Tidal Audio has released Arkas, a device with the functions of a reference streamer. The manufacturer called it a digital music content controller. It is, in the words of Tidal Audio, “the perfect transport of Tidal files”, in which there is nothing superfluous. Indeed, such components as file storage, NAS systems and music servers are not included in the novelty.
It is quite possible that the corresponding devices will appear in Tidal Audio in the near future: this is hinted at, for example, by the presence of the TidalLink interface, which was found in Tidal Camira . This interface managed to get rid of the limitations of SPDIF RCA, AES or USB.
Arkas was based on a powerful power supply – these are oversized power transformers with magnetic shielding, and buffer capacities of more than 200,000 microfarads. The electronics of the novelty provides for an upgrade by replacing individual boards and reconfiguring the remaining ones – Tidal Audio claims that investments in Arkas are protected for a long time.
So far, Tidal Arkas is equipped with a LAN ethernet (1000 BASE-T) connector, you can connect a USB drive / hard drive to it. It has a Multi Clock system for accurate timing, supports MQA decoding, recognizes DSD over PCM for AES/EUB, and works with UPnP. The list of audio data formats includes DSF (DSD), DFF (DSD), DoP (DSD), FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, MQA, MP3, AAC (M4A). It is important that the new product supports Tidal, Qobuz streaming services, TuneIn Internet radio, Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay. All this is assembled in a black and rack-mountable case.
The Tidal Audio Arkas streamer retailed for $29,000 in the US.
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