[bugstone]

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/groove
 
Bugstone

 

[Mojo777]

Looks promising. I am a huge fan of Apogee's Duet 2 
 

Portable USB DAC and headphone amp for Mac and PC The most trusted digital audio technology for music recording is now available for consumer hi-fi listening

Anaheim, California, January 22, 2015 - Apogee Electronics, industry leader in digital audio recording technology since 1985, is pleased to introduce Apogee Groove™ – a new portable USB DAC and headphone amp for listening to music on your Mac or PC. Built upon Apogee’s 30-year history of award-winning digital audio technology for music creation, Groove unlocks the highest possible quality of any headphones or powered speakers you have, allowing you to listen to the music you love with incredible lifelike clarity.  Apogee’s digital audio technology has been trusted by professional recording artists, producers and engineers from around the world to create countless GRAMMY® and OSCAR® winning recordings since 1985. For the first time, Groove puts this same technology into a compact, durable, easy to use interface for consumers, providing a music listening experience of unparalleled quality, as it was originally captured in the recording studio.   Groove’s Unique Circuit Design Constant Current Drive™ Groove’s Constant Current Drive output stage is a truly revolutionary approach to dealing with the wide impedance variations of headphones available on the market today. With Constant Current Drive topology, Groove’s output stage’s voltage is dynamically “molded” to the impedance variations of the connected headphones, thereby smoothing out frequency response non-linearity that occurs with traditional headphone outputs.  Quad Sum DAC™ Groove also features a Quad Sum DAC design which employs four digital-to-analog converters per channel to achieve the highest  dynamic range and lowest distortion (THD+N) of any device in its class. Limited edition Groove for Apogee’s 30-year Anniversary To commemorate Apogee’s 30 years of digital audio excellence, a limited edition anniversary model of Groove will also be available. The Groove 30th Anniversary Edition will feature a custom machined aluminum body, performance enhancements and will be available in silver and gold. Apogee Groove and Groove 30th Anniversary Edition will be available Spring 2015. Visit apogeedigital.com for more info and sign up for product updates.     Apogee Groove Highlights USB 2.0 connection to Mac and PC Up to 24 bit / 192kHz audio ESS Sabre DAC Constant Current Drive™, Ultra-smooth frequency response for any headphone Quad Sum DAC™, 4 DACs per channel for highest dynamic range and lowest distortion Asynchronous clocking Max output level: 225mW into 30 Ohm Multi-color LEDs for status and level indication Powered by USB Top panel buttons for adjusting output level and muting Compact and portable (95mm H x 30mm W x 16mm T) Premium aluminum build quality Built in the USA Price: TBA Availability: Spring 2015

 

[Ivabign]

I signed up - saber DAC and adjusting output based on the impedance variations of the headphones that are plugged in? Since I have a number of multi-BA headphones - this could be something VERY interesting 

 

[laanis]

Im getting bored waiting for this to surface...now im eye'ing up the Meridian Explorer 2, do you think the Apogee Groove is worth waiting for or will i be happy with the Explorer 2?
 
 
TIA

 

[jayban]

Subbed. Seems like a good product as long as price won't be ridiculous! 

 

[gr8soundz]

The 4 DACs per channel got my attention. 

 

 

[tumburu]

It seems it will be released this month.

 

[USHI]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1132315-REG
300$. hope it's good and can run on android.

 

[tumburu]

AFAIK it won't run on mobile devices, only on computers. I'm very curious about the 'special/limited edition' version.

 

[maikuirock]

This is now out as of today http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/groove. I did audition it for a bit on HD800 at CanJam, and was very impressed as they seem to drive them fairly easy. I would've bought one there but, they weren't selling it yet. I have since purchased and am waiting on my CEntrance DACPort 1ohm.

Sorry Apogee...late to the game. unless you're up for a discount

 

[Jeangenie]

anyone know how this compares to a duet 2?

 

[Tjinnitus]

This is now out as of today http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/groove. I did audition it for a bit on HD800 at CanJam, and was very impressed as they seem to drive them fairly easy. I would've bought one there but, they weren't selling it yet. I have since purchased and am waiting on my CEntrance DACPort 1ohm. Sorry Apogee...late to the game. unless you're up for a discount

The special editions are not in the webbshop

 

[Tjinnitus]

How does it sound?
Digital?
Forward?
Distant?
Silent?

 

[Tjinnitus]

The S/N ratio should be the highest on the market!

 

[hoshiyomi]

Constant current output means VERY HIGH output impedance, unless there is some load sensing voodoo going on at the output stage, this is the last thing you would want connected to a multi-transducer iem.