One DAC To Rule Them All.... - Introducing the Kassandra from Aries Cerat

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
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ibelieveinhifi.com
Greetings WBF Members!

I am new to the WBF, but for more information about Believe High Fidelity we have made introductions here and if you plan to attend CES see our system here.

I would like the introduce the 120lbs Kassandra MkII from Aries Cerat (also available in a 240lbs dual chassis signature version) :)


-Separate individual power supplies for each stage (input/output, etc)

-32 R2R Ladder DACS (16 for each channel) in the reference version and as many as 64 in the Signature Edition for unmatched jitter and channel separation. Nearest competitor is Total Dac box system at 12 ladders (6 per channel)

-E280F Supertubes. No off-the-shelf tube options and no rolling required

-Extensive Choke regulation to eliminate PSU jitter

-Internal superclock to which can be bypassed to show how much improvement in jitter can be had

-All Custom components built in house or to spec for maximum sonic performance and zero lag in transients of which most tube based designs are known for.

Kassandra Mk II preview at Mono and Stereo can be found here. Stay tuned for the full review
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
$$$?
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,450
13,477
2,710
London

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
8,570
51
38
Calgary, AB
120lbs/240lbs for a DAC? :eek:
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
Maybe more like $$$$$$$$$$$$$

More like $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$......j/k

The reference model is 35k with the signature edition coming in at 82k. However, the engineering and parts list for the signature is very costly. Here is the power section of the signature edition

IMG_1553.jpg
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
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ibelieveinhifi.com
Hi Joshua

can you tell us what sampling rates etc the DAC has

The DAC supports 384k/24bit PCM. It also supports DSD via DoP, but there are some versions of DSD it won't play quad DSD being one of them. Have tried Jriver and Foobar and some album play and others don't. Can' put my finger on it yet..
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
The DAC supports 384k/24bit PCM. It also supports DSD via DoP, but there are some versions of DSD it won't play quad DSD being one of them. Have tried Jriver and Foobar and some album play and others don't. Can' put my finger on it yet..

are you saying that the DAC does play DSD 256 but for whatever reason you cannot get yours to play DSD 256
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
What is the cost per pound?

Well that depends. Compared to the engineering level and parts costs of our competitors the word "steal" has come up a few times.... :)
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
are you saying that the DAC does play DSD 256 but for whatever reason you cannot get yours to play DSD 256

I am saying it is guaranteed to play PCM up to 384/24 bit.

I am also saying it can do DSD via DoP, but it is not designed to do DSD native at any sampling rate. So your mileage may vary.

I don't own many DSD albums due to the lack of content, but what DSD I do have some plays and other don't. For example I have been able to play Christine Winn from downloads now which is DSF, but the DFF 2.8 has so far been unsuccessful.

At this price point I dont have a large install base to test it will other servers, softwares etc so at this point we'll just say it can, but is not supported officially...
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
8,570
51
38
Calgary, AB
What is the cost per pound?
If the reference level is 240lbs and costs $82K then - $341.67 per pound.

I'm trying to figure out the "steal" part.
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
If the reference level is 240lbs and costs $82K then - $341.67 per pound.

I'm trying to figure out the "steal" part.

Naturally anything at this price point can and will be heavily scrutinized. So if it is what is then we can only provide more performance per dollar to justify it.
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
8,570
51
38
Calgary, AB
Naturally anything at this price point can and will be heavily scrutinized. So if it is what is then we can only provide more performance per dollar to justify it.

I wish you success Joshua, I really do! You're certainly on the right forum to try and gain exposure for this unit/brand, and I have no doubt you'll get a few sales as well. Personally however I think the product pricing is obscene, but that's just me.
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
Hi Joshua. Thanks for the pictures. I can never get enough of what is inside our electronics :).

Squinting, I can see an array of AD1865, which is an 18-bit DAC from Analog devices. Are these the output devices or are they used for some other function?

AD1865-k to be exact :)

The 16 converters are working in current mode,and use an I/V transformer so that the current differential is converted in single ended voltage output.
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com
I wish you success Joshua, I really do! You're certainly on the right forum to try and gain exposure for this unit/brand, and I have no doubt you'll get a few sales as well. Personally however I think the product pricing is obscene, but that's just me.

Thank you Johnny Vinyl.

If you can believe this model was requested to be built and made for commercial for production as a result of its profound improvement over what is available on the market today.

Personally I would agree with you. There are much more things (or people) in my life that would benefit from just getting a reference model and saving 50k.

However, being a founding member I'm sure obscene is just another day in the life here for you...
 

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