he recent changes in music distribution have been nothing
but revolutionary. Since the dawn of mechanicalreproduction of sound we have always dealt with thephysical media, first strip of paper, then a cylinder and a flat 78 rpm
record, through vinyl Long Play, reel-to-reel and cassette tape, to
the Compact Disc. Dozen other consumer and professional audio
formats came and went along the way, never to be heard of again.
Yet it is the CD that seems to have become the last link in this chain.
Its success has not been and will certainly not be repeated by either
DVD-A, SACD nor Blu-ray Audio. For many years to come, what willremain on the battlefield will be vinyl and – for some time –Compact Disc. The future, and for some already the present, is themusic “cloud”. An audio file.

However, disappearing of a well-rooted technology brings about asort of accumulation of innovations that are expected to give it asecond lease of life and delay its retirement. I have no idea whatcauses the "swan song" that is visible today in the case of theCompact Disc format. This is partly due to the desire to maintainrevenues from patents in a particular technology or related to agiven format. This means cutting the inflow of money to companies
working on further innovations. It is the same with record pressing
plants – when the demand for physical media decreases, asubstantial part of their revenues will also disappear. I know thatmany of them, including those in Poland, are urgently looking forother sources of income. But perhaps that is the reason behind thereal explosion of innovations related to the Compact Disc format. It’s
visible both on the “software” side, or CDs, and the hardware side, orCD players. I wrote about the former in my editorial to the November
issue of “High Fidelity” (Audio Files – a wonderful new world, seeHERE). The driving force behind those changes turn out to be
Japanese companies, led by JVC Victor Company, Sony Music andUniversal Music.
The first of them, aside from continued improvements to the XRCD,
and now XRCD24 Super Analog (in the case of analog tape source)
and Refined Digital (digital tape source), has come up withsomething that is currently taking the market by the storm and isused by both other companies: HR Cutting.

What I’m talking about are Polish bands and their recordings fromthe 1970s and early 1980s. I know them from the original vinyl LPs,
and this is how I appropriated them. I am aware of their technicallimitations, not helped by the quality of vinyl they were pressed on.
Hence, their remastered digital editions seem to me more attractive
than the original analog versions. Such is life. But even they carry the“original sin” not removed by the baptism carried out by theremastering team. Their sound is fairly shallow. This cannot becorrected by simply bumping up a part of the frequency band. The
DAC from Mr. Kiuchi does it effortlessly each and every time. Its
sound is very resolved, and it performs a kind of emphasizing ofindividual mix components that are present in the relevant
frequency range. It is therefore not simply a heavier, darker sound. It
is more vivid, more natural and denser, but not with the density ofsyrup but rather of good port wine. And it goes straight to yourhead just as easily.
This kind of bottom end shaping makes the recordings sound quite
serious, in a way that is engaging and does not allow the listener tofall asleep. An attempt to read something while the Reimyo is
playing will quickly make us realize that although we are still
holding a book (newspaper, magazine, ebook reader, etc.), we do
not really see the letters anymore. We’re listening.
Instruments’ bodies are shaped almost perversely, thickening rightin front of us, putting on a body that begs to be touched. I'd neverbefore heard such nice sounding guitars by Hołdys or Sygitowicz,
nor had been so impressed by Komendarek’s keyboards.
The vast quality difference I’m talking about, which affects not only
Polish albums – I just referred to them as an extreme example of
how their sound can be improved, is best shown by the comparisonof Bach’s Violin Concertos under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin.
On the one side, let's put the box with an analog remaster produced
by Mr. Kiuchi (released by Hi-Q Records), and on the other side any
EMI digital remaster. I have a 1995 double CD version with the first
three Concertos, released by EMI in the Seraphim series. Although
once I was not particularly bothered by its sound, I cannot listen to it
anymore. The reason is that I heard the XRCD24 version, simply
brilliant in its depth, density and instruments’ presence. The oldremaster sounds dead in comparison. I am fairly sure that the
majority of digital sources will sound just like that when pitted
against the Reimyo.

