The first Audial amplifier, Model A, is here. With power set to 25 W per channel (50 W option is also available), Model A is intended to drive medium and high efficiency speakers (86 dB / 1 W / 1 m and more). It is designed to bring the highest sonic performance, for modest price.
The first Audial amplifier release is near, and here is the preliminary information.
Harmonic distortion is one of the basic and most common ways to objectify sound quality of audio device. Yet, there is no consensus on its audibility. Here are several examples of distorted sinewave, to help your own understanding.
During the previous seven years Audial released six DACs, which established it as a “DAC specialist”. It happened that way, because one decade ago the digital source was generally the most misunderstood and most missing part of the audio chain. And in many ways, Audial DACs moved the limits of digital sources. And now the time for Audial amplifier has come.
The OPA861 based output stage for TDA1541A, as used in the AYA II DAC, was posted here one month ago and, according to feedback, authentic and ambitious DIY spirit is still around. So I am reposting now one old article that was once available at pedjarogic.com.
Are bits still just bits? Actually, notable part of improvements achieved in the digital audio in last two decades happened due to designing for higher signal integrity criteria. So not that much for instance in the area of converter chips, which were during this time developed mostly to lower production costs. As a result, even if Philips D/A chips from 80’s are in many areas still unsurpassed, today it would be unimaginable for any serious design to repeat the layout or clocking schemes as they were done in Philips CD players from 80’s (or in the majority of players from that time, for that matter).
The output stage of AYA II DAC, released back in 2007, now with details of circuit behind previously published block diagram. Dare to say, it might be the best I/V circuit published so far.
As a follow up to the previous article on transformers, here is how this part is done in the Model S USB. This is also the first public appearance of Model S USB interior.
A couple of most important points on mains transformers differences. Some of these probably counteract to what you have learnt on this topic before but, as one fellow audio enthusiast wrote in the early days of the internet (when internet was young and pure), “most things we could learn about hi-fi were simply wrong anyway”. Food for thought.
Two and a half year after its release, the Model S goes through a couple of changes. Admittedly, there were no previous plans for substituting the Model S with MkII successor and, as perfected as it is, the overall architecture remains actually intact.
Released in November 2009, D-09 was a sort of AYA II/III DACs successor, so moderately priced unit yet capable to address very serious requests. And what D-09 offered remained in fact unique in its price tag all the time: natural sound performance achieved by real audiophile architecture with fancy discrete analogue circuit, highly elaborated supplies and layout, and quality parts, and with everything packed into the cute chassis, featuring all types of commonly used inputs.
Gramofone first showing is scheduled for the upcoming Millionaire Fair in Amsterdam, 8-12 December. Electronics significantly contributed by Audial.
Audial DACs are famous for using all quality parts, and not one or two for marketing purposes. Still, is S1 (single crown) really better than plain TDA1541A (or non -A), and is S2 (double crown) then better than S1?
It is important to understand that TDA1541(A) wasn’t one simple point in DAC chips history, but the end and crown of its own era, in which DAC chips did not perform any kind of processing.
In the Model S USB, TDA1541A operates in simultaneous data mode, and this is why Model S USB is practically free of data related jitter artifacts.
Model S USB is the only DAC with TDA1541A operating in simultaneous data mode.
