AudioControl announced a pair of new amplifiers and two digital signal processors (DSPs) that all support Hi-Res Audio.
The two DSPs also now include a Bluetooth port to allow Hi-Res Audio streaming at 96kHz from a smartphone to a car audio system.
“…AudioControl strongly supports the transition to Hi-Res Audio or Lossless audio in the car that is capable of reproducing the full range and content of sound the way the artist intended,” said Chris Kane.
The processors and one of the new amplifiers are also unique in that they have real time analyzers (RTAs) on both the inputs and outputs, which AudioControl claims is a first for the industry. Installers can see the audio signal both coming in and leaving the devices.
And one of the new processors is the most flexible on the market, with 10 outputs, said AudioControl,
Both of the new processors are designed and built in the US, and they include 24-bit/96K digital to audio converters.
“We spent a lot of time engineering the software so it’s different. It’s very intuitive. The key to DSP is really software and how it’s installed and integrated. When we were engineering, we tried to make it simple to use. Instead of 4 hour tuning time, we hope to cut that in half since all the tool and installer needs are built into the software,” said AudioControl CEO Alex Camara.
A new DM-810 processor has 8 active high level speaker inputs, 6 preamp inputs, 2 digital inputs plus 10 preamp outputs. Each input can be tuned and you get 10 controllable outputs to handle even very large audio systems.
The Bluetooth port works with a Bluetooth module to pair with a smartphone or tablet (Android or iOS) to make adjustments to the user interface as well as deliver music streaming.
A scaled down processor is the DM-608 with 6 inputs and 8 outputs in a smaller footprint. You still get RTAs on the inputs and outputs, and a digital input.
AudioControl is also moving deeper into the category of amplifiers, which it launched for the first time last year. The two new 2016 models are the company’s first full range models, one with built-in DSP.
Amp model D-4.800 with DSP lets you correct, process and amplify your audio with one box. It is a 4-channel digital amplifier with a matrixing DSP. It’s rated at over 200 watts RMS at 2 ohms and it has 6 active high-level speaker inputs that can be summed and individually controlled using DSP. With a PC interface you can also correct time alignment and phase on both inputs and outputs.
If the installer is confused about which signal is coming in and which is signal is going out, he can view the input and output RTAs and make adjustments to the 30 band graphic equalizer. To save time, he can adjust the audio’s time alignment by entering a distance in numbers via a slider, or he can do his own calculation and input a delay by milliseconds.
A second new amplifier is the LC-4.800. It is a 4-channel model with 6 active high-level speaker inputs and 200 watt RMS power at 2 ohms and 150 watts at 4 ohms.
All models are expected to start shipping in early 2016 and carry a 5-year limited warranty.
They will be on view at the CES Show next month at booth #2112 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
BT2.1 plus EDR is good to about 3 mps. Bt3.0 hs is good to about 24 mps. Blue tooth is the wireless replacement for rs232. Bt can handle hi res audio with out compromise.
Sure, Bluetooth is excellent, and quite fast, universal wireless technology. It’ll be even much better very soon, in the face of Internet of Things (IoT) functionality: https://www.bluetooth.com/news/pressreleases/2015/11/11/bluetooth-technology-to-gain-longer-range-faster-speed-mesh-networking-in-2016
But we’re talking about wireless audio streaming, isn’t it? Doesn’t matter how fast is BT itself – in any case it uses Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for audio sending/receiving. You may see the latest (adopted 14 July 2015) A2DP 1.3.1 specs there, from official source: https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/adopted-specifications
According to this document, resulting bitrate for “High Quality Joint Stereo” is 328 kbps (345 kbps also available, but this difference is insignificant). Any other bitrates for other modes even lower.
Anyway, Hi-Res Audio and wireless audio streaming both are very strong trends at audio industry today. Without a doubt, from consumer electronics viewpoint we’ll see a lot of appropriate products and technologies at nearest CES-2016 show (January 6-9, Las Vegas, NV). Let’s talk ater the CES, and let’s see for things with strong tecnical argumentation, not exaggerated marketing relation.
Hi-Res Audio (HRA), for example, with popular 24 bit / 96 kHz resolution, needs 4,5 Mbps (PCM, uncompressed) for streaming. Bluetooth Audio has tiny 328 kbps transfer rate. Nothing to confuse?
In fact, there are some tricks to enhance sound quality of Bluetooth, like aptX codec or Sony’s LDAC technology (http://www.sony.net/Products/LDAC/) – but all of them are a kind of compromise. And what about AudioControl to receive so-called HRA via the worst kind of wireless audio transmission, Bluetooth?