14 DAY TRIAL // SilerStone launched a device that can translate digital signals from PCs into analogue sounds called Ensemble EB01. The new device is suitable for personal stereo setups, especially high end ones. Ensemble EB01's internal circuitry, which is very advanced, promises that any sound effect from CDs, DVDs, MP3 files or even games, will be reproduced at a high quality, as high as the original artist intended.
For everybody to understand, a digital to analogue converter, also called DAC, is a device used for converting digital code, usually a binary one, to an analogue signal. The analogue signal represents current, voltage or charges. In other words, DACs stand for the bridge between the digital world and the analogue one. Shortly, that's what Ensemble EB01 does.
In reverse, the analogue to digital converters, also called ADC, perform the backwards operation. So, a DAC has to deal with PCM, meaning pulse-code modulation, which is usually encoded in digital signals. Moreover, the codecs have the job to convert various compressed signals into PCM.
Ensemble EB01 features a PCB (Plastic Circuit Board) with four high quality layers, which is set to give distortion free signals and a pure sound reproduction, without the use of a filter capacitor. PCBs are the normally green plastic boards that are imprinted with one or more layers of circuitry. Examples of common PCBs include motherboards, PCI cards and AGP cards. The boards can hold microchips and other components, and are a way to link such components together.
The new DAC features also a relay output that is very silent during the systems on or of turning, and also a regulator for the USB voltage that gives a stable electrical input. Moreover, analogue and digital signals are separately powered so that to crossover effects won't take place. The power comes from the USB, giving Ensemble EB01 ease of use.