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As requested Xuanqian supplied a few images of their facilities:


Mr. Kong is AURALiC's QC engineer in charge of all final testing.


Here he checks an ARK MX+'s analog outputs for distortion artefacts with a high-resolution audio analyzer.


This Iwatsu TS-8500 "used to be the fastest available analog storagescope. Here it is used in conjunction with a dCS 904 A/D converter as a high-precision AES/EBU signal generator to conduct a whole batter of tests including time-based jitter performance."


A worker inspects and verifies a PCB that's fresh off the in-house SMT production workshop below.




AURALiC's demo room uses a Meridian player, McIntosh integrated and Focal Mini Utopias. "We uphold very stringent test conditions. Each DAC undergoes 100 hours of break in before final QC. Our software interface for these test procedures was written by our engineer to be unique to us. On Windows vs. OS X, the latter's functionality is limited by Apple. Either platform comes with embedded USB Audio 1.0 drivers. Past OS X 10.6.3, Apple added USB Audio 2.0 support. The difference is 2-channel 24/96 PCM data compatibility vs. theoretical multi-channel 32/384kHz. In practice Apple's USB Audio 2.0 driver does not support the entire protocol. External clock syncing is exempt for example as are complicated USB models, customized API and drivers. To use our ARK MX+ in an OS X environment its work mode must be set to traditional asynchronous USB transfer or it won't work. In a Windows environment these restrictions don't apply. Here we are free to enable full functionality to adjust almost all transfer and receipt parameters.

"The obvious advantage of Apple's OS X is being a complete ecosystem of specific hardware and software which eliminates compatibility issues. Everything simply works. Even so, if you want to achieve ultimate sound quality though Apple's core audio it gets more complex. That explains for example the sonic differences between Amarra and Pure Music. A Windows system isn't as inherently optimized. That's why most people believe OS X sounds better. But - if you have a current hardware/software combination on a Windows platform with great playback software like cPlay, you can achieve much better sound. Bottom line, with OS X it's easy to get good sound. A Windows system can sound great but just as easily bad. To activate the digital output in PureMusic, go to Preferences, select Audio Settings>Multichannel, then set the Bus 2 output to 3L/4R. This will enable the digital output. It is bit-perfect through the USB input without upsampling."

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