Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC 100 24-BIT STEREO DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER (DAC) 5 W AV Control Receiver  (Silver)

Add a little magic to your music - Whether it's a CD player, computer, digital music streamer, or set-top box, here's a fantastic way to improve the sound quality coming from any of these digital sources. Simply plug the DacMagic 100 digital-to-analog converter in between your source's digital audio output and your receiver, amp, or powered speakers. You'll instantly hear greater detail and clarity, plus a real sense of scale and drama. This versatile little DAC will bypass the one inside your PC or audio component, and magically transform those cold hard zeroes and ones into warm, organic sound. The DacMagic 100 comes packed with high-tech engineering designed to extract better sound from all your digital sources. Its latest-generation Wolfson DAC provides superb resolution that really brings out the fine details in your tunes, for a truly breathtaking listening experience. Generally the digital to analogue converter found in typical digital devices is pretty poor and won’t extract the truest quality of audio from your sources. The DacMagic 100 works by taking a direct digital audio signal from your device to bypass its soundcard or DAC. It then digitally processes the audio signal using Cambridge Audio custom designed technology, dramatically improving sound quality and reducing distortion. This results in greater detail, sparkling clarity and a deeper scale to all of your audio. DacMagic 100 is very flexible and supports virtually all digital file formats including the very highest quality 24-bit studio master or lossless quality audio files stored on your computer. With three different digital connectivity options and the ability to connect four devices concurrently, DacMagic 100 is a true digital music enhancement hub. Set-up is totally intuitive, allowing you to begin enjoying better quality audio in minutes. Like all the Cambridge Audio products, the DacMagic 100 was custom developed from the ground-up by their design team at headquarters in the heart of London. Cambridge Audio engineering teams put an incredible amount of attention to detail on ensuring the sound quality is the focus of the product, for the DacMagic 100 this included incorporating the very latest digital to analogue converter from market-leader Wolfson. Standard USB outputs from most computers pose a serious limitation to sound quality. That's because while you're trying to listen to music, your PC is busy performing virus scans, data backup, and other background tasks that may take priority over your tunes, causing it to alter the data rate to suit its own needs. Unfortunately, this situation results in timing errors within the digital data stream — known as "jitter" — that adversely affects sound quality. Jitter can make your music sound harsh and edgy, and smear subtle details. The DacMagic 100 solves this problem by reaching out to your computer through the USB interface, and instructing it to relinquish control of the data stream timing. In its place, this advanced DAC inserts its own separate, or asynchronous, clock to precisely control the timing of the data rate, reducing jitter to the vanishing point. You'll hear a stunning improvement in low-level ambient detail along with a wider, deeper soundstage. Along with all the sonic benefits the DacMagic 100 provides for your compressed and CD-quality music files, it also has another trick up its sleeve — it decodes high-resolution data streams with up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution through its USB connection, so you can enjoy better-than-CD audio quality. (Free USB driver download required for Windows® PCs.) If you download high-res music files from HDtracks and other audiophile sources, this DAC will ensure that you hear them in all their glory. DacMagic 100 lets you connect multiple digital source components to your home audio or desktop system: two coaxial digital inputs: ideal for connecting a CD or DVD player, Logitech Squeezebox™ Touch, Sonos® Connect, or any other digital audio component with coax out, and taking advantage of the DacMagic 100's high-performance processor for better sound. one optical digital input: ready to take on a set-top box, most HDTVs, a game console, or other digital audio sources with optical digital output, and feed a high-quality audio signal into your stereo system. Type B USB jack feeds digital audio from your computer into the DacMagic 100's onboard digital-to-analog converter, bypassing your computer's sound card to yield much clearer sound with stored music files and Internet radio. A pair of gold-plated RCA outputs lets you connect the DacMagic 100 to your home audio system's receiver or integrated amp. Or feed a set of powered speakers for a high-end, compact desktop stereo.