Weiss DAC202
Beschrijving / Description
The Weiss DAC202 has not only two FireWire ports, but also AES/EBU, S/PDIF RCA, and TosLink connections. A BNC input and output allow it to lock on to an external clock. There are also ouputs for AES/EBU and RCA S/PDIF digital signals. The narrow front panel has a largish LCD screen and a single knob, which you spin or depress to access and control any of the DAC202's menus and functions. The infrared remote control can be used to access the most frequently used functions: Power, Volume, input (FireWire, XLR, RCA, TosLink), Mute, Phase, and Filter, for the two onboard digital filters (more about those later). I found the dimmable screen very intuitive and easy to use to access every feature of the DAC202, and the remote is simple and elegant in design and feel. Also on the front panel are a ¼" headphone jack, an IR sensor, and a power-status LED. The fit and finish are good; the front panel's beveled edges look quite nice, and the knob had a sturdy yet silky feel. Still, the DAC202's looks favor function over opulence.
The DAC202's power supply uses a toroidal transformer and there are separate voltage regulators for the analog and digital supplies, a total of 11 regulators. The circuit board is laid out for optimal current distribution. The DAC202 uses the premium ESS9018 DAC chip, which allows for two digital filters (here labeled A and B) to be used. According to designer Daniel Weiss, filter A is optimized for an ideal stopband corner frequency, while filter B has a relaxed transition band that gives the optimum transient response. Jitter is suppressed with what Weiss calls a Jitter Elimination Technologies Phase Locked Loop (JET PLL), which uses feedback to lock the local oscillator to the incoming timing reference. In the DAC202, the JET PLL has two loops. One has its corner frequency set low enough to give good jitter attenuation. The corner frequency of the other loop, which regulates the analog oscillator, is set much higher. The DAC202 uses two converters per channel to increase its signal/noise ratio by 3dB, and it can accept data resolutions up to 24-it/192kHz.
Specificaties / Specifications
Digital/analog converter with FireWire connectivity. Compatible sampling rates: 32-192kHz. Compatible word length: 16-24 bits. Digital inputs: FireWire, AES/EBU on XLR, or S/PDIF on RCA and TosLink,. Digital outputs: AES/EBU on XLR, S/PDIF on RCA, FireWire. TTL word sync input/output on BNC connectors. Main analog outputs: 2 stereo (1 XLR, 1 RCA). Headphone output: ¼" jack. Level control, main output: 4 coarse settings via relays (analog domain) 8.15V, 4.15V, 2.12V, 1.06V fine setting via rotary encoder (digital domain); can be defeated for main output. Level control, headphone output: 4 coarse settings via relays (analog domain, independent of main output settings) 5.2V, 2.7V, 900mV, 200mV fine setting via rotary encoder (digital domain). Analog output impedance: 44 ohms (balanced); 22 ohms (single-ended); not specified (headphones), <1 ohm measured.
Dimensions: 7.4" (190mm) W by 3.1" (80mm) H by 11.7" (300mm) D. Weight: 10 lbs (2.3kg).