DACport development blog

I’m writing this from a giant 747, which is taking me to Tokyo. Then I will fly to Hong Kong and from there will drive into China. Back to Chicago in a week.

While DACport PCBs are being assembled at our factory in Wisconsin, I need to visit a couple of suppliers in Shen Zhen and bring back the remaining parts for our first production of DACports… Busy times, good times.

We have several trusted partners in Asia, who help us procure parts and also build our other products – MicPort Pro and the AxePort Pro. Granted, China’s component prices and labor costs can’t be beat, but there is always a downside to volume production – a reduced quality focus. This needs to be taken into account when building a product for audiophiles. The more demanding the product, the higher the margin of error in assembly.

We decided early on that DACport will be built in US. The exacting quality requirements are too dangerous to leave to chance. A “benign” part substituion, which saves the supplier a couple of cents could result in a disaster. This almost happened yesterday when a suppler suggested a cheaper opamp in exchange for the expensive, ultra-low distortion part we use in DACport… Yikes!

We can’t afford this risk. We will test and adjust every unit built by hand in our Chicago facility, where we are equipped to do audiophile-level listening tests and have a bunch of precision measurement equipment. We will make sure that every DACport that leaves the factory is fully tested and signed off. That’s my personal guarantee.

So when you compare DACport to cheaper products built in China, question if someone is actually taking the time to ensure quality of the build. Will someone pay attention not only to how many units are shipped but also to how they sound?

Rest assured, CEntrance will.