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Hi-End USB to S/PDIF Converter
Price: $ 499.00 / each
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Warranty and considerations: |
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| Free Shipping to the Continental US? |
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DETAILS
hiFace Evo by M2Tech is the new statement in high quality
computer audio interfaces. Hosted in a compact and stylish aluminium case,
hiFace Evo is capable of flawlessly transfer audio data up to 192kHz, 24 bits to
virtually every DAC or A/V receiver around, thanks to its comprehensive outputs
set. hiFace Evo incorporates the same leading edge technology as the classic
hiFace – with some plus. Asynchronous operation up to 192kHz is used in
conjunction with proprietary drivers which allow for Kernel Streaming, Direct
Sound and WASAPI operation (the latter under Windows vista and 7). Windows and
Mac drivers are already available. Very high precision, very low phase noise
(jitter) crystal oscillators are used. To further improve their performance,
they have a dedicated shunt voltage regulator which ensures a very low noise and
spurious-free supply. hiFace Evo is powered by an external power supply (not
included), to avoid the dirty USB bus supply from negatively affecting hiFace
Evo’s performance. Linear regulators are used all around, to allow all
jitter-sensitive digital circuits to operate at their best. Also, a low-pass
filter is provided at supply input to further reduce any bad influence from the
supply. hiFace Evo can be powered by an external wall adapter (9V 1A will fit),
or with a 9V alkaline battery, or with a 7.2V/10.8V Lythium battery. Several
outputs are available at the same time: coax on RCA, coax on true 75 Ohms BNC,
AES/EBU on male XLR, optical on Toslink™ (Toslink™ is guaranteed to operate up
to 96kHz, though we got operation up to 176.4kHz on certain setups), optical on
ST (for high-speed operation up to 192kHz and up to 1.6km or 1 mile), straight
I2S for direct connection to DIY DACs on RJ-45 (NOT plug-in compatible with
NorthStar products!). All outputs, except straight I2S, are galvanically
isolated (coax and AES/EBU via a pulse transformer). AES/EBU output can be set
to professional or consumer mode by an internal jumper. In addition, an input
for an external clock is available, for those who have a extremely precise and
stable clock generator to be used with hiFace Evo. hiFace evo automatically
recognizes the presence of the clock on its input and switches on it whenever
available. This input is also galvanically isolated via a pulse transformer.
Three LEDs indicate power, external clock presence and incoming data from the
PC. Connection to the PC is via a type B female USB
connector.
FEATURES
LOW JITTER, LOW PHASE NOISE, HIGH STABILITY OSCILLATORS
Most audio interfaces and USB-provided DACs refer the data stream clock
to the same USB interface clock, that often suffers a very heavy jitter (short
range oscillator frequency variations). Thanks to two quartz precision
oscillators used on M2Tech hiFace, clock source for output data stream features
a very low jitter. A more stable clock is recovered by DAC S/PDIF receiver; a
low jitter produces a very limited sound image distortion and degradation. Phase
noise (main responsible for jitter) is also very low: this guarantees a short
and long range clock stability, also reinforced by a board supply voltage
regulation (e.g. at environmental temperature stability is 2-5ppm approximately,
compared to 50-100ppm performed by oscillators normally used on commercial CD
players)
PROPRIETARY DRIVERS
The standard audio drivers available on the market (e.g. Microsoft Windows
operating system) dictated constraints can be overcome thanks to hiFace
proprietary drivers: they allow for transferring audio data, maintaining the
original file quality without any loss of resolution quality; also, sampling
frequency constraints are overcome, while Microsoft and ASIO drivers oblige to
operate at no more than 96kHz. When hiFace is used together with a player
application such as FooBar (available for free on Internet), you can transfer
S/PDIF stream music files to a D/A converter at 192kHz/24bits maximum
frequency/resolution, avoiding undesired PC or MAC audio mixer data processing
during the data transfer from hard disk to interface. Presently, Windows XP,
Vista, Windows 7 drivers are available, as well as Mac drivers for 10.4, 10.5
and 10.6.
COMPACT SIZE AND EASE OF USE
M2Tech hiFace features a very compact size and can be directly (or using an
accessory USB A-A adapter, not supplied with hiFace) connected to a High Speed
USB 2.0 port of any computer. A very high electric and mechanical performance
RCA gold connector provides an output signal, ready to be connected to a Hi-End
system. No external power supply is required, as hiFace draws its power from USB
bus itself and regulates it with its internal regulators. hiFace USB interface
connected to a last generation mini PC provided with a High Speed USB port makes
for a complete music transport system at very low prices (in the range of few
hundreds Euros). Such system allows for listening any density and resolution
music files, playing own CD's using a CD ROM drive, obtaining access to more
than 10,000 web radio, many of which broadcast their transmissions with CD
quality.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Size: 105x46x104mm (w x h x d, case) 105x50x142mm (w x h x d, total)
- Weight: 380g
- Sampling frequencies (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192
- Resolution (bits): 16 to 32
- Inputs: USB 2.0, supply, master clock
Outputs: S/PDIF x2 (RCA & BNC) AES/EBU (XLR) optical Toslink™, optical ST
I2S (RJ-45).
- Supply voltage: 7-11VDC (15VDC max.)
- Supply current: 140mA (idle, no output connected)
- Master clock input voltage: 3.3VPP
- I2S output voltage: LVCMOS (3.3V) with 25mA current capability on each
line
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