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Streamer & USB regenerator & DAC

Ideon Audio
ABSOLUTE SUITE
STREAM & TIME & DAC

Manufacturer: IDEON AUDIO
Price (in Poland): STREAM – 73 900 PLN
TIME – 31 900 PLN | DAC – 134 900 PLN


Contact: Parren 6, Neo Phychiko
11525 Athens | GREECE


ideonaudio.com

MADE IN EU

Provided for test by: AUDIO ATELIER


Review

Text: WOJCIECH PACUŁA
Images: Bartosz Łuczak/Piksel Studio | Wojciech Pacuła

No 199

December 1, 2020

IDEON AUDIO is an Athens based company founded by four friends. Its "face" is the chief designer, Mr. VASILIS TOUNAS. Together with him, the core of the company consists of: GEORGE LIGERAKIS (operational director), GREG MITSACOPOULOS (marketing director) and ANGELOS GALLIS (sales director). Ideon Audio specializes in devices related to the reproduction of digital audio signals.

DEON AUDIO'S IDEA to improve the sound quality of a signal from a file player, streamer or computer was as simple as it was brilliant: the quality of USB transmission had to be improved. It should be quite simple, as the USB protocol is one of the worst ways of transmitting an audio signal, so one could target it directly. Designed for transferring files where timing accuracy is not a priority, it introduces high jitter distortion.

Another problem is that D/A converters do not "understand" the USB signal, which is clocked completely differently than audio signals. In order to be able to convert such a signal into an analog signal, it must first be converted into a standard connection used inside CD, DVD, SACD and BD players, i.e. IIS (I2S). And this is yet another operation performed on a signal that each company carries out in its own way.

The problem was quickly recognized and one of the first solutions was to transfer the USB signal not synchronously but asynchronously. The transfer method called ISOCHRONOUS TRANSFER, in audio called ASYNCHRONOUS MODE USB, was promoted by a small American company WAVELENGTH AUDIO, and today it is a standard in the audio industry. The point of this transmission method is that the audio signal on the DAC side is not clocked synchronously with the clock of the USB signal, but asynchronously.

Another way to minimize USB distortion is to separate the power wires from the data ones. In this type of cable there are two wire bundles - one transmits DC 5 V, and the other data (files). Their separation can be ensured by appropriate cable geometry, shielding and insulators, or the two bundles can be routed separately. In the most extreme solutions, there are two cables connected only from the transmitter side, and the power cable is connected to a battery voltage source. Such cables are offered, among others, by the Japanese company ACOUSTIC REVIVE in the USB-1.0PL model (see also - ELIJAH AUDIO).

Finally, there is a radical method - the signal from the file transport is not sent via a USB cable, but in the form of I2S via another link. For example, AURALiC uses HDMI cables for this purpose. As always, you have to balance the pros and cons - in the transport, at the output of the module decoding files into an audio signal we still get an USB signal. So you have to decide whether it is better to replace it with I2S "understandable" for a digital-to-analog converter immediately in transport, or only in the DAC.

The Ideon Audio found its own way.

| A few simple words…

GEORGE LIGERAKIS
Founder, designer

WOJCIECH PACUŁA Could you tell us a bit about your company.
GEORGE LIGERAKIS We are a company made up of enthusiasts and engineers dedicated in making digital sound as natural as the real thing and accessible to all. We define our goal as "to make digital music files sound as good as they can and to make our products financially accessible".

⸤ ABSOLUTE system consists of three devices with the USB regenerator – here on top

I am a digital expert in various sectors of the software industry, an Internet pioneer and a Microsoft veteran. I come from the technology industry and have served for more than 25 years in top management positions. Since my early years – not only the professional ones - my life was full of music, practically it's like a second skin.  I grew up in a house with two pianos and a lot of music played in this magnificent instrument. My mother was a piano virtuoso and I was exposed in many great listening experiences, so I guess it was natural.

With live concerts and further listening, this was greatly expanded. Still today I use many different piano performances to evaluate and tune our products. When I was able to afford it, I started building audio systems for myself. That was also a natural evolution. Over the years, I have changed a lot of audio systems, as most audio enthusiasts do.  But always music is the priority. 

