There are, of course, any number of little boxes that can extract audio from the HDMI video bitstream; they began to appear on the market to fill a need for a way to route audio from a player's HDMI output In the recent past, you could buy a good-quality—even audiophile-grade—universal player and listen to SACDs via its good-sounding analog outputs. But good-sounding universal players are becoming scarce. People still want to play their discs, though, now and into the future, even after their current player…
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This unique device is a solution to a problem that previously couldn't be solved.
Sidebar 1: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: When I started my quest to extract DSD64 and 24/192 PCM from discs to an external DAC, I knew legality was paramount. USB and AES/EBU outputs would have stripped the HDCP encoding, so I went with S/PDIF Coax/Toslink and a manufacturer well-versed in HDMI and HDCP devices. End result: the DSD and PCM at the Coax/Toslink outputs are fully HDCP copy-protected, adhere to the DTCP standards and are not in violation of the SACD and Blu-ray Audio regulations. An indication of industry acceptance: SACD label Channel Classics has welcomed the D.BOB to the…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Digital breakout box for extracting stereo PCM and DSD audio from HDMI sources. Digital outputs: 2 S/PDIF (1 TosLink, 1 RCA), 1 HDMI. Digital inputs: HDMI, miniUSB (for firmware updates). Supported sample rates: up to 192kHz PCM with bit depths 16–24, DSD64. HDMI compliance: HDMI 1.4b. HDCP compliance: HDCP 1.4. Video resolution: Up to 4K60Hz YCbCr 4:2:0. Video bandwidth: 10.2Gbps. Power consumption: 0.84W. Supplied accessories: 12V/1A DC power supply, international power cable adapters, 120–240V AC 50–60Hz AC cord, user manual.
Dimensions: 8.5…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal disc player, Baetis Prodigy-X PC-based music server running JRiver Media Center v25 and Roon, Mytek Brooklyn D/A processor. QNAP TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifiers: Audio Research MP1, Parasound P7.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, Hegel C-53, Classé Sigma Mono.
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima2 Studio.
Cables: Digital cables: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Analog interconnects: AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced, Kubala-Sosna Anticipation (RCA). Speaker cables: Benchmark Studio&Stage (NL2 to banana), Canare…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
The first test I performed of the GeerFab D.BOB was to examine if its output was bit-perfect—ie, if the bits it outputs via S/PDIF are the same as those sent to it via HDMI. Using my Audio Precision SYS2722, I created a 24-bit S/PDIF signal representing a 1kHz tone at –120dBFS, with triangular dither applied at the LSB level. Fig.1 shows the spectrum of this signal, analyzed in the digital domain (no conversion to analog) by looping the Audio Precision's S/PDIF output to its S/PDIF input. The FFT bins lie at the –180dBFS level, and the noise floor is the spectrum…
When I was growing up, calling Dad to dinner required a trip down carpeted stairs to the basement, an audiophile man cave in a time before the term had been invented. I'd open the door from the kitchen, and a great wall of sound would emerge—and nearly blow me back before I descended the stairs.
Next, I'd gauge how best to make contact, which depended upon his degree of musical immersion. I hated to jolt him out of the experience. Most times he'd be relaxed, eyes closed, head gently nodding or fingers or a foot tapping to the beat. Or he might be reading LP liner notes. Once in a while,…
I hope you can tell how grateful I am to be writing a column every month. A column makes me feel like a reporter or raconteur, both of which I aspire to become. In a column, I can be more me. I can evolve, think out loud, and speculate, right in front of you. I can pass on crazy stories from a lifetime of audio. When I write about products in a Dream, I try not to form it as a review, per se, but rather as an informal chronicle of discovery.
This month's chronicle is about a unique product I've been anxious to explore since I encountered it at last year's Capital Audiofest: Linear Tube…
Bass was leaner than some might prefer, but taut and richly toned, with sparkles-in-the-blackness detail. The engaging way this system put lifelike sound energy into my room kept me up late, night after night.
With the Stax SR-009S
Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov plays Debussy: Préludes du 2e Livre, La Mer (24/96 FLAC Harmonia Mundi/Qobuz) on his own Sébastien êrard piano, built in 1885, and it is like no Debussy I have heard. When I play this recording for my friends, they get uncomfortable because the tones emitted, especially from the piano's lower registers, are colorful and…
Manufacturer's Comment
Many thanks to the venerable Herb Reichert for his thoughtful column on our Z10e electrostatic headphone amp / integrated amp. We know it takes a lot of time to dive into such a versatile product, and we appreciate the effort Herb put in to so thoroughly explore the Z10e's capabilities.
Herb mentions that the dynamic headphone output fell a bit short of expectations with the hard-to-drive HiFiMan Susvara, and laments, "Why can't Linear Tube Audio give the headphone output the same power and gain it gives the speaker output?"
Since sending Herb this…
Editor's note: On May 5 around 2:40pm, JD Events sent a letter to 2020 AXPONA exhibitors and sponsors outlining a plan to apply 100% of 2020 exhibitor payments to future shows, with 50% credited to the 2021 show and 25% to each of the two subsequent shows.
See below for the original story published 30 April.—Jim Austin
At 11am EDT on April 30, JD Events, the company that produces AXPONA announced its cancellation of the 2020 AXPONA in separate letters to exhibitors and sponsors, ticket holders, and the audiophile community. The show had previously been postponed from April…