ATC CDA 2 Mk2 CD/DAC preamp – Bristol Show 2018

ATC Loudspeaker Technology has just announced their new CDA 2 Mk2 CD/DAC preamp. Furthermore, it will debut at Sound & Vision, Bristol next month.

The CDA 2 Mk2 has been designed to improve upon its predecessor in all the key performance areas.

Also, it has been developed as a partner to ATC’s latest P2 power amplifier and active speaker designs.

ATC CDA 2 Mk2

The Mk2 has everything you’ll need to enjoy digital audio. You get USB access to high-resolution music streaming with an upgraded CD transport and DAC board. Furthermore, there is a dedicated headphone amp, wider input selection, and redesigned analogue circuits.

The CDA2 Mk2’s chassis is constructed from a combination of steel and aluminium and uses constrained layer damping to control panel resonances.

The front panel is machined from an extruded section of 13mm/0.5-inch aluminium alloy with a brushed and anodised silver finish. It looks lovely in the pictures, I bet it looks even better in the metal.

Specifications

Joining rear panel coaxial and optical 192kHz inputs, the Mk2’s new high resolution USB input is capable of handling PCM data up to 384kHz and also DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 natively.

Completing the Mk2’s wider digital interface, a new TEAC-supplied CD transport delivers “faster play and seek times”. It also boasts “much lower mechanical noise and improved error correction”.

ATC has implemented a new premium 32-bit AKM DAC, selected for low noise and distortion. Supporting the DAC, the Mk2’s power supply employs nine additional voltage regulators. Additionally, the local power supply decoupling has been improved from the Mk1.

Input / output

Both input and output gain stages have been improved by an arrangement of discrete op amps. Here you have six common gain blocks: two for left and right input buffering, and four to provide a “true” differential output for the left and right channels.

The positive and negative drivers are arranged in parallel to ensure that the signal delays and phase shifts are identical on both sides.

The output stages are configured as unity gain complementary compound (Sziklai) pairs, biased in class A.

Finally, there are twin rear-mounted analogue phono/RCA inputs and an additional aux analogue input via 3.5mm mini jack. Moreover, the latter is equipped with high input sensitivity for improved compatibility with phones, tablets and other low output portable devices.

Additionally, the Mk2 benefits from a revised headphone amplifier capable of driving headphones from 30 – 600 ohms. Output is via a rear panel mounted 6.35mm jack.

Price and availability

The CDA2 Mk 2 will be available from February 2018. See and hear it demonstrated at Room 102 Sound & Vision, Bristol 23-25 February 2018.

Typical Retail Price (inc VAT): £2950.

ATC’s wholly upgraded preamp/player is supplied with IR remote control and is covered by a six year warranty (2 years CD mechanism).