As we know, HR Cutting (High Resolution Cutting Process) is a newinvention owned by JVC, it seems. It is a modified method of cutting
the glass matrix, which is used in the pressing plant for the
production of CDs. Ordinary music companies send the material tothe pressing plant in the same format it is to be cut; in other words
16-bit, 44.1 kHz. It can be provided on a CD-R, DAT, or sent over theInternet. The material is then encoded and laser cut in a glass
matrix. JVC modified the process many years ago to minimize thenumber of actions (steps) that take place between the music
material leaving the mastering studio and the finished CD. The
material is first digitized (in the case of analog tape) or reclocked andupsampled (digital tape). Then it is recorded on Sony Magneto
Optical (MO) Disc with the 24-bit resolution (in the case XRCD24; itwas 20-bit with the XRCD and XRCD2). The sampling rate is 88.2 kHz,
which is twice that of the CD. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place justbefore burning the disc and was made “on the fly”. These CDs bear
the XRCD, XRCD2 and finally XRCD24 logo, and the technique has
been called K2.
HR Cutting seems to be its further development. The materialdelivered to the pressing plant has 24-bit resolution and thesampling frequency is 176.4 kHz, which is four times higher than on
the CD. Conversion to 16/44.1 and signal encoding is made “on thefly”. There is, however, an important difference - the K2 process wasused exclusively by JVC, and the discs were only pressed in its
factory in Yokohama. The discs that use HR Cutting are also pressedby other companies, not only JVC. Sony does it on CDs and Universal
Music on SHM-CDs and Platinum SHM-CDs. It turns out that thanks
to these efforts even such a limited format as the Compact Disc canbe further improved.
But to take advantage of what the companies “squeezed out” of the
Red Book standard defining the Compact Disc format, it must be
properly played back. And here the hard part begins, which is
hardware related. “All the real CD players are gone”, to paraphrase aclassic Mel Cooleys’ song. Well, not entirely, given the example of the
DAP-999EX Limited D/A converter from Japanese Reimyo underreview today. They do, however, slowly become a disappearing
species. That alone should be enough to include it – incidentally – inthe Red Book of Endangered Species. Mr. Kiuchi, the owner of
Reimyo (and of Hamonix, Bravo!, and Enacom; co-originator and coowner of XRCD patents), mentally a Samurai and the master ofkendo by choice, believes that it is worth doing it. His system, which
consists of the CDP-777 transport and DAP-999EX Limited DAC is
one of the best products of this type in the world. The transport uses
the flagship Philips CD Pro-2M mechanism that now falls out of
production, and the DAC employs the K2 processor Mr. Kiuchi isparticularly attached to, both on the recording and mastering side.
Once used exclusively by JVC, even now it is found in just a few
audio products, all hailing from Japan. The Limited DAC sports its
latest version. The DAC has one task: to decode the signal from CDs.
Its input resolution is 24 bits but its upper sampling frequency is

