"the DAC chip is suspended in mid air"
So how good is it? Anyone here heard one?
[Edit: oh I thought this was in headphone Mania]
It seems to have garnered some positive industry reviews when I did a quick search (Stereophile Class A Recommended, blah blah blah). And they are said to be a big behind the scenes player in digital and pro audio. Not sure I'd pay the $800 retail, but $400 for a good DAC and headphone amp... perhaps.
Yeah, that line about "suspended in mid air" caught my eye as well. I don't think it means much more than the circuits are isolated from the mains ground - this from their design paper
https://centrance.com/products/dacmini/px/i/dacmini_case_study.pdf In many DACs currently available on the market, a significant shortcut is taken by
the manufacturer in order to reduce design cost and manage product complexity. In
a rush to bring a product to market, manufacturers tend to neglect a very important
issue in grounding. An issue that is prominent in real-world houses and apartments,
where electrical wiring is not done per contractor’s code. Unfortunately, this covers a
lot of today’s households, many of which were built to older standards, resulting in
poor grounding through the power outlet and leading to the formation of ground
loops and a real possibility for hum and buzz in the audio circuits.
The correct solution avoids ground loops by breaking the unwanted connection
between grounds. DACmini does this very effectively because it completely suspends
the DAC chip and the associated audio circuitry (including RCA jacks) in “mid air”
through sophisticated components and PCB layout techniques. To minimize
interference, the main DACmini PCB is actually divided in two – the right side carries
analog signals and the left side carries digital signals.
