Cambridge Audio DacMagic

 

PRICE $600.00

IN-STOCK

SILVER OR BLACK COLOUR

 

DR Hi-Fi's Review

Stereophile Review

5 STAR - Hi-Fi Choice Review PDF

 
 

 

 

DAC Magic Side SilWith the advent of computer-based music systems, Cambridge Audio’s DacMagic™ upsampling digital to analogue converter is the most affordable and effective way to upgrade any PC or Macintosh computer, network music device, games console or standard CD/DVD player to truly high end sound quality.


 

Reasons why you need Dac Magic!



Enjoy digital music like never before...
Adapted Time Filtering (ATF) asynchronous upsampling technology might sound complicated but the benefits are instantly audible. Essentially it converts 16-24 bit audio to 24 bit/192kHz so you hear so much more from compressed material. Meanwhile a 32 bit Digital Signal Processor (DSP) eradicates jitter which is especially effective with hard disk playback from PCs or Macintosh computers. Whether your digital music collection is stored on a PC or you use a network music client – Squeezebox™, SoundBridge™, Sonos™ etc - the difference in audible quality is incredible!

Games just explode into life
Gaming isn’t just about the moving image. By connecting your games console - PlayStations(PS2 and PS3™), Xbox™ and Xbox 360s™ to your hi-fi via DacMagic, dramatically improved soundtracks and special effects are immediately apparent.

Breathe new life into your DVD player
DVD players can sound great with movies, but normally lack polish when playing back CDs. DacMagic is the simplest way to significantly eradicate jitter and markedly improve your DVD player’s sonic performance.

Resurrect your CD player
Maybe your CD player is ageing gracefully and is in need of a boost. DacMagic adds a new lease of life into any CD player fitted with an S/PDIF or Toslink (optical) output.

DacMagic is an audiophile tour de force!
DacMagic sports a range of components you’d never dream could be crammed into such a compact case. These include a 32-bit Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processor (DSP), dual Differential Virtual Earth balanced filter topology and twin Wolfson WM8740 high quality DACs in dual differential mode for excellent stereo imaging. Other features include a choice of digital filters - linear phase/minimum phase/steep filter - and an incoming sampling rate indicator which shows the original source quality. You can experiment with different filters for each source connected but DacMagic always remembers the last one assigned to that source. For more information on these advanced filters, just download our user manual

It’s flexible and easy to set-up
Up to two digital sources - network music devices, games consoles, CD/DVD players etc. can be connected concurrently using S/PDIF or Toslink inputs. Additionally, you can connect DacMagic directly to your PC using a USB connection (no drivers needed) and dramatically improve the quality of your digital music. Once upsampled, DacMagic offers both balanced XLR outputs and unbalanced RCA outputs for superior quality analogue transfer.

 

DacMagic's got serious pedigree!



Cambridge Audio introduced the original DacMagic in 1994 with the specific intention of upgrading CD players. It was received to great acclaim and spawned several incarnations. The digital music revolution means the CD is just one format as people listen to their collection in a totally different way. Therefore, the time is right for a renaissance. The spiritual successor to the original DacMagic allows a range of applications such as PCs, Media Center PCs, network music devices and sound bridges to benefit from a DAC’s ability to bring downloaded and compressed content to life. Once upsampled, the DacMagic offers both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR outputs for the best quality analogue transfer.

 

SilvDacHoriz

DacMagic Features

 

Adaptive Time Filtering (ATF™) asynchronous upsampling technology converts 16-24 bit audio (at any standard sampling frequency between 32-96kHz) to 24 bit/192kHz

 
32 bit Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processor (DSP)


Dual Differential Virtual Earth balanced filter topology – low order two pole linear-phased Bessel filter takes advantage of high sampling rate achieved


Twin WM8740 high quality DACs in dual differential mode for excellent stereo imaging

 
Incoming sampling rate indicator 32/44.1/48/88.2/96kHz


Choice of filters – linear phase, minimum phase and steep filter can all be selected to suit an individual’s listening preferences


Phase select to invert or reinvert input, correcting possible recording problems


Two inputs with both SPDIF & Toslink sockets allow wide range of digital sources to be connected
USB input connects direct to PC without drivers to act as very high quality DAC/soundcard providing genuine hi-fi quality playback from desktop or media PC


Singled ended phono and XLR balanced audio outputs


Digital output (SPDIF and Toslink concurrently) passes through selected source for recording purposes


Substantial aluminium front panel plus an entirely new ultra rigid, acoustically dampened chassis


Can be used horizontally (using four rubber feet) or vertically (rubber foot)

 

 

DacMagic Specifications

 
D/A Converters: Dual Wolfson WM8740 24bit DACs
 
Digital filter: Texas Instruments TMS 320VC5501 DSP upsampling to 24bit 192kHz
 
Analogue filter: 2-Pole Dual Differential Bessel Double Virtual Earth Balanced
 
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz (±0.1dB) - steep filter disabled
 
THD @ 1Khz 0dBFs: <0.001% 24bit
 
THD @ 1kHz -10dBFs: <0.001%
 
THD @ 20kHz 0dBFs: <0.002%
 
Signal to Noise Ratio: -112dBr
 
Total correlated jitter: <130pS
 
Crosstalk @ 1kHz: < -100dB
 
Crosstalk @ 20kHz: < -90dB
 
Output Impedance: <50ohms
 
Output level (unbalanced): 2.1V rms
 
Output level (balanced): 4.2V rms (2.1V per phase)
 
Digital input word widths supported: 16-24bit (16 bit for USB)
 
Digital input sampling frequencies supported: 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz
 
Audio output up-sampling: Fixed 24bit 192kHz
 
Dimensions (H x W x D): 52 x 215 x 191mm
(2.0 x 8.6 x 7.6”)
 
Weight: 1.2kg/2.6lbs
 

 

The DacMagic’s 32 bit DSP runs Cambridge Audio’s own proprietary digital filter algorithms with three different filter options available: Linear Phase, Minimum Phase and Steep. Controlled from one switch on the front panel, they are extremely clever audiophile topologies specifically developed for audio playback and all offer excellent sound quality but differ slightly to appeal to a wide range of listening tastes.

Linear Phase FilterLinear phase is the same as used in the flagship Azur 840C upsampling CD player. It uniquely features ‘constant group delay’ which delays all audio signals at all frequencies by the same amount meaning all audio is fully time-coherent at the output.




Minimum Phase FilterMinimum phase meanwhile does not feature constant group delay but rather the co-efficients have been optimized without feed-forward so that the impulse response exhibits no pre-ringing in the time domain. Some commentators have argued that the pre-ringing as seen in nearly all digital filter designs may affect the transient attack of percussive instruments. Minimum phase implementation eliminates this and is a technology only seen previously in some extremely highend CD playback systems.


Linear Phase FilterLastly, the steep filter removes close in aliasing artefacts by re-calibrating the co-efficients for a very slight roll off at 20kHz but an ultra steep drop to the stop-band just after 20kHz.

These three filters are all of the highest quality but offer subtle differences for the user to enjoy. The type of filter chosen is remembered for each input individually so that it is possible to use one for PC playback via USB and another for CD playback via SPDIF.