Description
Tried and tested in world class systems and designed according to the most extreme audiophile standards for ultra low jitter and low noise, the Master was introduced at Munich High End 2017. It immediately won best of show from both AV Showrooms and Hifi Pig.
Our dual enclosure chassis has a true triple linear power supply with no shared transformer and utilises the very best components such as gold plated PCB’s, and is a major upgrade over our AEON model (from which existing customers can upgrade).
The MASTER runs full Roon or Logitech Media Server and our sublime 432 Hz enabled player, which can also play bit perfect to the highest possible quality. It also features a bit perfect Teac CD drive for ripping your CD collection.
432Hz Tuning
432 Hz is one of the ways to tune musical instruments, and is also known as the Tuning Note “A” and A = 432. Music tuned to 432 Hz sounds better than contemporary music which is tuned at A = 440. The famous Stradivarius for example was tuned to 432 Hz according to the Verdi tuning
During historical periods when instrumental music rose in prominence (relative to the voice), there was a continuous tendency for pitch levels to rise, also known as the pitch inflation. A higher pitch such as our current A = 440 standard sounds sharper, louder and more “fresh”, but also more aggressive, which is not a quality audiophiles are looking for.
The 432 EVO offer you the possibility to convert your existing music on the fly into the better sounding 432 Hz, without any resolution loss. Several best of show awards we have won are the ultimate proof, and recent research by Maria Renold and a group of 2000 people showed that 90% preferred 432 Hz.
For purists we still offer bit perfect mode on par with the best CD transports, or upsample only mode for those who want to tune the sound. All these modes are live switchable.
Dedicated Core
The 432 EVO Master incorporates a modern power efficient quad core CPU with 8 GB of RAM.
We implement techniques from the supercomputing world inside the Master to guarantee a stellar audio performance: the audio decoders and 432 Hz processing run on a dedicated core, and will never run out of CPU cycles or have to fight with other processes.The dedicated audio core runs a custom clock scheduler which doesn’t interrupt the critical audio processes 1000 times per second, greatly improving software jitter, as process switching is minimized.
The Master also eliminates typical “chaos” found inside the OS of other servers by using advanced kernel & process tuning configurations not found in any competing product, further lowering software jitter by reducing entropy. This is a remarkable achievement and key to it’s stellar performance.
Using custom BIOS and kernel tuning, the EVO actually shuts down chip functionality on the motherboard, so it acts like a software defined custom motherboard. The big advantage of this approach is that the Master is future proof. If faster and/or better sounding main boards become available, the customer will be able to upgrade unlike may of our competitors. We already offer this to existing customers.
We use a custom realtime Linux OS, refined and tuned by 432 EVO’s owner Frederic Vanden Poel, who is also a senior Linux consultant building on 20+ years of IT experience. The EVO can be on 24/7 and will never run hot, always running cool while sounding analog and very refined.
Linux
432 EVO uses a custom realtime Linux OS tuned for ultra low software jitter and reduced entropy.
Solidstate Drive
The 432 EVO can be ordered with single or dual noise filtered 4TB audio grade SSD’s, leading to a 100% silent solution.
Bit Perfect Ripper
The bit perfect Teac rip drive is hand tested and compared against test CD’s for perfect operation.
Hardware Boost
The HWBOOST option doubles the RAM, and has a faster CPU and better clock. It must be ordered as an option with the High-End.
USB DAC output
Connects to your USB DAC.
Super Clock
Our Aeon does not reclock the ultra low noise USB output, but clocks it directly with a dedicated super clock board.
USB Tuning
The audiophile USB output is a true dedicated card with low noise output.
The story behind the 432 EVO Master linear power supply
A KEY PART TO THE AWARD WINNING 432 EVO MASTER MUSIC SERVERS PERFORMANCE LIES IN 432 Evo’s NEWLY DEVELOPED LINEAR POWER SUPPLY
The Master power supply has three transformers on three entirely isolated circuits, there isn’t a more common “big and slow” single transformer supplying power across the server using multiple secondaries. In our lab we found this approach has a hugely negative effect on sonic performance. Rather we have opted for a more costly solution of using three “smaller and faster” independent transformers, one for each of the critical sections inside the server. A power supply with multiple rails from one transformer suffers from inductive effects between the rails and hum will be much more difficult to control. Our approach avoids it happening in the first place. A group of smaller transformers are very effective at handling fast transients. They also recover faster from current demand, and are truly independent. This has a remarkably positive effect and creates a blacker background, virtually eliminates noise and ensures minimal cross contamination between the power input and digital circuits. Housed in a custom enclosure matching the server unit, it is both totally silent and creates almost zero heat.