However, one should bear in mind those sonic characteristics that
may raise doubts. The soundstage depth is not the biggest I haveheard. You may not hear it – I actually doubt anybody can realizethat without having a top Lektor from Ancient Audio or a flagshipdCS for direct comparison. The reason is that the instruments seem
absolutely three-dimensional and presented here and now.
Consequently, we just don’t care so much about what’s behindthem. There’s a lot going on there, too, but it is secondary comparedto the foreground. The vocals were charming and the guitars weresending shivers down my spine for a reason. The sound was
extremely vivid, so you can’t talk about a flat perspective. It’s justnot the type of presentation that would open up a very deep spacebehind the speakers. The main idea here is, as it seems to me, thecomplete opposite. It’s about making the act of listening to music
more intimate. We’re meant to feel as if we were in the middle of it
all, engulfed in a bubble of dense sound. What’s right in front of us
is the most important. And that seems almost real.
It’s worth noticing the behavior of the 4-5 kHz range. When Gahan
was taking a breath, the lower range was slightly emphasized – I’ve
mentioned this before – but the “throat” related elements also
seemed stronger. Even the cymbals had part of their range slightly
accented. So did the brass section. And the violins. It is part of thetotal sonic package I’ve mentioned previously, rather than aproblem to be solved. But you hear it as a “turning up” of or“pushing the pedal down” on the sound even harder. If this accent
fell somewhere lower, it could be referred to as emphasizing thesibilants. The DAP sounds sweet and rather warm, and doesn’t evenknow what “emphasized sibilants” are. But it knows perfectly what
to do to make the instruments seem more natural than live, andeven more tangible than at a concert. But it does it through turning
up and boosting this range. The sound is thus open, powerful andwarm at the same time, as if the output stage was tube rather thansolid state based.
Holding something like the DAP-999EX Limited in your hand, it’s
hard to stop yourself from conducting tests and experiments. The
unit practically provokes you to auditions, promising to submerge
you in the presentation and realistically fulfilling this promise. It
does it not only thanks to its fantastic resolution, meatiness, density,
fluidity and coherence, but also through several processes that turneven the most boring stuff into an exciting spectacle.
The bass is strong and filled with harmonics; it’s internally coherent
which makes it saturated. The entire region up to the lower
midrange seems more powerful. And I have no doubts about that.
But it is not a matter of simply raising the level of the entire range,
but has to do with adding energy to individual instruments – it’s not
the same thing. To verify this difference I listened to several albums
which originally sound low and dense. I couldn’t stop myself from

limited to 48 kHz.
I do not believe in coincidences. Hence, when I found out about themodification, I was sure that it was directly related to HR Cutting.
Previously, the processor, as it is described in the company literature,interpolated the 16-bit signal to 24-bit and upsampled it to 88.2 kHz(as with the XRCD24). Now it interpolates it to 24-bit (no changehere), but upsamples it to 176.4 kHz. While not mentioned explicitly,
it is exactly the same process that is used in HR Cutting, where thematerial delivered from the mastering studio has a lower samplingrate. In a surprisingly detailed technical description that we find in
the booklet accompanying the album Il Trillo del Diavolo by Tartini,
Veracini, Mossi and Bonporti (Enrico Onofri, Imaginarum Ensemble)
we read that the material was recorded in Italy in 24/96. After
arriving at the Japanese pressing plant it was first upsampled to176.4 kHz in a k2HR device to be then encoded in 16/44.1 andpressed on the CD. That is exactly the same thing we get, in a
consumer form, with the Limited DAC version from Mr. Kiuchi.

A few words with…
Kazuo Kiuchi, Combak Corporation - owner

Wojciech Pacuła: How does the Limited version differ
from the previous one?
Kazuo Kiuchi: The Limited upsamples the input signal
twice higher than the older DAC version - we now
have 176.4 kHz instead of 88.2 kHz. It does it in asmooth manner using newer technology. We do not
pit the old and the new version against each other, as
they are completely different devices.
How did you come across the K2 converter andbecome its supporter?
The K2 processor was developed on the basis ofmusical signal processing in the JVC recording studiolaboratory and not in the laboratories of electronic
companies and is, in my opinion, the most amazing
digital processor. To get out of this processor as muchmusic as possible, we have employed the resonancecontrol technology used in Harmonix products.
Please tell me something about the Hi-Q project, inwhich you are involved.
I am personally responsible for the music production
released on XRCD24 Hi-Q Records, ordered by Red
River Export Company. We also help them with sales,
using our partners around the world.
As we all know, Philips stopped the production of thewhat could only be compared to the results of homeopathic healing
methods. As you can read in the company literature, DAP’s digital
filters, including the K2, convert the 16-bit input signal to 24 bits
and upsample it from 44.1 kHz to 176.4 kHz. It so happens that thesignal fed to the HR Cutting glass matrix machine has the exact
same parameters. From the technical point of view this is irrelevant,because the signal is converted to 16/44.1 right before the laser
either way, and the DAC receives 16/44.1 signal from the CDtransport. But there is something about the sound of HR Cutting
CDs that works really well with the Reimyo. It is actually a very
similar set of characteristics. Density, tangibility, resonance andresolution. Regardless of whether it is classical music on a regular CD(Il Trillo del Diavolo), rock on a Platinum SHM-CD (Dire Straits and
The Rolling Stones) or, again, classical music on an XRCD24 (Okihiko
Sugano Record Collection box). What they all have in common is
how their sound becomes fuller and denser. If we dealt here withbumping up of a particular subrange, whether on the recording’s or
the DAC’s side, they would be superimposed on each other andemphasized. The Reimyo does something completely different: itenters into the sound even deeper, even fuller, and in an eventastier way.

