Antelope Audio brings DSD256 to the Zodiac Platinum

With a 256 times upsampling mode allowing DSD64 and DSD128 to be increased to DSD256, audiophile equipment manufacturer Antelope Audio has introduced the Zodiac Platinum, its latest DSD digital audio convertor.

Capable of streaming a 24-Bit, 384kHz signal via USB, the manufacturer states that the Zodiac Platinum provides the most comprehensive, top-end DSD and PCM sample rate support, enabling ‘uncompromising’  audiophile quality, while setting a new standard for ‘accuracy, transparency, imaging and dynamics’.

To readers unfamiliar with the term DSD, it stands for Direct Stream Digital, and was originally implemented by Sony and Philips in 1999 as a way of digitally recreating audible signals for the Super Audio CD (SACD) format.  With the technology never quite succeeding in the commercial market it is an unfamiliar term, but audio experts generally agree that the quality of DSD recordings is superior to that of conventional PCM.

DSD256, named because it provides a sample rate 256 times greater than CDs, is capable of providing an 11.2MHz sample rate. The result is achieved through the use of Antelope Audio’s Acoustically Focused Clocking 64-bit algorithm, while the Zodiac Platinum is equipped with a 10MHz input for Antelope's 10M Rubidium atomic clock — which the manufacturer claims delivers the ‘most accurate, stable clocking reference available’.

Stereo placement on the Zodiac Platinum is enhanced by the Quad-DAC architecture, processing the left and the right channel conversion in two separate DAC chips. This technology affects the signal to noise ratio while improving stereo separation and overall linearity.

With the Zodiac Platinum, Antelope Audio says it is possible for the listener to discern each tiny detail presented in the original recording. This is because the differences in PCM and DSD upsampling enable the device to reconstruct a more natural-sounding digital waveform.

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Web: www.antelopeaudio.com