Description: CD player with variable (32 steps) and fixed analog outputs, six S/PDIF digital inputs (3 RCA coax, 75 ohm, 3 Toslink optical), digital output (Toslink optical only), and 2x upsampling D/A converter with claimed 24-bit maximum resolution and maximum sample rate of 192kHz. Disc compatibility: CD, CD-R Recordable CD (finalized and unfinalized). Maximum output level: 2.4V RMS (RCAs), 5.3V RMS, balanced (Quadlink). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0dB/–0.5dB. Total harmonic distortion: <0.002% at 1kHz. Signal/noise ratio: >110dB, 24-bit; >95dB…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xe universal player, Musical Fidelity X-RayV3 CD player, Polk XM Reference XM tuner.
Preamplifier: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista.
Power Amplifier: Conrad-Johnson Premier 350.
Loudspeakers: Penaudio Serenade.
Cables: Interconnect: Shunyata Research Aries & Antares. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra. AC: Audience Power Chords, Shunyata Research Anaconda & Orion.
Accessories: Audience adeptResponse, Shunyata Research Hydra AC conditioners; OSAR Selway/Magruder equipment racks; Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Quad 99 CDP-2 using its unbalanced RCA jacks only. The Quad's maximum output from both variable and fixed outputs was 1.5dB higher than the CD standard's 2V RMS, at 2.37V. The volume control operated in accurate 1dB steps from its maximum of "32" to "23," in 2dB steps from "22" to "17," in 3dB steps from "16" to "9," in a 4dB "step" from "9" to "8" (the default level, –51dB, when the player is turned on), and in 5dB steps down to "1," with "0" being full mute. The Quad preserved absolute polarity—ie, was noninverting—and the output impedance was a…
"Suicide junctions," I calls 'em. The ones with which I'm most familiar are on I-278, just north of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn, New York, and along North Mopac in Austin, Texas, but they must exist all over the US. Traffic about to enter the freeway must first cross the line of faster-traveling offcoming cars, the intersection's on- and off-ramps crossing in a shallow X.
Using a suicide junction can be an alarming subjective experience. However, given the huge financial investment made as the result of road planners' decisions and the possibly horrendously expensive…
Convergence. There, I've said it. I swore I wasn't going to use the "C" word, but when you're faced with writing about a product that smashes the boundaries between component categories as completely as the CardDeluxe does, you have little choice.
"But it's only a PC soundcard," I hear you groan. "What's the big deal?"
The big deal is that while soundcards—since the very first SoundBlaster—have aimed low with respect to sound quality, and have often failed to reach even that standard, the CardDeluxe (and some other new cards I intend to write about at a later date) represents a…
Sound
I mainly used the CardDeluxe to output 88.2kHz- and 96kHz-sampled digital audio data to the Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A processor during my regular review auditioning (which is why you see so many speakers listed under "Associated Equipment"). The DAL performed sterling service in this role, though I found that reclocking the datastream with a dCS 972 maximized sound quality. And it was kind of cute to hear the mighty Levinson gear reproducing all the various Windows sounds. The Win98 opening noise was envelopingly trippy, suggesting that they're not all pocket-protected nerds up in…
I mainly used the CardDeluxe to output 88.2kHz- and 96kHz-sampled digital audio data to the Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A processor during my regular review auditioning (which is why you see so many speakers listed under "Associated Equipment"). The DAL performed sterling service in this role, though I found that reclocking the datastream with a dCS 972 maximized sound quality. And it was kind of cute to hear the mighty Levinson gear reproducing all the various Windows sounds. The Win98 opening noise was envelopingly trippy, suggesting that they're not all pocket-protected nerds up in…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: PC soundcard with PCI-bus computer interface, one pair of balanced inputs, one pair of balanced analog outputs, digital (S/PDIF) input and output, 64Fs delta-sigma D/A converters, 128Fs delta-sigma A/D converters. Sample rates supported: 22, 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz. A/D and D/A resolution: 24 bits maximum. Nominal analog input and output level: +4dBu, internally switchable to -10dBu. Nominal headroom: 15dB ref. +4dBu.
A/D specifications: Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, ±0.05dB. Channel separation: 110dB at 1kHz. Dynamic range: 110dB ref. 4dBu.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Computer: Pentium MMX 166MHz with 39GB of hard drive, running Windows 98, WinAmp 2.5, and CoolEdit 2000. Comparison soundcards included an ancient Soundblaster 16 and a 24/96 Digi96/8 Pro from German company RME.
Digital source: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport and No.30.6 D/A processor, connected with Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU datalink; dCS 972 upsampler, Panasonic A-120 and California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD players, Meridian 500 CD transport, Musical Fidelity X-24K 24/96 D/A processor.
Preamplification: Mark Levinson No.380S, Z-Systems rdp-1 (…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I looked first at the DAL CardDeluxe's A/D converters. The analog input impedance was 10.8k ohms across the audioband, dropping very slightly at 20kHz. With the card's jumpers set to the higher of the two output levels (this is how I did all my auditioning), the analog input clipped at 7V RMS in, equivalent to 7.06V out, and 16.9dB above a nominal 1V output level. Fig.1 shows the complete A/D/A frequency response at three sample rates: 32kHz, 48kHz, and 96kHz. The audioband response is flat, but at the highest sample rate the top-octave output droops a little at…
Fig.4 shows a 1/3-octave spectral analysis of the CardDeluxe's analog output while it decoded 16- and 24-bit WAV files representing a dithered 1kHz tone at -90dBFS. The increase in word length drops the noise floor by around 15dB, which implies excellent dynamic range—one of the better-performing DACs I have measured. There is a narrow 60Hz peak in the left channel's 16-bit trace, but as this is not present in the 24-bit trace, I assume this is atypical. Repeating the test with 16- and 24-bit "digital black" data revealed the presence of ultrasonic noise from the sigma-delta DAC's…