The little USB-C Dual DAC Cable may well perhaps also very effectively be frail with smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other mobile devices geared up with a USB-C port.
Astell&Kern
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Astell&Kern manufactures about a of our favourite excessive-decision digital audio gamers, and now the firm is bringing a excessive-cease mobile digital audio converter/amplifier combo to market.
As its name signifies, the USB-C Dual DAC Cable includes a USB-C cable that connects to a smartphone, tablet, and pc. That is hooked as a lot as a runt DAC that supports excessive-decision audio playback, in conjunction with DSD256 and different kinds of digital audio streams with as a lot as 32-bit decision and sampling rates as excessive as 384kHz. A 3.5mm connector on the reverse side of the DAC is geared up for a headphone connection.
The runt audio instrument measures just 17 x 50 x 10.3mm (WxLxH) and its enclosure is fabricated from polished zinc alloy.
There’s a pair of Cirrus Good judgment CS43198 MasterHIFi DACs inner, one for the left channel and one for the correct in a stereo pair. Dual-DAC designs are acknowledged to reduce abet crosstalk between the two channels and compose greater stereo separation, though we’re on the fence as to whether or no longer or no longer the added expense delivers a proportionate compose greater in audio quality when put next to the more-usual single-DAC originate.
The USB-C Dual DAC Cable comes geared up with the identical capacitors A&K employs for its excessive-res digital audio gamers. An onboard analog amplifier promises to force excessive-impedance headphones with an output stage of 2Vrms (Situation No Load).
Astell&KernThe Astell&Kern USB-C Dual DAC properties a pair of Cirrus Good judgment CS43198 MasterHIFi digital-to-analog converters.
The DAC’s four-core cable is manufactured with aramid fiber to protect it from exterior noise. A&K says it wraps silver-covered copper spherical the cable’s heart strand, with one other layer of copper added in a spiral affiliation. “The addition of copper wire helps to accept as true with an affect on a clear and effectively off spatial sound,” the firm says, “while separate shielding therapy is utilized to the cable to block distortion and digital and analog signal noise from the playback instrument.”
A&K says it’ll no longer construct an the same instrument for iOS products such because the iPhone or iPad. The aim: Apple limits the amount of present that shall be sent by the Lightning connectors on these devices, and it’s no longer adequate to vitality a twin-DAC instrument equivalent to this.
The Astell&Kern USB-C Dual DAC Cable will seemingly be priced at $149 when it goes on sale in April.
How will A&K’s unique twin-DAC compare to the the same, but single-DAC Fling DAC/AMP from Helm Audio ($99)? We’ll wait on you to already know as soon as we take care of in thoughts a evaluate unit.
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Michael covers the natty-home, home-leisure, and home-networking beats, working in the natty home he in-built 2007.