We started the company early 2016. I was not so happy with the sound of the ultra-high-end DACs basically because of their price/performance ratio, and as I was in search of such a device for my system, I decided that maybe we should try our luck building one for us.

There is a brilliant designer/engineer with whom I partnered in this endeavor. He is Vassilis Tounas, Ideon's Chief Engineer & VP of Design. An award-winning pioneer in circuit design, Vassilis is extraordinarily creative; he put together his first project — a FM transmitter — aged 14, and his own automation chip a few years later. We came up with a killer product, it was so good we decided to start-up a Company for that. We named it Ayazi DAC. (see the review of the Mk 2 version HERE - ed.).

The name of the Company comes from Ideon Adnron, a cave where according to Greek mythology, god Zeus was raised. It's in the top of the magnificent mountain of Psiloritis in the Island of Crete. It's a place with intense energy, you can feel it in the first 5 minutes being there. This energy and the dynamics of such a natural and authoritative environment is an inspiration for us and I think these qualities are built-in in our products.

WP What is so special about your products?
GL Everything is designed in-house; we only use proprietary designs. We do not use any third-party boards or white label technologies that many manufacturers do. It's interesting to check our products inside. You will understand what I am talking about.

We design absolutely without any compromise on the components we select and use. The cost-no-object phrase is a reality for us. Even in our entry-level devices we follow this approach for the components that matter most to the sound quality. We are also obsessed with excellent, ultra-low-noise, linear power supplies. And I believe we have the best in the Market that power our devices. Our flagship DAC, the Absolute has 17 local power supplies of this quality.

⸤ The power supply section occupies most of the inside of the ABSOLUTE DAC

Precise timing, phase, and clarity: we have designed proprietary ultra-low jitter femto re-clocking platforms which are also modular for future upgrades. We use active bridging technology. Proprietary, zero-noise rectification bridge, eliminates diode-rectification noise. Available now to our Absolute Suite of products.

WP So in such system does one need a USB signal regenerator - what is wrong with USB signal?
GL What we have discovered over the years that, when listening to the same musical program played through different computers, there were notable differences in the sonic result. In theory this should not have been happening, since asynchronous data transfer cannot be affected by jitter, right?

Wrong! Because, USB ports are very prone to noise problems during the transmission of audio signals, the reason being that this type of transmission is actually isochronous. This means that data is transferred in real time as sound (flow) streaming. So, we came up with the solution to this, with our re-clockers. From the entry-level 3R USB Black Star, to the Master Time and the ultimate Absolute Time.

WP 3R in the name - what does it mean?
GL The USB output coming from our re-clockers, which is the one to connect to our DAC, consists of a state-of-the-art USB controller with extremely low noise and signal re-clocking using ultra low jitter oscillators.

Its communication with the computer is done through asynchronous buffers, which achieve a high level of isolation. And this, is the first innovation coming from 3R. The second innovation is the USB drive, which is done through a special IC re-drive that eliminates the USB signal transfer losses, solving this way the interconnection problems created by cables and plugs. Moreover, the 3R replaces the USB power supply with a clean, low noise independent power source, achieving, here again, total isolation from the computer's noisy power supply.

WP Why did you develop it?
GL Generally, it is believed that transmitting the digital audio signal is a process without problems. This is an illusion! Many music lovers, think that the digital audio signal is technically perfect, as happens with data being transferred between computers or hard drives and printers ... (bulk or interrupt transfer). However, in computer data transmission, when a data error occurs, there is a repetition of the transmission until the data transfer is flawlessly completed.

This is not the case when referring to digital audio signal transmission. Here, things are completely different. In this case, we have digital audio streaming (isochronous transfer) without any data detection algorithm. Additionally, the digital audio streaming is prone to timing jitters. Therefore, any errors or loss in signal transmission is not corrected and any data losses (due to long or bad quality USB cables, or poor power supply, or other clocking issues like high jitter on pc transports), are permanently lost.

Those losses are finally "audible" and are practically responsible for an inferior sound performance with less musicality, less dynamics, less detail, bigger compression, worse control and separation of instruments, etc.

