I really want to preorder these. Why are there no RCA inputs? Why is the onboard DAC limited to 16/48? Does this mean they are a bottleneck for high res audio? Please tell me I'm wrong on this.
My building pal is a computer audio nut and his desktop speakers could use an upgrade. These would make a perfect gift, but he already uses an audioengine DAC.
Edit: it seems there is a connector for minijack analog. These should work fine. Yes!
Hi,
As you have discovered, there is an analog input via a stereo 3/5mm (1/8") jack. We chose this for the analog input because it is the most likely type of connector for the bulk of units that would be used with these speakers, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. For devices with RCA outs a simple adapter cable should be easy to obtain. If your friend already has a good DAC, he can happily use it plugged into the analog inputs.
Now, your questions regarding the DAC that is inside the Axiom Computer Speakers are tricky to answer. You are correct that the USB interface+DAC will not natively decode so called high res audio files, i.e. those in 24bit format ranging from 48kHz to 192kHz. Most playback software will down sample these files to 16bit/48kHz which our DAC WILL play. The only thing happening is that they will not be playing back "bit-perfect". For many, with collections of ripped CDs and downloaded MP3 and MP4 files, this will be of little concern. Why did we not include a DAC that can play these files bit-perfectly? Well, the DAC itself is capable of 32bit/384kHz playback, only the USB interface is limited to 16bit/48kHz. We chose this USB 1.1 compliant chip because of its wide availability, its direct I2S output to the DAC, and the fact that USB 1.1 audio devices do not require any custom drivers for Windows, Mac OSX, or Linux. Simply plug-and-play. For 24bit files over USB a USB 2.0 compliant audio device is required, and this requires custom drivers for Windows machines...a never ending merry go round of driver updates as Windows updates the OS. It is also added complexity for the end user, certainly a concern for some. Finally, and this is a biggie for small companies such as Axiom, is the limited selection of USB 2.0 audio interface ICs and the required licensing fees to obtain and use these parts. Most of the manufacturers offering these parts make it impossible, or at least prohibitively expensive, for low-volume producers (<10k) to even consider them.
I hope that sheds some light on why we have decided on the DAC platform used in the new Axiom Computer Speakers.
Thanks,
Andrew
