[db audio labs]

dB Audio Labs is pleased to announce our new High-Rez DAC design aptly named the "Tranquility 32/192 DAC".

The new Tranquility 32/192 will have the capability to play high rez files up to 32 bits with a 192 khz sampling rate. Primarily though, the function of the new design is to play both our ubiquitous Redbook standard music files AND 24 bit files with the same unique analog sonic character achieved by our original NOS Tranquility DAC series.

An entire new design team was assembled for the formation of the High-Rez Tranquiltiy DAC. Per Eric Hider, owner of dB Audio Labs; "My priority was simple, create a new DAC that plays both High-Rez AND Redbook with the same delicacy and beautiful overtone capabilities we achieved with our NOS Tranquility designs. The new design team exceeded even my high expectations! Sonically, the High-Rez Tranquility was benchmarked and voiced directly against an improved variation of the Tranquility Signature NOS DAC."

Technically, the Tranquility 32/192 is truly asynchronous and battery powered with exotic battery options never seen before in a DAC design. Every part of the DAC's digital datastream was uniquely streamlined to avoid re-introduction of jitter entering after the digital input and the complete avoidance of other "digital nasties" found within typical High-Rez solutions. Components within the Tranquility 32/192 design are "cost no object" which were all chosen based on their absolute sonics. Per Eric Hider -  "Many parts had to be custom made to achieve the sonics I demanded. For instance, the Tranquility 32/192's output resistors were custom made and cost us $50 alone!". The battery and charging system is contained within the DAC chassis itself and will charge automatically as needed. I2S and SPDIF digital inputs may be offered on a much more expensive feature laden variation of the Tranquility 32/192.

Base pricing for the Tranquility 32/192 will be $1995 with a full $500 discount for AC members only. Optional exotic batteries will be offered for the most demanding audiophiles wanting the "best of the best" within this design. A trade-in program will be offered to current owners who purchased their original NOS Tranquility DAC from dB Audio Labs. Details for the trade-in program will be released a few weeks prior to production shipment. Production is slated for Christmas 2011.

Eric Hider and the new dB Audio Labs design team 

Website: www.dbaudiolabs.com

[Jonathon Janusz]

Hi, Eric!  Thanks for the update.

One question.  I know it may sound of blasphemy right now considering recent trends, but is there (or will there be) a version of this DAC available that IS NOT battery powered?  Thanks for your time!

[firedog]

Hi-

When will there be a description, specs, etc on the web site?

Thanks

[TomS]

Eric,

- What platforms are supported (W7, OSX/Lion, Linux)?
- Are custom drivers required for any of those?
- Will it support DSD over USB?

Tom

[rollo]

   Congrats and good luck Eric. Got my nervosa peeking.


charles
SMA

[highfilter]

Hey Eric,

I know there's gonna be a thousand questions fired at you, but if you could answer a few once you have some time, that would be great:

- Could you expand on how the USB implementation differs from the previous Tranquility designs, and other enhancements you made in regards to: "Every part of the DAC's digital datastream was uniquely streamlined to avoid re-introduction of jitter entering after the digital input and the complete avoidance of other "digital nasties" found within typical High-Rez solutions."

- Could this new design be connected directly into a power-amp instead of using a pre-amp for volume control? Or was the design goal similar to the original Tranquility where it's meant to be used with a pre-amp? (I've been wanting to eliminate the pre-amp path for awhile now)

Thanks,
Clayton

[Danny Richie]

Most of you know that we used the new prototype of this DAC at RMAF. It was OUTSTANDING. I'm upgrading. 

One question.  I know it may sound of blasphemy right now considering recent trends, but is there (or will there be) a version of this DAC available that IS NOT battery powered?  Thanks for your time!

Jonathon, that is a little like telling the GM dealer that you really like the new Corvette, but can I get it with a 6 cylinder engine?

Clean power is a BIG factor to clean sound and when it comes to plugging a product into a wall socket you are looking at an up hill battle from the get go.

I got great sound from my Tranquility SE but I was using a expensive power cable plugged into an Uber Buss. Then another expensive power cable was used from there to a Dodd Audio balanced power supply. And then another expensive power cable was used to go from the balanced power supply to the DAC. And all of that stuff took everything up the performance ladder another level. So much so that I couldn't be without any of that stuff.

