Audiobyte

Black Dragon

INTEGRATED DSD

DIGITAL PREAMP

A high quality DSD D/A converter and preamplifier combo paired with a discrete headphone amplifier pushes the limit of what can be achieved in a device this size.

Packed with technology and with a timeless design, the highly acclaimed Black Dragon will provide a deep and distinctive musical experience to those seeking for a versatile device.

Proprietary FPGA Architecture

To obtain the organic sound signature we desired, we designed a unique digital processing architecture. In stead of using off-the shelf components for the internal circuitry, we built dedicated hardware units as front-end to the DAC chips based on a FPGA with custom firmware.

The package includes digital receivers sampling input signals at 500 MHz, a high-end clock system capable of reducing timing errors to sub-picosecond level, a powerful digital filter made with 15 DSPs and the user interface.

PRECISE

TIMING

Based on technology developed for our high-end Wavedream line-up, the Femtovox Clock System assures an accurate clock input – the heart of a digital reproduction system.

This advanced jitter reduction solution is crucial for uncompromised sound quality.

The custom hybrid-phase digital filter is a high-performance upsampling block for conditioning the incoming signals. It is especially effective on standard resolution digital signals, like 44.1/48 KHz. With a large number of taps and a carefully adjusted response, the extension and atmosphere of the recordings are enhanced prior to conversion. The filter can be enabled or disabled from the menu interface.

True dual balanced conversion (2 x AK4396) is a perfect complement to the digital input stage. Each DAC chip is processing one channel in fully balanced mode for to better analog performance and noise rejection.

Driverless USB input for Mac and Linux is natively capable of resolutions of 24bit/384 KHz sample rate and DSD64 /128. For Windows, ASIO and WASAPI/KS drivers are available in the download section. Asynchronous operation means that the DAC dictates the USB audio transfers after its master clock and not the PC, resulting in minimal jitter.

Discrete headphone amplifier

The Black Dragon brings to life any headphone set, both low and high impedance, with the fully discrete, true balanced, zero-feedback class A output stage. The low noise Linear Power Supply is designed to enhance the performance of the system with 11 linear stabilizer ICs, 8 of which are low noise. The total filtering capacity exceeds 50.000 uF. The power supply is serviced by 2 separate toroidal transformers.

User experience

Under our philosophy sound clarity and audio performance should be complemented by user convenience. There are 5 digital inputs available: USB, spdif, aes/ebu, i2s and optical toslink. Balanced, single ended and headphone outputs are present. The display offers the essential information to the listener.

For additional control, an Android and IOS remote control app is available in the Google Play store and Apple APP Store. Easy firmware upgrade – the Black Dragon can be easily updated in the field by playing a special update track via the USB input. Firmware updates will be available under the download section.