On the other hand, if you're already moving toward server-based digital playback, you…
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Don't have $80,000 to drop on dCS's four-component Scarlatti SACD stack that I reviewed in August 2009, or $17,999 for their Puccini SACD/CD player that John Atkinson raved about in December 2009? Even if you do, the new Debussy D/A processor ($10,999) might be a better fit for your 21st-century audio system. Sure, you don't get an SACD transport—or any kind of disc play, for that matter—but the odds today are that you already have a player you like that's got an S/PDIF output that can feed the Debussy.
Mastering and recording engineer Barry Diament sent me 24-bit/96kHz WAV files of Equinox, the latest purist recording on his Soundkeeper Recordings label. This recording is available in multiple formats and resolutions (see www.soundkeeperrecordings.com) and features percussionist Markus Schwartz and three Haitian musicians on trumpet, electric guitar, and acoustic bass, among other instruments recorded live. I can't imagine the spacious three-dimensionality of this recording surviving a CD transfer intact. The hi-rez files of this tuneful, percussive music produced an enormous, airy space…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Multi-input D/A processor with digital volume control and upsampling of CD data to proprietary Ring-DAC format. Digital inputs: 2 S/PDIF, (1 RCA, 1 BNC), 2 AES/EBU, USB. Word clock in on 75-ohm BNC jack. Analog outputs: balanced (XLR), unbalanced (RCA). Maximum output level: 2V or 6V (selectable). Output impedance: 3 ohms balanced, 52 ohms unbalanced. Frequency responses (Sharp filter): 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB (Fs: 44.1 or 48kHz); 10Hz–20kHz, ±0.1dB, –3dB at >38kHz (Fs: 88.2 or 96kHz). Channel separation: >80dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Noise: below–110dB, 20Hz…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon turntable, tonearm, stand; Graham Phantom II tonearm; Miyajima Premium BE mono, Ortofon MC-A90, Lyra Titan i, cartridges.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics DX-5 universal player, Playback Designs MPS-5 SACD/CD player, Audio Alchemy DDSPro CD transport, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Benchmark ADC1 A/D converter, Sooloos music server, Pure Music software.
Preamplifier: darTZeel NHB-18NS.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Titan.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I mostly used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to perform the measurements on the dCS Debussy (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. To test the Debussy's performance via its USB input, I used my MacBook running OS10.6 and Bias Peak Pro 6 to play WAV files of the various test signals I use. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the Debussy as being a "dCS Debussy\000\000\000\000\…
There's home cooking on one side of the hedge and fast food on the other, and the world moves farther from the former and nearer to the latter with each passing day. So it goes in domestic audio, where virtually every new milestone of the past quarter-century has pointed far more toward convenience than toward quality.
Depressed? Don't be. Those of us in the perfectionist community have a history of dealing with such things, howsoever slowly and inefficiently. (footnote 1). We're getting better at it, too, year by year. An example: Chord Electronics, of sunny southern England, has now…
As I listened to portions of Aaron Copland's Symphony 3, ripped from the CD collection Leonard Bernstein: A Total Embrace—The Conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1966; Sony Classical/Legacy S3K 90578), the Chordette Gem distinguished itself as a musically competent DAC, albeit with less sonic refinement than the best. Clarity and detail resolution were just acceptable, although melodies were unraveled with very good musical flow and momentum. The big orchestral bass drum had fine weight, and the whole band came across with a good sense of scale. On the minus side, when listening to the same…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single-box digital-to-analog converter. Digital inputs: Bluetooth wireless, USB, switch-selectable. APT-X-compatible. Sampling rates: 44kHz–96kHz (sample rate determined by connection). Analog output jacks: RCA. Maximum output voltage: 2V. Output impedance: 75 ohms. Channel separation: 100dB at 1kHz. Dynamic range: 112dB. Harmonic distortion: below 100dB, 1kHz at 24-bits/44.1kHz.
Dimensions: 6.25" (160mm) W by 2.75" (70mm) H by 1.6" (40mm) D. Weight: 0.9 lbs (0.4kg).
Finish: Silver, black, purple, blue.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; EMT 997, Thomas Schick tonearms; Shindo SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65, Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridges.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics QB-9, Wavelength Cosecant, HRT Music Streamer II & II+, Peachtree iDecco (digital input to line output only) USB D/A converters; Stello U2 USB transceiver; iMac G5 (with Apple iTunes) computer; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player; Creative Music BT-D5 APT-X Bluetooth dongle.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer; Shindo Masseto, Shindo…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I carried out the testing of Chord's Chordette Gem mostly with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. To test the Gem in USB mode, I used my MacBook running Snow Leopard (OS 10.6) and Bias Peak Pro 6 to play WAV and AIFF test-signal files.
The testing of the Gem in Bluetooth mode was tricky, because of the mode's use of a lossy codec (COder-…