BorderPatrol Audio USB DAC

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or email - voltiaudio at gmail dot com

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This listing is for a BorderPatrol Audio USB DAC.  I've had the opportunity to use BorderPatrol DAC's at the audio shows for the last five years, and they always sound so natural and "human" as Gary says.  I've owned some very expensive DAC's, including a very high-end EMM LABS, and they all sound clinical compared to this simple little unit.  The BP DAC has to be one of the best values in audio today.  See below for configuration options and pricing. 

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From Gary Dews of BorderPatrol Audio:  

The starting point for the BorderPatrol USB DAC was to make a DAC that sounds natural, open and organic. Too many digital audio products sound processed or unnatural and are uninvolving to listen to. The most natural sounding DAC’s are NOS (no over-sampling) designs based around the ‘old technology’ R2R resistor ladder chips. When correctly implemented designs like this can sound refreshingly natural and organic.

The Phillips TDA1543 R2R DAC chip is the heart of the BorderPatrol NOS DAC. It is used here without digital filtering and over-sampling and also without an Op-Amp output buffer, another source of the unnatural sound that plagues most digital to analogue converters. Numerous USB input chips were auditioned before deciding upon the CM6631A as the most musical. SPDIF versions are also available.

Not surprisingly, given that it’s a BorderPatrol design, the power supply design commanded a lot of attention. After a long development process a hybrid tube/solid state design using choke input filtering was found to be the most musical, dynamic and organic. The DAC is housed in a copper chassis chosen for it's rich, lustrous sound quality.

Prototypes of the DAC have been used at numerous shows to great acclaim with the audio press commenting on its open and natural sound.

A SPDIF version is also available.

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Technical Description

Available with asynchronous USB input, SPDIF input or switchable USB and SPDIF..
R2R DAC chip which has no over-sampling (NOS), no digital filtering and no output buffering.
High quality signal capacitors couple the chip to the output of the DAC.
Copper metal chassis.

Tube/solid state hybrid choke input filter power supply design featuring an over-sized power transformer (transformers in the SE version), high speed low noise diodes with resistor-capacitor snubbing, a high inductance choke and a EZ80 tube rectifier. It feeds both the USB/SPDIF and DAC cards which each have independent voltage regulation.
To our knowledge, BorderPatrol is the only company applying tube rectification and choke input filtering to digital circuits.

SE version has BorderPatrol twin transformer power supply system (as used in the EXS amplifier PSU's), ELNA Cerafine power supply capacitor and film and foil signal coupling capacitors

Output Voltage is 2V RMS/5.66V pk - pk

Dimensions:
Width: 9in/226mm
Depth: 7"/173mm Height:3"/78mm
Weight: 6lb/3kg

Prices:
USB or SPDIF only $995
USB and SPDIF (switchable) $1500.

SE version:
USB or SPDIF only $1350
USB and SPDIF (switchable) $1850.