SPL Diamond DAC & Digital Preamplifier Hi-Fi Black, Silver, Red

Diamond - Premium DAC with VOLTAiR Technology.

Diamond is the perfect DAC and preamplifier for those who play music exclusively from digital sources. Diamond offers connectivity for six digital sources and an external word clock. Superior VOLTAiR technology and a high-quality DAC, combined with an analog volume control that allows maximum resolution at any volume, make Diamond a unique DA converter, offering a premium soundstage with an unparalleled analog feel.

A high-end, versatile, high-performance DAC/Preamp with great sound. SPL, a German company with over 33 years of history, was born from the passion for music of its two founders, Hermann Gier and Wolfgang Neumann. Many products in the catalog, based on the unsurpassed musical qualities of analog technology, which for SPL are the starting point in the optimization of digital products.

Many are the inventions introduced over time by Gier and Neumann, from the first 5.1 Atmos discrete surround microphone system, to the VOLTAiR technology with 120V operational amplifier and then the exclusive and ingenious Phonitor Matrix to obtain headphone listening equivalent to that done with a pair of speakers.

Diamond has the classic aesthetics of all SPL products, and is available in the three classic colors, black, silver and red, the latter particularly original and very popular with the public.

Inside beats the heart of an AKM AK4490 Velvet Sound™ DAC, with 32/768 capacity and DSD up to 256, and adopts, both for the low-pass filters and for the output buffer, VOLTAiR technology, exclusive to the German manufacturer. Extremely sophisticated, it is based on the use of proprietary op-amps that work with a +/- 60V power supply and therefore 120V total, which means a notable increase in dynamics, from the approximately 124 dB achievable with a normal op-amp powered at +/- 15V to over 141 dB, with an appreciable improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio.

SPL Diamond automatically detects the sampling rate and resolution of the source, and displays it on a very attractive red dot-matrix LED display. In addition to the volume knob, mechanically connected to the potentiometer, there is the input selection, with 6 inputs, one USB, two optical, two coaxial, and one EAS/EBU, and finally the selector for the clock frequency, which can be that of the internal generator or an external third-party one.

The analog outputs are XLR or RCA and on the rear panel there is a dip switch that makes one or the other pair either variable, therefore under the control of the volume, or fixed, so that you can eventually connect a power amplifier in the first case or, for example, a headphone amplifier already equipped with a volume.

Technical Features

Maximum output level: 32.5 dBu

Output impedance: 75 ohms

Frequency response: 10Hz-300kHz

THD distortion: 0.001%

Signal/noise ratio: 102.3 dB

Dynamic range: 135dB

Inputs: AES/EBU, SPDIF optical/coaxial, USB-B

Accepted frequencies: 44.1 to 768kHz, DSD 256

DAC: AKM 4490EX Velvet Sound

Power supply: 115/230VAC

On/Standby consumption: 40W/0.3W

Dimensions (WxHxD): 287x57x300mm

Weight: 3.15kg