Conclusion
Those seeking precision in the source sound will be disappointed,
though. At least in the following understanding: purity + attack +selectivity. That is something the DAP Limited will not guarantee. It
digs deep, but it does that at the cost of the above. Its frequency
response is shaped “with a certain idea” and it emphasizes theregion between the bass and midrange and a part of midrange
above, where the cymbals’ range begins. The latter lights up thesound a bit, but it is evidently a “treatment”.
However, I think that anyone who has ever heard a high-end
component from Japan, be that a Kondo or a Reimyo, knows thatthey are from an entirely different world. And ‘out of this world’ isthe best way to describe the sound of the new DAC from Kiuchi-san,the Samurai. I best learned what it can do with the recordings during
my headphone audition, with the Bakoon HPA-21 amplifier and the
HiFiMAN HE-6 magnetostatic headphones that had not sounded
like that ever before. It was a top high-end headphone system,
which had both the meatiness of dynamic cans, and the full bodyand speed of electrostats. With my Harbeths, the Reimyo unfurled
the kind of things I rarely ever experienced at home. Never before
had Depeche Mode and Polish albums from the 1970s and 1980s
sounded so well at my place. They may not have had such an
accurate texture as on my Lektor Air, or such a deep soundstage.
But this offer is as attractive as a credit card associated with anaccount that is always full to the brim. And how can you not use it?

Preparing for the DAP review, I tried out several transports todetermine whether they are really so much different from eachother as I remembered it. An additional incentive for that was myconversation with Jarek Waszczyszyn (Ancient Audio) who talked
about his attempts to use ordinary computer CD drives, similar towhat MSB Technology does. While I expected that, the results
surpassed even my wildest expectations. For comparison I used the
CDP-777 Reimyo transport, the Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition,
the Audio Research Reference CD9 (all sporting the Philips CD Pro2M), the Naim CDX2 and two multimedia players – the Asus BDS700 Blu-ray player and the Dune HD Max file/Blu-ray player. The
differences between them were huge! The Dune disgraced itself inCD Pro-2M transport – how does your company deal
with that?
When it comes to servicing our players and transports,
I would like to reassure all our customers that we haveaccumulated spare parts for many, many years tocome. As to whether the CDT-777 will still be inproduction, we have the same situation: we havepurchased enough CD Pro-2M drives to continue
selling the CDT-777 for a long time.

Albums auditioned during this review
Okihiko Sugano Record Collection, Victor
Edition/Trio Edition, Audio Meister XRCG-30025-8,
4 x XRCD24 [2012];
Alan Parsons Project, I Robot, Arista/Sony Music
Japan SICP 30168, “Legacy Edition”, 2 x BSCD2(1977/2013).
Antonio Caldara, Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo, René
Jacobs, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Harmonia
Mundi France HMC 905222, 2 x CD (1996/2002).
Bach, Violin Concertos, Yehudi Menuhin, EMI/Hi-Q
Records HIQXRCD9, XRCD24, CD (1960/2013).
Bach, Violin Concertos. Double Concerto, Yehudi
Menuhin, EMI/Seraphim 5685172, 2 x CD (1960 |1961 | 1962/1995).
Black Sabbath, 13, Vertigo/Universal Music LLC(Japan) UICN-1034/5, 2 x SHM-CD (2013).
Depeche Mode, Should Be Higher, Columbia
Records 758322, SP CD (2013).
Dire Straits, Dire Straits, Vertigo/Universal Music LLC(Japan) UICY-40008, Platinum SHM-CD(1978/2013).
Exodus, The Most Beautiful Dream. Anthology
1977-1985, Polskie Nagrania Muza/Metal Mind
Productions MMP 5CD BOX 002, “No. 0020”, 5 x CD
(1980 | 1982/2006).
Happy The Man, 3rd - “Better late…”, Belle 132047,
SHM-CD (1983/2012).
Miles Davis, The Complete Birth of the Cool, Capitol
Jazz/EMI 4945502, CD (1957/1998).
Nat “King” Cole, Welcome to the Club,

