Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion What's New At Axiom Naming the Axiom Wireless Speaker

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

My take on the Axiom computer speaker and lack of high res audio.

1. For the price that you are paying, getting 16/48 is great. I still am on the fence for 24/196 and if with blind sound testing, you will be able to hear a difference.
2. Take a look at the reference DAC market. There are some DAC's out there that cost upwards of $2000+ for just a DAC. If you are thinking that you want that 24/196 sound, then you are also going to be concerned about RF, jitter, aperture error, noise, not to mention power shielding between the digital/Analog amplifiers so that errors in sound are not induced. I am sure that to get the best sound out of for 24/192 you would be dealing with a much higher end DAC amp combination that is being offered here.
3. It's for a computer to give you better sound. It's not like they are offering this with the M60-M100 speaker line-up.

16bit/48kHz is all anyone needs. Anything more than 16 bits is a waste. And anything more than 48KHz could lead to intermodulation distortion within the audible frequency band.

But that old guy whose hearing has been ruined by playing 50 years of concerts at extreme volumes said 24/96 has a soul!

As in: "I cant hear a soul." ?