In Jan of this year, we released the Decco2 and iDecco replacing the original Decco.
So far, they have been a big hit winning the coveted 6moons Lunar Eclipse award given only 4 times in the last 8 years as well as editors choice in Absolute Sound and Best of show at Stereo Mojo.
We learned a lot from the original Decco and implemented improvements in the new circuitry to make it stand out even more. Many ask about the differences between the original Decco and the new series of Decco. (Decco2 and iDecco), so I thought I'd outline the most important ones. Really, the only thing that remained from the original was the look and the transformer...and mainly the goal of continuing to improve on computer audio.
Aside from the "Pure Digital" dock which I'll talk about later, the main improvements are as follows:
1. Class A, 30 ohm Preamp output: Will impedance match most any amp on the market and drives many feet of cable.
2. Class A fixed line out: Can be used as a stand-alone (Digital to Analog Converter).
If it's time to add a computer, Apple TV, Sonos, iPod or any other digital device to your current system, the Decco 2 is a fairly inexpensive, high resolution way to go. It does have all of the digital inputs one would likely need and remote switchable...
Over the last year, I've found many who want to use just the DAC, but have a tough time paying for an amp they just don't use. Well...first, we don't think there's a better stand-alone DAC on the market for twice the price of the Decco2. And did you know you can use the Decco2 as a DAC in one system and a zone 2 integrated amp in another room?
Just run a set of wires to another room and you have a 2nd zone for free! This is about as easy as a 2nd zone can be and besides, running wires into another room will take you back to your collage days...
3. Jitter kills digital music: The next improvement over the original was the ESS Sabre DAC. We use the same one in the Nova. It's the perfect DAC for high jitter devices like computers and most streaming devices as it's nearly impervious to high jitter and re-clocks any of these signals to less jitter than most any high-end CD player. This does mean your computer or iPod can now be a CD replacement....only more convenient.
There's much been written about the actual sound so you can read about that in the reviews.
4. Unlike the Nova which uses a 6922, the new Decco line uses a 6N1P tube that can also be switched in or out of the circuit. This tube circuit uses twice the voltage of that in a the 6922 and ramps much slower than in the Nova, so you do hear a little more of the tube effect. We never intended this circuit to be an EQ, rather to simply take that very top lifeless edge off of the digital music.
5. The new headphone and preamp section is the same basic circuit as the Nova... Tube, Class A. sweeet...
6. Lastly and probably the most exciting is the built in iPod dock on the iDecco. Apple allowed our company to be the first to take the digital bit-stream from an iPod and run it directly to an outboard DAC. It then takes advantage of the ESS Sabre DAC, it's 11 regulated power supplies and 450 other parts that would never physically fit into an iPod case and transforms an iPod to levels of resolution and performance levels never dreamed possible.
The video is outstanding from the iPod too. It connects to your TV via component cables (RGB).
That about wraps up the major changes.
Hope this helps understand our new designs.
As always, we love to hear your thoughts, feedback and comments.
Thanks for reading,
David Solomon
Here are a couple of reviews you may find interesting.
Positive Feedback Review
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue48/idecco.htm
6moons review
http://6moons.com/audioreviews/idecco/idecco.html
