Quantization Noise Killed The Cat, an odd name for a DAC but this is no ordinary converter. Made in Norway for both the music lover and the hands on audio enthusiast the AB-1.2 is an asynchronous USB DAC in a compact box with a micro USB connector, RCA phono outputs and a light on the […]
Without a clock signal generated somewhere in your CD player, streaming device, D/A converter or digital video player you would not be able to get any sound or picture out of the box. Most clocks are very simple devices that generate a waveform from a quartz oscillator with some simple parts to get the clock […]
The original Metrum Octave was a rather special DAC. It came in two boxes, had minimal features and sounded remarkable, in fact truly superb and competed with products at twice its £729 Price. It had only one shortcoming and that was the absence of a USB input, largely because it was developed before this input […]
In a world changing from CD to download as the primary music source a digital to analogue converter is as easy to buy as a CD player (probably easier, Ed.). In any price range you can think of from less than £50 up to astronomical figures. At the same time a lot of integrated amplifiers […]
In this second part of my review of Ethernet cables (see part 1 here), I am continuing my research into differences between various types of AudioQuest Ethernet cable. This time the most expensive ones are compared to the best of the cheaper types assessed earlier. For this second test I have changed the set-up of […]
Every once and a while someone is kind enough to loan me a McIntosh product, this time it was the Dutch distributor New Transtec that brought a D100 digital preamplifier to play with. I have been in love with McIntosh since the 70’s although I’ve never bought a single piece because it might finish my […]
I have been called a fool many times. In the seventies, when I was among the first to write about differences in speaker cables, and later when I discovered the same kind of sound changes with interconnects. In the nineties power cables became an issue. Now that streaming audio has usurped my CDs the time […]
Although there is a less is more ethos across the high end world few companies imbue their products with the degree of design purity that Primare does. This one suspects is down to their Scandinavian roots, that part of the world is well known for its clean, pared down design, frippery is not in their […]
There are moments when I don’t quite understand the marketing inclinations of Naim Audio, in particular moments when they promote product combinations that deserve to be treated separately. Take the DAC-V1 digital-to-analogue converter under consideration here and the NAP 100 power amplifier that I have been using for a couple of months. Look up most […]
Could it be that one reason Canary Audio makes a big deal out of its 100% American manufacturing is that it has a name that sounds slightly oriental? Or am I over analysing things a little. Canary is most definitely a North American company, after all it builds a range of tube components from the […]
For as long as I can remember D/A-converters have intrigued me and as a result these little boxes prey on my wallet from time to time. I have owned quite a few, ranging from Audio Alchemy, TEAC and Apogee to PS Audio and I still possess one of the first Sony’s (a 1985 example). I […]
A&R Cambridge or Arcam as it's known these days is well established in the field of hi-fi proper, but it could be said that the rPAC represents a departure from their usual products. It's true that they've made DACs before, but not combined with headphone amplifiers, not USB powered portables and not this reasonably priced. […]