Accessories for Chord DACs
Are you a Chord DAC owner?
We can help you to get the best out of your investment.
Chord DACs can sound excellent. Furthermore, they really come to life when paired with the M-Scaler signal processing unit and connected via Chord’s proprietary dual-BNC link.
Unfortunately the M-Scaler suffers from one significant design flaw. IT generates lareg amounts of Electromagnetic Interference that severely impacts the performance of the DAC.
Whether you are running a Qutest, Hugo TT2 or the flagship DAVE DAC, APEX accessories will make a huge difference to the overall performance of your Chord equipment.
BNC Cleanser for Chord
Dual BNC isolator and Cleanser for Chord
The Chord DAVE, Hugo TT2 and Qutest DACs are well renowned as a world-class pieces of HiFi and they become even better when paired with the M-Scaler digital signal processing unit.
Unfortunately, this combination fails to achieve all that it is capable of because of a design flaw in the M-Scaler unit. The unit generates Electromagnetic Interference which impacts the DAVE DAC and prevents it from performing at its best.
A partial solution is to use expensive filtered BNC cables, however this only partly works. Furthermore, the cost can be extremely high!
Problem solved! The APEX Dual BNC Cleanser provides total optical isolation and galvanic power supply isolation between the input and output sides of the interface to virtually eliminate any Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) coming from the M-Scaler. For even better performance, pair this with one of our APEX ultra-low-noise power supply units.
The result? A step change improvement in sound quality without breaking the bank!
Triaxial BNC Interconnect
Triaxial BNC Interconnect for EMI reduction
COMING SOON!
APEX is launching a new design of BNC interconnect specifically designed to prevent radiated emissions from digital interconnects from interfering with other equipment in your Hi-Fi.
Standard BNC interconnects use an internal conductor for the digital signal and the screen doubles up as both Electromagnetic Interference protection and ALSO as a 0V reference line. In many cases, this is connected to the 0V power supply in your source. This means that any common-mode Electromagnetis Interference present on the 0V power supply in your source will also be pressent on the screen of your interconnect. This allows it to act as an aerial and “transmit” the noise into the atmosphere where it can be picked up by other sensitive signal lines.
Our solution is to use Triaxial Cable, a concept widely used in the broadcasting industry. Effectively your standard BNC screened cable is entirely enclosed within a second screen which is electrically disconnected from the BNC 0V screen. This second screen is then connected via a separate lead to your mains earth, grounding any noise that is picked up and blocking any radiated transmissions.
We recommend that users of Chord M-Scaler use two of these cables between your M-Scaler and an APEX Cleanser to prevent the M-Scaler from transmitting the noise through the BNC cables before the cleanser has had chance to strip out the noise.
Dual BNC Isolator with Linear PSU
BNC Cleanser for Chord with Linear PSU
Get the same excellent dual BNC cleanser described above with one of our APEX 5V 1A ultra-low-noise linear power supplies at a discount over the full individual component pricing.
Interested in knowing more about how our power supplies get rid of troublesome Electromagnetic Interference? Take a look at our YouTube Channel
5V 1A PSU
5V 1A Ultralow Noise Linear PSU
5V D.C. Output at 1A
Output via a standard USB-A connector and via a 5.5/2.1mm D.C. Power Jack Socket
Optionally available with Screened GX-16 output
230V A.C. input (120V available on request)
Supplied with a UK Mains Lead
USB to SPDIF Interface
USB to SPDIF Interface
The APEX USB to SPDIF interface is a perfect partner for the Chord M-Scaler or for feeding your Chord DAC directly if you do not own an M-Scaler.
For M-Scaler owners, we recommend connecting to a USB output on your streamer, then connecting to the M-Scaler via the Toslink Optical input. This gives the best possible isolation and protection against Electromagnetic Interference while providing a clean, low jitter data signal to the M-Scaler.
If you prefer to connect via BNC, the interface features full galvanic isolation between the USB input and the BNC output, preventing EMI transmission in either direction. The interface supports audio streams up to 384kHz PCM.
The interface can be powered from the USB input, or alternatively, for lower noise and improved isolation, you can configure the interface to accept an independent 5V linear Power Supply which powers the critical output stages.
Clock inputs are also available so you can link to a Master Clock if your DAC supports this.