Bel Canto Ultra-dock

[kirkwall]

My apologies if this has been posted before, but hadn't seen much info on this one:

[/snip]

[The dock features] Analog Devices AD21369 32-bibit floating-point digital signal processing core and 96kHz/24-bit converters for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog, resulting in a 110dB dynamic range with distortion of under .004 percent.

The dock will also include DSP technologies for improving sound quality: Adaptive Dynamics (restores the sound quality of compressed audio), X-Matrix (virtual surround sound for two speakers or headphones), and Extrapolator, which turns the iPod's stereo signal to 5.1- or 7.1-channel sound. All of these signal processors have separate modes for compressed, lossless, and movie audio.

Audio inputs include S/PDIF and Toslink (from CD quality all the way up to 96 kHz/24-bit). The dock outputs video in the S-video, composite, and component formats. A single control knob handles all functions, while an LCD on the front of the unit displays song information and menu items. All of these components take up a fair amount of space; it's 8.5 inches wide, 1.5 inches high, and a foot deep.

[\snip]

Looks expensive at 2000.00 but it's an elegant design. I wonder how close the sound might be to a DAC3 and whether there'll be many takers at the price?

best,

k

[Smeggy]

$2000 to dock a fucking ipod.....

[riceboy]

$2000 to dock a fucking ipod.....

But wait, it does this, "iPod's stereo signal to 5.1- or 7.1-channel sound" Seriously though, $2000.00, even for MSRP for a dock.

[morphsci]

But wait, it does this, "iPod's stereo signal to 5.1- or 7.1-channel sound" Seriously though, $2000.00, even for MSRP for a dock.

Right .... or I could buy the Wadia and route the digital output into my HT processor and convert it to 5.1 or 7.1 there. Hmmm .... let me see which way I should go.

[grawk]

It also seems to be a fully functional dac, to be fair.

[aardvark baguette]

They use the same shape/size as the DAC3, so I figure its probably pretty similar on the inside, except with the special input crap. It could basically just be an updated dac3.

[Icarium]

Er isn't the MSRP of the DAC3 like $2495? I might not get too hopeful that that's inside this.

[aardvark baguette]

I dont know. They could forgo the preamp function of the dac3 and maybe some of the inputs. It may not be that big of a difference.

The inside of the dac3 is basically 3 boards and 2 blue power supplies (elpac? I dont know the name).

The dac chip sounds like it is different, but the output stages may not be that radically different. Just speculation, obviously.

I have some photos of the dac3 somewhere, but I forget where. I cant seem to find a pic of the backside of the ultradock, so at this point there's no way to know.

[kirkwall]

Er isn't the MSRP of the DAC3 like $2495? I might not get too hopeful that that's inside this.

Apparently the MSRP of the UD is also 2500.00. From Stereophile:

"But here are the simple facts. The Ultra-Dock is planned as an upsampling 24/96 iPod dock that can upconvert lowly MP3s (via Sonic Focus processing) and draws the signal from the iPod's digital out like the Wadia iTransport.

The Ultra-Dock is planning for a Q3 2009 ship date at approximately $2,500."

It's that "sonic focus" thing that makes it the business, Robert Baird thinks. I haven't come across this before, but I'm a bit leery of any technology that claims to upconvert MP3s. Also any technology called "sonic" anything.

k

[aardvark baguette]

garbage in, polished turd out.

[atothex]

I'm wondering: out of the people who might consider buying this thing, how many even fuck with mp3s? Seems like they're trying to hit 2 separate crowds at once...

[morphsci]

I'm wondering: out of the people who might consider buying this thing, how many even fuck with mp3s? Seems like they're trying to hit 2 separate crowds at once...

BINGO. Give this man a prize. They have a whole raft of technologies in there but they pointed at very different market segments. The Wadia represents a simpler and more flexible solution. However, this is coming from someone who has no interest in either the Bel Canto or Wadia dock.

[grawk]

Look at it like an expensive dac, with a free ipod dock, instead of an expensive ipod dock with a built in dac.

Or a dac with an spdif out

[morphsci]

Look at it like an expensive dac, with a free ipod dock, instead of an expensive ipod dock with a built in dac.

Or a dac with an spdif out

Except the DAC3 is a $1000 DAC selling for $2500 IMO.

[Smeggy]

I think it might sound better if they didn't call it ultradock as that makes it sound more like a dedicated dock. Maybe DACDOK would work better

[Dusty Chalk]

Look at it like an expensive dac, with a free ipod dock, instead of an expensive ipod dock with a built in dac.

Or a dac with an spdif out

...with surround?

[aardvark baguette]

I'm wondering: out of the people who might consider buying this thing, how many even fuck with mp3s? Seems like they're trying to hit 2 separate crowds at once...

Think of it as the Bose crowd. Maybe that helps.