ЦАПы — Gryphon Audio KALLIOPE

The Kalliope is a digital-to-analogue converter from Gryphon Audio Designs, the Danish company whose products are designed by Flemming E. Rasmussen and made in Denmark. Gryphon introduced 88.2 kHz asynchronous sample rate conversion in its CDP-1 CD player in 1998, and the Kalliope, launched in 2014 and named after the Greek muse, continues that line of digital development. It is fully dual mono.

Key specs that matter

It uses a dedicated ESS Sabre ES9018 32-bit converter for each channel, each chip incorporating eight converters in dual-differential coupling. The USB input accepts PCM from 44.1 to 384 kHz at up to 32 bits and DSD by DoP at 2.822, 3.072, 5.644 and 6.144 MHz. The BNC and XLR inputs accept PCM from 22.05 to 192 kHz at up to 24 bits. Inputs are one balanced 110 ohm AES/EBU on XLR, three 75 ohm S/PDIF on BNC and USB. A balanced AES/EBU output passes a de-jittered signal from the selected input, and a BNC connector accepts an external word clock. Line-level outputs come on XLR and RCA.

Engineering and use context

The analogue output stage is true Class A, fully discrete and DC-coupled, with zero negative feedback, fed by discrete ultra-low-noise +/-25 V regulated supplies. The DAC chips' analogue sections have their own discrete low-noise supply. Each analogue channel has a custom 65 VA toroidal transformer and a 34,000 uF capacitor bank. PCM uses first-order analogue filters and DSD second-order filters, built with silvered mica capacitors. The USB module is powered by a 12.5 farad SuperCap supply acting as a battery, which removes the noise that the computer's 5 V USB bus power would otherwise inject into the data lines. The BNC and XLR inputs are galvanically isolated. Users can choose PCM and DSD digital roll-off filters and asynchronous sample rate conversion, and temperature-compensated crystal oscillators achieve better than 5 ppm accuracy. The digital sections are modular for future upgrades, with firmware updates via USB. Front-panel menus provide an absolute phase inverter, source naming, display brightness, word clock synchronisation, output attenuation of 0 or -6 dB and auto standby. Circuit boards use four layers with 70 micron copper.

Pairing

The balanced outputs suit Gryphon's preamplifiers and any line-level preamplifier, and the AES/EBU output allows the Kalliope to act as a de-jittering hub. The word clock input connects an external master clock.

Alternatives

Gryphon's Ethos is the CD player and DAC of the brand that combines a disc transport with conversion in one chassis.