Oh, and if you go from one place to another and the power is different (everywhere you go!). One place is not too bad plugged into the wall and the next place is horrible.

The battery power supply not only sounds better, and is less expensive than conditioning the wall power (by a LOT), it is also the same great sound everywhere you use it.

Off the grid rules man!

[rollo]

  Danny that makes a heap of sense.


charles
SMA

[jrebman]

Eric,
As I said in the previous thread, I'll probably be getting one of these when they're ready to go -- not to replace, but to add to the collection .  Of course I'm interested in the battery options as well as the usb cable you mentioned in the previous thread -- is there any more to say about that now, and when will it be available?

Thanks,

Jim

[morganc]

Most of you know that we used the new prototype of this DAC at RMAF. It was OUTSTANDING. I'm upgrading. 

Jonathon, that is a little like telling the GM dealer that you really like the new Corvette, but can I get it with a 6 cylinder engine?

Clean power is a BIG factor to clean sound and when it comes to plugging a product into a wall socket you are looking at an up hill battle from the get go.

I got great sound from my Tranquility SE but I was using a expensive power cable plugged into an Uber Buss. Then another expensive power cable was used from there to a Dodd Audio balanced power supply. And then another expensive power cable was used to go from the balanced power supply to the DAC. And all of that stuff took everything up the performance ladder another level. So much so that I couldn't be without any of that stuff.

Oh, and if you go from one place to another and the power is different (everywhere you go!). One place is not too bad plugged into the wall and the next place is horrible.

The battery power supply not only sounds better, and is less expensive than conditioning the wall power (by a LOT), it is also the same great sound everywhere you use it.

Off the grid rules man!

Danny or Eric, how would you compare the High Rez Tranquility to the Upgraded Tranquility SE  that it was voiced in comparison to?  Are they similar sonically except for the high rez upgrade and of course the battery power? 

[TONEPUB]

What good is a 32/192 DAC when there is no software?

[dBe]

What good is a 32/192 DAC when there is no software?

You ARE kidding, right? 

Dave

[db audio labs]

Hi guys,

Here are some answers to your various inquiries;


As to the option of an AC powered Tranquility 32/192 DAC variant:

Jonathon - We have the ability to offer an AC powered variant of the High-Rez Tranquility. But, to get similar sonic performance we achieved from our special battery solution would predicate a much higher cost variation using a very exotic power supply...adding perhaps 40% more to the price. Even then, the sonic performance would most likely be only equal in sonics. As Danny pointed out in his response to this thread, there would also be the expense of an Uber power cord and possible power conditioning too. Of course, if many audiophiles demand this sort of expensive AC powered DAC, I may offer that option.

Information about the High-Rez DAC on dB Audio Labs' website:

Firedog - I will have a full description and many pictures of the DAC when we are closer to actual production. Personally I have a strong disdain for companies selling "vaporware" prior to the true availability of their product for actual sale. Honesty and integrity are something I hold very highly.

Playback capability and various supported platforms:

Tom - The Tranquility's Asynchronous USB interface uses a special driver and is compatible with both OSX up to Lion, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. Drivers are just a simple quick download with a singular web link (fast and easy). In terms of supporting DSD; a specialty audiophile company informed me that their Foobar2000 player software does support DSDIFF file playback so DSD files from SACD can be ripped to, or companies like Blue Coast Records offers file downloads. At this point in time thought, that is all I can say about DSD playback until I get some unique servers with DSD playback capabilities in house, to fully test.

USB design implementation and using the DAC without a pre-amp:

Clayton - The prior Tranquility NOS DAC did not use an Asynchronous receiver implementation, just a very clever and unique input receiver design. Everything technically considered though, for us, the end sonic result is so much more important than just the technology. This is where dB Audio Labs products differs from many other DACs comparably. We actually develop our DACs based on listening tests, not just implementation of some "jitter elimination" scheme, Uber technology, etc.. Subsequently, we proved ourselves with the prior non-async Tranquility soundly winning sonic comparisons against award winning async DACs. Now we are offering a true Asynchronous solution but we still want to win the hearts of audiophiles via true sonic comparatives against "whatever tech". If it were only as easy as just the specs, the chipset and the jitter reduction circuit selections. Of course, that's where the "real research" separates the posers from the true sonic winners.

