Sumiko Launches Bluetooth DAC
Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 7/7/2009
Berkeley, Calif. - Sumiko, the importer and marketer of multiple high-end audio electronics brands, has begun shipping its first high-end digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with USB port and embedded Bluetooth.
The $799-suggested Cordette-brand GEM uses Bluetooth's A2DP specification, or profile, to stream stereo music wirelessly from Bluetooth-enabled cellphones, Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players such as iPhones and iPod Touches incorporating the 3.0 OS, and from PCs. The DAC's hard-wired USB connection also enables the 6.3-inch by 2.75-inch by 1.6-inch GEM to be used as a high-performance DAC for PCs and PC- and Mac-based music servers, the company said.
"In a way, this is a departure from the kind of products Sumiko has offered in the past," said Sumiko marketing director John-Paul Lizars. The GEM "bridges the world of the iPod/iPhone type device and high-end audio."
Music transmitted via Bluetooth or USB is processed by the same high-performance DAC and fed via RCA jacks in analog to a consumer's amplification system, he said.
Sumiko president John Hunter called the product "mandatory for the audiophile seeking a no-compromise wireless method of streaming music from their portable player to their main system."
Sumiko markets the Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustics, REL, Chordette GEM, Pro-Ject, SME and Wolf Cinema brands and maintains its own sales, training and support staff.
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