Olasonic Nano Campo Line
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Arcam miniBlink Bluetooth Streaming DAC
The miniBlink is based on the technology from Arcam’s previous Bluetooth DAC, the $300 rBlink, which has been re-engineered to lower the price by 50%. The $149 miniBlink has a USB input for power only, and mini audio output for wiring into your system. When you are in range, you pair your device via Bluetooth and can then start streaming audio.
Inside is a Burr-Brown PCM5102 24bit DAC chip and aptX streaming technology and the company is claiming 30dB more headroom and improved distortion specs compared to normal Bluetooth. The miniBlink should show up around March.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Antelope Rubicon Atomic AD/DA Preamp Appears
From last year's post: The $40k Rubicon features a built-in analog to digital converter that can be driven from an internal phono preamp, several sets of regular line level RCA jacks, or balanced XLRs. Digital inputs include 2 SPDIF, 2 Toslink and AES/EBU. Analog and digital outputs are also available. The Atomic part of the product's name refers to the 10MHz rubiduim atomic clock driving its 384kH converters.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Light Harmonic Sire DAC
Why is the company's Steve Holt standing there with his arms open? They don't have the product yet, so we'll have to guess if it'll look as out-there as the company's Da Vinci DAC. Holt did say they'll have a prototype at the Munich Show in May.
The company's promo sheet states: "Even Da Vinci must kneel before his sire." Other details include: 2 femto clocks, 7 sets of digital inputs, "Ultra-high speed" DAC that will handle both 32/768 PCM and DSD 256, "Digital+Analog" hybrid volume control and 5 year unlimited upgrading at no additional cost to future-proof your purchase.
They'll also throw in a Lightspeed USB cable and plan to make only 24 per year.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
dCS Vivaldi digital playback system
The Scarlattis improved on the Elgar Pluses in cosmetics and, more important, technical and sonic performance that, in the opinion of many, put it at the top of the digital audio heap. It will be obvious to those familiar with the Scarlatti stack that the Vivaldis take visual appearance and fit'n'finish to new heights. These sculpted boxes in a silver matte finish, each with a unique, flowing wave pattern machined into its front panel, are pleasing to the eye and silky-smooth to the touch. Who said engineering geeks aren't sensual?
The four components are: the Vivaldi DAC ($34,999, slightly more than the original Elgar-Purcell-Verdi combo), which, using can decode every digital resolution, from MP3 to DSD to DXD (a 24-bit/358.8kHz PCM format used primarily for editing DSD files) and everything in between; the Vivaldi Upsampler ($19,999), which can upconvert the lowest-resolution MP3 data to 24/384, DSD, and DXD or any format in between; the Vivaldi Master Clock ($13,499), containing two groups of four clock outputs, which can be independently set; and the Vivaldi Transport ($39,999), a smooth, quiet, quick-booting SACD/CD drive based on TEAC's Esoteric VRDS Neo disc mechanism, considered by many to be the world's finest (footnote 1). This is controlled by dCS-designed signal-processing electronics, and can also upsample CDs to DSD or DXD.
The total price is an astronomical $108,496, though of course you could start with just the DAC and save $73,497. Considering the cost of some preamplifiers, audiophiles with only a single source component can drive their power amplifier directly with the Vivaldi DAC, which has a digital-domain volume control, and save the cost of a standalone preamp.
Most audiophiles prepared to drop $35k on a DAC will head straight for the full stack, I feel, especially those who want to add a music server, since the Upsampler includes an Ethernet connection for network streaming via UPnP. (dCS makes available a free iPad app to work with UPnP-based servers.) While both the DAC and the Upsampler have an asynchronous USB-B port, to allow them to accept audio data from a computer, the Upsampler also has a USB-A port, for use with USB flash drives or i-Devices. The USB-B ports can operate in Type 1 mode, with data sampled up to 96kHz, or in Type 2 mode, which allows DSD and PCM up to 192kHz to be streamed to the Vivaldis. Type 1 operation doesn't require a driver program for Windows PCs or Macs; Type 2 operation doesn't need a driver with Mac OS10.6.3 or later; dCS supplies a driver program for Type2 operation with Windows XP and Windows 7. (They say that it will work with Windows 8 in Windows 7 compatibility mode.) The dCS driver is not compatible with ASIO-type drivers, which will need to be uninstalled.
In other words, while continuing to offer a transport option for those with large collections of CDs and SACDs, dCS has configured the Vivaldi for the discless future—already the present for some, particularly those who never got into SACDs—though it will still be some time before downloadable DSD content catches up with what's already available on disc.
Major Changes Inside
Compared with the older products, the structural rigidity of the Vivaldi components' cases has been upgraded, including top plates of thick aluminum into which are machined asymmetrical cavities that contain damping pads. The combination is said to reduce vibrational modes. But the Vivaldi DAC's insides have been given far more than a cosmetic makeover.