WP So is the USB a viable way of digital audio signal transmission anyway?
GL Yes, (refer to previous answer) ONLY if you clean, re-clock and re-generate the signal with highest precision and ultra-low noise power supplying.  If you implement those steps and eliminate noise from the USP port and also eliminate Jitter you can have amazing results. But you have to go all the way. Our customers using not only the whole Absolute Suite but even only the Absolute Time re-clocking device with their existing system, they say it's like listening to a very very expensive turntable but without the surface noise, with much more detail and without losing musicality or emotion. And this is exactly what happens, they describe it perfectly.

WP What do you think about playing local vs streamed files (for example from Tidal)?
GL Since we have solved the problem with digital audio reproduction, we don't really care what is the file playing. Streaming services now offer high definition files, and this will continue to evolve into the future.

Well, the Internet has some limitations of bandwidth and transmitting huge DXD or DSD files from the cloud may have some problems. This makes the use of a good re-clocking device more important. And off course it all depends on the original file and how it was recorded and converted to digital. As a general rule local playing is easier to configure and improve in sound quality but I believe streaming files will definitely improve a lot into the future,, plus that you can use it on demand without necessarily having to build your own music library or make additions.

| Ideon Audio ABSOLUTE SUITE

THE SYSTEM OF Absolute Suite consists of

→ renderer/streamer ABSOLUTE STREAM,
→ USB signal regenerator ABSOLUTE TIME,
→ D/A Converter ABSOLUTE DAC.

As we already know from the test from two months ago, Ideon Audio uses an external device to reduce jitter in the USB connection, which re-clocks and "conditions" the signal (HF | № 196). This solution is seemingly simple, because the first PCM signal upsamplers served the same purpose - it was to minimize jitter. And yet it is a brilliant solution in this simplicity because it is very rare and universal.

The ABSOLUTE series includes not only a signal regenerator and DAC, but also a file transport or streamer. They form a complete source, an audio files player, in which the reference clock is located in the signal path, not outside, as in dCS or AURALiC players. Here, the transport and DAC oscillators are clocked separately, and the Absolute Time does not affect them - it only stabilizes the USB signal.

ABSOLUTE STREAM THE BEGINNING OF THE SIGNAL PATH is the Absolute Stream file transport. It received an extremely solid, heavy, milled aluminum housing, which can also be found in other components of this series. This component, weighing 15 kg, takes up to 15 hours of work. As we read in the press materials, the CPU core has been optimized for audio signal processing and uses Roon (bridge) software for files management.

The device decodes DSD (DSF, DFF) and PCM (FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC) files. It can decode virtually any type of signal: PCM up to 32 bits and 384 kHz and DSD from 2.8 MHz (DSD64) to 22.4 MHz (DSD512). It also supports all streaming services.

Files can be sent to it via LAN connection from NAS disks, or one can connect a USB flash drive or an external SSD/HDD to it. The devices feature a USB output. There are two of them actually, a classic one, including a 5V DC power supply, and the other one without power supply. The output is controlled by a circuit that re-clocks the signal, making Absolute Time’s work easier, and if it is not included in the system, it improves the quality of the transmission to any DAC. Everything is controlled by a precise femto clock.

Much attention has been paid to a power supply. The Absolute Stream uses a classic linear power supply with a custom-made, high-power toroidal transformer and many low ESR (internal impedance) capacitors. The power supply also features a special rectifier, which - as we read on the manufacturer's website - eliminates the noise of switching the diodes "to zero". There is also a "special circuit bypassing filtration", which improves the current efficiency of the power supply during sudden, momentary power consumption peaks (transients) by the CPU. As it reads, it results in "a spectacular improvement in the sound".

ABSOLUTE TIME FROM FILES TRANSPORT (or a computer) signal is sent via the USB port. It goes to the Absolute Time USB signal regenerator. The 3R Master Time Blackstar Edition, which we wrote about last time, worked only with the USB signal. The model from the Absolute series, not only is it much better made, but also allows you to regenerate the S/PDIF signal - apart from the USB ports there is also an RCA input and output. Moreover, the system can also be used as a 12.8 MHz clock for external digital signal sources.

