Hi Alan,

I am getting back to you with some answers from Igor regarding your questions.

1) We don't implement the asynchronous model because unlike other DACs we don't need to achieve low jitter. We have a very unique way of using the USB driver based on Antelope Clocking that makes using asynch unnecessary. Using Antelope's Jitter Management Module guarantees picosecond-level jitter while playing from USB and without the need for a custom driver and remaining more compatible with all OS (OS X, Win, Linux). We can in the future provide ASYNC mode which will be made available as a download via our control panel. We have not done so yet because we are achieving superb audio quality without the complexities and instabilities involved

2) Under Windows, sample rates to 192k can be played without a custom driver, and 384K is possible with some tricks. Under OS X and Linux, up to 384k can be played today without custom drivers

Best regards,
Khou-Francois Renault
Customer Support Manager
Antelope Audio - www.AntelopeAudio.com

Klikk for å utvide...

It soon became apparent that the Zodiac Gold plus Voltikus (I always used the optional power supply) had a personality of its own. It had all the usual hi-fi virtues of dynamics and bass and soundstaging, but it also had a definite midrange warmth, and a decided delicacy in the treble. Compared to the less expensive DACs listed above, it had more resolution, transparency, and soundstage width...

The Zodiac Gold performed noticeably better than the Musical Fidelity M1 on the "Channel Phasing" tests on Test CD 2, with a more striking difference between the in-phase and relatively out-of-phase segments. Components that do well on these tracks seem to do better at presenting ambience and space in music, in my experience. I found that on classic recordings such as Bill Evans' The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (CD, Riverside 4443), the Zodiac Gold's tone was slightly more "analog-like," in that the percussive attack of Evans' piano was ever so slightly rounder; through the Musical Fidelity M1, the piano attack had a little more metal in its sound. Throughout all my listening, the Zodiac Gold gave a presentation that was very full-bodied, musically satisfying, and emotionally engaging.

Klikk for å utvide...