Sound. Stage Hi Fi Sound. Stage. Hi. Fi. com TA Elektroakustik DAC 8 Digital to Analog Converter. Details Written by Garrett Hongo Garrett Hongo Category Full Length Equipment Reviews Full Length Equipment Reviews Created 1. February 2. 01. 4 1. February 2. 01. 4Just so you know, TA stands for theory and application there is nothing even vaguely Vegas about it. This German audio company has been producing loudspeakers since 1. Recently, they released the DAC 8 3. USD, a tweener sized digital to analog convertor that can also drive an amplifier directly via its own analog volume control. It also doubles as a headphone amp. I hadnt known much about the company when editor Jeff Fritz asked if Id be interested in reviewing the DAC 8, but Id become very curious about desktop DACs. Id reviewed Hegel Music Systems splendid HD2. August, and had acquired an Eximus DP1 3. DACs made by the likes of Berkeley, Calyx, and Resonessence. I quickly agreed. The TA DAC 8 arrived late last spring. Although I immediately took to it, I wasnt able to give it the kind of concentrated listening it deserved until early in the fall. Once I did, it impressed not only for its sound, but for its sophisticated features and many controls. Design. A wealth of innovations, features, and quality parts is thoughtfully integrated into the DAC 8. Its imposing front panel is rich in features, including a high quality analog volume control. There are galvanic isolation of the digital and analog stages, separate power supplies for the digital and analog sections, and superior components for all critical functions. The DAC 8s USB input supports two settings USB 1 for resolutions up to 2. Hz and USB 2 for resolutions up to 2. USB 1 uses synchronous adaptive transmission. For the USB 2 option, with a special downloadable driver, asynchronous transmission is used. A serious engineering firm, TA has found its own way of dealing with the vexing problem of jitter i. DAC. The DAC 8 removes coarse jitter before it reaches its microprocessor via a special circuit that reclocks the entire datastream. Two separate quartz oscillators ensure that perfect converter clocks are available for all sampling frequencies from 4. Hz up. And, at the penultimate digital stage, the DAC 8 employs a second jitterbug that can head off the operation of the quartz oscillators if any jitter remains. The DAC 8s converters are an array of four 3. Burr Brown devices configured in a double symmetrical circuit. TA claims that this arrangement results in noticeably improved linearity and dynamics, less distortion, and greater clarity of tiny musical details, even at low volume levels. Drivers Ed Shockwave Game'>Drivers Ed Shockwave Game. Misc. Notes scan score scanned at 600dpi filter score filtered with 2point algorithm explained in High Quality Scanning I provide the original scanned version and. JPY Japanese Yen Latest News, Analysis and Forex. Latest JPY market news, analysis and Japanese Yen trading forecast from leading. Torrentz domain names are for sale. Send an offer to contactinventoris. Kinderszenen. Leichte Stcke fr Klavier op. Auch durch die Welt der Kinder lie sich Robert Schumann in seinem kompositorischen Schaffen inspirieren. Brahms Complete Edition Flac File' title='Brahms Complete Edition Flac File' />As already noted, these converters are galvanically isolated from the DAC 8s analog section to prevent interference from the computer and other sources creeping into the analog signal. A 5. 6 bit signal processor does the oversampling. Zosimus New History Pdf. TA has developed proprietary algorithms to ensure what one of their online brochures calls perfect timing in the audio signal. TAs algorithms, based on Bezier polynomials, are represented by two filtering options on the DAC 8s front panel Bezier interpolation and BezierIIR combination. There are also a standard FIR filter, a short FIR filter, and an option for inverting absolute phase. TA engineer Lothar Wieman insists that these algorithms arent mere sound shapers in the sense of tone controls, but complex means for preserving the exact shape of each musical signal. This prevents digital artifacts like pre and post ringing being added to the signal. Finally, the DAC 8 has a switchable analog function that can either restrict the bandwidth to 6. Hz or widen it to 1. Hz, depending on whether the DAC 8 is used with a power amplifier capable of broadband output or not. The ultrawide 1. 20k. Hz setting is for improved frequency response and phase linearity. This purportedly results in a more open sound, clearer and more stable imaging, and livelier dynamics. Many compact DACs include op amps because of their convenience and small size. However, TA believes that op amps compromise the sound and doesnt use them in the DAC 8. Brahms Complete Edition Flac File' title='Brahms Complete Edition Flac File' />This eliminates the need to use negative feedback, which TA believes can degrade linearity. Description and setup. The DAC 8 is a square box of black extruded aluminum panels on the front, rear, and sides, rounded corners, and 6mm thick top and bottom plates of natural aluminum. At just a smidge over 1. W x 3. 5H x 1. 0. D, its wider by 2 or 3 than any of the three other desktop DACs Ive had in my system Hegel HD2. Ayre Acoustics QB 9, Eximus DP1. And at just under nine pounds, its also very light and easy to move from desk to rack. The very thorough and useful user manual is printed in English and German, and the warranty is three years. On the front panel, going left to right, there are 1. DAC 8. From the top left are the OnOff switch, then four buttons for input selections SP DIF 1 2, SP DIF 3 4, Tos. LinkBNC, and AESUSB, a button for phase inversion, two buttons for controlling four various filter options, a button for wideband mode, and two more buttons for up and down volume control. There is also a 14 headphone jack on the far right. Above the buttons is a rectangular LED display that indicates each of the possible sampling rates from 4. Hz and the volume level in numeric increments. An LED for each pushbutton flashes green or red to display which of its two settings is engaged. Thankfully, the main display also tells you which of any two algorithm options is engaged you dont have to memorize which color means what or refer to the operating manual to know which setting is being used. Hearing music in high resolution is a simple, straightforward process. Choose a HighResolution Audio file from the extensive libraries offered by music services. Just so you know, TA stands for theory and application there is nothing even vaguely Vegas about it. This German audio company has been producing. The rear panel is chock full of connections. From left are a pair of XLR analog outs, a slide switch for disabling the volume control, a pair of RCA analog outs, the digital out, and the digital inputs four SP DIF, Tos. Link, BNC, AESEBU, and USB. At the far right is the IEC power inlet and below that an RS 2. This means that the DAC 8 can, via the RS 2. TAs Amp 8 when theyre used together. Most of this wealth of connectivity was wasted on me other than the switch that disengages the DAC 8s volume control, for this review I used only the RCA output, one SPDIF input, the USB input, and the power socket. Finally, since the output resistance of the analog outs is a very low 2. DAC 8 could drive my power amps directly, without use of a preamp. Not only did this shorten the signal path, it had audible consequences regarding transparency, soundstaging, and dynamic range. More about this later. The DAC 8 has a terrific little remote that controls all of its functions, including powering onoff. About 3. 5L x 1. W x 0. Whats more, the casing isnt just slick or pebbled plastic. Its smartly jacketed in a semi elastic polymer that seems to give infinitesimally under the touch, adding a patina of thoughtful elegance to convenience. Note, though, that the remote must have a clear line of sight to the DAC 8, otherwise it wont work. I found I could control everything from my easy chair, about 9 away. Even pointing it through a clutter of objects idle earphones, a coffee cup, a tape measure, etc. DAC 8, I never had any trouble getting the remote to work. Though not quite plugnplay it requires the download of drivers for both Mac and Windows, and other software for Linux, the DAC 8 was easy enough to install in my system.