CORDA STAGEDAC

Technical details

The STAGEDAC is a state-of-the-art Digital-to-Analog converter with integrated crossfeed and volume controlled outputs. One of the main purposes of the STAGEDAC is to provide maximum sound quality for as little as money as possible. Therefore this converter has no fancy enclosure and its appearance is relatively slim. However, inside two top-of-the-line Wolfson D/A converter chips in dual-mono mode, a large battery of audiophile capacitors, two toroidal transformers, ultra-fast opamps in class-A, and many other very high-quality components are found that are exemplary for this price-class. Two coxial, one optical, as well as an USB-input allow for easy connection of any digital source, including your computer. A variable output allows to directly drive a poweramplifier or a pair of active loudspeakers. The converter uses the newest Wolfson WM8804 S/PDIF receiver chip which, instead of a conventional analog PLL, uses its own separate quartz-clock. Thus much higher jitter reduction can be achieved then with more traditional receivers. Different modes for digital filtering and oversampling can be set by the user. Thus the sound can be tuned to personal taste. A unique feature of the STAGEDAC is the built-in extended natural crossfeed-filter. Whereas the functionality of the natural crossfeed filter as found in our headphone amplifiers is limited to frequencies upto around 800 Hz this new filter has a much wider bandwidth and now covers the whole range from DC..2000 Hz in which the human ear is sensitive for directional information. The result is a more stable imaging when the crossfeed is activated whilst listening by headphone. In addition this extended version of the natural crossfeed-filter also has a loudspeaker-mode in which it is possible to widen the soundstage beyond the boundaries posed by the positions of the loudspeakers. With large-stage recordings this strongly enhances live-feeling.

2 coaxial S/PDIF inputs (Cinch) 1 optical S/PDIF input (Toslink) 1 USB-input port 1 pair of outputs with fixed output level.           Output level 2.2 Vrms 1 pair of volume-controlled preamplifier outputs.           Output level: 2.2 Vrms / High gain                                  0.5 Vrms / Low gain Gold-plated output jacks Silver plated heavy duty switches Separate transformers and powerlines for the analog circuitry and the digital circuitry All voltage lines double or three-fold regulated 110V and 220V switchable Built-in groundloop breaker Low impedance audiophile electrolytic buffer capacitors (Nichicon). Buffer capacity 100.000 uF Polystyrol and polypropylen (Vishay) capacitors in the signal path BURR-BROWN PCM2704 USB-to-S/PDIF receiver WOLFSON WM8804 S/PDIF receiver 2 pieces WOLFSON WM8741 D/A converter-chip in dual-mono mode Sampling frequencies / resolution           32, 44, 48, 88, 96, 192 kHz / 16, 20, 24 bit (S/PDIF)           32, 44, 48 kHz / 16 bit (USB) 9 Different digital filter modes, user-selectable. (including classic oversampling with sinc-function, low pre- and post-ringing, post ringing only, fast frequency roll-off, non-oversampling response, ....) LM6171 opamps biased into class-A using LM334 current sources. 3-Mode crossfeed filter:           1. Headphone Crossfeed           2. Stereo / crossfeed OFF           3. Loudspeaker Crossfeed 3 intensity levels for the crossfeed signal. 3 different delay times for the crossfeed signal Star-grounding Signal paths and signal path components at the bottom side of the PCB for maximal shielding Weight: 1.9 kg Size: 28.0 x 17.5 x 6.7 cm Power uptake: 7 Watts

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