New Products

OSD Audio, the 20-year-old California-based company that prides itself on delivering quality audio gear at affordable prices, is at it again — this time with a versatile $300 stereo amplifier/DAC combo.

Hailed as an improved and more powerful version of last year’s 2 x 50-watt DAC-X-100, the new DAC-X-200 mates a Class AB amplifier rated to deliver 100 watts/channel RMS in to 8 ohms with a high-performance digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in a super-slim chassis 17 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and only 2 inches tall.

Having a built-in reference-level DAC means listeners can bypass the often poor quality DACs found in computers, streaming speakers, and other devices.

The DAC-X-200’s Class 2-compliant USB Type A input is designed to shuttle high-resolution digital audio from a PC to an onboard ESS ES9018K2M SABRE32 DAC that supports PCM up to 32 bits, 384 kHz and DSD up to 11.2 MHz. Optical digital and two RCA analog inputs are also provided to accommodate other audio sources, including TVs and powered streaming speakers.

Providing additional flexibility, the power amplifier is rated to deliver 200 watts into 4 ohms and can be bridged to provide 320-watt mono operation in high-performance applications.

Intended for dedicated stereo and whole-house distributed-audio applications, the DAC-X-200 has two sets of speaker outputs with front-panel A/B switching and is designed to automatically switch between audio sources connected to its analog or digital inputs. In a distributed audio setup, it will automatically switch between a local source and the main whole-house audio source.

When you connect a TV as the primary source, for example, the X-200 turns itself on and sends audio to your speakers when you turn on the TV. If you connect a music source to the X-200’s secondary local "Interrupt” input, the amp will switch to that source whenever it senses an incoming signal and, when the music stops playing, automatically switch back to the TV.

In addition to front-panel knobs for controlling volume and balance, the DAC-X-200 has independent volume controls for the left and right channels and bass and treble controls on its rear panel.

For more information, visit osdaudio.com.

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