CARY Audio’s new DAC-200ts digital-to-analogue converter is the North Carolina company’s best digital product yet, we’re told… and clearly, there’s quite a bit of cutting edge technology on board this high-end bit-cruncher.
According to the product release, the DAC-200ts is packed with features like “TruBit upsampling and a 128-bit DSP engine that expands native bit depths to 32 bits and up-samples incoming rates to one of seven selectable sample rates, up to 768 kHz.”
Up-sampled or native, the signal is clocked several times with Cary’s proprietary re-clocking technology, then sent to four independent DACs for eight channels of processing. Cary says using multiple parallel DACs instead of one or two ensures that the “process of converting a true balanced or single-ended digital signal will retain all the musicality stored within while transitioning it to a pure analogue signal that sounds like analogue.”
More from the Cary literature: “Even more important than the digital topology is the analogue circuit. Once we’ve ensured the best possible, most pure, conversion of the digital information to an analogue signal, it is introduced to our analogue circuit.
“Our Dual Independent Output analogue topology utilises a separate solid-state output stage and a separate vacuum tube output stage… the separate independent analogue output stages allow you to tailor the sound of the DAC-200ts to your source material with the simple touch of one button.”
The DAC-200ts can also be used as a digital preamplifier via its 3V variable volume output, while a clock input allows for the use of an external master clock (the unit can also function as a master clock for other digital sources , via its own clock input).
Support for super high-resolution asynchronous USB computer audio is provided – the DAC-200ts has PCM 32-bit/384kHz as well as native DSD 64, 128, and 256 audio.
It also features CSR aptX lossless Bluetooth, SPDIF coaxial and Toslink inputs, AES/EBU input and both fully-balanced XLR and RCA outputs. A large VFD display, full function remote control, and Ethernet and Wi-Fi for control systems, are also included.
The DAC-200ts, which is available from April 9, retails at US$3,995.