this role right at the outset. The Asus coped well, but it was obviousthat it makes no sense to go with anything more than a $700 DAC
to improve its sound. The Lektor and the CD9 fared much better,beaten by a whisker by the CDX2 due to its better bass. However, I
had no doubts that the CDT-777 was the only source that could be
pitted against the DAP-999EX Limited. Only the most expensive CEC
TL0X might have shown something equally good.
I used the Harmonix HS-102 digital interconnect to connect thetransports to the DAP and the Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved
Version power cords throughout. The CDP-777 transport has so
widely spaced feet that I could not set it up on the Acoustic Revive
RAF-48H platform and it sat directly on the decoupled shelf of the
Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack. The platform was under the
DAC that was additionally seated on three Franc Audio Accessories
Ceramic Disc Classic feet.
The audition had the character of an A/B comparison with the A andB known. Music samples were 2 minutes long. Whole albums werealso auditioned.

Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi is a supporter of tube designs, keen to use socalled audio accessories – anti-vibration spacers, racks, cables,
mains-related components and others. However, looking at the
DAP-999EX Limited DAC, it would be hard to suspect him of that.
Right from the beginning, one thing is clear, though: the K2
processor is for him the central component of this unit.
The DAC is not really big. Its low front panel sports four buttons to
select one of the four inputs, AES/EBU, RCA, BNC or Toslink. The
choice is indicated by a green LED above the selected button. To
their left are additional LEDs indicating the sampling frequency (48kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz), the transport lock, possible lock error and deemphasis. The latter is virtually unheard of anymore, although DACs
have it installed as a standard. I found literally a couple CDs from the
1980s at home, which require it.
The rear panel is a reflection of what we see in the front, with thecentral spot occupied by four digital inputs. Next to them are twopairs of analog outputs, unbalanced RCAs and balanced XLRs. The
manufacturer does not indicate which XLR pin is ‘hot’. In order to
use it both with ‘European’ (now also American) and ‘Japanese’ (andformerly American) cables, the rear panel sports a phase switch –0/180º. One needs to pay attention to another thing – the DAC
output voltage is significantly higher than the CD standard: 2.55 V
instead of 2 V (on RCA outputs). Consequently, it will play muchlouder than other players and this needs to be corrected during
auditions by turning down the preamplifier volume. The only on/off
switch is on the rear panel, so apparently the DAC should remain
powered on. The converter is supplied with the Harmonix X-DC/1.5
m power cord. The unit is housed in a solid aluminum enclosurethat features specially designed feet.
We can have a peek of what to expect inside, looking at a block
diagram attached (in accordance with the best practices of Japanesemanufacturers) to the manual. While my Limited arrived with amanual from the previous version, it still proved valid in thefundamental areas. The signal from the inputs is first sent to thedigital receiver, and from there to the LSI K2 DSP, where it isconverted from 16/44.1 to 24/176.4. That is a novelty as thepreviously used K2 chip upsampled the signal “only” to 88.2 kHz.
The basic method, however, remained unchanged – it is still
synchronous upsampling. The next step is a system of digital filterswith 4x oversampling. This section is coupled to the DAC chips via

