April 2014

World Premiere Review!
LIRPA DDRX - 401 Reference Converter
Eating one's cake and having it too. A quantum leap in progress.
Review By Claude LeMero

  If you follow the near endless digital evolution, you are well-aware that the days of the Red Book 16-bit/44kHz limits are long gone and we are now starting to take for granted the Internet's pluralism of HD audio files in 24-bit/96kHz and 24-bit/192kHz resolution. Yet as we progress in numerical terms, many audiophiles are still clinging to their trusted vinyl. They are not satisfied with the numerous digital alternatives out there. Why is that so? Dr. SeaBasstian LaMorue took it upon himself to understand and hopefully close the gap once and for all on this anal-digital disparity.

After careful analysis of the major studio analog tape formulations used in the past — Ampex 406, 456 & 499 as well as top vinyl played back on reference turntables — LaMorue was intrigued by the intrinsic nature of both mediums and hypothesized that the latter phenomenon was a missing factor in conventional current digital systems. Be it 16 or 24 linear or even 64 floating bit word length, the basic problem was the same: it is in the end either a '1' or a '0' state but never a '1' and '0' state simultaneously as is commonly found on the tape's 'random direction' magnetic particles and the LP's groove walls. The perfect analogy can be made with the visual medium: 8K digital TV or video is much better defined than 480i, yet it still does not resemble a 70 mm analog print made from a 65mm negative and the same can be said for audio – 24-bit/96kHz does not sound closer to specially formulated anal vinyl nor tape than 16-bit/44kHz. After all, beef filet mignon remains beef and not filet of sole any way you slice it!

Enter the audio division of LIRPA. The Swiss based company — better known for their research into nuclear fusion at CERN's Geneva headquarters and the search for the perfect Higgs bosom — has acquired the world's most sophisticated Quantum computer. Up until very recently, Quantic computing was relegated to sci-fi novels and films, but with the advent of cloud computing and enormous military research into the world of nanotechnology, the fiction has now become reality. Typical digital converters are either based on the R-2R ladder PCM principle where 1-bit word length incrimination doubles the finite quantification resolution or the high speed 1-bit sigma-delta converters as found in SACD. A quantic computer is not limited to a set of bits but rather employs qubits that can result in a combined 0 and 1 output or TSS better known as the two-state solutions.

The LIRPA DDRX-401 aims to change that. The latter stands for Digital Dynamic Range Expander and the 401 is a reference to the Garrard 401 considered by many to be the best turntable design ever made. Now before 'Garrard Gurus' pummel me with letters swearing by the 301's supremacy over its successor, let me clarify that the 401 was originally designed to be an improvement over its predecessor but its execution turned out to be inferior to the 301. So LaMorue is quick to point out that his reference 401 is a highly modified grease-bearing rather than the standard oil bearing plus other details that he would rather keep under wraps for the time being. He claims to have solved the algorithm to perfectly emulate the anal's DNA within the digital domain.

By hooking up the converter with the supplied SHDMI — a superior HD connector — to your digital station or music server; Pin 14 serves as a communication interface with the huge mainframe supercomputer situated in Lucerne. This was initially a 'backdoor' that the NSA was secretly exploiting until the Snowden leaked documents exposed it for what it was. With the password, you are now able for the very first time to fully enjoy dynamically squashed 'botch' recordings by using the processing power of millions of NSA hacked computers, thus finally transforming digital files into incredible natural sound. I was quite skeptical so I tried an awful relic from the past: Cyndi Lauper's dreaded-sounding "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and lo and behold it came out sounding just like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon!

LIRPA guarantees a minimum DR of 14dB regardless of the source; even 1dB brick wall MP3 shite!

At only $1499, once you have heard it you can't live without it. It is almost too good to be true.

Specifications
Type: Class A Digital Enhancer/Converter
Inputs: SHDMI terminal; S/PDIF RCA, USB 3.1 (3.0 and 2.0 compatible) 
Outputs: One pair XLR balanced (XLR to RCA adapters included)
Dimensions: 2" x 4" x 10" (HxWxD)
Weight: 30 lbs.
Price: $1499 Ameros

Company Information
LIRPA Technologie
Reu de Day 666
1040214 Meyrin
Geneva 23
Switzerland