T+A DAC 200 D/A Converter

DAC 200
D/A converter

The DAC 200 is the newest member of a large family of high-end converters and preamps. Its complete construction is a sign of T+A's uncompromising dedication to science and music. The ability to play back DSD 1024 files and complete galvanic isolation are just two highlights that impressively underline the performance of the DAC 200. The DAC 200 is designed to convert a large number of digital formats into true-to-life analogue signals and output them via the built-in headphone or analogue outputs.

De-jitter master clock

T+A's belief in unadulterated music means an enormous effort in eliminating the smallest disruptive influences. The T+A de-jitter master clock was developed to free all T+A DACs from such interfering signals, especially those resulting from use with computers. These disturbances, known as jitter, are minimal time shifts in the clock that nevertheless have a negative effect on the sound experience, unless they are removed before the conversion to analog signals.

The De-Jitter Masterclock developed in Herford is the consistent audiophile answer to jitter: In a multi-stage process, the incoming signals are examined and even the strongest jitter artifacts are removed. In the first step, a raw clock is obtained from the incoming signal, which is examined in detail by microprocessors: the signal is only switched to the master clock if the frequency position and stability meet strict minimum criteria. If the criteria are not met, the signals are cleaned again in a specially designed second jitter bug by a 2nd PLL stage until the residual jitter is reduced by a factor of 4.

Signals that meet the purity requirements are completely decoupled from the input jitter by switching to the master clock and processed by two precisely adjusted quartz oscillators. Each oscillator is reserved for a single clock family, which means that both the odd 44.1 kHz clock up to 354.8 kHz and the even 48 kHz clock up to 762 kHz are covered by the master clock.

Path Separation Technology

T+A believes in playing music in its purest form. That is why they eliminate even the smallest disruptive factors during development, no matter how minimal they may be. The joint processing of PCM and DSD files in a converter is exactly such a disturbance: supposedly insignificant and nevertheless having a decisive influence on the sound. To eliminate precisely this influence, the unique T+A Path Separation Technology was created: For PCM and DSD, proprietary converters specially tailored to your requirements are used, which not only exclude negative sound influences, but also optimally exploit the potential of each format.

The quadruple converter is used for PCM signals, while DSD files are processed by the globally unique T+A True 1-bit converter.

Converters & Filters

The T+A True 1-bit converter is also absolutely unique because it broke with a paradigm: Ordinary converters process DSD signals by converting them into PCM and playing them back via PCM mode. Exactly this conversion contradicts the T+A conviction and laid the basis for the development of the true 1-bit converter. It processes DSD files natively without any harmful conversions and reproduces them absolutely pristine in the true 1-bit stream.

The T+A quadruple converter takes care of the PCM conversion. Its doubly symmetrical circuit with eight 32-bit BurrBrown converters compensates for tonal non-linearities to an above-average extent and allows the almost non-existent noise to drop by a further 6 dB. This effort results in amazing dynamics and linearity with just as amazing freedom from distortion.

Although T+A believes in unadulterated music reproduction, the T+A in-house Bezier filter in the quadruple converter allows the sound characteristics to be adapted to individual taste. Using these polynomials creates a perfect time domain response for each of the 6 available filters, two of which are NOS stages.

Galvanic isolation THAT

The analog sound quality is decisively determined by the consistent separation of the digital and analog section. Dubbed the Digital Analog Separation System, it uses Silicon Labs ultra-fast digital isolators to galvanically isolate the analog section from the digital section. In order to be able to maintain isolation throughout the entire signal chain, the power supply units for the analogue and digital signal paths are also completely galvanically isolated.

Inputs, Preamps & Outputs

No restrictions - this is the maxim that guides T+A when defining the connections of the DAC 200: Its inputs are as universal as they are high quality: The USB-B inputs are based on the new high-resolution Thesycon chip, which processes up to DSD 1024. AES/EBU and BNC are available as well as SP/DIF optical and coaxial. The T+A SYS Link establishes the fast signal connection within the 200 series via the SYS IN input. Two HDMI inputs (stereo) are available as an option.

A class A preamplifier built discretely in HV technology and the state-of-the-art double mono output stage used make the DAC 200 a first-class preamplifier that provides several outputs for any requirements. Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs pass on the analog signals to power amplifiers, headphones are connected via a symmetric 4.4 mm Pentaconn headphone output. This gets its signal from a special high-performance headphone amplifier. In contrast to conventional chip solutions, this is completely discrete and specially designed for the requirements of headphones. An HDMI output (with Audio Return Channel (ARC) for passing the HDMI signal through is available in the optional HDMI board.