Audiobyte's mission is to finally close the gap between computer and high-end audio.
How do we really do that, you may ask.
Our philosophy is based on radical thinking, aiming to original product offerings. This is possible by implementing top technological solutions from our own R&D department. You will never see a me-too product from Audiobyte, at least not in technology department! What you will see is an original handcrafted hi-quality original product with real-world pricing. The products we are making are aimed to fit either in a high-end rig or in a computer audio setup. Audiobyte will always be the promoter of new and exciting technologies, and we invite you to read the products white papers before going any further.
Black Dragon
DSD Digital preamplifier
Which d/a converter? Which preamp? Which headphone amplifier? These are questions that popped up many times in our "audio" life. "Integration" is what spells our friendly dragon as a response. One box instead of three? Let's see why.
The unique digital processing architecture makes the Black Dragon pretty unique at this price level. Instead of using off-the shelf chips for internal circuitry, dedicated hardware units are built inside a FPGA-chip to form together a powerful and custom front-end to the dac chips. This include digital receivers sampling input signals at 500 MHz , the clock system able to reduce timing errors to sub-picosecond level, the powerful digital filter made with 15 DSPs, the user interface.
Femtovox clock system allows jitter reduction as low as 300 fS right before entering dacs. For a detailed explanation about this technology please consult the Black Dragon white paper.
The custom hybrid-phase digital filter is a high-performance upsampling block for conditioning the incoming signals. It is especially effective on standard resolution digital signals, like 44.1/48 KHz. With a large number of taps and a carefully adjusted response, the extension and atmosphere of the recordings are virtually enhanced prior to conversion. The filter can be enabled or disabled from the menu interface. For filter detailed performance consult the technology paper.
True dual balanced conversion (2 x AK4396) is a perfect complement to the digital input stage. Each dac chip is processing one channel in fully balanced mode which leads to better analog performance and noise rejection.
Driverless USB input for Mac and Linux is natively capable of resolutions of 24bit/384 KHz sample rate and DSD64 /128. For Windows, ASIO and WASAPI/KS drivers are available under the download section. Asynchronous operation means that the dac dictates the USB audio transfers after its master clock and not the PC, resulting in minimal jitter.
Fully discrete , true balanced, zero-feedback class A output stage / headphone amplifier section will drive without problems from low to high impedance headphones.
The low noise LNS (linear power supply) - all power supplies inside are linear type. There are a total of 11 linear stabiliser IC's, 8 of them are low noise. The total filtering capacity exceeds 50.000 uF. The power supply is serviced by 2 separate toroidal transformers.
User convenience – there are 5 digital inputs available: USB, spdif, aes/ebu, i2s and optical toslink. Balanced, single ended and headphone outputs are present. The large display is easily readable from the listening point.
Easy firmware upgrade – the Black Dragon can be updated in the field by easily playing a special update track via the USB input. Any firmware updates will be available under the download section.
Technical specifications:
Inputs
USB receptacle, typeB, high-speed
S/PDIF coaxial, 75 ohms
AES/EBU, 110 ohms
Toslink
I2S/DSD over HDMI (LVDS)
Outputs
Single Ended, 10Vpp max.
Balanced, 20Vpp max.
Headphone output max. 800 mW / 32 ohm
Supported sample rates
44.1-384 KHz on USB, I2S (PCM)
DSD64, 128 on USB
44.1-192 KHz on spdif, aes-ebu
44.1-96 KHz on toslink
Bit depth
32 bit over I2S and USB
24 bit over S/PDIF, AES/EBU, TOSLINK
Compatibility (USB)
Driverless for Mac and Linux
ASIO/KS/WASAPI drivers for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8
General
Power consumption (max): 35 W
Dimensions : 240 x 300 x 90 mm
Weight : aprox. 4.5 kg
Hydra Z
USB audio playback bridge and clock generator
The previous model of Hydra, the X+, has built its reputation based on excellent sound quality. From our perspective, it is time to move on, and offer a new interface, that we named usb audio playback bridge.
While raising the bar even more in sound quality and keeping the existing set of features precedently available, the new Hydra Z comes with a list of improvements that we’re happy to share. Among the changes are a complete redesign of the digital board, changes in the way the Hydra is powered, new output configuration, new chassis and many other refinements – please see below.
MORE FLEXIBLE The Hydra Z can be powered in 3 (three) ways :
Directly from USB
From an external, fixed 5Vdc/0.5-1A power supply
From the dedicated Hydra ZPM (Z-Power Module)
Furthermore features:
Extended number/type of outputs
Adjustable I2S output clock polarity, to match all HDMI/I2S/LVDS dacs available
Adjustable masterclock output on I2S (512xfs or 1024xfs)
Firmware upgrade over usb
DSD native / DoP / hi-quality PCM converted (selectable)
DXD native (I2S out) / 192k or 176.4k (spdif, aes, bnc out)
TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS Hydra Z benefits from all the qualities of the X+, and even more. New clocking scheme allows shutting down one of the two main oscillators when not in use. By reducing the mutual interference between clocks, better phase noise performance can be obtained. The power supply section was moved to a different chassis for best results.
