preliminary
Launched for the 10th anniversary of the CD format, the DAS-R10 is like a DAS-R1a but pushed to the limit. Price-wise as well : four times more expensive !
The system inside is based on Pulse length Modulation (PLM), converting voltage to current at 50MHz high-speed to avoid voltage supply fluctuations and noise plus the proximity between voltage feeding the ICs and that of the signal itself.
The conversion is done by two circuits (one for each phase) right from the input start point and so the rest of the signal remains entirely balanced - this is close to what was applied to the other absolute masterpiece, the TA-ER1.
With the help of another circuit (CIV) placed after the actual d/a section, this also reduces distortion and noise globally and at the low-pass filter ; the CIV was designed for excellent group-delay characteristics for maintained phase accuracy.
Eight 24bit 168dB stopband attenuation DSP ICs deal in parallel with oversampling and interpolation ; they are also in charge of playing with the output filter's roll-off slope, as carried later on in the CDP-XA55ES or CDP-X3000.
All processing nodes are physically implemented on metal core modules (as later on used in the TA-E1 and TA-N1...) which are heat-resistant aluminium alloy pads holding 4-layer copper patterns on which SMD components are placed. No IC-induced electrical noise, no wiring, better thermal conductivity and minimal signal paths.
The production run was set at a bit more than one hundred but the highest s/n spotted is the japanese 200 175.
Like the TA-ER1, the CDP-R10 and DAS-R10 are part of the all-time absolute best audio components ever made and we all want them.
I have an astounding amount of quality images, articles, reviews and long interviews with the developing team at Sony but none of this is translated...