Swiss darTZeel/ Dasheng LHC-208 combined power amplifier new licensed warranty
darTZeel LHC-208 combined power amplifier. The HiEnd brand darTZeel from Switzerland has been established for more than 30 years. It has been developing Hi-End audio, but its product line is not complicated. Previously their only combined power amplifier was darTZeel''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s third product CTH-8550. The model of the first two front and rear products was “NHB” was “Never Heard Before（Bel canto）The abbreviation of ”, and the combined model “CTH” represents “Close to Heaven（Like heaven）”.
darTZeel LHC-208 is a multi-functional device, in addition to an integrated amplifier, it is also a DAC with Internet streaming function. The front and rear circuits of the left and right channels are all placed on the same circuit board, and share power supply and capacitors. The added DAC function has a maximum file format of 352.8kHz/24bit and DSD128.
LHC-208 uses a touch screen. After connecting the plug, slide your finger left and right on the screen to turn it on! LHC-208 is an all-aluminum alloy cabinet with darTZeel and model number on the left.
The structure and design of the analog circuit used inside the LHC-208 are the same as the other integrated amplifier CTH-8550, but the front and rear circuits of the LHC-208 left and right channels are all placed on the same circuit board and share power supply and capacitance. CTH-8550 is a complete dual mono design, using twice the components of LHC-208. The output power of LHC-208 is 175 watts/8 ohms and 275 watts/4 ohms.
The innovation of the analog system part includes the heat dissipation system. The heat dissipation system is also designed by Arctic Cooling, a Swiss manufacturer. It is not easy to hear the fan rotation even if it is close when it is operating, and it can effectively control the output transistor. temperature.
The DAC function added by LHC-208 can support file formats up to 352.8kHz/24bit and DSD128. The reason why darTZeel did not develop digital processing in the past is that digital music cannot provide the liveness of music like an analog system, so they have been thinking about a good way to deal with digital files. This time, they use extremely simplified circuit boards and special features in LHC-208. The DAC chip does not use unnecessary upsampling. To maintain the original playback of the file, the PCM file will directly enter the DAC chip, and the DSD file will also enter the capacitor output circuit in its original appearance, and adopt a new clock system.
The new clock system is not the usual atomic clock, rubidium clock, super PLL clock, etc., darTZeel believes that the accuracy of the clock and the sound quality are not directly related. Therefore, darTZeel uses a standard PLL inside the LHC-208, and lets him “watch” these music files enter the LHC-208 from devices such as NAS, and the PLL only gives the NAS a transmission speed frequency. If the frequency is determined, the music file will be transmitted to the synthesizer in the LHC-208, and this synthesizer will maintain the original appearance of the music file. As long as the PLL is not used for adjustment during the process, there will be no negative effects in the oscillation circuit. Feedback problem, and the accuracy of this synthesizer is not in PPM (part per million, part per million) as a unit, but in PPB (part per billion, part per billion) as a unit, so use PLL The opportunity for adjustment is very small and almost useless.
At present, the sound capabilities of LHC-208 are completely complete, and the operation and functionality can be continuously updated.
There is an eye-catching touch screen on the front panel of LHC-208, which can operate and display working status, including volume control, input source used, music format being played, internal temperature, etc. LHC-208 can adjust the volume of DSD from the settings, because the volume standards of PCM and DSD are usually different during post-recording, and the volume will be adjusted back to 0dB during post-recording, while DSD will usually be maintained at -4 to- 7dB. This will cause the playlist to play music files in two formats at the same time, and the volume will be different. This problem can be solved by setting the volume of the DSD file to increase by 6dB.
There are three conspicuous red round buttons on the left, but they are not buttons. On the far left is the 6.35mm headphone output jack. There is a headphone amplifier circuit inside the LHC-208. The speaker output will be automatically turned off when using headphones. The volume memory of the two is also independent to avoid excessive volume when switching. The second is an infrared receiver, which receives the frequency emitted by the remote control. The third is the 3.5mm Aux analog input terminal.
LHC-208 comes with a remote control, but it is not made of aluminum alloy cutting as CTH-8550, which can reduce the overall cost and selling price. Secondly, because of the network streaming function, darTZeel will launch a dedicated control APP for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows10. The remote control will be based on the tablet, so this remote control is not necessary, but if the user is very & rdquo;Infatuated”A high-quality aluminum remote control like CTH-8550 is still optional.
You can see many input terminals on the back of the LHC-208. In addition to the power plugs and speaker terminals at the left and right ends, there are 1 set of Zeel Input BNC terminals (50 ohms) and 3 sets of RCA analog inputs. The digital input includes 1 set of USB input, 2 sets of S/PDIF (192kHz/24bit), 2 sets of Toslink (96kHz/24bit), 1 internet terminal (192kHz/24bir, DSD128), and a USB to update the firmware Terminal.
When using USB input, you can use any commonly used software, but the original manufacturer does not recommend using iTunes, because it does not support the DSD music format, and the digital file will be changed before transfer. For example, Windows or iOS can be installed with XMOS. controlling software. Using the Internet to play music streaming is the most recommended method by darTZeel. The reason is that different network cables will not affect the final music effect, and the network cable can keep the LHC-208 away from the interference frequency of the computer. According to darTZeel’s experience , This impact is huge.
