What About Pre-DACS? Like the new Classé Audio CP-800?

[piolaxo]

I think what it's been said in the video is that the mp3's will sound the best they can possible sound (for what they are), but not that they will sound better than a FLAC or any other lossless format. The demo was pretty good though.

[jdandy]

Chad.......Maybe the Classé CP-800 incorporates the new Bit-Replacer DAC that's just coming out.

Just pulling your leg.

[Face]

Originally Posted by chadhaas

I agree with you, until I heard the Classé Audio CP-800 play an mp3 file. It suprised me how good it sounded.

Although I have not heard the PS Audio Soundwave product, here is the claim Paul McGowen made about its capabilities (fast forward to 3:35-4:45):

YouTube - PS Audio PerfectWave DAC

Yes, he's talking about the music server capabilities sounding as good as using their transport.

[chadhaas]

Apparently what PS Audio is able to do with their DAC is true.

This is a bit too technical from me, but why not get the word straight from Classé Audio. Even after reading this I have to admit quite a bit of confusion over the mp3 versus Lossless question. It sounds like, from the description from Classé that the iPod would become the "server". To achieve CD quality sound, you still would need CD quality file formats .... or am I wrong.

Anyhow here is Classé Audio's response:

"Our SSP-800 will also do the same (as the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC), but with a different twist. Hoping you are at ease with the following technical information, this should shed some light on our different approach to achieve the performance you are looking for within your system.

Most USB DACs have asynchronous synchronization, since it is essential to audio performance. USB was originally designed to allow a PC to connect to a printer and print out, which is not a particularly time sensitive operation. USB therefore requires asynchronous synchronization to tackle timing errors that will reduce audio performance. Rather than the computer deciding when to send the audio, the DAC takes control and demands that the audio be sent exactly when it wants it. This delivers low jitter and performance.

In this context, the CP-800 will certainly have very high quality asynchronous synchronization but it will also benefit from our data de-correlation. This will deliver a whole new level of performance. Data is sent in packages, which are like moving containers. Data de-correlation involves removing the data from the containers, which will have timing errors, and repackaging them in our brand new, perfectly timed containers which are sent to the DACs. This has dramatic sonic effects.

Another major factor is our Single Clock Substrate. A clock is very simple. It's just a continuous sequence of 1010101010 that is used to synchronize the data. The speed at which the 1 changes to a 0 is the speed of the clock. Most of our competitors use multi-purpose microcontrollers to handle all aspects of USB, from the retrieving of the data from the PC to the re-clocking of the audio. This is not ideal. The data being sent from the PC is controlled by a clock that is running at a different speed to the audio clock and has no co-relation with it. This means that you have a variety of different clocks operating simultaneously on a single piece of silicon. This inevitably creates noise.

We are using a multipurpose controller to pull the data from the PC but it is then sent to a FPGA, a dedicated chip that is uniquely programmed by Classe. This contains multiple audio clocks, so that it can handle the variety of sample rate frequencies, but only the required clock is active at any one time. This also significantly improves sonic performance.

A USB cable has different connectors at each end. The smaller one is a slave input, which is designed to be connected to a printer, with the larger input being a master input which is a more complex input that is designed to be driven by a computer. The CP-800 will have both a slave and master input. The master input will be at the front of the unit and allow a source like an Ipod to be connected directly to it. As a result of our data-decorrelation, an Ipod that contains CD quality audio will sound like a $12,000 CD player when it is connected to the master input. The same will apply to a PC connected to the slave input at the back.

The CP-800 will have two sets of XLR and RCA outputs for L&R channels to facilitate biamping or to feed into another room/system. In addition, there is on-board processing, enabling crossovers on every output and allowing the creation of sub output (present at the back of the unit in both XLR and single-ended connectors), also with an adjustable crossover.

[chadhaas]

Originally Posted by Face

Yes, he's talking about the music server capabilities sounding as good as using their transport.

Yes, that is what I am begining to understand. And it make sense right? You cant take a low resolution photograph and make it high resolution by "filling in the bits". It just doesn't compute that software would be intelligent enough to know what to do.

[PHC1]

This is what I chose since 2 channel and DAC performance was very important to me besides multichannel. As a 2 channel preamp, it has class A circuitry for outstanding fidelity. Krell Industries, Incorporated, America's premiere manufacturer of high-end audio equipment: award-winning amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players, DVD players, surround/sound processors, loudspeakers

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Vesuvius

Oh - just noticed that emphasized portion of the quote, and completely agree with Face - it is impossible to make MP3's sound normal, and very easy to hear what junk they actually are.

Any company claiming it can do so is blowing smoke ................ places.

+1

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Vesuvius

Oh - just noticed that emphasized portion of the quote, and completely agree with Face - it is impossible to make MP3's sound normal, and very easy to hear what junk they actually are.

Any company claiming it can do so is blowing smoke ................ places.

Originally Posted by jdandy

Chad.......Maybe the Classé CP-800 incorporates the new Bit-Replacer DAC that's just coming out.

Just pulling your leg.

The Bit-Replacer DAC.....that's hilarious! The funny thing is, it sounds like the name of a real product!

"Today, Bit-Replacer Audio, LLC, announces the new Bit-Replacer DAC model 010101010000, which replaces the older model, 01010101000.
Price? $10,0000...and 0.00 cents"

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Vesuvius

Oh - just noticed that emphasized portion of the quote, and completely agree with Face - it is impossible to make MP3's sound normal, and very easy to hear what junk they actually are.

Any company claiming it can do so is blowing smoke ................ places.

Speaking of blowing smoke, there is a real "music server" called The Black Box made by a company called, no joke, Blue Smoke. it's basically a PC computer configured in some mystical way to be used as a music server, though it has: no display, no DAC, and get this...no hard drive.

Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems

Oh, and it runs that superlative implementation of an OS known as Vista...

Price? $7,000.

[TommyC]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Speaking of blowing smoke, there is a real "music server" called The Black Box made by a company called, no joke, Blue Smoke. it's basically a PC computer configured in some mystical way to be used as a music server, though it has: no display, no DAC, and get this...no hard drive.

Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems

Oh, and it runs that superlative implementation of an OS known as Vista...

Price? $7,000.

This music server was featured in the ultra high end BAlabo room at CES. It must be something, otherwise BAlabo wouldn't use it.