Playback Designs MPD-6 Edelweiss DAC
Playback Designs MPD-6 Edelweiss DAC
Digital to Analogue Converter
Playback Designs MPD-6 Edelweiss DAC
DAC WITH INTEGRATED VOLUME CONTROL
The Edelweiss DAC borrows technology from Playback Designs’ flagship Dream series in a more compact package.
Up to 384kHz PCM and up to 11.2MHz DSD
USB I/O, AES, Coax, TosLink, PLink I/O
USB compatibility with Windows, Apple OS, Linux
Balanced and unbalanced analog outputs
Digitally driven, analog volume control
Fully differential discrete DAC
Optional internal streaming module
Recording software for file creation on computer
Easy and intuitive remote control via iPad or Android
Firmware upgradeable by end user
This product has its roots in the Dream series from where it borrows key technologies and combines them with new ones to create a more compact and cost-effective package. It can be operated in two different ways.
1. Standalone
For this setup the MPD-6 has five digital inputs (USB, PLINK, AES, Coax, TosLink) to connect any digital source. The Playback Designs proprietary clock generator, jitter and buffering technology (PDFAS) cleans up any digital input signal before subjecting into the D/A process.
2. In connection with the MPS-X digital source and streaming interface
In this mode the MPS-X and MPD-6 are combined for the ultimate separation between digital and analog circuits, and therefore for ultimate performance. All the digital sources are no longer connected to the MPD-6 directly, but rather to the MPS-X digital interface which in turn is connected to the MPD-6 via our fiber optical PLINK interface.
Also, in this mode all digital source signals have to pass the PDFAS clean-up and buffering mechanism twice: once in the MPS-X and a second time in the MPD-6. This results in even stronger clock signal integrity and sonic performance.
PLINK does not use the same media as TosLink, but it is based on a much higher quality and lower jitter media that is used for very high bandwidth communication links where receivers require an extremely low jitter signal for reliable decoding. For PLINK we use a much lower bandwidth protocol than the specified limit of the media to further increase robustness against jitter.
REVIEWS
“Playback Designs MPD-6 and MPS-X deliver on all fronts, clearly showcasing what the best digital devices of the 21st century have to offer. They tick all the audiophile boxes, but they also tick music lovers’ ones, which is not always quite the same.”