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review 'db audio labs tranquility dac

Category: Digital

I recently came across a new digital product called the db audio labs tranquility dac that has blown me away and I wanted to let audiophiles know what I consider to be a groundbreaking digital product. Around a year ago I met a guy named Eric Hider, who lived in the same neighborhood of a friend of mine. So, my buddy tells me, “hey, I have a neighbor (Eric) who is into audio just like you!”. So, I went to his house to see if he was a "real audiophile" and discovered that he actually did have a very nice sounding audio system! It wasn’t made up of the mainstream high priced products like I have owned, but his system did get my audiophile “seal of approval”. It was a sound that I could live with myself, and I am a VERY picky audiophile. During that first visit he didn’t have this tranquility dac. Instead he was using some sort of transport / jitter reducing device connected to some sort of modded dac that I don’t know. My visit that day was strictly social though as I just wanted to get together and listen to some music in his place and get to meet another audiophile.

Half a year later Eric contacted me and insisted that I come by to hear something. Of course, he tweaked my interest with his insistence. So, I went to his place and he started by playing some well recorded jazz. Immediately I was impressed with what I was hearing. His system had taken a quantum leap since my last visit! The sound stage was unbelievably large, actually humongous, with spectacular image focus and a tonal balance that was just right! Resolution was what I'm used to hearing in my own personal system and I’ve spent countless years building mine to my own personal tastes. Everything looked the same in his equipment rack so I asked him what was different since my last visit. He then points to a mac computer sitting next to his audio system with a box hooked up to it. A computer for a transport? How could that sound any good? Computers are so noisy. And that little box for DA converter? Now I needed to hear how good it really was. Let's see how it would sound on my home reference system? FYI: My own sound system is in the six-figure category and I've gone through at least 10 times that amount of money over many years. I am not bragging here but actually a little embarrassed that I’ve spent so much money on it. I am just a bit obsessed (who isn’t) with achieving great music playback. Btw, I am still happily married after 15 years of audio purchasing. I just have to make sure I love her more than the hobbie ;-)

So, Eric finally brings this newfangled tranquility dac and a mac computer to my place for a shootout against some other statement digital pieces. I had the esoteric D05/P0 in my system and managed to get ahold of the new berkley alpha dac that everyone is raving about. Believe it or not the tranquility was just a tad bit better than either. It has a sense of more naturalness and better realism across the board. Now these digital pieces are all really great sonically, but I still think the tranquility edges out here as the one I praise the most. And as for what the tranquility costs, it’s the whole reason why I think it’s so groundbreaking! So, I ended up sending the berkley back with a thank you to my friend for allowing the audition it and sold the esoteric and pocketed the money from that sale. Now, what am I to do with all this extra money? I guess I’ll figure something out. Maybe buying a new mac and the tranquility dac for starters? But what do I do with the left over money ;-)

Btw, my primary front end is analog. I have many rare first pressing albums and have always thought no other source is nearly as listenable as my table. It is a very customized solution with the new teres rim motor drive (a really great tweak guys) on a massive walker stand with many unique refinements from many different state of the art turntable designs. I use the wheaton tri-planar arm, a 47 labs myabi cartridge and the asr basis exclusive phono preamp.

So, that’s my take on this new tranquility dac and why I think it is a groundbreaking product.
acollen
cedunlap
2 posts
 
dB Labs,

Can you explain how you go from USB input to IIS (I2S) without introducing timing or clock information?

For background, here's the Wikipedia overview of I2S:

"I2S, also known as Inter-IC Sound, Integrated Interchip Sound, or IIS, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is most commonly used to carry PCM information between the CD transport and the DAC in a CD player. The I2S bus separates clock and data signals, resulting in a very low jitter connection. Jitter can cause distortion in a digital-to-analog converter. The bus consists of at least three lines:

1. Bit clock line
2. Word clock line (also called word select line or left right clock)
3. And at least one multiplexed data line"

There is both a bit clock and world clock line in the specification. How do you take a USB digital feed, ignore the associated clock info from the computer (which is poorly controlled and introduces jitter if used) and add in the clock info needed for IIS (I2S) going into the DAC?

You act like USB is great since you can just take the data stream and ignore the high jitter in the poor clock signal from the computer. But not so fast. You still need clock info to be associated with the data for the DAC to make sense of it.

