Playback Designs

[Hopstretch]

I know I talked to someone about these guys at CanJam and said I'd post a link. Think it was Jim, but after a couple of over-refreshed memory slips already I ain't going out on a limb.

They're flogging a (very expensive) modular DAC/SACD player with full digital inputs and claiming total jitter immunity. Easily dismissed as the usual hi-fi hyperbole except that the tech guy behind it is Andreas Koch, who I believe has long been one of the heaviest hitters in the SACD/DSD world.

Anyway, here it is Jim (or whoever).

Playback Designs

[aardvark baguette]

I keep forgetting about this one. For the price, I'd also look into the Stahl Tek Vekian, though frankly I've no idea which one would be technically better.

I lust for both.

[tkam]

They sure are sparse on details about what's actually in the player....

[deepak]

[Dusty Chalk]

Well, it wasn't me, but I appreciate you posting it publicly, as it definitely interests me.

[Azazel]

"PC: Direct USB connection to Windows based computers for sample rates up to 48kHz."

Not exactly impressive, this.

The upsampling however looks similar to EMM's (CD x128, that is "double of SACD"...) and this is no coincidence: Andreas Koch was with Meitner into SACD development, and he was part of EMM Labs until... until now??

[luvdunhill]

Am I right I saying there is only a single seller of this product?

[Hopstretch]

The upsampling however looks similar to EMM's (CD x128, that is "double of SACD"...) and this is no coincidence: Andreas Koch was with Meitner into SACD development, and he was part of EMM Labs until... until now??

Until 2008, apparently.

Andreas Koch got his start working for Studer ReVox in Switzerland back in 1982. It was his task to build the world's first fully asynchronous digital audio sample rate converter, patent granted in 1984. Also, in 1984, he designed one of the first filter banks for digital audio. 512 banks were used to perform digital noise reduction for old recordings. Some of the same ideas were used later in audio compression algorithms such as MP3, AC-3 and others.

Following his accomplishments at Studer Revox, he went to work with Dolby Labs in San Francisco. In 1985 he built all the digital signal processing of the AC-1 encoder and decoder (delta modulator). This was a professional digital audio

compression scheme used for television transmission. It was Dolby's first digital audio product and was sold quite successfully. In 1986 he built the hardware for the very first incarnation of what is today the widely used AC-3 compression algorithm.

In 1987 Studer ReVox in Switzerland required his return. Andreas managed the development of a professional digital audio tape recorder which was a 48-channel DASH format on 1/2 inch tape. For the next two years he was involved in the market and technology research for hard disk (PC) recording in professional applications. This job required visiting many high profile recording studios worldwide which helped to establish his solid base in this industry.

Andreas continued his great work in Switzerland until his transfer to Studer Editech in Menlo Park, CA, in 1989, where he was tasked to manage a group of engineers designing the ultimate hard disc recorder for professional post production applications, launched "Dyaxis" in 1992 which is still used today. The user interface was so revolutionary that it was copied by many competing products still produced today.

In 1993 Sony in Florida needed his services. He oversaw product development for professional audio products and launched various mixing consoles. Sony recognized Andreas' great successes and asked him to relocate to San Francisco in 1997 where he started and managed the development for the world's first 8-channel DSD recording / editing / mixing machine. "Sonoma" is still used today in studios throughout the world and has been used for most SACD releases. He designed all the digital parts of A/D and D/A converters that helped establish DSD as a superior sounding audio format in SACD. He followed that up by expanding the Sonoma to 32-channels of DSD on a single PC. Andreas also participated in all standardization committees for SACD in conjunction with Philips.

During 2003 Andreas decided to go into business for himself as an independent contract engineer. For the next four years he designed all of the digital audio products for EMM Labs, professional and audiophile. He designed and implemented various revolutionary algorithms for sample rate conversion (SRC), as can only be expected from one of the original inventors of SRC. He also developed a discrete D/A converter and unique architecture for clock management from digital audio transmission inputs.

In 2008, Playback Designs, formed by Andreas Koch and Jonathan Tinn, launched an integrated SACD/CD player with a variety of digital inputs that incorporates all the experience, knowledge and algorithms Andreas gathered and developed over the last 25 years, right from the onset of digital audio.

[Azazel]

Thanks Hopstrecth!

Damn, this calls my attention to say the least... and does too for some EMM gear I was looking for (DCC2)

[Hopstretch]

You're welcome.

Maybe one of you Serious-Fi guys, who could convincingly pose as a potential buyer, could correspond with them and see if they'd give any more details of what's in the box?

[aardvark baguette]

Serious-Fi

I like that

[Azazel]

I like that

Me too

[guzziguy]

I don't know. Terms that end in "-fi" are not very popular here.

[penger]

I remember there was an article written about it in positive feedback. Here's the link.

[guzziguy]

I hope that article is edited better than the PI CanJam report was.

[morphsci]

Thanks Andrew. Although the player appears quite impressive, the fact that you were able to remember the conversation we had is even more impressive. I totally forgot about this player and our conversation until you posted here. Hmm ... now where did I put those memory supplements?

[Fungi]

[darkless]

If I had unlimited amounts of cash, I would've gone for the Playback Designs MPS-5 (or the cheaper MPD-5 if I didn't care for the SACD transport) instead of the Weiss DAC1-MK2 I now own.

[morphsci]

So the MSRP on the player is $15K and the nearest dealer to me is in Philadelphia.

[deepak]

Favorable subjective review in February Stereophile, but the measurements were poor according to Jon Atkinson.

[Hopstretch]

Yeah, JA was tacking quite close to declaring it fundamentally defective, I thought.

[Dreadhead]

Not available on the website yet but I look forward to reading the measurements.

I rarely if ever read the reviews. After reading the review of the WAVAC monster they did and then looking at the measurements I gave up on reviews.

[morphsci]

Yeah, JA was tacking quite close to declaring it fundamentally defective, I thought.

Agreed. I did like Andreas Koch's response in the manufacturers response. Interesting, although I can't really decide who to believe at this point.

[deepak]

I don't have the magazine in front of me but the undithered 1 KHz sine wave at - 90 dbfs looked like a garbled mess and in the same issue the Bryston DAC measured incredibly well.

Also JA commented along the lines that the noise was so high that DSD or 24 bit wouldn't be more resolving than 16 bit.

Agreed. I did like Andreas Koch's response in the manufacturers response. Interesting, although I can't really decide who to believe at this point.

I agree his response was interesting.

[Dreadhead]

Agreed. I did like Andreas Koch's response in the manufacturers response. Interesting, although I can't really decide who to believe at this point.

For those of us to lazy to buy a copy and to impatient to wait what's the response in a nutshell? I'm guessing it's on the lines of "you guys don't know how to measure stuff".