Фан-клуб @borzenkov тут

During D-1 beta testing, a seasoned mastering engineer compared the D-1 DAC to his 25-year-old Pacific Microsonics Model 2 DAC. The D-1 was vastly better in all respects (40dB lower noise, 100X lower THD, etc). But his old DAC had a low-mid “thickness” or “richness” coloration, which made certain kinds of music sound “fuller” or more “finished”. I immediately recognized this as second-harmonic distortion giving music more apparent “body.” That’s what 2H distortion does, in very small amounts.

I really liked the sound of his vintage DAC.

So the mastering engineer says, “my clients keep coming back because they LIKE the sound of my signal path. They LIKE the sound of the old PM2 DACs, and I don’t want to change that.” He then went on, “if you can add some coloration to your DAC that emulates my old DAC, then I would have the best of all worlds and would replace all the DACs in all my studios.”

So that’s what we did. We spent the better part of a year learning how to add different amounts and flavors of 2H distortion as a selectable feature of the D-1 DAC. We put a curated selection of these 2H distortion parameters in the D-1 Pro Menu, selectable as “A”, “B”, “C”, etc.. Go to the Pro Menu, select a 2H preset letter, then use the front-panel encoder knob to dial-in a desired amount of harmonic coloration. There’s also a switch-bypass setting for quick A-B comparisons.

Use care — a little goes a long way. At full blend (“10”), measured distortion levels can exceed 10% THD (!) Don’t overdo it. Often, just the slightest hint of “warmth” and “richness” can be the difference between “too thin” and “just right.” We’ve created the 2H presets such that numerical levels between 2 and 4 will likely be most common for pop music masters. Each preset has a different harmonic structure and bandwidth. We spent months “ear tuning” these presets to address many types of pop music. I hope you find them useful.

Home users may find this a curiosity, and are welcome to experiment. One beta tester told us it “sounds like analog tape.” Another said it reminded him of vinyl.

Весь ужас возврата к винтажу не в гармонических искажениях 10% у ламповых УМЗЧ, а в лютых фоновых шумах тогдашних носителей и источников.
Главная тогдашняя борьба аудиофила состояла из расширения диапазона тракта записи\воспроизведения, но уже вторая -это борьба с шумами, который в паузах и при низких уровнях маскировал полезный сигнал.
На примере моего тогдашнего кассетного стационарного “Маяк-232”:
Первая доработка - это стеклоферритовая голова и динамическое подмагничивания СДАП (К157ДА1), танталовые К53-1 в тракте воспроизведения.
Но уже вторая - борьба с фоновыми шумами носителя (который при расширении диапазона тоже расширялись) с помощью доработки штатного динамического шумоподавителя на К157ХП3.
С появлением CD - перекрестился, с появлением Mp3 320 Кбит\с осенил себя крестным знамением
Чур меня, чур от языческого аналога в источниках Soho сегмента.

И вот сейчас все пытаются опять упасть в этот пыльный тлен ради маркетинга

Miha64 · 12.Январь.2026 07:09:24

Выпускай ~~Кракена~~ юного падавана! Дебют. Растет смена у @Borzenkov