schiit statement amp & DAC fra Jason Stoddard
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Hey all,
Since you at least deserve a statement with respect to the Statement products, here it is, in all its ugly glory:
Statement DAC
The Statement DAC has been delayed twice now due to changes in the DSP platform we planned to use. In engineering terms, our parts went "end of life." That means, in human terms, "don't use them for new designs." At first, one family of parts went end of life, so we switched to a related family. That family tree is now ending. Which means we've now switched to an all-new DSP engine.
The problem is, every time you change DSPs, you change development platform, code, simulation, etc--and that requires both re-investment in new development tools and time to get used to the vagaries of a new platform. So, we're really, really, really, really late.
On the positive side, the Statement DAC will truly be an insane piece once it's done. It is of the magnitude of Mike Moffat's first Theta DSPre, introduced in 1986 after 4 years of engineering design, innumerable "Frankenstein" CD players, and intensive DSP development (including a RAND Corp mathematician). Now, that doesn't mean it will *be* a DSPre, with digital preamp functionality, nor is it anything like it except in terms of the amount of time and effort put into it. That's all the data we can release now.
Statement Amp
The Statement amp is much more mature, but we put its development on hold so it can be more closely aligned with the DAC. Also, transformer issues have slowed us down in iterating the design. Argh.
What I can tell you about the Statement amp is that it is more than a feature--packed Mjolnir. Think of a complete integrated amp, with special attention paid to the headphone output side, and yes, speaker binding posts. Same circlotron-style topology, but significantly different in execution for these power and current levels, and with a very different, relay-switched stepped attenuator volume control. Expect 50W into 8 ohms and multiple levels of gain, with the intention of serving everything from IEMs to loudspeakers. And yes, solid-state or hybrid will be available--but it'll be a one-time choice. There's no switching back and forth.
Timeframe
I've promised so much for so long that I'm loathe to say anything, but if I had to guess, it would be summer for the amp and maybe later for the DAC. We're going to try to keep them within a couple of months of each other. If we can launch together, we will. But we may not. Remember, guess =/= promise. Until we're ready to take orders, that's all there is to say.
All the best,
Jason