Audio Alchemy
Encyclopedia
Audio Alchemy was a high fidelity
audio equipment manufacturer based in California, USA. It produced many lines of relatively affordable audio products, including CD players, transports, digital audio processors, and amplifiers. They have since gone out of business, the primary engineers moving on to found Channel Islands Audio and (now defunct) Perpetual Technologies. Audio Alchemy products made 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. Perpetual Technologies and Camelot Technology also produce products that use the I²S
interface.
Several members of the original Audio Alchemy team, including Peter Madnick, Audio Alchemy's co-founder, have formed Alchemy².
- Power
- Cables
- Other
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
audio equipment manufacturer based in California, USA. It produced many lines of relatively affordable audio products, including CD players, transports, digital audio processors, and amplifiers. They have since gone out of business, the primary engineers moving on to found Channel Islands Audio and (now defunct) Perpetual Technologies. Audio Alchemy products made innovative use of the I²S
I²S
I2S, also known as Inter-IC Sound, Integrated Interchip Sound, or IIS, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is most commonly used to carry PCM information between the CD transport and the DAC in a CD player...
audio interface, usually reserved for the internal connection between the CD transport and DAC
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
of a CD player. Audio Alchemy brought the interface out to a DIN connector
DIN connector
A DIN connector is a connector that was originally standardized by the , the German national standards organization. There are DIN standards for a large number of different connectors, therefore the term "DIN connector" alone does not unambiguously identify any particular type of connector unless...
, allowing a very low jitter
Jitter
Jitter is the undesired deviation from true periodicity of an assumed periodic signal in electronics and telecommunications, often in relation to a reference clock source. Jitter may be observed in characteristics such as the frequency of successive pulses, the signal amplitude, or phase of...
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
S/PDIF
S/PDIF is a digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in home theaters and other digital high...
, which sees the clock signal embedded into the audio signal. The process of extracting the clock signal from the data stream is where jitter
Jitter
Jitter is the undesired deviation from true periodicity of an assumed periodic signal in electronics and telecommunications, often in relation to a reference clock source. Jitter may be observed in characteristics such as the frequency of successive pulses, the signal amplitude, or phase of...
is introduced. Perpetual Technologies and Camelot Technology also produce products that use the I²S
I²S
I2S, also known as Inter-IC Sound, Integrated Interchip Sound, or IIS, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is most commonly used to carry PCM information between the CD transport and the DAC in a CD player...
interface.
Several members of the original Audio Alchemy team, including Peter Madnick, Audio Alchemy's co-founder, have formed Alchemy².
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
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)
Digital processors
- DDE 1.0
- DDE 1.1
- DDE 1.2 - 20-bit, HDCD, TOSLink/BNC/XLR/I2s inputs (similar to DDE 3.0)
- DDE 2.0 - 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
- 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
Amplifiers
- OM150 - 150Wpc (into 8 ohms) solid state stereo amplifier, Class A up to 20W
- OM90.1 - 90W (into 8 ohms), 160W (into 4 ohms) amplifier, Class A at 8 ohms and 4 ohms
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 high-current dual-output 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 three separate Audio Alchemy products
- Power Station Four - a high-current dual-output power supply
- Power Station Five - a high-current power supply for DDE 1.2
- PSU 150M - an optional power supply for use an OM150 amplifier in dual mono 200W per channel mode
- Cables
- ClearLink - an interconnect cable
- ClearStream - an interconnect cable with built-in RF suppression circuit
- CleasStream Digital - a coaxial digital cable with built-in RF suppression circuit
- 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