AudioGate: The Complete Path to Audio Purity. Korg was among the first audio companies to focus on the high sound quality benefits of DSD, using it as the recording format for the highly acclaimed MR series of studio and field recorders. Korg’s DS-­‐DAC series uses similar technologies, gained from a decade’s worth of experience with DSD recording. Korg’s first DSD DAC was released in Japan in 2012, and was met with huge success as audiences began enjoying high resolution audio data (including DSD). The DS-­‐DAC-­‐10 also received several important awards in highly-­‐regarded Japanese audio media outlets. DS-­‐DAC-­‐100/100m uses the same high-­‐quality technology as the DS-­‐DAC-­‐10. People who have experienced the AudioGate system have especially appreciated its ability to up-­‐convert low-­‐resolution files to DSD. Playing these files as DSD enables D/A conversion without any degradation, so the original audio is heard with superior audio quality. Comparison -­‐ Audio Processing on PC, USB-­‐DAC and KORG AudioGate software+ DS-­‐DAC series PC Since the built-­‐in D/A converters in modern computers are generally not high quality, the resulting audio quality is typically low. The audio quality is degraded each time an unnecessary process occurs. The playback quality also differs depending on the playback application. Computer
Application
PCM Data
OS
PCM
Player
Multi-bit
Data
Kernel
Mixer
Hardware(D/A Converter)
Multi-bit Interpolating
Data
Filter
Multi-bit
Data
ΔΣ
Modulater
1bit
Data
D/A
Filter
Analog
Conventional USB-­‐DAC The audio quality in USB-­‐DACs is better, since the D/A converter is more sophisticated than those built into a computer. Since the processing is done within the hardware D/A converter, however, the audio quality cannot be controlled. Although the audio quality can be improved by choosing a high-­‐end software application, some applications manipulate the audio quality excessively to the point where the original source audio is being faithfully reproduced. It is rare for a software playback application to be developed by the same manufacturer as the USB-­‐DAC; even though it may appear that the manufacturers are the same, it is typical that development has been externally sourced. Overall, it cannot be said that audio quality has been maintained. Computer
USB-DAC
Application
D/A Converter
PCM Data
PCM
Player
Multi-bit
Data
Interpolating Multi-bit
Data
Filter
ΔΣ
Modulater
D/A
1bit
Data
Filter
Analog
AudioGate software+ DS-­‐DAC series Since Korg’s AudioGate software performs processing inherent in D/A conversion, 100% of the audio quality can be controlled. By using the computer’s power instead of depending on external hardware, the processing can be performed in an ideal and precise manner, yielding superior audio fidelity. With a decade’s experience developing DSD recorder products, Korg’s DSD signal processing and DSD/PCM bidirectional conversion technology yields painstakingly accurate audio reproduction, without any degradation. By developing both the application and the USB-­‐DAC, Korg is able to ensure comprehensive audio quality, even on up-­‐converted file formats. PCM Data
Computer
USB-DAC with DSD format
Application(AudioGate)
D/A Converter
PCM
Player
(DS-DAC series)
Multi-bit
Data
Format
Converter
1bit
Data
D/A
Filter
Analog