While dCS's products have all been based on the company's proprietary Ring DAC technology, the Vivaldi is based on a complete revision of the Ring DAC concept. The earlier Ring DAC used quad latches (a circuit element that can be instantaneously "flipped" between two stable states) to select current sources based on metal-film resistors. The new Ring DAC design still includes high-speed latches and metal-film resistors, but instead uses individual latch chips said to eliminate between-latch, on-chip crosstalk resulting in lower jitter. The total number of latches has been increased to make better use of the Ring DAC's available dynamic range. A pair of high-speed, software-updatable (FPGAs) replaces the Scarlatti's mapping ROM chips, which allows individual errors in the DAC's current sources to be randomized, reducing the level of distortion and spuriae by 3dB.
The Vivaldi DAC's and Upsampler's digital-processing platform, which runs dCS-developed and -maintained code that forms the core of the entire operating system, has been completely upgraded, including use of a single field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip with more than twice the capacity of the previous two chips combined. These FPGAs are programmed from flash memory each time the DAC powers up, so that performance improvements or new Ring DAC operating modes can be added with a firmware update.
The Vivaldi DAC's analog circuitry has been redesigned for reduced DC offset, lower noise, and less crosstalk. The completely dual-mono architecture is claimed to improve left/right crosstalk by 15dB at 20kHz. New, higher-output mains transformers in all of the Vivaldi components run cooler than in earlier dCS products, and are mounted on specially damped subchassis to eliminate vibrations. Even the transport has been given a serious mechanical upgrade, which is claimed to reduce the level of acoustic noise by a significant 10dB.
The Vivaldi stack's exterior elegance sacrifices some user-friendliness: the small buttons and their even smaller labels aren't backlit, so if you like doing your digital business in the dark, or even in moderate light, keep a flashlight handy.
The non-backlit remote control suffers a similar problem. While it's a heavy, nicely made piece of aluminum finished pleasingly for the hand, its brushed-aluminum surface makes it difficult to read the labels just below the unmarked buttons unless it's angled just so to reflect any available light. But when you do that, the reflected glare makes the buttons that are marked hard to read.
Setup and Use
Setting up the Vivaldi system can be complicated, but when you spend almost $110,000 on a digital playback system, you can expect plenty of dealer help. The multi-cable system, featuring five AES/EBU cables—two each to connect the Transport and Upsampler to the DAC and a fifth to connect the Transport to the Upsampler—five word-clock connections, and four AC cords, is a cable manufacturer's dream.
But once everything has been set up for you, and the routing for each input and the many screen icons have been explained, you're on your own. Believe me, until you figure it all out and memorize the icons' meanings, you'll feel lonely.
Your options are then seemingly endless. For example, you can route the transport directly to the DAC via the dual AES/EBU connections, which will send DSD signals in their native format and, should you choose, upsample CDs to DSD or DXD—or you can send CD signals to the DAC via S/PDIF or AES/EBU and play them in their native resolution—or send CD data to the Upsampler via the single AES/EBU connection and, by selecting the Upsampler's AES input, play them back at 24/44.1 (the Upsampler automatically outputs at 24 bits)— or you can upsample the CD data there to high-resolution PCM or DSD.
The Vivaldi DAC has six filter options for PCM, with four more for DSD playback. dCS says that with PCM data, the first four filters give different tradeoffs between ultrasonic image rejection and impulse response. Filter 1 gives the most rejection, Filters 2–4 offer progressively relaxed image rejection and better time-domain performance. For data with sample rates from 176.4kHz to 384kHz, two extra filters are available, one with a Gaussian character, the other asymmetrical with almost no pre-ringing. With CD data, Filter 5 is also an asymmetrical type, Filter 6 a very sharp linear-phase type with pre-ringing. The DSD filters progressively roll off the format's ultrasonic noise, in case there are system synergy issues.
dCS recommends Filter 5for CD playback, Filter 2 for 48, 88.2, and 96kHz-sampled data, Filter 6 for 176.4kHz data and above, and Filter 1 for DSD data. For this review, I stuck with Filter 1, which had been recommended by dCS distributor John Quick.
Footnote 1: Why should a disc drive be so expensive? dCS claims that they pay about $5000 for each raw TEAC transport; if you do the usual fivefold "parts cost to retail" math, that's $25,000—then you have to add the chassis, the electronics, and the rest.
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Source : stereophile[dot]com
Old and New: A 2014 Resolution
Happy New Year! I hope you’re somewhere warm, like Rincon or San Clemente, taking in a ton of golden sunshine and perhaps enjoying a rum punch. In New York, New Jersey, and much of the rest of the country, the New Year came with several of inches of cold, white snow that fell from the icy sky like the confetti we happily tossed about on New Year’s Eve. This is a perfect day to stay inside and listen to that pile of records you’ve so carefully propped up against the wall.
