ЦАПы — Soulution Audio 760 DAC

The Soulution 760 DAC belongs to the 7 series of the Swiss manufacturer as its D/A converter, based on the technical solutions developed for the 745 SACD player. Soulution sums up its design brief as no deletions and no additions, meaning every piece of digital music data is carried into the analogue domain. A digital volume control allows the 760 to connect straight to a power amplifier, and the user operates it through front-panel buttons and a rotary knob.

Key specs that matter

The 760 accepts AES/EBU, SPDIF on RCA, optical, USB and network signals. AES/EBU and SPDIF accept up to 24-bit/192 kHz and optical up to 24-bit/96 kHz, while USB and network reach 24-bit/384 kHz or 1-bit/5.64 MHz. Supported files are WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD in DSF and DFF, DXD, AAC and MP3. Digital outputs on AES/EBU and SPDIF plus a BNC clock output are provided. Analogue connections comprise a single XLR and a single RCA output, delivering 4 V RMS and 2 V RMS at an output impedance of 2 ohms, with maximum output current limited by protection to 1 A. Frequency response runs from 0 Hz to 200 kHz with DXD, total harmonic distortion plus noise is below 0.0005 percent from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, signal-to-noise ratio exceeds 140 dB and channel separation exceeds 130 dB. Volume adjusts from 0 to minus 79 dB in 1 dB steps. The unit measures 480 mm wide, 167 mm high and 450 mm deep and weighs about 30 kg, drawing under 0.5 W in standby and 60 W in operation.

Engineering and use context

Signal processing applies 8x oversampling to 24-bit/352.8 kHz or 384 kHz, and conversion is handled by Burr-Brown chips in a digital symmetric configuration. Zero-Phase Technology keeps phase errors below 1 degree between 20 Hz and 100 kHz. The master clock uses a TCXO developed with specialist oscillator makers for this application, running on its third overtone rather than its fundamental. Output stages are built as dual mono with a wideband design reaching 40 MHz at minus 3 dB, and two dedicated power supplies serve the audio stages and the digital circuits separately. More than 500,000 microfarads of storage capacitance provide impulse current for the analogue circuits.

Pairing

The BNC clock output can synchronise another digital component in the system. The AES/EBU and SPDIF outputs pass the digital signal on to a second converter or recorder.

Alternatives

The Soulution 560 D/A converter in the 5 series offers a 20 MHz output stage and upsampling based on Anagram Technologies algorithms, in a 442 x 143 x 448 mm case of about 20 kg with a 10 ohm output impedance.