How do YOU solve this problem? How is your solution better or comparable to what others have done?
dbaudiolabs
13 posts
 
Hi Cedunlap,

Sure we can explain the I2S area within the dac and USB's inherent timing/jitter advantages.

In a nutshell, USB interconnectivity does NOT carry timing from the computer, it just carries a "start of frame" signal to let the dac know when to start and buffered packets of music data. So, unlike other connection schemes (SPDIF), you do NOT have jitter induced at the transport or through the USB cable (which is a HUGE improvement comparably...when USB is done correctly). Then you are at the receiver portion of the DAC itself where the timing (and potential jitter may happen). A local oscillator approximate to the receiver provides the timing for the dac process. All of the potential timing issues are related to this area alone (when done right). The choice of the oscillator itself, the way that oscillator is configured, optimized, connected and powered will determine how much jitter is then introduced. With EXTREMELY careful optimization it can really good compared to most other digital solutions, especially SPDIF. There has been so much mis-information about SPDIF being "the best connection" as compared to USB that I think it's about time we really sit down and re-analyze how this came to be. It's just not the case. Then again, there's allot of USB dacs done wrong. Could that be why so many think SPDIF was superior?

So, in essence, jitter is never at zero in the entire solution (as you alluded). It is just down to one singular area (which SPDIF can never even hope to emulate comparably). Once this area is extremely optimized the jitter is managed much better than most other digital solutions.

Of course we like to still point out that the actual proof comes from the sound improvement in any connection scheme. Anything other type of analysis other than an actual true improvement in sound quality is just utter speculation, hype and tech-babble! As compared to other digital solutions, the Tranquility DAC captures and conveys the very elusive harmonic cues much closer to an analog solution. There is a naturalness that most digital struggles to convey particularly in the treble region. This is our "proof" as compared to most other digital solutions. The sound improvement itself.
gannon
5 posts
 
I'm a little late to the party here, sorry to bump an old thread...but I just gotta. I know this is wordy, complain to my editor.

I had the chance to audition this device through a system I'd heard before with vinyl...and was simply amazed that the sound was coming from a computer's USB. I have never experienced any computer-fed d/a convertor that was worth a long listen, and because of the past experiences didn't even bother with the expensive convertors.

There was almost no reason to throw many thousands of dollars at a device strapped to a dirty pig of a source. Like the days of early Home Theater PCs, there was always some disappointment. My enthusiasm simply didn't exist for standard computer handling of music for high-end listening enjoyment.

My initial reaction was that the sound I heard simply couldn't be coming from the MacMini. Cymbals shimmer through their sustain, overtones and air rendered so well...the sound-stage was remarkable. The liveness or immediacy was tangible...vague terms, I know. Best I can do. The Tranquility DAC seems to make magic previously reserved for product many, many times its price.

It has been over a month since the audition, but I am still stunned and cannot wait until the next time...when I'll bring some recordings I've made live along with a few other items. Some of these are 96/24 rates off an Alesis recorder.

I've known Eric Hider for over ten years, since I calibrated an old Sony RPTV for him. He's been on a continuous path for the perfect hifi, and has never EVER been as excited over any product...not in my memory. Of all the cheap tricks and tweaks he's turned me onto...this unit is the most ground-breaking.

Enough to draw him into this wild and crazy marketplace...in the worst economy we've seen in forever.

I consider him trustworthy to the extreme, ethical, enthusiastic, and honest. He is a friend of mine, but that wouldn't get in the way of an honest review...ever!

I haven't been motivated to get into digital music servers for serious listening until now. Lucky I've been loading my CDs into the laptop iTunes with every play, though, at some near future point that work will be rewarded.

Cheers,
John
paulfolbrecht
603 posts
 
"A properly designed DAC (and you can certainly find them for hundreds of dollars less than the one being reviewed above)..."

If only all of those silly people who have spent a bit of money on digital playback realized that it was possible to get a "properly designed" DAC for only a few hundred dollars! After all, those measure perfectly, right? Actually, wasn't digital sound perfect at the outset?
trianglezerius's avatar
trianglezerius
119 posts
 
In case anyone is interested, it now looks like this Tranquility has won a digital shootout between the Ayre QB-9, the new PS Audio memory player/DAC and a couple other lesser dacs. This comparo was posted over at AC. Here's the link - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=75402.100

Tom
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