Digital Processor Reviews

Sort By:  Post Date TitlePublish Date
Digital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Wavelength Cosecant v3 USB digital/analog converter
Art Dudley  |  Jun 23, 2009  | 
While my enthusiasm for the long-discontinued Sony PlayStation 1 remains high (see the July 2008 Stereophile), I freely acknowledge that not every high-end audio enthusiast wants a CD player with an injection-molded chassis, a Robot Commando handset, and a remarkable lack of long-term reliability: Yes, the Sony sounds wonderful, but sound isn't everything.
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Cambridge Audio Azur DacMagic D/A converter
Sam Tellig  |  May 29, 2009  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2009  | 
In 1989, Cambridge Audio, then run by Stan Curtis—who is still active in hi-fi— introduced their DAC 1. At about the same time, within a few weeks of each other, Arcam introduced their Delta Black Box and Musical Fidelity their Digilog. I forget who was first among the three. Arcam, I think. But the DAC race was on, led by the British. (There was even a DAC called the Dacula.) US companies got into the DAC race, too—at higher prices, of course.
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Bel Canto USB Link 24/96 USB-S/PDIF converter
John Atkinson  |  May 15, 2009  | 
The speed with which audiophiles have adopted a computer of some sort as their primary source of recorded music might be thought breathtaking. But with the ubiquitous Apple iPod painlessly persuading people to get used to the idea of storing their music libraries on computer hard drives, the next logical step was to access those libraries in listening rooms as well as on the move. A few months back, I wrote a basic guide to the various strategies for getting the best sound from a computer: "Music Served: Extracting Music from your PC." Since then, Minnesota manufacturer Bel Canto Design has released a product that aims to simplify matters even further.
Continue Reading »
CD Player/Transport ReviewsAudacious AudioDigital Processor Reviews
Meridian 808.2/808i.2 Signature Reference CD player/preamplifier
John Atkinson  |  Apr 13, 2009  | 
It's been a while since I auditioned a Meridian CD player in my system. I had enthusiastically reviewed the English company's groundbreaking Pro-MCD player in early 1986, and over the years had kept up with the progress they were making in digital playback, either through my own reviews or by performing the measurements to accompany reviews by other Stereophile writers. The 508-24 player, reviewed by Wes Phillips in May 1998, was one of the finest digital products of the 1990s, I thought. But when Meridian began promoting surround sound and DVD-Audio at the turn of the century, their goals became somewhat incompatible with my own. Yes, I can appreciate what surround playback can do, but my own musical life is still solidly rooted in Two-Channel Land.
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Parts Connection Assemblage DAC-1 D/A converter kit
Wes Phillips  |  Apr 02, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 02, 1995  | 
"Dinner's fried chicken, honey."
Continue Reading »
Solid State Preamp ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Benchmark DAC1 Pre USB D/A headphone amplifier
Sam Tellig  |  Dec 28, 2008  |  First Published: Oct 09, 2008  | 
Most of this column is dedicated to two hi-fi products for the masses—not from Lvov, via Vladimir Lamm, of Lamm Industries; or from Leningrad, via Victor Khomenko, of Balanced Audio Technologies; nor from any other Soviet-born audio hero. (Neither Vladimir nor Victor is on the list of "Name of Russia" contenders for greatest Russian of all time.) Nor from any consumer audio company, but from the world of professional audio. An Iron Curtain almost separates the two.
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsMedia Server Reviews
Wadia Digital 170iTransport digital iPod dock
Wes Phillips  |  Oct 09, 2008  | 
Last December, when Wadia Digital announced that it was releasing an iPod docking cradle that could access the digital signal before it had passed through the player's own D/A converter, many audiopundits were surprised. I was disbelieving, and nearly told Wadia's John Schaffer that he was shining me on. After all, Apple has tiptoed around the whole issue of consumers being able to digitally copy their iTunes files, going so far as to wrap its iTunes Music Store files in digital rights management (DRM) code.
Continue Reading »
Digital Processor ReviewsMedia Server Reviews
Linn Klimax DS network D/A processor
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 12, 2008  | 
