Black Lion Audio Sparrow MKII at Front End Audio

The Black Lion Audio Sparrow MKII A/D Converter is a new, completely redesigned 2-channel ADC from Black Lion Audio and Front en Audio is ready to start taking orders. 

The Black Lion Audio Sparrow MKII A/D Converter (Red) is housed in a 1U 1/2 rack chassis, featuring XLR and ¼" balanced inputs, LED metering, BNC word clock I/O, AES output, coax & optical S/PDIF output, and user selectable signal calibration accommodating nominal input signal levels from +11dBu down to -10dBV. It features sampling rates from 44.1kHz -192kHz, with a clocking architecture that features low jitter and wide Q third harmonic crystal oscillators, and because of the quality of the clock multiplier and PLL recovery stages, performance will not degrade should the converter be synched to a lower quality word clock reference. 

Okay, sometimes it's fun to show what your design team is capable of creating. The Black Lion Audio Sparrow MKII A/D Converter (White) represents a portion of Black Lion Audio's research into delta sigma conversion and clocking architecture. What sets it apart from the rest of the pack? For one thing, instead of using one converter for stereo conversion, it employs TWO converters in a parallel-balanced circuit to drastically boost converter dynamic range. Add to this Black Lion's unique approach to converter configuration, their 220/270SP master clock with wide Q third harmonic crystal oscillators, advanced PLL recovery, and a low noise analog path, and all of these elements together will yield the richest, clearest and fattest sounding A/D converter to ever have set foot in your recording studio. The Sparrow mk2 WHITE is $1895 and outperforms the FM192, making it among the best two-channel A/D converters available in the pro audio market today, period.

Designed to perform in the range of $2,000+ two-channel A/D converters, the Black Lion Audio Sparrow MKII A/D Converter is much more advanced than its esteemed predecessor, (the original BLA Sparrow ADC, now discontinued). Its conversion circuitry utilizes Black Lion Audio's proprietary approach to noise reduction; a feature yielding audio that sounds less compressed and processed than traditional methods of converter design. The clocking circuitry features low-jitter, wide Q third harmonic crystal oscillators with advanced PLL recovery. This provides low-jitter master clocking regardless of whether the unit is locked to its internal clock or an external word source. The Sparrow mk2 BLACK (with the black faceplate) is comparable to the conversion quality and sonic characteristics of Black Lion Audio's Digi 002R/003R Signature Series modification.