432 Evo’s true triple linear power supply has everything triple:
• Triple AC filtering
• Triple shielded transformers (see below for the details).
• Triple dual stage DC regulation.
• Additional buffering inside the triple DC cables.
The design has a low voltage drop and does not run hot and always stays cool. The same applies for the server. Our Master supply also has no audible hum.
The new 432 EVO Master PSU is a continued development based on the prototype PSU as introduced and demonstrated in Munich 2017. Compared to the prototype, a lot of parts were improved.
Here are the highlights:
The PCB’s have been upgraded from single sided to double sided, with 2oz copper thickness and gold plated finish. The PSU now also features a soft on/off power circuit, which is controlled by the front panel button.
The reference shunt circuit of the new PSU has been improved including better resistors with a tolerance of 0.05%. The bulk capacity of the PSU has been further increased, and the ESR value of the capacitors has been lowered. The transformers are a complete redesign, and while the former model already included electrostatic shielding, the new transformers add low & high frequency magnetic shielding, using a copper foil and an additional outer layer of 5mm anti-magnetic steel.
Furthermore the transformers in the Master are designed for a certain voltage (e.g. 230 Volts), and no longer have the internal voltage switch, as we believe that less is more. One switch less and less wires coming out of the transformers, leads to a more puristic and simplified design. The transformers are therefore not the ones used in the Sbooster BOtW mk2 bundled with all other EVO servers, but a higher spec model custom for Master supply. The internal wiring has been upgraded to Teflon insulated wiring with high quality silver plated copper conductors.
The DC output cables are handmade and feature a twisted pair Teflon insulated cable with a high quality sleeve for a high-end finish. The new DC cables are now color coded to differentiate between the 9V and 12V outputs, and feature 4 pin XLR’s so the backpanel outputs of the PSU cannot be accidentally be confused with regular XLR interlink cabling. Furthermore, the pin layout of the backpanel connectors also avoids accidentally swapping the 9V and 12V.
The electronic design of the split-current unit at the end of the DC cable has been further improved and is now terminated with a gold plated DC plug.
And last but not least, all Neutrik XLR connectors are now high-end versions with gold plated contact pins. Three high-end silver color coded DC cables are included with a length of ~ 80cm, allowing the server and PSU to be stacked, or placed on different rack shelves, or side by side. Cabling is very easy, and includes three high-end 4-pin XLR to DC connector cables, one for the server, one for the superclock board, and one for the high-end USB3 card.
What do you get?
When you order the 432 EVO Master from scratch, you get our best server, and the triple power supply including the triple DC cable set.
Existing Aeon and High-end customers can also upgrade to the Master and keep their current investment. They trade in their existing dual supplies, then the backpanel of the server is modified for the third DC input, and software and internal parts are also upgraded to the Master standards.
And off course, you’ll also get a brand new triple power supply! None of the parts of your existing Sbooster supplies are recycled into the Master supply, it’s all brand new and custom designed.
Roon
Comes pre-installed with a recent full Roon Core (not just endpoint). A separate Roon license is required.
Tidal streaming
Compatible with Tidal subscription-based music streaming service that combines lossless audio and high-definition music.
Qobuz streaming
Compatible with Qobuz streaming service with more than 40 million tracks available, and also offers true 24 bit streaming.
Internet Radio
Supports thousands of internet radio stations, and common formats including AAC, AACv2, MP3 and lossless FLAC stations.
Logitech Media Server
LMS is a very stable music server with two decades of software improvements, and is still supported.
Spotify
Compatible with Spotify, currently the biggest digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs.
iPeng controller
LMS users can use several control apps, including iPeng or the LMS web interface.
SqueezePad controller
Squeezepad is another controller, and like iPeng can control the LMS library manager.