Over the last seven years, I’ve pretty much purchased any damn record that sparked my interest. Of course, there were a few other considerations: I also needed to eat, drink, pay my obnoxiously expensive rent, and wrap myself in some sort of clothing. That means, on average, I’ve spent somewhere around $5000/year on music. Thinking about it like that is sort of depressing: I could have paid off my college loans using that money. (Oh well.) I could have also placed a down payment on a home! I could have saved for my future!
I’ve never really thought much about the future. Considering that one of my responsibilities at Stereophile is to make sure each issue ships to press on time, one might think that I’d be great at planning. But a byproduct of working for a monthly magazine, surrounded by urgent deadlines, is that I’m never really sure of what’s happening beyond what’s directly in front of my face. Also: I hate planning. I prefer envisioning, dreaming, tackling.
But, in terms of record-buying and everything else important to me, 2014 will be a very interesting and different kind of year. On Thanksgiving, I proposed (marriage) to Ms. Little. (She said yes. Crazy, I know.)
What does this mean for my record-buying life? Just as every other purchase I made over the last seven years had to be weighed against a potential record purchase, every other purchase I make this year will have to be weighed against a contribution to Our Wedding Fund. Have I mentioned that I have $0 in my “savings” account? I get paid money, I spend money. What was Ms. Little thinking when she said agreed to marry me? Apparently, I bring “other” things to the relationship. (Good to know.)
On top of our desk, beside one of my PSB Alpha PS1 loudspeakers, sits an old tin can that used to hold John McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal. Every time I even think about buying a record, I stick $20 in that tin. (Making oatmeal, by the way, is a very analog process, not unlike spinning vinyl. If you haven’t already gotten into it, you should.) In case you’re wondering, I purchased the PSB Alpha PS1 desktop loudspeakers at “industry accommodation” cost, which varies but is typically 50% off retail. In 2013, I also purchased a new pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 loudspeakers, three 1m lengths of AudioQuest Big Sur interconnects, and one 15ft pair of AudioQuest Rocket 33 speaker cable. Unless something crazy happens, I won’t be making any hi-fi purchases in 2014. I just can’t afford to.
By October, when Ms. Little and I plan to celebrate our love with family and friends and cousins we hardly know, we should have enough money in the tin to support our dream dance party.
Not really. Despite our modest ways and most valiant efforts, it seems inevitable that we’ll have spent a small fortune on our charming, little Jersey City wedding. (Good thing Ms. Little actually has money in her “savings” account. Women!)
Anyhow, I won’t be spending $5000 on records this year. I have a plan—a resolution, if you will, or perhaps even a vow: In 2014, I will buy no more than one (1!) new record per month. (This is crazy. This will never work.) I italicized “new” because I think I should cut myself some slack for used records. I mean, there’s always the possibility that I’ll discover some amazing veteran artist who I’d previously neglected. In recent years, I was shocked by guys like Robert Wyatt, John Prine, and Delbert McClinton. And, in 2013, I finally came around to Tony Joe White, B.W. Stevenson, and Norman Blake, and I tracked down used copies of their records that sold for criminally low prices.
I’ve already made a list: The 35 Most Anticipated Albums of 2014. Why “35” when there are only 12 months in a year? Just in case, I guess. I like odd numbers. This is just my list; it’s not yours. The list is handwritten in red ink, in the same lined pad I use to take my listening notes. I’ve only listed the names of bands that are said to release new albums in 2014. I haven’t listed album titles because: 1. I’m freezing cold; 2. I suck at planning; 3. Many of the album titles are TBA. My sources include Pitchfork, Spin.com, The Fader, The Wire, Stereogum, and my own PR contacts. I would share my list with you, but many of the releases are still embargoed. If you’re as silly as I am about new music, you can check out the pages I’ve mentioned above and make your own guesses.
I plan to be diligent, resourceful, highly selective. At the end of all this, you and I both should have a much clearer understanding of what’s important to me, musically. And why would that be important to you or me? I don’t know! Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s just fun. Maybe we will have things in common. Will I go for pop or noise? Jazz or blues? James Chance or James Blake or both? If I can keep my word about this—that is, if all goes as planned—I’ll come away with a monthly post detailing the album on which I dropped my precious coin. I’ll explain why I purchased it, where I purchased it, what I thought about it, and whether it caused Ms. Little to change her mind about me.
Wish me luck. Cheers!
Source : stereophile[dot]com
The Ultimate Headphone Guide: Now Available for Purchase via The Internet!
Source : stereophile[dot]com
