There is a need for affordable yet good-quality converters within the home and project studio world. Certainly there are great two channel systems available, but they are prohibitively expensive. Those that are within reach of the project and home studio budget usually suffer from the poor sonics that plague mass-produced studio equipment. We at Black Lion Audio have made it our mission to develop boutique quality audio equipment at very un-boutique prices. Our Sparrow ADC is exactly what today's project studio needs, and it represents Black Lion Audio's expansion of its Micro Series beyond the Micro Clock
The A/D conversion process is a tricky beast to tame. Because conversion requires so much current movement, there are plenty of places for unwanted noise to be created, both within the signal chain and in the power supply. This unwanted noise manifests itself within the audio signal as a grainy distortion, and often resides in the upper frequencies.
As we began to research and test approaches to converter design we discovered a unique way to reduce this unwanted noise and distortion, one that's not only inexpensive to implement but also works better than traditional approaches. We coupled this proprietary converter circuit to a high-speed, high-headroom analog stage that can capture the smallest nuances and micro-dynamics. The result is unparalleled: an inexpensive two channel A/D converter that not only has an enormous sound with pinpoint imaging, but also has the smooth, wide open sonic quality of expensive high end systems and a wonderfully rich midrange. If we were the least bit normal, we'd charge a king's ransom for it. But that's not why we're here.
We decided to name it Sparrow because it's such an extremely simple, almost rudimentary design. It features no input stage volume adjustment, just a single high-speed amplifier before the converter for simplicity and purity of signal path. We employ a pair of ultra-low jitter third order crystal oscillators as the basis for the clock. Power supply filtration is designed around latest-generation organic semiconductor capacitance instead of a traditional electrolytic-based method, ensuring low power supply noise. This is an A/D that can easily go head to head with the big boys. Once you use the Sparrow Micro ADC, your standards will be forever changed.
Dynamic
range, Converter: 120dB
Dynamic range, Analog:
33dB
SNR: -110dB
Slew rate, Analog:
approx 6000v/us, depending upon input signal strength
Max analog input before digital
clipping: +10dBu
Min analog input necessary for
digital output: -20dBu
Inputs: Balanced, TRS
Outputs: SPDIF,
AES-EBU
Sampling rates:
44.1kHz-192kHz
Bit rate: 24 bit
Our Sparrow ADC can be purchased through these select retailers-
Gear Orphanage
http://www.gearorphanage.com
(818) 887-GEAR (4327)
Atlas Pro Audio
