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

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

Drivers	Subwoofer: 30 – 250 Hz Midrange horn: 250 – 2.000 Hz Tweeter horn: 2.000 – 20.000 Hz
Digital input	S/PDIF Toslink AES/EBU USB
Analogue input	Optional (AD converter)
Amp	2 x 50 watts + 1 x 400 watts
Crossover	DSP: 6 channel, 66-bit FPGA
Filter steepness	Up to 100 dB/octave
Filter type	Progressive FIR filters
Phase shifts	< 5 degrees
DAC	3 x 24-bit Burr & Brown
Master/slave radio link	2.4 GHz ISM/SRD
Amplitude linearization*	Yes
Phase linearization*	Yes
Room adjustment/equalization*	100 EQs, each with 16,000 frequency points
Weight	30 kg
BxHxD	490 x 1040 x 318 mm

* with optional software

Website: Avantgarde acoustic
Price € 9000

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

Sonore Rendu

Ethernet to S/PDIF converter.




This is a DLNA/UPnP 2.0 compliant renderer.
It doesn’t have an interface but as it is a DMR (Digital Media Renderer in DLNA speak), you can control the volume using a DMC (Digital Media Controller).
A DMC can be a PC running a DLNA server/controller software like JRiver or a smartphone with DLNA software.
The schema explains it nicely.


One of the disadvantages of DLNA is the lack of gapless playback.
The Rendu supports it but the controller must support it too.
At the present the Rendu support gapless in combination with Bubble UPNP as controller on Android or JRiver on a PC.

The Sonore Rendu.i2s has Ethernet input and SPDIF/I2S over HDMI out.
A model including a ESS Sabre ES9023 DAC is planned.
At the present only 120 VAC models are available!


Features

• supports gapless playback*
• supports DSD/DoP pass thru**
• powered by an on board, extremely low noise, low output impedance linear power supply
• isolated from noise on the network
• operates fully asynchronously, using on board fixed frequency low jitter clocks
• features a transformer coupled true 75 ohm SPDIF BNC output
• has an integrated, 32 bit, high precision volume control
• supports up to 24 bit playback at the following sample rates: 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz, 192KHz
• plays AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, and WAV files from HTTP streams
• controlled via apps on your mobile device
• UPnPTM AV 2.0 / DLNA compliant
  * Gapless is currently supported via Android with Bubble UPNP as controller, J-River on PC as controller with local storage. Check back for updates.
  ** DSD/DoP pass thru requires the use of MinimServer

Website: Sonore
Price US$ 1369

Rotel RA-1570

Two years ago a DAC featuring an asynchronous USB input was news.

Today, a DAC without async USB is news and as far as I am concerned, a showstopper.

In the amplifier world, async USB input is still rare.

Rotel is one of the exceptions to this rule.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of years a USB input is as common as a RCA.

Asynchronous USB 24 bit / 192 kHz
Wolfson WM8740
2x 120 wattAB into 8 Ohm

Website: Rotel
Price: € 1599

QNKTC AB-1.2 USB DAC

Asynchronous USB DAC at a bargain price

• One USB-I2S Module plugged into the Analog Board
• Golledge high-quality XOs at 22.5792 and 24.576MHz
• Asahi Kasei AKM4430 DAC
• Low-noise 3.3V LDOs by Demain and Oneoclock, or ADP151
• RCA (phono) stereo output
• Headers for alternative power supply designs
• Unpopulated connectors for RS232, LCD etc.
• Bootloader buttons so you don't have to pop open the box to reprogram the MCU
• You must provide an USB 2.0 mini-B cable. It is not included.

Open source drivers for UAC2 (24 bit / 192 kHz) and ASIO.


Website: QNKTC
Price: US$ 135

Loss-less downloads

Looking for loss-less downloads?
Try these search engines.

FLACme is a search engine for finding CD-Quality (16bit 44.1kHz) music downloads in lossless formats such as FLAC, WAV, AIFF and ALAC.

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. 

Moos Mini Aero

Active speakers with a lot of technology build-in.

• Loss-less wireless audio up to 24 bit/ 96 kHz
• Scan-Speak drivers
• Wolfson DACs
• Hypex amps

A complete 'who is who' in a small form factor.

Cabinet	Vented
Drivers	Scan-Speak Revelator R2904 Revelator 15W-8530
Dac	Wolfson Quad differential DACs SNR > 125dB Analog Devices Asynchronous Sample Rate Converters
Amp	Hypex UcD
DSP	Analog Devices SHARC floating point signal processor, with 32-bit processing word size and 64-bit accumulator
Input	Wireless (WATT) USB dongle for PC and Mac

Website: Moos
Price: $2499

Matrix Audio X-Sabre

Looking at the connectivity of this DAC and its price, it will probably become the DAC flavor of the month.

• Asynchronous USB
• DSD×64 (2.8224MHz) / DSD×128 (5.6448MHz）over USB
• Sample rates supported USB: 16-32Bit @ 44.1kHz/48kHz/88.2kHz/96kHz/176.4kHz/192kHz/352.8kHz/384kHz
• Sample rates supported Coax/AES-EBU: 16-24Bit @ 44.1kHz/48kHz/88.2kHz/96kHz/176.4kHz/192kHz
• Low latency ASIO/KS drivers supported
• Drivers available for: Windows XP/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7
• 4 ESS 9018 Sabre Reference DAC per channel
• XMOS X-CORE 32Bit/500MIPS DSP

Website: Matrix Audio

Price: US$ 1,099.95 

MusiCHI

Tagging classical is most of all a lot of work.
The internet databases in general recognize the CD but the results are often  a mess.

Don't be surprised if you get
Sonate für Klavier und Violine F-dur Opus 24 [Frühling]
Sonata No. 5 "Frühlings - Sonate"
The Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major “Spring”, Opus 24

Often the composer is stored in the artist field and the performer hopefully in the album title.

What you need is tags for Composer and Composition and have them populated in a uniform way.

The MusiCHI tagger addresses these problems.
It has pick list for Composer and Composition.

You can also batch process your collection (MusiCHI Clean)

The text processor offers a lot of options to cleanup your tags.

I do recommend the MusiCHI Tagger.
It is a real time saver when tagging classical.

More about MusiCHI

Website MusiCHI

Meridian Explorer

Portable USB DAC with analog volume control on the headphone out, fixed line out combined with Toslink out.

Asynchronous 24/192 USB (XMOS) with driver for Windows.

Website: Meridian

Price: € 295 

Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies

Class-A tube headphone amplifier with asynchronous 24/192 USB Audio Class 2 input.

• C-Media 6631 USB chip
• TI PCM5102A 32-bit DAC chip
• Distortion: <0 .03="" li="">
• S/N: 95dB

Website Woo Audio
 Price: $999

Opalum active wireless speakers.

Even wireless active speakers needs power to drive the build-in amps.
Opalum has a very specific solution.
The speakers are fed (24 V) by a dual wire connected to a hub.
The signal is transferred over the same wire.
You can connect the speakers parallel or daisy chain them.

The hub takes care of the connectivity.
Analog and SPDIF inputs
Wireless b/g with Airplay and DLNA.

Website: Opalum

DACs

You like DACs?

An impressive compilation can be found here: DACInfo

Genelect G-series

Genelec is well known in the pro-world.
In 2013 they launched the G series targeting the home.
I do think active speakers for home use is becoming a new trend.

Website Genelec