- PMC Prodigy 1 review - What Hi-Fi?
The Prodigy 1 open PMC speakers up to a wider audience, and that audience should pounce on them immediately
- MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC: all the audio file formats explained
WAV and AIFF are arguably the most popular uncompressed audio file formats, both based on PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), which is widely recognised as the most straightforward audio storage mechanism in the digital domain Both WAV and AIFF files use similar technology, but store data in slightly different ways
- Best DACs 2025: USB, desktop and portable digital-to-analogue . . .
It supports hi-res PCM and DSD files, too And it can deliver up to 100mW of power (single-ended) into a 32-ohm electrical load, rising to 241mW out of the balanced output, which should be enough to drive more power-hungry headphones It's another great portable package from iFi, who is on a roll with its affordable DACs
- What is DSD audio? A niche digital music format for audiophiles . . .
With PCM, the original analogue music waveform is described in two parts The first is its amplitude (size) In CD this is represented by 16-bits of digital data, which gives us the ability to define 65,536 different signal levels The original music waveform has to be measured at regular intervals in order for it to be represented properly
- High-resolution audio: everything you need to know | What Hi-Fi?
Hi-res audio is the pinnacle for digital music fans, but what is it, how can you get it, and what kit do you need to listen to it?
- HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC: everything you need to know - What Hi-Fi?
HDMI, which stands for 'High-Definition Multimedia Interface' (keep that in your back pocket for future pub quiz use), first appeared 20 years ago and quickly transformed how we connect our TVs, projectors, soundbars and AV amplifiers It's evolved significantly since then, too, going from a
- iFi Zen DAC 3 review - What Hi-Fi?
Take a look inside the iFi Zen DAC 3 and you will find a 16-core XMOS processor running iFi’s in-house software and feeding a four-channel Burr-Brown DAC chip PCM and DSD datastreams have their dedicated pathways so they remain ‘bit-perfect’ as they get processed Elsewhere, this new DAC is claimed to have lower DC offset at its output and ‘over-voltage’ protection for its USB input
- What are the best Bluetooth codecs? aptX, AAC, LDAC and more explained
At the top end, it can losslessly carry 24-bit 384kHz PCM files Those higher mbps transfers will be over wi-fi and UWB, mind you – not Bluetooth, unless it comes a very long way from where it is now SCL6 also claims to optimise the time-domain aspects of the signal, rather than prioritising the frequency domain, like most compression codecs
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