Reference Sounds – Wilson Sasha V with Wadax Atlantis Reference and D’Agostino
Wadax Atlantis Reference DAC
Everything about the Atlantis REFERENCE DAC is unique: the clock circuitry; PSU topology and distributed regulation; the implementation of the musIC feed-forward error correction technology; the totally independent, dual-Mono DAC and analog circuitry; the fully modular construction, allowing for future upgrades or updates of key circuit blocks; the physical separation and independent housing of left and right channels, left and right channel power supplies; the mechanical vibration management incorporated in the chassis construction – and that barely scratches the surface of a product that contains 23 printed circuit boards, 10 independent, purpose-wound power transformers, and over 5,500 discrete parts.
With the Atlantis Reference DAC, Wadax created a sculptural, fully modular, and upgradeable concept comprised of 3 elements that connect visually as a whole.
All parts are milled from solid blocks, 5 different and specific alloys are used, and more than 320Kg of alloy is the starting point for the production of the chassis. The whole assembly of the chassis is done by a single highly skilled artisan and involves over 100 hours.
Wadax have realized that conventional digital decoding struggles to achieve its theoretical performance: components and circuits never behave ideally, generating a complex, polluting mix of non-linearities that contaminates the delicate audio signals during and AFTER conversion. To further complicate things, these non-linearities and error mechanisms are load-dependent, varying with signal amplitude. Together, they form the core of what we have all come to recognize as “digital sound.”
Wadax technology is founded on the unique musIC process, a sophisticated feed-forward error correction system that operates in the time domain. By mapping the error mechanisms of a chosen DAC chip under load using Adaptive Delta Hilbert Mapping, the company can develop an algorithm that examines the incoming signal and calculates the induced error (both linear and non-linear) that will result. By applying an inverse signal at the input, we can, in real-time, correct for the time and phase error that is so musically destructive in conventional decoding systems.
This process requires massive mathematical operations and a considerable data transfer of 12,8 GBytes/s. Processing is done at a 128-bit internal resolution to render the output and generate the smallest feed-forward corrections precisely. According to the manufacturer, the result is measurably and audibly the most natural and musically communicative digital decoding possible.
The Reference DAC utilizes a cost-no-object power supply topology, a physically and electrically independent, dual-mono design, employing 10 custom-wound transformers for total isolation of each critical section in the circuit, six stages of cascaded regulation on the AC input, and over 30 local regulation stages.
The DAC employs total physical isolation of left and right channels and further physical separation of the mechanically noisy power-supply components from the delicate signal processing circuits. Massive, mechanically grounded chassis components are designed to sink vibrational energy and interface with sophisticated, modern equipment support solutions.
Strikingly, the Reference DAC’s three chassis elements can visually be arranged in a linear layout (as seen in the Reference Sounds setup) or vertically arranged, with the chassis design combining harmoniously in either situation.
Next: Dan D’Agostino Momentum HD and MxV S250 and Wilson Audio Sasha V
