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dac-pre UX

DA converter with preamplifier functionality

Product describtion

The new centrepiece of your music system: DA converter and preamplifier

Remember your last great live music experience! The emotional impact and enrichment of your emotional and spiritual life that music can create. The reason for having a sophisticated music system in your own four walls is to be able to bring these magical moments home at any time.

As most music today is available in digital form – from CD to high-res streaming – the ACOUSENCE dac-pre DA converter preamplifier is the centrepiece of such a music system. The key to music lies in the adequate conversion of digital music data into analogue – “real” – music. This is where it is decided whether music is touching.

This core task is performed by the digital-to-analogue converter, or “dac” for short. At the same time, however, other supplementary tasks of a classic preamplifier are also included: The management of analogue sources including phono MM, as well as the direct control of the power amplifier or active loudspeakers via a high-quality volume control.

Less is more

Most of the important sound-related tasks are already combined in this one device. This offers great advantages, as a more complex set-up would only create unnecessary obstacles to the desired music enjoyment: many individual components need to be carefully combined and connected. Only the tasks that are better performed in separate units are outsourced. For the next stage, we offer the pow-amp power amplifier as the perfect complement. Our mu-se music server is the ideal player for organising the digital music data and controlling playback. The result is a lean and well-coordinated setup as an easy way to your personal music experience!

ddUSB (double-decoupled USB)

The UX in the name stands for a currently unique feature of the dac-pre-reference UX: an electrically isolated USB interface in which the electronics of the primary side are located outside the device housing in a small tube and a special component ensures an electrically isolated coupling to the secondary side and thus to the audio electronics in the housing at the exact level of the housing wall. This guarantees the purest sound without external interference.

ACOUSENCE did not previously offer a USB interface for good reason. Even though it is often used, the USB interface is the worst of all possible interfaces for audio. This is because, unlike AES/EBU, SPDIF or network, it could not be galvanically isolated. This meant that high-frequency interference from data processing in computers, music servers or streamers inevitably found its way directly into the sensitive audio environment. And there is always plenty of such high-frequency interference in such devices, as this is virtually the “operating noise” of this type of device.

Now, thanks to our new ddUSB development , this high-frequency interference is reliably kept outside the housing. A special component exactly in the plane of the housing wall creates a signal connection between the inside and outside without a direct physical connection, similar to an isolating transformer, for example.

In addition, the part of the device that controls the USB communication is galvanically isolated from the other digital signal processing in the device.

The USB input is therefore doubly decoupled from all sound-critical sections.

Variants

The ACOUSENCE dac-pre is available in two versions: The “standard” works with our sophisticated arfi DAC topology, i.e. four converter signals generate the stereo signal via a transformer I/V stage. The “reference” works with the arfi-reference DAC topology, i.e. eight converter signals generate the stereo signal via a premium transformer I/V stage. The rest of the equipment of both variants is adapted accordingly in terms of transmission quality. However, the musical characteristics of both versions are very similar and offer the pleasure of listening to music that is so important to us. However, the “reference” delivers a little more fine detail with even greater dynamics. As both variants are built on the same basis and the design is very modular, it is easy to upgrade from “standard” to “reference” at any time, even in several stages if necessary. In this way, the “standard” provides a cheaper introduction to music enjoyment via ACOUSENCE and can later be upgraded to the maximum expansion level of the “reference”.

Gallery

Equipment and information

Arfi-DAC topology

There are various ideas circulating in the hi-fi sector about what the ideal DA converter should look like: NOS, R2R, Ladder and DSD of various clock rates. However, the delta-sigma principle has been widely accepted in the audio industry for decades, and experts have not really questioned it for a long time.

Fully balanced analogue signal processing

After the input stage, the audio signal remains balanced throughout until it reaches the power amplifiers. These output the signal symmetrically again, and then the output filters and speaker outputs are also symmetrical again. This results in a higher signal-to-noise ratio and greater immunity to interference of any kind.

Analogue volume control

The analogue volume control also passes through the signal fully symmetrically. The attenuation is switched with gold contact relays via precision fixed resistors.
Our technical philosophy

4 digital inputs, different formats:

  • Galvanically decoupled USB input for PCM up to 32Bit/768kHz and 256fs DSD
  • balanced 110Ω (AES/EBU) to XLR, galvanically isolated, input voltage according to AES/EBU. Also accepts SPDIF via adapter (optional accessory).
  • unbalanced 75 Ω (SPDIF) to BNC socket, galvanically isolated, input voltage according to IEC. (RCA via supplied adapter plug)
  • optical SPDIF (Toslink)
  • Input formats for AES/EBU and SPDIF: linear PCM 44.1 kHz; 48 kHz; 88.2 kHz; 96 kHz; 176.4 kHz; 192 kHz / 16 bit – 24 bit
  • Analogue output, balanced, output level at 0dBfs or full scale: approx. 10dBu/2.5Vrms or at ‘+10dB’ 20dBu/7.8Vrms, impedance <40 ohms (RCA (optional) and XLR, parallel)
  • Frequency response: 20 Hz – 87 kHz
  • Analogue fully balanced volume control via 4-level motorised potentiometer.

 

Analogue inputs:

  • 2 or 4 analogue inputs, level up to approx. +11dBu, unbalanced.

or

  • 2-channel phono MM, RCA, impedance 47kOhm, capacitance 47pF

 

Power supply: shielded mains transformer + input filter
Input voltage EU version: 230 Volt, 50 Hz (stand-by <0.5W)
Input voltage US version: 115 Volt, 60 Hz (stand-by <0.5W)

Dimensions: 450x50x315mm (housing) or with feet 450x57x315mm (WxHxD)
Weight: 9kg

We reserve the right to make changes to technical data and equipment.

Press reviews

And this is what others say about us...
Andreas Wenderoth
Andreas Wenderoth
Image Hifi
Read More
„Musik in ihrem Gesamtzusammenhang erfahrbar machen …. das leistet er besser als jede andere Stereo-Endstufe, die ich bisher in meinem Hörraum hatte.“
Frank Hakopians
Frank Hakopians
fairaudio
Read More
… im eigenen Hörraum hat noch kein Musikserver-D/A- Wandler-Gespann entfesselter aufgespielt als mu-se und dac-pre reference.“
Marco Kolks
Marco Kolks
Hörerlebnis
Read More
„Der pow-amp zählt für mich – unabhängig von der Preisklasse – zu den besten Endstufen, die ich gehört habe.”
Ralph Werner
Ralph Werner
fairaudio
Read More
„… wenn Sie tonale Ehrlichkeit, hohe Auflösung und „Reinheit“ des Klangbildes schätzen und …nach einem Dynamik-Boost für Ihre Anlage suchen, sind Sie mit diesem Verstärker an der genau richtigen Adresse. Was für ein Debüt!“
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