Why should I keep my original packaging?
The packaging of April Music product is carefully designed to protect the unit.
It was created to withstand the normal abuse any product will go through while being shipped from point A to point B. In the event you move, or sell your unit, the original packaging will better safeguard your valuable electronics from damage in shipping. Thus better to store than to throw away your original packaging.
How does the DA100 Signature compare to the stello DA220 MKII?
A. The stello DA220 MKII is April Music’s flagship DAC. Many recording engineers use the DA220 MKII for their mastering work. It is fully balanced with a dual mono design. The digital inputs are similar with the exception of no I2S support.
The DA100 Signature is not a dual-mono design, but shares the benefits of fully balanced outputs with both +/- and common signals. The performance of the DA100 Signature is very competitive with the DA220 MKII at about ½ the cost.
The size of the DA100 Signature is designed to match the same “footprint” as the CDT100, HP100, and S100.
PCM2704-AK-4117-AD1896-AK4395 are used on both DA100 Sig, and DA220.
There's one AK4395 dac chip and has individual 4 analog output circuitries for balanced (+),(-) signals.
(1) Input upto 16bit/48kHz upto 24bit/96 kHz Remarks Digital input Yes (COAX, TOS LINK, AES/EBU) USB input Yes Audio Standard: USB 1.1 I2S 256 fs (2) Upsample BYPASS (44.1 kHz) UPSAMPLE DA100 BYPASS 192 kHz DA100 Sig BYPASS 96 kHz 192 kHz DA220MK2 BYPASS 48 kHz 96 kHz 192 kHz
(1) Input
upto 16bit/48kHz
upto 24bit/96 kHz
Remarks
Digital input
Yes
(COAX, TOS LINK, AES/EBU)
USB input
Audio Standard: USB 1.1
I2S
256 fs
(2) Upsample
BYPASS
(44.1 kHz)
UPSAMPLE
DA100
192 kHz
DA100 Sig
96 kHz
DA220MK2
48 kHz
What are some devices which have I2S outputs, for input into the DA100 Signature?
A.
Perpetual Technologies: P-1A Digital Signal Processor / Speaker Only Correction System
Empirical Audio: Off-Ramp I2S USB to I2S Converter and PaceCar buffer memory reclocker
Audio Alchemy: DDE PRO32 Digital Signal Processor and DDS PRO Transport
(no longer produced)
What is an I2S connection, and what are its benefits?
I2S is an industry interface standard used for connecting digital audio products, such as CD transports and Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) as well as other devices, such as digital signal processors or converters. I2S sends separate signals on individual conductors for master clock, bit clock, word clock, and audio data.
Separating the clock and data signals greatly reduces a type of distortion called “jitter” when processing a digital signal to an analog signal. Traditional interfaces, such as S/PDIF, mix the clock and data signals, and must go through an additional conversion process which increases jitter. These conversions are unnecessary with I2S, with all signals deriving maximum performance, and no cross-signal interference. The result is much smoother audio reproduction, especially at higher frequencies.
What is “Burn-in Time”?
How does it affect the sound / performance of April Music products?
A. New electronic components are known to benefit from time being powered-on. The high quality transistors, resistors, and capacitors known as “internal discrete components” do require a time to “settle” and really “open-up” to perform at their optimal potential. It is recommended that April Music products be left powered-on for a minimum of two weeks to 30 days to achieve their highest level of sonic performance.
Q. Should April Music products be powered-on all the time?
A. Digital components do not require a great amount of power (and therefore affecting your electricity costs negatively) to remain powered-up, but do derive great benefit from being “kept on-line” once plugged in. Electronic components are susceptible to warming-up and cooling down periods, where a “steady state” provides much more stable audible results. It is therefore recommended that the components be left powered-on all the time.
