QNKTC announces new AB-1.2 USB DAC

QNKTC, or Quantization Noise Killed The Cat, to give the company its full and rather strange name, has announced the AB-1.2 USB DAC.

This third version of the company's DAC delivers audio files up to 24-bit/192kHz from Windows, Linux and OSX computers to bring performance that QNKTC claims is far superior to anything else at a similar price level. But then they would say that...

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Børge Strand-Bergesen, electronic filter expert and founder of QNKTC, wanted to focus on three key areas when producing the AB-1.2.

The DAC chip itself comes from high quality chip manufacturer Asahi Kasai. The clock comprises of two precision crystal oscillators, produced by British firm Golledge. Lastly, the power supply uses low-noise regulators from Analog Devices.

The DAC itself is able to generate a negative power supply which the company says makes the whole design less complex and therefore easier to implement.

The circuit board layout and design has been carefully thought through, with analogue signals being run through short tracks, and away from the digital section, all in an effort to get the best quality sound.

Intrigued? The QNKTC AB-1.2 is on sale now from qnktc.com for £110, and we'll look to bring you a review in the not too distant future.

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by Max Langridge

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Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.