The basis of this project is a proprietary circuit called 3R - with separate boards for USB and S/PDIF signal paths. Same as in the transport, the power supply is also exceptionally elaborate. It is a linear circuit with three voltage stabilization stages and many filtering capacitors. The device features a modular design, so in the future it will be possible to replace the circuits regulating the USB and S/PDIF signals for even more advanced ones.

ABSOLUTE DAC The ABSOLUTE DAC IS Ideon Audio's MOST EXPENSIVE DAC. It is equipped with the same housing as the transport and regenerator from the Absolute series, but it is the heaviest of them - that’s a 22 kg aluminum, milled block and it takes 17 hours to make it. The device offers three digital inputs, RCA, BNC and USB, and supports PCM digital signal up to 32 bits and 384 kHz (USB) and DSD up to DSD512.

There is a large knob on the front panel that also serves as a button. One can adjust the signal level on the analog outputs (RCA and XLR), or navigate through the menu with it. And the latter is quite extensive. The manufacturer gave us access to the settings offered by the ESS ES9038Pro chip used here, as well as those offered by Ideon Audio solutions.

So we can choose the type of digital filter (there are seven of them, including apodizing, my favorite), IIR filter frequency (47.44 | 50 | 60 and 70 kHz), one can enable dithering, anti-jitter circuit (so it would be the third layer eliminating this distortion - the first one is at the output of the Stream transport, and the second one is in the Time regenerator), activate de-emphasis, and also turn on one of the oversampling filters (seven to choose from) or turn them off. Selected settings, the level of the output signal, and the type of the input signal can be read on a large display.

It is one of the most functional D/A converters on the market, although it is not obvious at first glance. Its circuit is powered by the most advanced power supply in the Absolute series. The base are two large toroidal transformers and multi-stage voltage filtering (17), which use a large bank (80) of Elna Silmic II capacitors (with silk facings) and polypropylene Wima capacitors. The in-house developed Absolute Dac’s output stage is balanced, features four analogue output channels and no capacitors in the signal’s path. The propriety solution is called "Quad Analog Output".

SYSTEM The ABSOLUTE SUITE SYSTEM by Ideon Audio is one of the best-built audio sources I know. It is versatile, features a modular design, it includes many proprietary solutions, based on technologies used in the best industrial systems, but adapted and thought out in terms of audio applications.

Like any computer-based system, this one has its own quirks. The manual indicates that its operation is very simple. Indeed, it is simple, but only if everything works as it should. And here, from time to time, the control program, available via a browser (you can also use your own players), did not always "see" the transport. The transport itself did not always turn on, sometimes I had to turn it on several times before it actually started. Finally, I did not manage to "force" it to play DSD512 files from a USB flash drive, and with DSD256 files being played the DAC’s display showed "PCM 384" format.

These are classic problems for this type of product, and Ideon Audio is no exception. And it is precisely the trouble-free operation of such systems that is the most expensive element of the construction, on which companies spend millions of dollars, euros and yen. I wonder if we will ever get to the point where the user starts the application and everything will configure itself, and then it will work stably?

| SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED IDEON AUDIO DEVICES were tested as a system, i.e. a complete signal source for audio files. The components were placed on the Finite Elemente Master Reference Pagode Edition rack - the transport on the top shelf, and the USB regenerator and DAC on the middle one, one on the top of the other. The transport was powered by the Acrolink 8N-PC8100 PERFORMANTE NERO EDITION cable, and the regenerator and DAC with Acoustic Revive ABSOLUTE POWER CORDs.

To connect the transport, regenerator and DAC I used USB cables from WestminsterLab. These are some of the best USB cables on the market and Angus Leung, one of its founders, knows more about this type of transmission than I and everyone I know.

The audio path - we're talking only about the source of the signal - looked like this:

Audio files transport Ideon Audio ABSOLUTE STREAM

USB cable WestminsterLab DIGITAL ULTRA USB

USB signal regenerator Ideon Audio ABSOLUTE TIME

USB cable WestminsterLab DIGITAL STANDARD USB

D/A Converter Ideon Audio ABSOLUTE DAC

The manufacturer suggests using balanced analog cables. He adds, however, that the four output channels are connected so that the RCA output also gets everything that this DAC offers. As in my system, RCA connections sound best, so I did so with the Crystal Cable Ultimate Dream interconnect this time. For comparison, I used the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player and the Ayon Audio S-10 II file player.

