I2S BenchmarkDAC-1
and Off-Ramp I2S
For great
music
remastered from
Reel-to-Reel Tape
using equipment modded
by Empirical Audio, see
http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com
Manufacturers that use
our DAC's or Off-Ramp
Front-Ends as their
reference:
Hovland
Red Rock Audio
Magnan Cables
highdeftapetransfers.com
Bauls Audio (Bastani)
Cable
News:
| Audiogon
video on Empirical Audio products: http://live.audiogon.com/events/the2008/vids/Empirical_room.html 2008 THE Show reports: http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2008//index4.html http://www.audiogon.com/news/item/1199158567.html http://www.computeraudiophile.com/node/136?page=0%2C16 http://www.computeraudiophile.com/node/136?page=0%2C17 New Product Announcements Revelation
Audio Labs "reverse" I2S cable Top
Fuel Power Cable Empirical
donates a Pace-Car for AirPort Express to the
Enjoy
Pace-Car
reclocker for Squeezebox, Sonos, Northstar
Transport, Type
2 can be used with USB converters including the
Freeway I2S, Freeway 2, All things that go through the Pace-Car end-up the same high-quality at the outputs. Rev 3 of the board can support inputs including: I2S or Toslink and S/PDIF or AES Outputs are: I2S and S/PDIF or AES Freeway
2 and Freeway I2S getting new clocks "Driverless"
Firmware now available for Off-Ramps/Spoiler For those that do not upgrade, please try out this new method for playback: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=40068.0 Update Turbomod
for the Benchmark DAC-1 Northstar 192 DAC
and transport mods added USB extensions http://usb-shop.com/opticis.html The
Belkin Wireless USB Hub is available now as well
as the WiRanger. The
coolest interface is to use Mac and control
iTunes to drive USB using your New Products under development: USB DAC "Formula One" - Q3 2008 White-Papers White-Paper
on Computer Audio in PSOnline |
| "Empirical
Audio-modified Sony DVP-S7700/PT P-3A with
Empirical Audio cables rates a "Ye Olde Editor's recommended modification." If you have either component, you'll want to consider having Steve take a look at your gear." David
Robinson, |
| "I
have found the sound of the Empirical Audio custom cables to be faultless, without any sonic anomaly that I have been able to detect. Given the fact
that David
Robinson, |
Why choose Empirical Audio for Mods?
- Experience - 30 years digital design
- Education -
EE degree - Analog
and Digital emphasis - Knowledge -
Industry training on
power delivery, transmission-lines,
grounding/shielding, ESD, signal
integrity and rework techniques for
surface-mount and through-hole. - High-quality professional rework
Empirical mods combine
an engineering knowledge of power
delivery, signal transmission, circuit analysis and cable
design to deliver significant audible improvements to you
at an excellent value. We are able to leverage almost 30
years
design experience (as a EE) with signal transmission,
interface design and digital electronics. This is how we
are
able to improve nearly any component, including
crossovers
and even PCI cards. We are uniquely qualified to reverse-
engineer component designs and make them better. Our
mods typically make dramatic improvements because they
are holistic changes.
Our mods are different
because they are wholistic in nature. We
evaluate all of the compromises that were made in the
original
design and redesign these. Typical consumer products are
designed to a "price-point", which results in
compromises and
trade-offs that ultimately impact the quality of the
sound.
Consumer gear is also designed for high-volume
manufacture
which usually means circuit board wiring and minimizing
hand-
soldering and cabling. Circuit-boards are made of
inferior
dielectrics and the current paths are less than optimum
due to
ground-plane construction and routing constraints. In
most
cases, external cabling will improve these. Because hand-
soldering is eliminated in most consumer products,
high-quality
"through-hole" components are sometimes
avoided. All of
these compromises can be reversed with appropriate mods.
In addition, we have found that even the best analog
circuit
designers tend not to be proficient in the more esoteric
areas
of design, namely power delivery, grounding, return
paths,
wiring, shielding and transmission-line effects. It is in
these
areas that we make significant sonic improvements and
these
areas where Empirical Audio has extensive training and
experience.
Experience the
difference with an Empirical Audio mod. You
do not see very many EA modded items for sale on
Audiogon.
The reason is that most customers keep them. In fact, we
have
helped many customers reach their personal audio nirvana
and
then we never hear from them again, even on the
discussion
groups. They are finally able to transition from critical
listening
to enjoyment listening. They stop listening to the
components
and start listening to the music. This is what we are
about.
| "the
improvement was immediate, noticeable, and obvious... the music becomes more vivid, standing out against the background in all its glory like spring flowers bursting forth in mountain rocks. The Grand Slam is quite an achievement." Ed
Morawski |
| "If you like
the natural sound as I have been describing it in this series of reviews, you can't go wrong with .. (Clarity7)" Bob
Neill |
| "these
cables are great! Go out and buy them now. Yeah, they’re that good." Ed
Morawski |
| Bare Wire
Technology Unlike other designs, Empirical Audio cables utilize Bare Wire Technology (BWT). BWT is a result of ten years of developing methods to process and suspend bare wires. Bare wires significantly reduce signal dispersion (smearing). Signal dispersion is caused by the dielectric absorption of solid insulating materials that are used in conventional cables, such as Teflon or PVC. Dispersion can cause:
If your audio
system is suffering from the above symptoms, Our philosophy is to make the selection
of cables easy for Empirical sells
both direct from this website and through |
We have relocated the business to
central Oregon, a place called
Black Butte Ranch. BBR is in the Cascade mountain range
of
Oregon at an altitude of 3300 feet. It is a full-service
resort
complete with golf courses, bike trails, horse stables
and great
fly-fishing. BBR has hundreds of great rental houses and
condos
for vacationers. Here is their link:
http://www.blackbutteranch.com
Our new studio and factory facilities are complete as of 7/04.
 |
This is the power cord we had
been hoping for. It has the low-
inductance of the Magnum2 combined with the clarity of
the
Clarity7 speaker cable. It is our first power cord to use
BWT
(Bare Wire Technology). For amplifiers, it takes them to
a new
level. The Grand Slam improves clarity, dynamics,
background
quietness and coherence. The coherence and background
blackness are the big improvements over our original
Magnum2
power cord. The Grand Slam comes equipped with a
silver-plated
AC plug, which synergizes beautifully with Acme
silver-plated
outlets. The IEC is UP-OCC copper, with direct 24 karat
gold plating.
Its a lot fatter than our original Magnum2, but it flexes
just as
well and bounces right back. Like all Empirical Audio
products,
it is built to take abuse.
 |
interconnects
Empirical has added these outstanding
plugs from Eichmann in
Australia. They are truly a breakthrough, being the only
solid pure
silver plugs on the market. We noticed an improvement in
sound
clarity compared to the standard Bullet Plugs.
Click on picture for specifications, models and pricing - Buy online
 |
 |
 |
Interconnects
Eichmann Bullet Plugs*
Pure Silver, BWT
Balanced Interconnects
Pure Silver, BWT
Shielded Interconnects
Pure Silver, BWT
 |
 |
Speaker Cable
BWT
Biwire Speaker Cable
BWT
 |
 |
Digital Interconnect
Pure Silver, 75 ohms, BWT
Digital Interconnect
Pure Silver, 110 ohms, BWT
|
Power Cable
BWT