FireWire

Most DAC’s with a FireWire interface are pro-gear.
Few brands address the consumer market.

Some do something in between like Spatial.
They sell typical pro-gear to the audiophile community like the Apogee Duet/Ensemble or Prism Sound Orpheus + Mac + software doing DSP on the iMac.
This allows you to implement an active speaker setup doing

Apogee Duet $495.00

  • Two channels of professional-quality 24-bit/96kHz audio input and output
  • Two balanced XLR inputs, with selectable 48V phantom power on each input
  • Two unbalanced high impedance instrument inputs
  • One high-level stereo headphone output
  • Two unbalanced -10 dBV line outputs for powered speakers
  • Multi-function controller knob for volume and input gain control and assignable MIDI control
  • Multi-segment LED meters to display input or output levels
  • FireWire 400, compatible with Mac OS X Core Audio
  • Control functions built directly into Apple’s Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro and GarageBand
  • Compatible with any Core Audio-compliant audio application
  • Apogee’s Maestro software for advanced control and low latency mixing
  • Dimensions: 4" W x 6.3" L x 1.5" H

 

RME Fireface 400 $1299.00

 

Input AD: 6 x 1/4" TRS (4 x Line, 2 x Line/Instrument), 2 x XLR/TRS Combo connector (2 x Mic/Line), all servo-balanced.

Output DA: 6 x 1/4" TRS, servo-balanced, DC-coupled signal path. 1 x 1/4" TRS unbalanced

Input Digital: 1 x ADAT optical or SPDIF optical, SPDIF coaxial (AES/EBU compatible)

Output Digital: 1 x ADAT optical or SPDIF optical, SPDIF coaxial (AES/EBU compatible)

MIDI: 2 x MIDI I/O via breakout cable (4 x 5-pin DIN jacks), for 32 channels low jitter hi-speed MIDI

2 x FireWire 400

Dynamic range AD: 110 dB RMS unweighted, 113 dBA

THD AD: < -100 dB (< 0.001 %)

THD+N AD: < -98 dB (< 0.0012 %)

Crosstalk AD: > 110 dB

Dynamic range DA: 110 dB RMS unweighted, 113 dBA (unmuted)

THD DA: -100 dB (0.001 %)

THD+N DA: -96 dB (0.0015 %)

Crosstalk DA: > 110 dB

Input/Output level for 0 dBFS @ Hi Gain: +19 dBu

Input/Output level for 0 dBFS @ +4 dBu: +13 dBu

Input/Output level for 0 dBFS @ -10 dBV: +2 dBV

Sample rate internally: 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 128, 176.4, 192 kHz

Sample rate externally: 28 kHz - 200 kHz

Frequency response AD/DA, -0.1 dB: 5 Hz - 20.4 kHz (sf 44.1 kHz)

Frequency response AD/DA, -0.5 dB: 1 Hz - 43.3 kHz (sf 96 kHz)

Frequency response AD/DA, -1 dB: 1 Hz

Metric Halo Mobile I/O ULN-2 $1,695.00

  • 2 Mic/Line/Instrument analog inputs on Neutrik Combo connectors
  • Balanced TRS analog sends and returns for analog inputs
  • 2 analog outputs on balanced TRS connectors
  • 24bit/96k converters on all channels
  • Headphone amp with front panel volume knob
  • Balanced stereo master control room monitor output with front panel volume control
  • AES-S/PDIF Digital I/O with selectable SRC
  • Onboard 80-bit multibus mixer for near-zero latency mixing and routing
  • 4-pin XLR power port for compatibility with most location battery systems
  • 9 front panel preset system/routing memories for stand-alone operation
  • FireWire Connectivity
  • Compact, light, and bus-powerable

PrismSound Orpheus $4,495.00

  • ASIO and WDM drivers provided for Windows XP and VISTA
  • Directly compatible with CORE AUDIO on Mac OS X 10.4+ (Intel & PPC)
  • Eight "Prism Sound" premium-quality AD and DA channels
  • Concurrent operation of ADAT and switchable S/PDIF or AES3 ports

 

Weiss DAC2 D/A Converter $3000.00

 

The DAC2 supports the following conversions:

  • FireWire to analog
  • AES/EBU to analog
  • FireWire to AES/EBU
  • AES/EBU to FireWire

Inputs: Digital Audio inputs on FireWire (two connectors), XLR, RCA and Toslink.

Outputs:

  • Stereo analog output on XLR and RCA.
  • Digital Audio output on FireWire, XLR and RCA.

Sampling Rates, Wordlength: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz at up to 24 Bits.

Software: Drivers for Windows™ and OSX™ operating systems.

Weiss Minerva $5000.00

Another faceplate, another feet and you have the audiophile version of the DAC2

©Vincent Kars