ATC has announced the launch of the CDA2 Mk2 DAC/preamp in the U.S. market. The Mk2 represents a complete re-engineering of the CDA2; updates include a new hi-res USB input, an upgraded CD transport and DAC board, a dedicated headphone amp, more input options, and redesigned analog circuits. More details are provided in the press release beow. The CDA2 Mk2 is available now through ATC's U.S. importer, Lone Mountain Audio.
From ATC
Lone Mountain Audio, the importer of ATC Loudspeaker Technology consumer Hi Fi products from England, and its US sales representative Rutherford Audio are extremely proud to announce the arrival of the CDA2 Mk2 CD/DAC Preamp, which represents a re-engineering of its predecessor in all the key performance areas. Developed as the ideal partner for ATC's latest P2 power amplifier and active speaker designs, the Mk2 combines convenient USB access to high-resolution music streaming with an upgraded CD transport and DAC board, dedicated headphone amplification, expanded input choices and analog circuits redesigned to deliver an extremely wide and flat frequency response with very low distortion. The CDA2 Mk2 is now shipping.
Joining rear panel coaxial and optical 192-kHz inputs, the Mk2's new high-resolution USB input is capable of handling PCM data up to 384 kHz and also DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 natively. Excellent jitter rejection ensures that signal integrity is maintained even with poorer quality sources and over long cable runs. Completing the Mk2's wider digital interface, a new TEAC-supplied CD transport delivers faster play and seek times, much lower mechanical noise and improved error correction.
The meticulously re-engineered analog circuits optimize ATC's implementation of a new premium 32-bit AKM DAC selected for exceptional low noise and distortion. Supporting the DAC, the Mk2's power supply architecture employs no fewer than nine additional high-performance voltage regulators, and local power supply decoupling has been improved from the Mk1, yielding further performance gains.
In another refinement, both input and output gain stages have been improved by an arrangement of discrete op amps comprising six common gain blocks: two for left and right input buffering and four to provide a "true" differential output for the left and right channels. The positive and negative drivers are arranged in parallel to ensure that the signal delays and phase shifts are identical on both sides. The output stages are configured as unity gain complementary compound (Sziklai) pairs, biased in class A.
These major design revisions, combined with many marginal gains (from hand-soldering surface mount components on the legs of specific chips, for instance), ensure that the CDA2 Mk2's analog stage exhibits exceptionally low noise and distortion across a very wide bandwidth.
Also benefitting are twin rear-mounted analog phono/RCA inputs and an additional aux analog input via 3.5mm mini-jack, which is equipped with high input sensitivity for improved compatibility with phones, tablets and other low output portable devices. Additionally, the Mk2 benefits from a revised high-performance headphone amplifier capable of driving headphones from 30 to 600 ohms, delivering exceptional results from the vast array of modern headphone designs. Output is via a rear panel mounted 6.35mm jack.
The CDA2's chassis is constructed from a combination of steel and aluminum and uses constrained layer damping to control panel resonances. The front panel is machined from an extruded section of 13mm/0.5" aluminum alloy with a brushed and anodized silver finish. ATC's wholly upgraded preamp/player is supplied with an IR remote control and is covered by a six-year warranty (2 years CD mechanism).
CDA2 Mk2 Suggested US Retail Price: $4,299.
Additional Resources
• Visit the Lone Mountain Audio website for more product information.
• ATC Launches New On-wall Speaker Series in the U.S. at HomeTheaterReview.com.