Recordings used for the test | a selection

⸤ BECK, Sea Change, Geffin Records/Mobile Fidelity, UDCD 780, „Special Limited Edition | No. 01837”, Gold-CD & DSD64 (2002/2009)
⸤ DIANA KRALL, Wallflower, Verve/Universal Music LLC UCCV-9577, „DELUXE EDITION”, SHM-CD + DVD (2015);
⸤ DIETER ILG, Bass, Sommelier Du Son ‎sds 0013-1, Master Flash DSD256 (2008)
⸤ ELLA FITZGERALD & LOUIS ARMSTRONG, Ella and Louis, Verve/HDTracks, WAV 24/96 (1956/2010)
⸤ ELLA FITZGERALD & LOUIS ARMSTRONG, Ella and Louis, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM UHD 045, UltraHD CD (1956/2010)
⸤ HERB ELLIS/JOE PASS, Seven, Come Eleven, Concord Records SACD-1015-6, SACD/CD & DSD64 rip (1974/2003)
⸤ JOHN COLTRANE, Blue Train, Blue Note/Classic Records HDAD 2010, rip z DVD-A 24/192 (1957/2000)
⸤ JOHN COLTRANE, Blue Train, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90123, SACD/CD (1957/2015) w: 6 Great Jazz, „MasterSound Works”, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90122/7, 6 x SACD/CD
⸤ NAKANO MAYO PIANO TRIO, Sentimental Reasons, Briphonic BRPN-7006, Direct Gold CD-R & WAV 24/192 & DSD64 (2017)
⸤ RAFAEL FRAGA, Trova Caminhada, TRPTK TTK0014, Master Flash, DXD Studio Master (2017);

I HAVE to admit to this, I treat file players a bit like toys. I can see them as well-developed, expensive, often very expensive, complex mp3 players with which, a dozen or so years ago, young people used to run down the street, repeating what their fathers did several decades earlier, wearing a Sony Walkman on their belt. I know, of course, that it is not the same, that I am exaggerating and that hi-res 24/96 or DSD64 files are often a good reflection of what a publisher receives after mastering. But still…

How much easier it would be for me to go with the flow and admire the new possibilities that playing files in their native form, how easy it would be to join the praises of new technologies! Anyway, it would be logical - because why should a compressed, reduced file that is saved in the form of a PCM signal on a CD be better than the WAV 24/192 file from which it was created? Why would a DSD file sent directly from an online store, or even from a publisher's website, be worse than a SACD disc, i.e. a file after "conversions"? It's against common sense, isn't it? And yet ...

And yet, I can't pretend I don't hear it and agree with most - files players are still a toy for me. Source files, digital recordings - that's different. As rightly so in his book Music and Audio: A User Guide to Better Sound MARK WALDREP, head of AIX Records, wrote the DSD files (because he was talking about them) are an excellent way to archive recordings. The problem is to play them (more HERE). I respect people who are specialists in this field, who know better than me, as well as those who switched to files straight from the master tapes. For me, however, it is a mentally alien world.

That is why, knowing the sound of good discs played in recording and mastering studios directly from the DAW stations on which they were recorded and / or mastered, as well as the sound from "master" files obtained from recording studios, all attempts, even excellent attempts, were only an approximation for me, an attempt to do it right. The best devices of this type, the Ayon Audio S-5, and this excellent AURALiC system, which we review in this issue of the HF, do it in "their own way", but it was still not comparable to the "master" tape. Until now.

The Ideon Audio system is the first case when a comparison in my system with CDs, Master CD-Rs and SACDs and their corresponding files offered an equivalent sound. The differences were still clear, this is not the same sound, but we are talking about real high-end and a presentation that is finally not "made" (often fantastic), but which resembles the best LPs, CD, SACD and analog tapes I know.

The basic feature of this sound that defined my listening session down to the last track was its "weight". Americans have an even stronger word for it: "gravity". It is something between 'weight', 'seriousness' and 'solidity'. It is the ultimate and certain force that you can always rely on and that does not change. And this is what the Ideon Audio player sounded like (I will refer to it as 'player' or 'system').

