[pekingduck]

Quote:

The production version of DACmini will be even louder than the prototype at CANJAM. We want to make sure there is not a single complaint about level.

Another portable product is in development and it wil also include these "lessons learned".

Great! I hope the new product will have a true lineout

 

[mgoodman]

Yes, gold plated RCA jacks, true, line-level outputs.

 

[USAudio]

Quote:

Yes, gold plated RCA jacks, true, line-level outputs.

Oooo, this is sounding good.  Any thoughts on when we might be getting a sneak-peek?

 

[mgoodman]

I'm at a supplier in Asia now, wrestling with language and culture differences, working to make sure all holes are drilled in the right places, colors are correct, etc. What fun. Expecting to bring back a photo-ready sample this Sunday. If that works out, then we should start preorder in about a week and plan to have the first 50pcs by CANJAM in Denver in mid Oct.

Watch this channel for regular updates:

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacmini/blog

Michael

 

[pekingduck]

^ Cool..please keep us updated!

 

[USAudio]

 
Quote:

I'm at a supplier in Asia now, wrestling with language and culture differences, working to make sure all holes are drilled in the right places, colors are correct, etc. What fun. Expecting to bring back a photo-ready sample this Sunday. If that works out, then we should start preorder in about a week and plan to have the first 50pcs by CANJAM in Denver in mid Oct.

Watch this channel for regular updates:

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacmini/blog

Michael

Hi Michael,
The DACport is assembled/tested in the US and your blog says the DACmini will be as well, which is great. 
However you've also been very forthcoming in that many of the parts are also made in Asia. 
How does a product qualify as "Made in USA"?  How much of the actual work must be here?  Not saying you do this, but does putting all foreign-made parts together qualify as Made in USA?
Thanks!

 

[wuwhere]

"Made In USA - Certified" state:
 

Criteria for Certification

To qualify for the Made in USA Certified™ Seal, or Product of USA Certified™ Seal:

1. Products must be verified as having their core components manufactured or grown in the United States of America, as well as 100% of their assembly conducted in the U.S. A.
2. In the case of consumables (human and animal), 100% of the core components as well as 100% of the assembly must be conducted in the United States of America.

To qualify for the Service in USA Certified™ Seal:

1. A business must demonstrate that all labor is provided exclusively from within the United States of America.

 
So "Made In USA" is not the same as "Made In USA - Certified".

 

[mgoodman]

I love this community! Thank you for the explanation.

Please be assured that contrary to some other manufacturers in this space, who prefer to have an aura of secrecy around their products, we take the opposite path. We are and will continue to be forthcoming in our market communications via the blogs, this medium, etc., as a way to build transparency and customer trust. Fortunately we don’t need smoke and mirrors to communcate our uniqueness. We don’t need to use sand paper to scratch the labels off the chips for example, because we offer a siginficantly unique product to our customers via our software integration and other design expertese. We encourage a lively dialogue. Please continue to challenge any assumptions or statements we make. CEntrance does listen and evolve. Now on to your question.

DACport and DACmini are final-assembled in the USA. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Our company’s sophisticated test equipment, our years of experience in professional and consumer audio, and best of all, our ears can simply not be outsourced. This is why we ASSEMBLE the products in the US, which is followed by tweaking performance, listening tests, burn-in where applicable and then final shipment to customer. We feel that putting the product together this way will ensure the high quality standards are maintained consistently, which improves customer satisfaction.

Having said that, CEntrance is a global company. Small, but global. Our Industrial Design (product styling) is done in Holland, because we believe in the rich cultural tradition of European aesthetic heritage. We emply software engineers in Russia, which features a (sadly declining) but still exceptional school of mathematics and physics education at the college level.

Lastly, we get some chassis parts from Asia and we get some subassemblies from there as well. That’s where the computer chips are made nowadays, that’s where 90% of the world’s electronics are assembled. And the cost savings are truly passed on to our customers. The press has repeatedly stated how our products rival more expensive ones, at 40% the cost (see the title of this thread). We don’t strive to be a low-cost leader. We want to achieve the right balance between high performance and reasonable pricing, in line with what’s possible today.

This is my honest honest explanation of how we do business on a global scale, utilizing the “best of the world”, in service of our customers. Please suggest what term best applies in the “Made In” sense. We could say, like car manufacturers do “Assembled in USA with parts of foreign origin”, but that seems kind of long. This is why we think that “Made in USA” applies. We are not claiming “certified” at all.

 

[pekingduck]

Michael,
 
I just visited the DACmini site and found the stated output power is "1.5W (total), drives 50...600 Ohm headphones". Does that mean the mini is not suitable for low impedance phones?

 

[shigzeo]

In love with the DACPort regular version, I am excited to hear about the mini, but hope (beyond all hope) that it works with the iPad without external power.

 

[Anaxilus]

^  Blog says external brick.  USB power wasn't sufficient to get the bass quality targeted for the mini.

 

[luvdunhill]

Michael:
 
Do you happen to have test results (RMAA, for example) on the MicPortPro? Is there any hope of going beyond 24/96? Do you perhaps have an evaluation unit that you send around? I'm interested in using it as a measurement mic pre for developing audio gear.

 

[mgoodman]

I have to dig it up, we have a plot we made some time ago for measurement guys who use MicPort Pro in acoustics (room design, etc.) please email to me at info [at] centrance [dawt] com and I will email you that curve.

 

[gabrielo]

 
Quote:

One correction from CEntrance. The inference that DACport somehow tricks the computer to give it more power is incorrect. USB jacks yield maximum 500mA of power. DACport consumes about 380 mA when driven hard, so it's always running well below the limit of the USB port.

mgoodman,
 
Why is DACport limiting itself to only 380 mA out of USB potential 500mA ?
Is it a prudent approach taken to overcome bad USB implantations or that you don't think more power is needed?
If the problem is USB limitation I think the limitation can be overcome by drawing power from two USB ports simultaneously using a Y-shaped cable that has two USB connectors to be inserted into a computer and one inserted into the mobile device (http://www.cooldrives.com/usb-power-cable-mini-b.html).
I wonder if such a cable will benefit users of the current DACport model in need of an extra power (like AKG 702 owners) or that the DACport won't benefit from the extra power 
 
regards
/gabriel

 

[mgoodman]

Hi Gabriel and thanks for the idea. While it's a great idea to use two USB ports for power-hungry hard drives, etc., using two ports is less convenient than one and a special cable is required (which can be lost, etc.) Fortunately, none of this is needed, since about 380mA is all that DACport consumes in normal operation. 500 mA is simply not needed.
 
My point was to say that we optimized the circuitry inside DACport so well, that it runs well below the limit. It's always a good engineering practice to leave a little extra margin, for a couple of reasons:
 
1) Not all laptops are created equal. Some laptops don't give full power to the USB jack, others only have one USB port.
 
2) Our customers would appreciate longer battery life that results from lower power consumption, while enjoying great audio quality and the ability to drive any headphones very loud.