Cen.Grand Lands in Australia with Angelic Sound
We are spoilt for choice when it comes to hi-fi components. It's hard to think of another industry with such a wide array of products that all offer their flavour for performing the same function, whatever that product may be.
Cen.Grand is one such manufacturer offering more choices when it comes to DACs, streamers, media players, and amplifiers. Founded in 2011 by audio engineers, Shenzen-based Cen.Grand Digital Media Technology Co. Ltd. has become an established brand and popular choice in its local market, and more recently, is garnering attention from the wider industry.
Since 2023, Brisbane-based Angelic Sound has represented the Cen.Grand brand in Australia and has now made the company's latest products available to discerning enthusiasts.
Sam Zhuang, Angelic Sound's founder, told StereoNET:
At Angelic Sound, our vision is to bring innovative high-performance audio brands that offer exceptional value to our customers, and Cen.Grand is a perfect embodiment of that vision.
These products include the Cen.Grand DSDAC1.0 DAC, spruiked as "a benchmark in digital audio', and since its release in 2021, it quickly earned praise for its smooth, natural sound and cutting-edge technology. It employs three key innovations to minimise jitter and enhance digital-to-analogue conversion precision. These include a High-Precision Algorithm for DSD Frequency Raising, Synchronous Direct Clock, and Clock-Blocking Technology.
The manufacturer says, "unlike conventional DACs, the DSDAC1.0 is built on advanced Direct Stream Digital (DSD) principles, replacing traditional D/A conversion chips with an FPGA-based discrete processing system". It upscales all input signals, whether PCM or DSD64, to DSD1024 before conversion, with an option to bypass upscaling for DSD128 and higher.
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Three models are available, including the Standard Model (A$4,100), Super Clock Model (A$5,100), and the Deluxe Model (A$9,800).
Head-fi enthusiasts will want to check out the Cen.Grand 9i-906, also known as the "Silver Fox". Engineered to power even the most demanding headphones, the company says that high-performance power amplifiers inspired its architecture, and it's said to "deliver exceptional clarity, density, and neutrality, ensuring that headphones reveal their full sonic potential".
With superb driving capability, the Silver Fox effortlessly handles both high- and low-sensitivity headphones, including dynamic and planar magnetic designs. "Its musical and highly analytical sound signature makes it one of the finest amplifiers in its class", says the company.
The Cen.Grand 9i-906 Silver Fox is available now and sells for A$6,200.
For more information visit Cen.Grand
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Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
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