imersiv D-1 HDR-A DAC
Overview
Stereo multi-path D-to-A converter delivering 28-bits of usable dynamic range, 168dB of linearity, and -146dBu (40nV) of broadband self-noise. The D-1 represents a new paradigm of audio architecture, improving performance by a factor of 100X (40dB) over today's finest audio products.
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Delivering noise, linearity, and dynamic range performance so advanced that modern test equipment cannot measure it. imersiv HDR-A is an entirely new audio architecture, poised to re-imagine the way we capture and deliver sound, from microphone to power amplifier, and everything in-between.
Paradigm Shift
Welcome to the most significant audio breakthrough since digital conversion. Delivering noise, linearity, and dynamic range performance so advanced that modern test equipment cannot measure it. Imersiv HDR-A is a revolutionary new multiple-path audio architecture, poised to fully re-imagine the way we capture and deliver sound, from microphone to power amplifier, and everything in-between.
HDR-A®
Multi-path music processing is to audio what HDR is to photography. The analogy is so perfect that we’re calling it HDR-A or High Dynamic Range Audio.
In HDR photography, multiple stacked exposures are intelligently summed into a single photo, resulting in significantly improved dynamic range. In imersiv HDR-A audio, multiple stacked sound levels are intelligently summed into a single audio file, resulting in dramatically improved dynamic range.
The image comparison is directly analogous to the improvement in low-level audio clarity and atmospheric depth experienced with imersiv HDR-A multi-path processing.
Realization
Perfecting HDR-A took over 10 years of continuous research and development. The graph shows how it works.
Path 1 is an audio signal with 90dB of dynamic range, from 0dB to 90dB. Path 2 is an audio signal with 100dB of dynamic range, from 80dB to 180dB. When paths 1 & 2 are combined, the resulting dynamic range is 180dB, from 0dB to 180dB. That’s multi-path high dynamic range audio.
Multi-path HDR-A offers two major advantages over traditional single-path methods. First, it significantly reduces noise and distortion (THD+N). The imersiv D-1 achieves a remarkable 40 nanovolts of broadband noise, which is around 40 dB lower — 100 times quieter — than today’s best DAC designs. In fact, the D-1’s self-noise is 25dB below the measurement capability of today’s leading test equipment, such as the APx555B.
The second advantage is untethered headroom. HDR-A technology allows us to boost high-path headroom to any level without affecting our quiescent self-noise. The D-1 provides +22dBu (10 volts) of ISO-free* headroom while maintaining its profoundly low 40nV self-noise floor. This results in a true broadband, unweighted linearity and dynamic range of 28 bits or 168dB. (*inter-sample overs or inter-sample peaks)
Multi-path is the next design standard of audio architecture, from microphone to power amp, and everything in between.
Purity
Acoustic recording engineers — whether in film scoring, classical music, jazz, or other genres — understand that spatial information is conveyed in the quiet moments: in the space between notes; in the subtle decay of a piano chord just before it fades from perception; in the brief instant a note is first struck, before it reaches its peak. Quoting one of today’s top recording engineers, “On the music side, everything in the quiet neighborhood is where we get the ‘life’ and spatial cues in a recording. Distortion of lower-level partials is the very first casualty of any acoustic recording.”
Extraordinarily pure low-level audio is a key reason why HDR-A topology delivers improved spatial and timbral realism compared with legacy single-path DACs. When audio levels drop below a certain threshold, HDR-A begins processing in a new DAC core — with dramatically lower distortion+noise (THD+N) performance.
Compare a low-level, perceptible sine wave on the D-1 multi-path DAC versus a high quality single-path DAC. Single-path waveforms are jaggy and noisy. We hear this as poor image definition, atmospheric collapse, and a blurring of complex timbres — while HDR-A “new core” signals remain pure and natural, even far below the limits of human hearing.
Pedigree
Built upon 35 years of innovation in pro-audio design and U.S.-based manufacturing, the imersiv D-1 embodies a heritage of excellence that has shaped the sound of our era’s most celebrated recordings. Millennia’s 2019 induction into the NAMM Technology Hall of Fame acknowledges our lasting influence and commitment to redefining professional audio. We adhere to aerospace-grade design, build, and QA standards, required by our esteemed clients — ranging from classical music recording engineers, broadcast engineers for major events like the Grammys and Oscars, and film scoring stages from Hollywood to Mumbai. It’s no surprise that pre-owned Millennia products consistently achieve top resale value within their professional categories.
| Options | |
| Subwoofer Breakout Box (SBB) | Subwoofer Breakout Box. Use with the D-1 DAC to buffer the XLR analog output between shared balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) destinations, such as a subwoofer. |
| 19" RACK PANELS (R1S, R1B, R2S, R2B) | RACK PANEL. Mounts one (2ch) or two (4ch) D-1 box into a 19" rack panel (1.5U). Available in silver or black. Can be installed by a competent tecnician (request instruction sheet), but prefer factory installation. Specify color and mount when ordering. R1=single, R2=dual, B=black, S=silver. See website for rack photos. |
| Dante Input Option (Dante) | Dante Network digital input card. Can be installed by any competent technician (request instruction sheet). |
| Balanced Headphone Amplifier (BHA) | True differential-balanced headphone amplifier. Sony Pentaconn 4.4mm balanced connector. Use with any true diff-balanced headphone with a 5-conductor 4.4mm plug. Available August 2025. Factory modification, only. |
imersiv D-1 HDR-A DAC