The weight I am talking about allowed it to create a large, solid sound with a huge volume. This is a sound that is reproduced through large, full-range loudspeakers, often also found at a well-amplified concert. I am not talking about enlarging sound sources, but proper rendering of their shapes in the room with correct scaling to smaller spaces. That is about the size of themselves and how the acoustics of the recording are added to it, and with it the acoustics of the listening room.

It is also the ability to convey the "weight" of individual instruments, both the double bass and - and this is much more difficult - the cymbals. In this respect, both file players and many CD players fail, and good turntables and SACD players handle it well. And only analog tapes don't have any problems with that. It's pure physics and the basics of digital sound processing - it is about precise impulse rendering, without ringing before and after the signal. And the Greek Absolute System sounded comparable to the best of these sources.

Its sound is big and strong. Power comes from brilliant energy combined with perfect timbre. This is not about a stupid bass rumble, but something more, it is the power of the whole presentation that is drawn in front of us on a large scale, which is really credible. The player shows the sound close to us, although it does not warm it up - as I understand it, precisely due to the fact that it retains the "momentum" that the whole carries.

I listened to a lot of recordings with strong vocals in this regard, such as the Nat 'King' Cole from a CD and DSD rip, also Rafael Fraga recorded by the trptk label in a DXD file, and - finally - the duo of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in WAV 24/96 and each time the impression of the presence of performers in the room, and the way its air was compressed and energized reminded me of what I can hear here every day from my reference SACD player and what I know from the best turntables .

Importantly, this is not a "made" sound. I have nothing against such treatments, one can achieve great results with them, but then we should not talk about "fidelity" but rather about "creation". Here, with the Greek system, there is a bit of showiness, because the system goes deep into the bass and does not allow you to forget that the kick drum and amplified double bass or bass guitar are the loudest instruments on the stage (which is true), but it does not exaggerate in it, it just communicates facts.

As I said, it's very hard to get a taste of real cymbals with a file-based system. Here they are fleshy, have great weight and color. They are approximated a bit, as is the whole sound, but - again - moderately so, only to confirm the palpability of the sound, not by mistake. It was best heard with recordings from John Coltrane's album Blue Train, and a little less convincing they sounded from the album of Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, released on the SACD by Concord Jazz, entitled Seven, Come Eleven.

I played the first disc from 24/192 files bought on HD Tracks and compared them with the Esoteric version, from the SACD disc. I was surprised how close tonally and energetically these two recordings were. There was proper "slam", great drums and density. The saxophone of the leader in the recording from the files was a bit higher tonally and was not so dense there, but the difference was minimal. Also, the depth of the stage was slightly lower on the files, and the foreground was closer to me with them than on the SACD disc. It was similar with the album of the Ellis & Pass duo, although here the differences were even smaller.

The Ayon player seemed to sound a bit more focused, especially in the bass area. It was more about an impression than a clear change, but we rely on the impressions during listening sessions. Because Ideon Audio did it not worse, but differently. Therefore, after a long time, I came to the conclusion that while the Ayon player represents timbre, space and, in general, the structure of recordings in a similar way to analog tape, the Greek player would be an equivalent of a top turntable.

| Summary

In what I am talking about it is primarily about the type of emotions that the tested system extracts from the recordings and communicates to a listener. It draws you into its world, both through the dense colors and saturation of the presentation with information, as well as through something that is difficult to define, and which makes us let go and listen to music in awe and delight. This is what I happened to me also with the TechDAS AIR FORCE ONE turntable, SACD dCS VIVALDI, my own SACD Ayon Audio CD-35 HF EDITION, and now with the IDEON AUDIO ABSOLUTE SUITE.

It does represent a top high end level hence z well deserved GOLD FINGERPRINT.

Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

| ABSOLUTE STREAM
Supported files: DSD (DSF, DFF), FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, M4A, APE…
Supported sampling frequency:
32-384 kHz (PCM), 2.8 MHz (DSD64) – 22.4 MHz (DSD512)
DSD: DSD native and DSD to PCM at 24/192
Digital outputs: 2 x USB (1 x 5 V + 1 x no power)
Input: Ethernet
Ports: 2 x USB 3.0
Dimensions (D x H x D): 470 x 350 x 90 mm
Weight: 15 kg

| ABSOLUTE DAC
Analogue outputs (-6 dB RMS):
XLR: 4.2 V RMS | RCA: 2.7 V RMS
Output impedance: 250 Ω

Frequency range: 10 Hz-25 kHz (+/- 0.5 dB)
SNR (20 Hz – 20 kHz, A-weighted): >130 dB
THD (20 Hz – 20 kHz, A-weighted): <-120 dB
Crosstalk: -130 dB
Dynamics (20 Hz – 20 kHz): 147 dB (FS) | 145 dB (AFS)

USB input
• PCM: 32 bits | DSD: 1 bit
• sampling frequency: PCM: 44.1-384 kHz; DSD: DSD64-DSD512

S/PDIF | AES/EBU input
• 24 bits
• sampling frequency: 44.1-192 kHz

Dimensions (W x H x D): 470 x 350 x 130 mm
Weight: 15.5 kg

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Reference system 2020



1) Loudspeakers: HARBETH M40.1 |REVIEW|
2) Line preamplifier: AYON AUDIO Spheris III Linestage |REVIEW|
3) Super Audio CD Player: AYON AUDIO CD-35 HF Edition No. 01/50 |REVIEW|
4) Stands (loudspeakers): ACOUSTIC REVIVE (custom) |ABOUT|
5) Power amplifier: SOULUTION 710
6) Loudspeaker filter: SPEC REAL-SOUND PROCESSOR RSP-AZ9EX (prototype) |REVIEW|
7) Hi-Fi rack: FINITE ELEMENTE Pagode Edition |ABOUT|

Cables

Analog interconnect SACD Player - Line preamplifier: SILTECH Triple Crown (1 m) |ABOUT|
Analog interconnect Line preamplifier - Power amplifier: ACOUSTIC REVIVE RCA-1.0 Absolute-FM (1 m) |REVIEW|
Speaker cable: SILTECH Triple Crown (2.5 m) |ABOUT|

AC Power

Power cable | Mains Power Distribution Block - SACD Player: SILTECH Triple Crown
Power (2 m) |ARTICLE|
Power cable | Mains Power Distribution Block - Line preamplifier - ACOUSTIC REVIVE
Power Reference Triple-C (2 m) |REVIEW|
Power cable | Mains Power Distribution Block - Power amplifier - ACROLINK Mexcel 7N-PC9500 |ARTICLE|
Power cable | Power Receptacle - Mains Power Distribution Block: ACROLINK Mexcel 7N-PC9500 (2 m) |ARTICLE|
Power Receptacle: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE |REVIEW|
Anti-vibration platform under Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE: Asura QUALITY RECOVERY SYSTEM Level 1 |REVIEW|
Power Supply Conditioner: Acoustic Revive RPC-1 |REVIEW|
Power Supply Conditioner: Acoustic Revive RAS-14 Triple-C |REVIEW|
Passive filter EMI/RFI: VERICTUM Block |REVIEW|

Anti-vibration

Speaker stands: ACOUSTIC REVIVE (custom)
Hi-Fi rack: FINITE ELEMENTE Pagode Edition |ABOUT|
Anti-vibration platforms: ACOUSTIC REVIVE RAF-48H |ARTICLE|

Isolators:
  • PRO AUDIO BONO Ceramic 7SN |REVIEW|
  • FRANC AUDIO ACCESSORIES Ceramic Classic
  • HARMONIX TU-666M "BeauTone" MILLION MAESTRO 20th Anniversary Edition |REVIEW|

Analogue

Phono preamplifier: Phono cartridges: Tonearm (12"): Reed 3P |REVIEW|

Clamp: PATHE WINGS Titanium PW-Ti 770 | Limited Edition

Record mats:
  • HARMONIX TU-800EX
  • PATHE WINGS

Headphones

Headphone amplifier: AYON AUDIO HA-3 |REVIEW|

Headphones: Headphone Cables: Forza AudioWorks NOIR HYBRID HPC