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Analog and digital audio technologies should complement rather than oppose each other. That's Rotel's philosophy with its new RDV-1080 DVD-Audio player. Combining the best of Rotel's expertise in both realms, the RDV-1080 offers "stunning audio quality," according to Rotel general manager Michael Bartlett. "The RDV-1080 is Rotel's answer to those who have asked for a DVD-A player that focuses our Balanced Design engineering approach on the unique challenges of this exciting new format," Bartlett said. "Even though it handles the most advanced format today, DVD-A, the RDV-1080 is nonetheless a direct descendant of our world-class CD players." Bartlett says his company is "using everything we've learned to identify and solve problems unique to digital technologies."

The $1500 machine is compatible with DVD-A, DVD-V, CD, and CD-V discs. Introduced in December, the RDV-1080 has an advanced optical transport system, with a precision "airtight" disc tray to shield the disc from exterior vibration. "Segmented" power supplies isolate audio, video, digital, and analog sections from each other for minimum noise and maximum resolution. Signal processing for each channel is also isolated, according to Bartlett. Further refinements include 24-bit DACs that sample data streams at 192kHz, fully shielded reclocking circuitry said to "eliminate" jitter, and audiophile-grade components throughout, especially in the analog output sections, where capacitor choice is critical. The video section's main microprocessor is a "RISC" (reduced instruction set computer) IC capable of 100 million instructions per second (MIPS), controlling a 10-bit video D/A converter operating at 54MHz and other circuitry "to assure the best picture quality," according to Rotel. Progressive-scan output extracts the maximum possible from the DVD-V format. The RDV-1080 easily handles stereo PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, and MPEG audio, and is said to excel with standard "Red Book" CDs. A defeatable display, gold-plated output jacks, and 13-step zoom function add to the unit's performance.

Yamaha Electronics Corporation is another company with a desire to refine digital audio. The company has introduced its first "CD-R/RW+ Hard Disk Drive" digital audio recorder, the CDR-HD1000. The recorder has a built-in 20GB hard disk capacity (the equivalent of 30 normal CDs) for music editing and compilation tasks. A 10x CD to HDD speed allows for high-speed transfers; HDD to CD-R recording takes place at 8x normal speed, and HDD to CD-RW at 4x speed. The CDR-1000's recording technology is linear PCM, using 24-bit high performance A/D and D/A converters.

Like its professional-grade counterparts, the CDR-HD1000 allows separate control of analog and digital recording levels. An automatic sampling rate conversion feature accepts direct inputs of 96kHz, 44.1kHz, and 32kHz signals. Multiple inputs and outputs include analog-in RCA jacks, optical and coaxial digital inputs, and a headphone output with a volume control.

Yamaha's new entry in the digital recorder race is compliant with the Serial Copy Management System, and will carry a suggested retail price of $999 when it becomes available in July 2001.