HRT dSp & i-dSP USB DACs

After several months of uncertainty, we are pleased to announce the formal presence and physical availability of Kevin Halverson’s latest ingenious designs - the miniature (in size) and huge (in sound quality) dSp and i-dSp USB digital-to-analogue processors.
Between the two models, practically every domain and area of desktop and portable computing, as well as current smartphone and tablet devices have been covered in terms of compatibility. So, dSp caters for Mac OS, Windows OS, Chrome OS and Android (Lollipop) permanent and portable devices of all kinds. We would add it can also serve older Apple i-Devices using the 30-pin interface connector. You will, however, need the genuine Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit to make it happen. The i-dSp is there to be used with the more recent and current Apple smartphones and tablets using the Lightning interface. The external shape of the i-dSp clearly stipulates the use of the genuine Apple USB Lightning To Camera Adapter which integrates with the DAC into a single and elegant entity.
Either way, your headphones could have hardly sounded better with your chosen hosts until you assigned either of the dSp models to process your music into your ears. The best part? HRT dSp and i-dSp cost only £79 incl. VAT. Until the end of September 2015, this price also includes postage and packing within UK mainland of ordered through the Audiofreaks Online Store.

Over the past months, Franc Kuzma turned into a prolific bringer of new products. Three new products of three different kinds, but equally meaningful and relevant icons of their respective domains have arrived – the RD Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Kit, the new Outer Record Clamp and, perhaps, most significantly, the 4Point-14 (inch) tonearm.
It is no real news that ultrasonic cleaning of LPs makes our records sound and maintain their vitality to a much better degree than all hitherto applied methods. The uniqueness of the Kuzma RD Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Kit is that it provides all the necessary ancillary hardware for a convenient and motorised (almost fully automated) process of cleaning itself. But, it does not include the ultrasonic cleaning machine. Instead, Kuzma (who has spent over a year exploring and trying out first hand virtually all ultrasonic cleaners suitable for our purpose irrespective of design and cost), published a list of ultrasonic cleaning machines he recommends for use with his Cleaning Kit. This list (with suitably elaborated clarifications) can be found within the pages of the Kuzma Ltd web site (www.kuzma.si).
Basic RD Ultrasonic Kit costs £895 inc VAT, while additional RD drying stands cost £499 inc VAT. Both are shipping and available.
The new Outer Record Clamp’s intent and purpose is no more or less than the name of the product suggests. Just as a record clamp (or weight) placed over the spindle in the centre of the platter, the outer clamp cures in a most efficient manner vibrations and resonances that are inevitably and unavoidably present in the peripheral area of the LP. The Kuzma Outer Record Clamp has been engineered to an unbelievably high degree of accuracy. as it was essential to ensure that safe and easy positioning of a cartridge stylus into a run-in groove of an LP remains unperturbed. The new clamp weighs 2kg and can be used with Stabi XL, XL DC and M turntables. UK retail price is £975 inc. VAT.

Endless race for the longest effective tonearm length goes on and on. While one hopes we will not end within the realms of infinity where no tracking error may indeed exist, the long standing and traditional limit of 12-inches (300mm) has been long left behind. The standard Kuzma 4Point arm seemed happy with just under 12 inches of effective length and went on to reach and stay at the pinnacle of its breed. Now we have something considerably more dominating – the new 4Point 14 with the effective length of 14 inches!!! In return for relatively little more money, the “14” does indeed sound noticeably more “correct” in every imaginable aspect of the sound. Most importantly, even quieter background and a greater degree of what we like to call “intersonic silence” and seriously reduced distortion are clearly to be heard. The new 4Point 14 arm can be fitted at a 12-inch pivot-to-spindle distance, just as the standard 4Points fits 9-inch mounts. Stabi XL (XL DC) turntables can easily accommodate for the additional distance required, while there is a special armboard for the Stabi M turntable that takes care of the same requirement. The new Kuzma 4Point 14 tonearm is shipping and UK list price is £5999 incl. VAT

The new Clear High Speed Serial Buss (USB) cable from Cardas Audio pushes the limits of data transmission into new territories. Combining two assymetrical complete cables (one in standard Clear USB), twisting them and terminating with silver plated connectors improves the performance by a significant magnitude. This is particularly audible when high-resolution files are played back from a host into a DAC connected by the new High Speed USB cable.
Standard (0.5m increments) and custom lengths are available from 0.5 to 5 meters, and the predominantly used 1m set costs £339 incl. VAT. Shipping now.