Pioneer Embraces Hi-Res Market
Pioneer Japan have this week announced the upcoming release of U-05, their first USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier.
Scheduled for release in late July with a retail price of 105,000 yen ($1,099 AUD), Pioneer says U-05 is the result of many years development and "is a device to enhance sound quality of audio files on a computer".
U-05 features ESS's 8ch DAC "ES9016" installed on both the right and left sides. The circuit used is a discrete circuit. By driving them in parallel, it reduces noise considerably.
It supports up to DSD 2.8/5.6MHz file native playback and PCM 384kHz/24bit.
Pioneer have built in some user selectable options, including the ability to select the "Digital Filter" between Sharp, Show, and Short. According to Pioneer, "Lock Range Adjust" reduces jitter noise by adjusting accuracy of the DAC's lock range, as well as "DIRECT" mode, that reproduces the original sound.
Size: 296W×101H×271Dmm
Weight: 6.3kg
Input interface: USB-B, coaxial digital interface, optical digital interface, AES/EBU
Australian availability and RRP is unknown at this stage.
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
Posted in: Hi-Fi | Headphones
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