Audio Alchemy
Audio Alchemy is a high end audio equipment manufacturer based in California, USA. The company was first formed in the late 1980s, producing many lines of relatively affordable audio products, including CD players, transports, digital audio processors, and amplifiers. It went out of business in the late 1990s, was briefly relaunched in the early 2000s as Alchemy2, then was relaunched under the original Audio Alchemy name in early 2015 with a new line of higher-quality, full-featured audio products.[1][2]
Audio Alchemy products make innovative use of the I²S audio interface, usually reserved for the internal connection between the CD transport and DAC of a CD player. Audio Alchemy brought the interface out to a DIN connector, allowing a very low jitter connection between the CD transport and external DAC, by transmitting the clock signal and the audio signal in parallel. This offers a superior alternative connectivity method to something like S/PDIF, which sees the clock signal embedded into the audio signal. The process of extracting the clock signal from the data stream is where jitter is introduced. This interface is used in several original Audio Alchemy products and in the relaunched company's products. Perpetual Technologies and Camelot Technology also produce products that use the I²S interface.
Acronyms used in Audio Alchemy products
- DDE – Digital Decoding Engine, a digital to analogue converter
- DDS – Digital Drive System, a transport
- DTI – Digital Transmission Interface, a digital to digital processor
Product history
CD transports
- DDS 1.0 (Sony drive based three blocks transport)
- DDS 2.0 (aka DDS II Sony drive based transport)
- DDS 3.0 (aka DDS III Sony drive based transport)
- DDS Pro (Pioneer Stable Platter drive based two blocks transport)
CD players
- ACD-1
- ACD-2
- ACD Pro (Pioneer Stable Platter drive based player)
Digital processors
- DDE 1.0 – 1-bit
- DDE 1.1
- DDE 1.2 – 20-bit, HDCD, TOSLink/BNC/XLR/I2s inputs (similar to DDE 3.0)
- DDE 2.0 – 20-bit, TOSLink/3xBNC inputs
- DDE 3.0 – 20-bit, HDCD, TOSLink/BNC/I2s inputs (optional dithering and remote control processor)
- DTI 1.0 – a jitter reducing processor
- DTI 2.0 – a jitter reducing processor
- DTI Pro – a jitter reducing processor
- DTI Pro32 – a jitter reducing and dithering processor
- DTI+ – a jitter reducing processor
- UltraDAC – Combination of a DTI and DAC-In-The-Box (DITB) in one chassis
- DAC-In-The-Box – an inexpensive DAC[3]
- Dac*Man – an inexpensive DAC with integrated analog audio cables
- EDI – Extended Digital Interface, an BNC in – I2S out jitter reducing processor
- XDP – Extended Digital Processor, an I2S input DAC
Preamplifiers
- DLC – Digital Line Controller, a remote-controlled preamplifier
- LIS – Line Input Selector, tape loop and input/output expander for the DLC
- VAC-In-The-Box – A dedicated MM/MC phono preamplifier[4]
Amplifiers
- OM150 – 150Wpc (into 8 ohms),250Wpc (into 4 ohms) solid state stereo amplifier, class A up to 20W (40W into 4 ohms)
- OM150.2 - 150Wpc (into 8 ohms),250Wpc (into 4 ohms) solid state stereo amplifier, class A up to 20W (40W into 4 ohms)
- OM90.1 – 90W (into 8 ohms), 160W (into 4 ohms) amplifier, class A at 8 ohms and 4 ohms
- OM50 - 50Wpc
- OM50.2 - 50Wpc
Accessories
- Devices
- HPA 1.0 – HeadPhone Amplifier, a dedicated headphone amplifier
- RW-1 – Remote Wand, an optional (DDE 3.0) or standard (DLC) remote control for Audio Alchemy gear
- VRE 1.0 – Visual Reality Engine, a composite to SVHS external comb filter
- Power
- Power Station One – a basic high-current power supply
- Power Station Two – an upgraded power supply that can power two separate Audio Alchemy products
- Power Station Three – an upgraded power supply that can supply higher current to a single Audio Alchemy product
- Power Station Four – a high-current dual-output power supply
- Power Station Five – a high-current power supply for DDE 1.2
- Power Station Automotive – a 12V input (car battery) dual-output power supply
- PSU 150M – an optional power supply for use an OM150 amplifier in dual mono mode
- Cables
- ClearLink – an interconnect cable
- ClearStream – an interconnect cable with built-in RF suppression circuit
- ClearStream Digital – a coaxial digital cable with built-in RF suppression circuit
- I²S – an I²S cable
- DST 1.0 – Data Stream Transceiver, an active digital cable with TOS/BNC input and BNC out
- Other
- ClearBit – an antistatic and optical enhancer fluid for your CDs
- IsoPuck – an antiresonance feet for audio equipment
Product images
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Visual Reality Engine v1.0
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Visual Reality Engine v1.0
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DAC in the box
References
- ↑ "Audio Alchemy website", Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ Chris Martens, "Show Report: CanJam SoCal 2015 Part 1", The Absolute Sound, March 31, 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ John Borwick, "Review: Audio Alchemy DAC-In-The-Box", Gramophone, August 1994. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ "Review: Audio Alchemy VAC-In-The-Box", Vinylengine. Retrieved 2015-04-23.