Columbia/Audio Fidelity AFZ 153, SACD/CD(1959/2013).
Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come,
Atlantic Records/ORG Music ORGM-1081, SACD/CD(1959/2013).
Perfect, Perfect, Polskie Nagrania Muza/Polskie
Radio PRCD1596, CD (1981/2013).
Siekiera, „Nowa Aleksandria”, Tonpress/MTJ cd
90241, 2 x CD (1986/2012).
Tartini, Veracini, Mossi, Bonporti, Il Trillo delDiavolo, Enrico Onofri, Imaginarum Ensemble,
Anchor Records UZCL-1019, “HR Cutting”, CD(2013).
The Enid, In the Region of the Summer Stars,
EMI/Belle 132084, SHM-CD (1976/2013).

optocouplers to isolate the input from the DACs. The latter are 24bit units with 8-times oversampling. They are followed by low-passanalog filters and gain and buffering circuits. And the output.

Japanese versions of CDs & SACDs available at

You can see an iron consequence in what Mr. Kiuchi does. What I
mean is the sound of his signed products and the discs that heproduces. And it doesn’t matter whether we look at components
from two or five years ago, or the latest ones. The changes are
obvious and I remember clearly what the previous version of the
DAP-999EX sounded like. But all the new stuff falls into a goal which
has been – or so I think – set long ago, when the owner of Reimyo
started working with audio devices. The most importantcharacteristic of the reviewed converter is the density and depth ofsound. If I were to outline a path whose one direction is Reimyo, theother one would be Audionet, Sony and older components fromdCS. In a team with DAP I’d group up units from Audio Research,
Jadis, emm Labs, and Vitus Audio. At a closer look, this kind ofgeneralization should be of course discarded but it’s useful at firstglance. Playing any album on the Reimyo source you’ll experience adéjà vu. But only if you’ve previously heard some top turntables. Ifyes, you’ll quickly make a connection with what you’ve heard sometime in the past: the Japanese DAC sounds in a way that we usuallyassociate with a thick, saturated turntable sound, like that of theAvid HiFi designs. You can’t mistake this for anything else, because
it’s not the result of suggesting certain sonic characteristics but
rather a consequent developing of the idea of presenting music onan emotional level.
Even this brief introduction should be enough to figure out that weare not talking here about a “neutral” sound – far from it! The DAP
has a clearly shaped sound that evidently shies away from suchterms as “absent”, “hidden” or “accurateness”. While all these things
are good and valuable in themselves, they are usually poorly used inaudio. Becoming a goal in itself, they distort the presentation, thus
separating us from the “suspension of disbelief” and participation inmusic. And that is unforgivable.
In his brands, including Reimyo, Mr. Kiuchi offers a complete changeof perspective. The DAP Limited sounds lush and incredibly
tangible, compared with the previous generation of products fromthis company and from other manufacturers in general. It treats all
kinds of music material in a similar way, regardless of what wecurrently play. For example, we spin Depeche Mode Goodnight
Lovers single and play isan Falling Leaf Mix from it, and we are
literally blown away by how brilliantly Gahan’s voice can bepresented. Soon we start looking for other vocal oriented CDs (eventhough Depeche Mode is not a “vocal” band, i.e. all its musical

