Audience frontRow USB Cable
There has been a lot of discussion about digital cables, centering on the fact that digital data simply contains 1 and 0. The 1 is 5 Volts, and the 0 is zero Volts. Either “on” or “off”. What could go
Audience Studio TWO USB Cable
Bits is bits, right? Maybe the computer bits really are just little blocks of information, static and unchanged and unchangeable from the recording studio to your awesome music system. However, the reality is that the way those bits travel from
Bricasti Design M1 Series II Digital-to-Analog Converter
First review! The adoption of digital sound, as recorded on CDs, DVDs, downloads in various formats, and other media has been underway since about 1983. In the intervening 50 years, the sound quality of these recordings has improved significantly,
Audio-GD R7 MK2 Digital-to-Analog Converter
Audio-GD is a new brand here in the U.S. Distributed by Underwood HiFi (link below) in the US, Audio-GD is a Chinese company that makes a wide range of audio products including DACs, headphone amplifiers, preamps, and power amplifiers. Their
Marantz SA-10 CD/SACD Player & DAC
Just like Rodney Dangerfield, the Marantz SA-10 CD/SACD Player and DAC gets no respect. This is a shame as the SA-10 could well be the best sounding, best built player/DAC anywhere close to its $6990 list price. At the top
Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2v2SE 10th Anniversary Limited Edition DAC
State of the art precision. State of the art focus. State of the art harmony. The Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2v2SE 10th Anniversary Limited Edition digital-to-analog converter does not sound like a digital component. It much more closely performs as an
Bryston BDA-3 Digital-to-Analog Converter
wo events prompted me to write this planned review at this time. The Absolute Sound magazine has a review of this DAC this month which I will read after this review is “in the can”. Having virtually no experience of
Exogal Comet Digital-to-Analog Converter
The Exogal Comet digital to analog converter is a modern DAC that can process up to 32 bit 384 kHz, and DSD64 and DSD128 digital signals from the USB input. Using the AES-EBU XLR or S/PDIF BNC connections, processing is
Prism Sound Callia DAC Preamplifier
Prism Sound is well known in the pro audio space where their analog to digital converters (ADCs) are used in many of the best recording studios worldwide. The Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC was reviewed here in 2009. The Prism Callia USB DAC Preamplifier
Auralic Vega Digital-to-Analog Converter
The Auralic Vega DAC is a compact powerhouse, offering the latest in digital technology. At a list price of $3,495, it provides up to 32 bit 384 kHz decoding and upsampling and up to DSD256. The built-in volume control lets
Cary Audio DAC-200ts Digital-to-Analog Converter
The Cary Audio DAC-200ts, $3995, replaces the well-received DAC-100 and DAC-100t digital to analog converters. Where the DAC-100 is all solid state, and the DAC-100t offers a vacuum tube output stage, the DAC-200ts includes both technologies and the user chooses
Spread Spectrum Technologies Thoebe II Preamplifier & Son of Ampzilla II Amplifier
Spread Spectrum Technologies was founded by James Bongiorno, the legendary and colorful audio pioneer and engineer who was also directly involved with key designs at Marantz, SAE, SUMO Electric, and Great American Sounds (GAS). Several years ago, Mr. Bongiorno and
Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 DSDse Digital-to-Analog Converter and USB Cable
The Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 DSDse is a new state of the art digital-to-analog converter from a company that has produced a number of high performance digital products over the years. The standard DAC-2 carries a list price of $1499
PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter
The PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter is a very useful and, more importantly, very good sounding component for the digital age. For $1,895 you get a standard outboard phono preamplifier for using your moving magnet or moving coil phono cartridge
Berkeley Alpha DAC Series 2 and KingRex UC384 USB-to-S/PDIF Converter
I do not want to make the brave new world of digital music appear more complicated than it is already, but this investigation into the audio quality of the Berkeley Alpha DAC Series 2, from Berkeley Audio Design, LLC, highlights
Weiss DAC2 Digital-to-Analog Converter
The Weiss DAC2 benefits from the experience and technology of the well-received Minerva digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The DAC2 is distributed in the US by Vintage King Audio, a well know dealer of pro audio equipment. At a list price of
Prism Orpheus Digital Interface
A long and winding road leads to this review. The road is by no means smooth and straight, bumping along with disappointing gear and side trips to failed technologies. The road is an analogy for this writer’s audiophile journey, which
Marantz SA-7S1 and Cary 306 Professional CD/SACD Players
I had just about given up on CDs. There were some recent changes to my digital playback system and CDs were sounding better than they ever had in my system. Even so, vinyl LP playback still made CDs seem like
PS Audio Digital Link III D/A Converter with Cullen Circuits Stage 4 Modification
By way of introducing Cullen Circuits, please let me share a quote from their Web site: “Rick Cullen has been building high-end home AV products for over 35 years, first as the production manager of PS Audio and later as
Benchmark DAC1 D/A Converter
Several of you have sent emails to me with your comments about my preference for analog sources. These comments range from “Right on, Dude. You got it right!” to “Your reviews are worthless without including digital as a source”. There
Sony XA7ES CD player
The Sony XA7ES is Sony's top of the line CD player. It is a superb player. As the Stereophile review said, finding fault is a lot of work with little return. The mids and highs are very natural. The bass may be