Streamers — CAAS Elysian Audio Streamer

The Elysian Audio Streamer, catalogued by CAAS Audio as the EAS, puts a Roon Ready network player, the company's own converter and a remote controlled line stage into one Elysian series chassis. CAAS, based in Yorkshire and started in 2006, pitches it as a unit that can go straight into a power amplifier and take the place of a separate streamer, DAC and preamp. It shares its 350 x 330 x 80 mm case and its 8.6 kg weight with the Elysian Pre-amplifier, and TIDAL is among the services it plays through the Roon endpoint.

Key specs that matter

Digital sources arrive over wired Ethernet on RJ45, through a WiFi dongle in one of four USB ports, or through one coaxial S/PDIF input. Two RCA analogue inputs take up to 4 V RMS at 0 dB and present 33 kohm. Three analogue outputs are fitted - a variable RCA pair with 60 ohm output impedance, a variable XLR pair at 360 ohm per phase, and a fixed level RCA pair straight from the DAC at 110 ohm. The variable outputs reach 4 V RMS. Attenuation runs from 0 dB to -64 dB plus mute in 128 steps of 0.5 dB. The preamp section extends from below 1 Hz to 200 kHz at -3 dB with DC coupling. THD for both the preamp and the DAC stays below 0.03% at 1 kHz and 2 V output, and DC offset is within 1 mV. Idle consumption is under 20 W, and standby under 0.5 W.

Engineering and use context

Conversion uses the CAAS HDAC, built around a pair of 16-bit R-2R resistor ladders, one per channel, laser trimmed to tight matching and fed from a parallel 176.4 kHz upsampling stage. Data reaches the ladders through iTrans, the company's buffered reclocking link with a custom 8-wire parallel bus in place of S/PDIF or I2S. Volume is set by a high precision switched resistor network, and gain comes from a Class A module using bipolar transistors without any feedback loop. Fifteen separate regulated supplies power the digital, conversion and analogue sections. The whole chassis is cut on a 5-axis CNC machine from one billet of aluminium and anodised in silver or black.

Pairing

The variable XLR and RCA outputs can go directly into a stereo power stage or into two mono-blocks such as the CAAS Elysian 100, while the fixed output can feed a separate preamp or a recording device. The two analogue inputs keep a phono stage or a disc player in the system, routed through the same volume control. A computer or server running Roon Core completes the setup.

Alternatives

The CAAS Digital Audio Streamer is the smaller Roon Ready player with the same R-2R converter but only one fixed RCA output, a 220 mm wide case and a weight of 2.8 kg.