Even very critical listeners accept computer audio as a music source very well. A real landmark in the evolution of computer audio has been the introduction of the asynchronous transfer mode, which is available for standard industry use since 2006, using the USB 2.0 interface of standard personal computers. Drivers based on this technology transfer digital music files from a computer to a DAC independently from the - mostly very inaccurately working - internal clock of the computer. All necessary timing now can handled by much more precise oscillators inside the DAC.
Although the market today is flooded by a huge number of DACs ranging from prices of a few hundred Dollars to 10 to 20 k€ or even more, the claim made inside numerous marketing brochures, that the customer now (finally) gets the perfect sound forever is unfortunately (still) not true! It has been not true in 1982 as SONY and PHILIPS introduced the CD with fanfares of marketing - including the support of worldwide famous artists of those times (e.g. Herbert von Karajan) - and it is still not true today - sorry!
Not only is the number of different DACs offered today not easy to overlook by the interested customer. The sound of those DACs can be very different as well – independent from the individual price point. And even very expensive DACs sometimes offer on one hand a very detailed, but on the other hand a crispy sound full of details mainly in the mid to high frequencies, which impress the listener in the first run, but make our brain tired while listening for some hours.
Mostly very experienced customers, who grew up with vinyl sound, complain about the sometimes harsh and cold sound of DACs. For those, who are interested in all the great features of computer audio too, it is not an easy task to find a DAC, who´s sound fits into the analogue sound patterns, they are used to.
Based on this market situation, CanEVER AUDIO® together with a group of experienced listeners developed the ZeroUno DAC. The design goal was to create a DAC, which is able to present all the details of the recorded material, but never makes the brain of the user nervous. Instead of this, the ZeroUno DAC should simply play music to enjoy and relax even after many hours of constant listening.
