Development one, perhaps the most significant factor in the changing picture, is the ready availability of B-type Dolby devices (which are single-band Dolbys, acting only on hiss frequencies). Advent makes two that can be used with any tape machine, cassette or otherwise, while Fisher, Advent, and Harman-Kardon (as of this moment) are producing cassette recorders with built-in Dolby-B. No doubt there will be others by the time this gets in print.
We have…
So exclaimed my longtime pal and fellow audiophile Bruce Rowley when I revealed to him that T+A Elektroakustik's new DAC 8 DSD digital-to-analog converter ($3995) had arrived for review, just after I'd finished writing up the Ayre Acoustics Codex DAC–headphone amp ($1795). Bruce had recently compared his own brand-new Codex with a DAC he'd owned for a couple years, both costing about the same but built to very different designs. He was surprised that, after carefully matching levels and working to eliminate any other variables, they sounded more…
In all cases, T+A says it uses 56-bit data…
Description: D/A processor with four selectable oversampling algorithms for PCM playback (FIR kurz, FIR lang, Bézier, Bézier/IIR) and DSD Direct DSD Signal Path via T+A True 1-bit converter. Analog outputs: high level (RCA), 2.5V with 22 ohms output impedance; balanced (XLR), 5.0V with 44 ohms output impedance. Digital inputs: 4 S/PDIF coaxial, 1 optical TosLink, 1 AES/EBU, all handling 16/24-bit data at sample rates from 32kHz to 192kHz;1 USB (Device mode) USB Class 2 Mode; support for asynchronous data transfer; PCM Mode, 16/24/32-bit data with sample rates…
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.11.5, Roon v.1.2 Build 142, JRiver Media Center 19, iTunes 12, Amarra Computer Music Player, VLC, Reaper 5.20.100, XLD; Western Digital NAS device (2TB); Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player; Meridian Sooloos Control 15 & QNAP TS-669 Pro NAS; Apple iPad Air & iPhone 6; Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC DACs, Ayre Acoustics QB-9DSD & Codex digital processors; AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 in Pure Direct Mode.
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I measured the T+A DAC 8 DSD with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Sources were either digital signals fed via AES/EBU or TosLink from the SYS2722, or WAV and AIFF test-tone files played with Pure Music 3.0 on my MacBook Pro running on battery power and fed via USB. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the processor as the "DAC 8 DSD HD-AUDIO" from "T+A ELEKTROAKUSTIK," and confirmed that the T+A's USB input operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode. The AES/EBU and S/PDIF inputs accepted data sampled at up to…
We must admit at this juncture that we have a certain, somewhat irrational tendency to be…
Description: Two-speed, all-tube, solenoid-operated, two-channel open-reel tape recorder with built-in monophonic power amplifier and loudspeaker; three drive motors; DC hold-back braking; tape lifters; automatic safety shutoff. Speeds: 3¾ips and 7½ips, via dual-winding hysteresis-synchronous capstan motor. Wow & flutter: <0.1% at 7½ips; <0.15% at 3¾ips. Speed accuracy: Within ±0.3% of nominal. Reel capacity: Up to 1O½". Frequency response: 40Hz–18kHz, +2, –3dB at 7½ips; 40Hz–12kHz +2, –3dB at 3¾ips. S/N ratio (unweighted): 52dB at 7½ips; 50dB at 3¾ips.…
When I was José Cuervo young, I mocked belt-drive turntables, unipivot tonearms, and teetotalers. "You can't drink, dance, shoot up the bar, and play hot records wit no persnickety belt-drive or wobbly unipivot. You need a masculine, pro-fessional-quality direct-drive or rim-drive turntable with a sturdy a gimbal-bearing tonearm!"
It feels…