LUXMAN announces flagship D-10X SACD/CD player

MUS-IC™ BD34301EKV — a new DAC chip from Japan’s ROHM Semiconductor Co. Ltd that will soon debut in the D-10X, a new high-end SACD/CD player from LUXMAN that aims to build on their acclaimed D-08u. The LUXMAN disc player’s dual-mono DAC circuit will use a pair of ROHM’s 32-bit Delta-Sigma converters, each boasting an SNR of -130dB.

LUXMAN America’s press release takes us deeper on the ROHM chip’s technical minutiae: “[The MUS-IC™ BD34301EKV] reflects 28 separate parameters optimized for sound quality, including aspects of circuit design, layout, photomask, wafer production and packaging. For example, to optimize sound quality, selected “bonding” wires that connect the chip to the lead frame are made of copper, while others are made of gold.”

Feeding those DAC chips is LUXMAN’s improved LxDTM-i disc transport mechanism that wraps the disc mechanism with aluminium side cheeks and a 5mm steel top plate to combat the twin foes of vibration and resonance. LUXMAN has also reportedly enhanced the disc reading mechanism and added ‘density gradient cast-iron insulator feet’ to the unit’s base to keep shelf-borne resonances at bay.

Keeping one eye on streaming, we find a suite of digital inputs on the back of the D-10X. PCs, Macs, network streamers, games consoles and TVs access can access the internal DAC circuit via 1 x coaxial or 2 x TOSLINK inputs that top out with PCM at 24bit/192kHz whilst the USB input extends PCM support to 32bit/768kHz and brings DSD512 into the picture. All four digital inputs are MQA-compatible.

But wait! The USB input has another trick up its sleeve: as well as accommodating USB audio’s usual isochronous data transfer mode, LUXMAN has specified their BulkPET technology that allows USB audio data to be transferred from host to DAC with USB’s Bulk mode (as used by a hard drive or a printer), thus bringing with it error-correction that doesn’t show up in isochronous mode.

According to LUXMAN America’s press release, BulkPet mode “optimizes data packaging and delivery to the converter, easing the processing load for both the host CPU and the device CPU. This, in turn, reduces the workload between reading and reproduction, enhancing playback stability and improving sound quality.”

The D-10X also sees the debut of LUXMAN’s ODNF-u ‘Only Distortion Negative Feedback (ultimate)’ circuit that nurses the analogue signal from the DAC chip to ‘gold-plated-alloy’ RCA outputs and balanced Neutrik XLR sockets. Back to the press release: “This fully balanced configuration maximizes error detection accuracy, for greater musical expression across the audio band. Tailored, gradual 1st order filter x 3 band processing achieves a natural waveform without the need for conventional output filters.”

According to LUXMAN America, D-10X also features: an oversized power supply with large filter capacitors and fed by a transformer that’s 27% bigger than the one found in LUXMAN’s previous flagship; a loop-less chassis designed to shield against digital noise; printed circuit boards with “gently curved wiring patterns” that reportedly promote signal flow; 100 μm copper foil signal traces and gold-plated connections that seek to minimize stray capacitance; a brushed aluminium finish.

The D-10X will begin shipping in August with a Stateside retail price of US$16,495.

Further information: LUXMAN America