ЦАПы — CH Precision C10

The C10 Reference DAC is the dual-chassis digital-to-analogue converter from CH Precision of Switzerland and the entry point to the brand's 10 Series digital front end. One box holds the conversion circuits and the other an external power supply. Unlike the older C1.2, it has no variable output and no analogue inputs, so it is dedicated to conversion alone, and the same hardware can later grow into mono and Statement versions.

Key specs that matter

Conversion runs at 24 bit and 2.8224 MHz through what CH calls a DSQ Phase Array, built from sixteen R-2R networks of the PCM-1704 type, eight per channel. Each channel has an XLR and an RCA output with three selectable levels - 10, 5 or 2 V RMS on XLR and 5, 2.5 or 1 V RMS on RCA. Bandwidth extends from DC to 155 kHz at -3 dB. THD plus noise stays below 0.003 percent from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, A-weighted, while the S/N figure tops 121 dB at the high level, 120 dB at mid and 117 dB at low. Residual noise on XLR is under 9, 5 or 3 microvolts depending on level. Each chassis measures 440 x 440 x 133 mm, and the DAC weighs 20 kg against 23 kg for the supply, which draws up to 120 W.

Engineering and use context

Within each channel the resistor networks are wired dual-differential, four non-inverted and four inverted, and all sit on a common silicon substrate so that thermal and geometric behaviour stays consistent. Incoming data is upsampled 64 times by the proprietary PEtER spline filter on a 32-bit fixed-point DSP engine, followed by a CH-designed Bessel filter with constant group delay that the maker says avoids pre- and post-ringing. The supply feeds four independent regulated DC lines for digital processing, clock and DAC stages. Three identical input slots are fitted, one carrying the standard board with AES/EBU, Toslink, coaxial S/PDIF and CH Link HD. Optional USB, Ethernet streaming and clock sync boards fill the others. CH Link HD and Ethernet accept PCM to 768 kHz and DSD to 22.5792 MHz, USB takes PCM to 384 kHz, and full MQA decoding is included and the streaming board works as a Roon Ready endpoint with Tidal and Qobuz Connect.

Pairing

Because the output level is switchable but not variable, the C10 needs a line preamplifier, and the 10 V balanced setting suits inputs with generous headroom. The D10 transport and T10 master clock connect directly, and the CH Control app handles input selection and playback.

Alternatives

The CH Precision C1.2 is the brand's earlier DAC, which adds variable output and analogue inputs but oversamples at 16 times rather than 64.