (33ohms) , <0 .02="" 0.0085="" li="" mw="" ohms="">
  • S/N Ratio 95.5dB/32ohms , 98.1dB/56ohms , 101.6dB/300ohms, 102.1dB/600ohms 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

LH Labs Geek

Small portable USB DAC/headphone amp


  • Two outputs on all types (2 x 3.5 mm jack): line and headphones, both are variable in digital domain (64bit precision)
  • Volume control: two buttons and software (Operation System main volume slider sends volume data to Geek which implements the volume change in its internal volume control)
  • Line-out output impedance: 47 Ohm (on all types)
  • Headphone output impedance: 0.47 Ohm (on all types)
  • Max output voltage (line-out and headphone): 2.65 Vrms (Geek), 3,4 Vrms (Super Geek), 4 Vrms (Super-Duper Geek)
  • Max output power (headphone, 16 Ohm): 450 mW (Geek), 720 mW (Super Geek), 1000 mW (Super-Duper Geek)
  • Native decoded  music format in PCM: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176,4, 192, 352.8, 384 kHz / 16, 24, 32 bits.
  • Native decoded digital format in DSD: 2.822, 3.072, 5.644, 6.144 mHz / 1 bit
  • "Class A" analogue output stage, THD+N better than 0.005 %, SNR is 103dB (none-weighted), 109dB (A-weighted)
  • Sample rate indicator LEDs, machined aluminum enclosure in three different colors, with 6" USB cable, driver for PC (plug and play on MAC and Linux)
Website: LH Labs
Price: US$ 299

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

AURALiC Gemini 2000 headphone amp



DAC with a 2 Watt class A headphone amp build into a Klutz design headphone stand.

Output: 6.3mm jack / 4-pin XLR.

Input:
USB
Toslink
3.5 mm analog

Integrated SDXC card reader
File format: PCM 24/384, DSD128

Website: AURALiC
Price: US$1995

Monday, September 30, 2013

Resonessence Labs Herus

In case of small portable USB DACs there is the flavor of the month DAC
There is the Audioquest DragonFly doing 24/96.
This was pretty soon surpassed by the Meridian Explorer doing 24/192
Now there is the Herus supporting PCM up to 24/352.8, DXD and DS64/128



Herus $ 350.00



Small PCM and DSD capable USB DAC
63.5mm (2.5in) long, by 31.7mm (1.25in) wide and 19mm (0.75in) high

Asynchronous USB Audio 2.0: PCM bit width 24 or 16
Supported Data Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 and 352.8 Ks/S
Supported Formats: PCM, DXD and DSD64/128 Uses DoP protocol 1.1 over USB for DSD
Operating Systems MS Windows, MAC OS and Linux
Use the Resonessence Thesycon Driver for USB Audio 2.0 on Windows
Output Signal Level At Maximum Volume level: 2.4 VRMS
Output Impedance:   0.2 Ohms
SNR at least 100 dB, Typically 108dB
THD at least 85 dB, Typically 90dB

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sony HAP-Z1ES HDD Audio Player



Playback of DSD and the full range of Hi-Res file formats, Analog FIR filters, 1TB hard drive for local music playback and storage, DSD re-mastering engine converts all signals to DSD signals, built-in Wi-Fi for app control and music transfer.

A player with 1 Tb of storage but according to the specs can accommodate only 20.000 titles!

Price: £1,999.00 Incl. Vat

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Alo Audio The Island


24 bits /192 kHz USB headphone amp.
Bus powered.

Website Alo Audio
Price : $299.00

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

RaspyFi


A Linux distribution with MPD for the audio optimized for (as you might have guessed) the Raspberry Pi.

Features:
-Ready to play, download it, flash it, wire it and you’re ready to go!
-Supports almost all DACs
-Bit perfect playback (up to 32bit 192 khrtz)
-Samba support, for reading music stored on NAS
-Fat32 and NTFS support, connect your USB storage and you’re ready to go
-Audio output also from analog Jack
-Only few process are active, less is more in audio reproduction
-Web-radio, Spotify and Last.fm supported
-Mp3, Wav, FLAC, AAC, ALAC support
-A nice webgui to configure and control RaspyFi
-You can control RaspyFi with lot of Apps for Mac,Win, Linux, Ios and Android
-Wi-Fi support out of the box
-Fits on 2gb SD
-Beets is included, to manage your library and get rid of bad metatags
-Optimized to reduce SD card wearing
-Wi-Fi ready out of the box

Website: RaspyFi

Friday, July 5, 2013

Gefen USB DAC and converter



24 bit / 192 kHz USB DAC with RCA and headphone out.
Can also be used as a USB to Toslink convertor.
Driver for Windows.

  • Audio Input Connector: (1) USB Mini-B
  • Audio Output Connectors:
    • (1) TOSLINK (optical)
    • (1) L/R analog audio (2 x RCA female)
    • (1) 1/4-inch stereo headphone jack
  • Power/Streaming indicator: (1) LED, blue
  • Sampling Frequency indicators: (6) LEDs, blue
  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 110 dBA
  • Frequency Response: 10Hz - 20kHz ± 0.1 dB
  • Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)+N: <0 .02="" li="">
  • Operating Temperature: +32 to 104 °F ( 0 to +40 °C )
  • Operating Humidity: 20 to 90% RH, no condensation
  • Storage Temperature: -4 to +140 °F ( -20 to +60 °C )
  • Storage Humidity: 0 to 95% RH, no condensation
  • Power Consumption: 2.5W (max.)
  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 3.4" x 1.3" x 3.4" (86mm x 34mm x 86mm)
  • Shipping Weight: 1 lbs (0.45) kg
Website Gefen
Price: $129.00

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Avantgarde acoustic - Zero 1


3 way active speaker with 2 horns for mid and treble.
All the digital inputs.
Crossover and room adjustment implemented in DSP




DriversSubwoofer: 30 – 250 Hz
Midrange horn: 250 – 2.000 Hz
Tweeter horn: 2.000 – 20.000 Hz


Digital inputS/PDIF
Toslink
AES/EBU
USB
Analogue inputOptional (AD converter)
Amp2 x 50 watts + 1 x 400 watts
CrossoverDSP: 6 channel, 66-bit FPGA
Filter steepnessUp to 100 dB/octave
Filter typeProgressive FIR filters
Phase shifts< 5 degrees
DAC3 x 24-bit Burr & Brown
Master/slave radio link2.4 GHz ISM/SRD
Amplitude linearization*Yes
Phase linearization*Yes
Room adjustment/equalization*100 EQs, each with 16,000 frequency points
Weight30 kg
BxHxD490 x 1040 x 318 mm


* with optional software

Website: Avantgarde acoustic
Price € 9000

Saturday, May 4, 2013

NS2 Air Monitors

Small powered speakers with a wireless connection using Airplay

Power output: 80W peak power
Frequency response: 60 Hz – 22 kHz
Woofers: 3″ Kevlar with dual magnets, shielded
Tweeters: 3/4″ silk dome, shielded
Digital Signal Processor: 32-bit
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0 .15="" br="">Signal-to-Noise Ratio: > Alalouge 85dB, Digital 90 dB
Amplifier type: Class D
Crosstalk: <50 br="" db="">Impedance: 20k Ohms
Dimensions: H: 160 x W: 110 D: 140 mm
Weight: 3.0 kg
Cabinets: MDF

Website NOCS
Price: $449.00