digital converters

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

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

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