The PCB with electronic components occupies the entire bottom of
the unit. The "Digital Audio Processor" designation used by the
manufacturer seems to be spot on in this case. Almost everything
we can see here has been taken directly from the previous version.
But we can also spot a change – and it is crucial. Before we get to it,
the signal first gets to the digital receiver – a venerable Yamaha
YM3436D chip, valued by manufacturers for its low jitter anddistortion resistance. The chip accepts the signal up to 24 bits, but
its sampling frequency is limited to 48 kHz. The receiver is isolated
from the input by impedance matching transformers. In theprevious version the signal then was sent to the K2 JCV8009 chipsoldered right next to the receiver, which handled the interpolationand 16-bit to 24-bit conversion and upsampling to 88.2 kHz. Now it
is different. In the center of the main PCB, in what looks likededicated spot, there is mounted another PCB with logic circuits. At
the input we see the same K2 JCV8009 chip (the one on the mainboard appears to be inactive), here surrounded by eight CMOS
gates working - I presume - as part of the upsampling circuit anddigital filters. The NPC digital filter used previously appears to beinactive. The board also features an excellent master clock, far better
than before, with an even better power supply. Before leaving theboard, the signal goes to digital filter – another mature but excellent
circuit: Burr-Brown DF1706. It is known for being used with the Burr
Brown PCM1704 D/A converters (long out of production). We cansee them on the main circuit board, at the output, and what’s
important is that they are paired. They are surrounded by excellent
Sanyo capacitors (purple), which are also used in my Lektor AIR. I/Uconversion is handled by the OPA627 BB, and low-pass filters andgain stage is based on the standard JRC 5534 opamps. There are
two large polypropylene capacitors that are not in the signal path,though. The section with the DAC chips is isolated from the K2
circuit via optoelectronic components. The output connectors are
not gold-plated.
The power supply section is truly outstanding. The mains socket
sports filters from 2Pi and Enacom, another Mr. Kiuchi’s company.
Other components are a very good fuse from HiFi-Tuning and two
elegant C-core transformers. They feature five secondary windings(separate for the analog section, D/A analog and digital sections,
PLL, and digital section). There are a lot of filtering capacitors andprecision voltage regulators. It is a professional device, using many
long-out-of-production NOS components.

elements are balanced) and each time absorb with our entire being
everything that is generated by the speakers. What we hear is “fromthe gut”, meaty, and somewhat similar to the sound of the Lumïn
network music player. But – to be honest – the Reimyo system doesit even better. Despite the fact that we’re talking about an outdated
16-bit and 44.1 kHz standard. I referred to Depeche Mode because I
longed for years to hear something like that, and even with theoriginal vinyl pressings the vocals are thinned out, emaciated andhidden deep in the mix. The DAP clearly modifies the sound, but it
does it in a way that sends shivers down my spine. For I have not yet
heard SUCH Gahan.

As it seems, it’s all about emphasizing the mid and upper bass andthe lower part of midrange, where the male vocals stop operating.
This is a clear departure from neutrality, but it is done in good faithand carried out with success. And it is the winners that write thehistory, isn’t it? Anyway, the point is not about simply emphasizing apart of the frequency band. That can be as well done in a $300
player or amplifier, but without the slightest chance of getting thesame result. The DAP does it a bit like it were remastering thematerial, as if it were a tube device used to redo a multi-track mastertape, maintaining the right balance between the vocalist and the
instruments.
Even this, however, would be only a “trick”, not a “strategy”. The
Reimyo does it deliberately and in depth, without simply skimming
the surface only to impress us. We will notice a similar effect with allother instruments that frequently sound too thin or too light, like B3
Hammond Organs, electric guitars, and analog synthesizers. I could
carry on with the DM example, as their last three albums have beena brilliant display of using the latter instruments, but what perhaps
burned even more vividly in my mind were the remasters of thedebut albums by Perfect and Budka Suflera as well as Exodus’
Supernova.

Technical Specifications (according to the manufacturer)
Input Quantization: 16-bit
Sampling Frequency: 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz, auto-switching
Digital inputs:
1 x AES/EBU/Input Impedance: 110 Ω
1 x BNC/Input Impedance: 75 Ω
1 x RCA/Input Impedance: 75 Ω
1 x Toslink (Optical)
Digital Processing: K2 Technology (K2 LSI, 16-24bit)
D/A Converter: 24-bit, 16-time oversampling
Output voltage:
XLR - 5.1 Vrms
RCA - 2.55 Vrms
Frequency Response: DC – 20kHz (+/-0.5 dB)
S/N Ratio: > 114 dB (IHF-A)
Dynamic Range: > 100 dB
Channel Separation: > 105 dB (1 kHz)Linearity: +/-0.5 dB (+10 dBm ~ 90 dBm) 1 kHz IHF-A
THD: > 0.003% (1 kHz Vo = F / S) (30 kHz LPF on)
Power Consumption: 15 W
Dimensions: 430(W) x 44(H) x 337(D) mm
Weight: 5.5 kg
Standard Accessory: Harmonix X-DC2 / 1.5 m power cord