Even the most savvy Stereophile reader might wonder what a "network music player" is. Linn rightly considers a music server to be a combination of 1) stored digital files, 2) music-management software, and 3) a device that uses #2 to transfer #1 to your hi-fi. What Linn's Klimax DS is is a high-quality digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that receives digital data through an Ethernet connection rather than optical or electrical S/PDIF or AES/EBU inputs.
Continue Reading »
Digital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Musical Fidelity X-DACV8 Digital/Analog Processor
Wes Phillips  |  Feb 21, 2008  | 
How do I get myself into these things? Knowing that I use a Musical Fidelity X-DACV3 D/A processor in my office system and had just auditioned the Bel Canto e.One DAC3 that he'd reviewed in November, John Atkinson asked me to give Musical Fidelity's X-DACV8 a try. I say "asked," but the man does authorize my paychecks, so I acceded, knowing I was painting a giant bull's-eye on my back.
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Benchmark DAC1 USB D/A processor & headphone amplifier
John Atkinson  |  Jan 18, 2008  | 
In his July 2003 "The Fifth Element" column, John Marks enthusiastically wrote about the Benchmark Media Systems DAC1 D/A processor and headphone amplifier. Comparing its sound playing CDs with that of a three-times-more-expensive Marantz SA-14 SACD player, he concluded that the DAC 1's "Red Book" performance was at least as good as that of the Marantz, being "slightly more articulate in the musical line, and slightly more detailed in spatial nuances, particularly the localization of individual images in space, and in soundstage depth."
Continue Reading »
Digital Processor ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
Bel Canto e.One DAC3 D/A processor
John Atkinson  |  Nov 15, 2007  | 
"You've got to hear it!"
Continue Reading »
CD Player/Transport ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Chord Choral Blu CD transport & Choral DAC64 digital audio converter
Wes Phillips  |  Aug 11, 2007  | 
I was stumbling through the Denver Convention Center at CEDIA 2006 when I spotted John Franks, of Chord Electronics, and Jay Rein, of Chord's US importer, Bluebird Music, stranded in the basement purgatory for "niche" products. I couldn't resist asking, "What sin relegated you guys to this little hell?"
Continue Reading »
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Entech Number Cruncher 203.2 & 205.2 D/A converters
Brian Damkroger  |  Aug 05, 2007  |  First Published: Dec 05, 1998  | 
"They're cuuuute!" Not a very professional reaction, but what can I say? When the Monster Cable folks pulled out their new Entech Number Crunchers during a recent visit to Santa Fe, I couldn't help myself. I was edging John Atkinson and Wes Phillips out of the way, using my long arms to reach over...gotta get one! There would be time later for the critical evaluation and cool, detached objectivity—first, I had to get one. The Entechs are the Beanie Babies of the audio world
Continue Reading »
Digital Processor ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Bryston B100-DA SST DAC/integrated amplifier
Larry Greenhill  |  Apr 22, 2007  | 
Over the years, I have used and enjoyed in my audio system large, single-purpose components. Each of these chassis has had but one role: preamplifier, amplifier, digital-to-audio converter (DAC), etc. I guess I've been just a little suspicious of products with multiple functions crammed into a single small chassis; I've figured that the designer may have cut a corner that could affect the sound.
Continue Reading »
CD Player/Transport ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
mbl 1611HR D/A converter & 1621 CD transport
Kalman Rubinson  |  Apr 01, 2007  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1999  | 
More than a decade ago, I bought a new pair of speakers and sought to find the most suitable cables for them. After auditioning a number of borrowed sets, I enlisted my daughter to confirm my selection. She grew up in a household where there was always good music playing on good equipment, but had no active interest in either. To placate Dad, she listened to a few of her own recordings with each of the various cables and then, lo and behold, reached the same conclusion I had. In fact, she described the differences almost exactly as I would have. I was ecstatic. Not only did it confirm my opinions about the cables, but it confirmed to me that any motivated listener can hear what golden-ear audiophiles obsess about. As I tried to express my joy to her, she left the room with this parting shot: "Yes, of course, but who cares?"
Continue Reading »

Pages

X