In terms of directly connecting the High-Rez Tranquility directly to your amp, your computer server could control the volume. In fact, many Tranquility NOS customers have moved their pre-amp out of the system chain and allow Pure Music's dithered volume capability to achieve the ultimate in transparency and detail.

Battery options:

Jim - Very recently we discovered via listening tests some dramatic improvements in sonics with  different battery technologies. Some are extremely exotic and expensive. The base battery inside the Tranquility 32/192 will sound amazing. With my goal to offer the best DAC designs possible, I will be configuring options for the most exotic batteries too. I cannot comment on the pricing or details as of yet. But I promise to make everything as affordable as possible with the battery options I may bring to market.

Sonic comparatives between the new High Rez DAC and the NOS Tranquility SE:

Morgan - Recently we improved the sonics of the Tranquility SE and will be offering an upgrade for owners wishing to stay with their NOS Tranquility. This latest SE DAC served as the sonic benchmark for the new High-Rez DAC. On Redbook playback the sound is very similar with the revised Tranquility SE sounding slightly smoother (perhaps) and the High-Rez DAC sounding slightly deeper and more layered but very, very close. Dynamics, overtone structure, high frequency smoothness are hallmarks of both designs (read close to identical). Hence, I feel they both deserve the "Tranquility" name. In terms of High-Rez music file playback, that is where the High-Rez design will typically shine, as many High-Rez designs already do. First and foremost though, my goal was to get very close to the new revised version Tranquility SE NOS DAC's sonics on Redbook files which typically represents 98% of most audiophile's music collections.

I am so proud of the new design team and how they managed to reach and even exceed my lofty goals for this new DAC design.

Thanks to all for your excellent questions!


Eric Hider - dB Audio Labs

Website: www.dbaudiolabs.com

[Jonathon Janusz]

Jonathon, that is a little like telling the GM dealer that you really like the new Corvette, but can I get it with a 6 cylinder engine?

Danny, you've got that backwards.  What I'm trying to figure out is if I should start figuring out how much of the firewall I need to chop out of my Focus to get a 5.4L to bolt up to the subframe, or if I should just weld up the brackets and put in a 5.0L like the rest of the crazy kids.

Recently we improved the sonics of the Tranquility SE and will be offering an upgrade for owners wishing to stay with their NOS Tranquility.

Maybe this new DAC isn't my kind of sandbox to play in. . . Eric, count me interested in hearing more about the mods to the SE (I don't know which version/revision I've got, so maybe it doesn't even apply?).

One more question for the gallery - is this new DAC going to replace all the existing Tranquility models going forward, or is it an addition to the family?  In other words, are the other models being discontinued and replaced, or are the all going to be offered/supported for the foreseeable future?

Thanks again!

[newzooreview]

One more question for the gallery - is this new DAC going to replace all the existing Tranquility models going forward, or is it an addition to the family?  In other words, are the other models being discontinued and replaced, or are the all going to be offered/supported for the foreseeable future?

Thanks again!

Don't know what models will be offered going forward, but in my experience Eric will support fully every DAC he's ever sold regardless of what's latest and greatest.

[OzarkTom]

Oh goodie, a battery operated high rez Dac.

This will go well with my  BatteryBuss I recently purchased.

[bhobba]

Hi Guys

Just letting everyone know, although I posted it in the original thread, I have one on order and Eric has promised to get it out to me as soon as he starts shipping.  As many people know I have quite a few DAC's and have heard quite a few more.  As soon as I get it I will be comparing it, along with some fellow audiophiles out my way, to DAC's I own which are both Tranquillities, a Burson, WFS, Level 2 PDX, JK DAC, and Metrum Octave.  On that list only the Metrum when fed with the Off-Ramp, and PDX best the Tranquillity SE - and the all up cost of both those DAC's is more than the Tranquillity.

Thanks
Bill 

[Rclark]

 What will be the advantages of I2S and SPDIF and why will they cost "much more"? Will the base model be upgradeable to these?

 It's approx $1500 for the base model for AC'ers?

 Will the battery supply be upgradeable to the "exotics" offered later on?


 Also, I have a Warpspeed attenuator, and apparently the old Tranq didn't work with it. Will this new one?

[wilsynet]

Anyone heard any news?

[Rclark]

Yeah, hello? Potential customers with questions.