Another reason is that when using the Internet to transmit, according to the communication protocol, if the file packet is wrong or lost, LHC-208 will let the storage device such as NAS retransmit until the data is correct, and the internal setting of digital file playback has two seconds Delay, this is enough for LHC-208 to get 100% correct music files, and because of the different communication protocols, this situation is not suitable for USB transmission.
The special Zeel Input BNC terminal can be used to connect to its own darT Output BNC terminal. The darTZeel design team believes that only the transmission terminal with the same impedance value can make the music file completely faithful to the original appearance.
The bottom left corner indicates that SWISS is made in Switzerland. There are many input terminals and it is very practical. Many different signal sources can be connected at once, all of which are very commonly used. The LHC-208 can also use the remote control, and there is also a USB start key, the leather covering is very textured.
LHC-208 internal disclosure
The upper part of the photo is close to the rear panel, the upper layer is the digital processing circuit board, and the lower layer is the analog processing circuit board. The bottom of the photo is close to the front panel, the left is the power supply, and the right is the cooling system.
darTZeel''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s power supply method is more special. A total of two toroidal transformers, one large and one small, are used instead of two equivalent power supply transformers. This is not distinguished by supplying different circuit boards separately, but at normal power output. Use large and small for low power output. Toroidal transformer is a Spanish manufacturer Noratel, which is a good power transformer equipment manufacturer in Europe. Its products include power equipment for cars, medical and professional audio.
LHC-208 uses a very high-quality heat dissipation system, with a large area of ??metal heat sink on the top, several metal heat pipes in the middle, and a fan at the bottom. The manufacturing supplier is Arctic Cooling, also from Switzerland. Its specialized product is the heat dissipation system used inside the computer with very low noise. Arctic Cooling also specially designed a small size, good heat dissipation and low noise heat dissipation system for darTZeel, which is interesting Arctic Cooling also produces earphones and speakers. The understanding of acoustic products may be one of the reasons for darTZeel''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s cooperation. It can be found that the heat dissipation system is very firmly locked on the chassis, and 8 screws must be locked after the upper cover is closed.
High-quality cooling system modules. The heat dissipation system has a lot of metal heat sinks. These heat sinks have a large area and are directly connected to the bottom of the chassis. There are also heat dissipation metal tubes that look like brass. The heat dissipation system is connected to the circuit board to remove heat from the circuit board.There are many chips on the top of the digital circuit board, using XMOS as the receiving chip of the USB, and also using the Lattice logic operation chip. The LHC-208 has two USB connection terminals, one of which can be plugged into a USB flash drive and directly connected to the analog circuit board below, so it should only be used for firmware updates, and cannot transfer music files to the LHC-208.
The full picture of the digital circuit board. There are several IC chips on the Lattice logic operation chip, using XMOS as the USB receiving chip.A lot of capacitors are used in the analog circuit. The analog circuit design of LHC-208 is very similar to the higher-order integrated amplifier CTH-8550. The main difference is that the front and rear amplifier circuits of the left and right channels are all on the same circuit board.
It can be seen from the internal chassis that darTZeel designed LHC-208 with very rich materials, heat dissipation system, large toroidal transformer, huge capacitor and digital processing chip. Each component uses very good quality suppliers, and LHC-208 The size of the chassis is not large, so the design team must have spent a lot of attention to install so many components. The quality of the cooling system and components is also more important. The internal components darTZeel can not only guarantee its quality and service life, With more sufficient materials, users can feel at ease.
There are many ways to use LHC-208. Most of them are like using a DAC. Give him a digital signal and he will sing, very simple. One of the more special is network streaming through the Internet, which is also the most recommended method by the original manufacturer. Here I will demonstrate how to use LHC-208 for network streaming.
Connect the LHC-208 to the Internet cable beforehand, and connect the network cable to the network router at home, and the smart phone or tablet is connected to the local network through the wireless router. Next, you only need to download the APP on the smart device to use it. I used the Android system to download the APP control software BubbleUPnP suggested by darTZeel. If you use the iOS operating system, it is recommended to use PlugPlayer or similar APP. In the future, darTZeel will launch a dedicated APP control software for LHC-208.
Select LHC-208 as the receiver, pull down the local media device menu in Lipary, you can see the devices in the same network domain, I choose NAS as the file source. You can see the music files in the NAS right away. After selecting the menu next to the album or song, there will be an operation menu.The operation is very easy. Now you can use your mobile phone as a remote control to listen to the music files in the media devices in the same area. The song information and song format will also be displayed on the touch screen of the LHC-208. In the future, darTZeel will update the firmware to display the album cover on the screen.
Equipment information
Type: Digital streaming media combined amplifier
Output power: 200W（8 ohm）, 300W (4 ohm）, 325W（2 ohm）
Signal to noise ratio: 105 dB
Frequency response: 7Hz～170kHz +0,-6 dB; 20Hz～20kHz +0,-0.5dB
Size: 440 ×350× 130 mm
Net weight: 16 Kg