WORDCLOCK and MASTERCLOCK OUTPUT The Hydra Z can be additionally used as a wordclock or masterclock generator through its dedicated BNC output. In total there are available 6 (six) outputs, including the low-jitter wordclock/masterclock output for direct synchronizing external d/a converters. The output wordclock is the sample clock (44.1KHz - 384 KHz) or 512xfs (22.5792 MHz or 24.576 MHz). The other 5(five) are : SPDIF Coaxial, SPDIF BNC, AES/EBU, I2S, TOSLINK.
IMPROVED CHASSIS The new Hydra has a full aluminium chassis, with a 10 mm thick front panel. All connectors are conveniently placed on the back panel.
ISOLATION A 5KV isolation barrier is used to prevent any leakage of the noise from PC to your sensitive audio system. The USB isolation for audio devices is nothing but tricky. If you choose to use USB isolators, then sample rate will become limited, which is not an option. If you choose to isolate the output, you are adding significant amounts of jitter to the signal. By using a clever circuit topology, the Hydra design avoids these two bottlenecks. The isolation is placed between the ARM processor and the FPGA audio core, therefore not limiting the bandwidth. Being before the clocks, its jitter contribution becomes irrelevant.
ARM PROCESSING All USB audio transactions are made through a powerful ARM3 processor. Therefore Hydra Z supports any sample rate available (384k PCM, DSD128) while being future-proof for any extension.
FPGA TECHNOLOGY As all AUDIOBYTE digital products, the Hydra Z uses cutting edge, custom digital processing developed into a Xilinx Spartan6 field-programmable gate array. The fpga is the “heart” of the Hydra. This advanced programmable circuit is offering a bit-transparent processing and signal conditioning to all outputs. It also gives the ability of the Hydra to output raw dsd audio streams.
AUDIO GRADE CLOCKS Unlike other products which only specify "low jitter clocks", here is exactly what you will find inside : 2xCCHD-950/957 type from Crystek. These are real audio grade clocks. You can check real graphs for them here. These clocks are system masters. In order to remove any jitter induced by the FPGA circuit itself, special retiming is applied just before the Hydra Z outputs.
COMPONENTS AND LAYOUT Careful PCB layout is often neglected in the rush of getting a product quickly into the market. The Hydra Z design time took lots of work until everything came into the right place, until the shortest routing paths, the best decoupling places, the less interference and crosstalk placement for the components are found. Selected quality components (active and passive) are used for guaranteed long-time performance.
EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY For best results you can use the Hydra Z with the dedicated Hydra ZPMpower supply.
Technical specifications:
Inputs
USB receptacle, type B
Outputs
S/PDIF, 75 ohm coaxial
AES/EBU, 110 ohm XLR
BNC 75 ohms
I2S over HDMI (LVDS)
Toslink
Wordclock BNC
Supported sample rates
PCM
44.1 KHz
48 KHz
88.2 KHz
96 KHz
176.4 KHz
192 KHz
352.8 KHz
384 KHz
DSD
2.8 MHz (DSD64) - DoP, native
5.6 MHz (DSD128) - DoP, native
11.2 MHz (DSD256) - native (via ASIO)
22.5 MHz (DSD512) - native (via ASIO)
Bit depth
32 bit over I2S output
24 bit over S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink
Compatibility
Native MacOS 10.6 and later
Native Linux with UAC2 compliant kernel
ASIO, WASAPI, KS, DS drivers for Win XP to W8 32/64 bit
Recommended players : Foobar2000, Audirvana Plus, Jriver etc.
General
Power consumption : 0,7W
Dimensions : 240 x 170 x 45MM
Weight : 1,2kg
HYDRA ZPM
Ultra linear audio power supply
If one wants to fully squeeze the last drop of sound from the Hydra Z usb bridge, Hydra ZPM (Z Power Module) is the natural upgrade as external power supply. It’s main features are described below.
ULTRACAPACITOR POWER BANK The Hydra ZPM makes a step further, letting behind the Hydra X concept, which was battery powered. Instead, ZPM is using a ultracapacitor bank consisting of 2 x 310 Farads (1 Farad equals 1.000.000 uF) which will provide lower internal resistance and longer life and reliability, compared to a battery solution.
PROCESSOR CONTROLLED This charging of this huge capacitance is no trivial task, therefore is being done by specialized circuitry. Once capacitor bank is fully charged (it may take up to 4h first time!) , the output voltage will remain constant assuming that Hydra ZPM is left powered on.
LOW NOISE LINEAR The ZPM is designed entirely a linear design – meaning there is no switchmode technology inside. This way, all types of noise associated usually with the widespread non-linear power supplies is eliminated.
UPGRADABLE Aside the “digital” 5v output readily available, the Hydra ZPM can be equipped with a discrete ultralow noise analog regulators to provide symmetrical +/-12v.. +/-24 in order to supply analog devices.
Technical specifications:
General
Dimensions : 240 x 170 x 45mm
Weight : 1,7kg
Output digital : 5V / 1A max
Output noise (digital) : 5 uV RMS
Output analog (optional) : +/- 12v , 0.5A max.