Playback Designs MPS-X
Digital Front End / Streamer
The Playback Designs MPS-X is a high-performance digital front end designed to optimize and enhance the performance of the MPD-8 and MPD-6 DACs. By isolating digital sources from the sensitive circuits of your DAC, the MPS-X dramatically reduces noise and jitter, resulting in exceptional audio quality. This is the perfect companion for your Playback Designs DAC, elevating its performance to new levels.
Key Features:
- PLINK Optical Link: The MPS-X features PLINK, a proprietary fiber-optical link that ensures galvanic isolation between your source and DAC. This link supports all PCM and DSD sample rates natively, providing a clean, precise audio signal that maximizes the potential of the MPD-8 and MPD-6.
- PDFAS Technology: PDFAS (Playback Designs Frequency Alignment System), a proprietary technology that buffers all digital inputs, dramatically reduces clock jitter. While both the MPD-8 and MPD-6 have this technology built in, the MPS-X adds an additional layer of jitter reduction, further enhancing sonic performance.
- Separate Chassis with Linear Power Supply: The MPS-X includes a high-quality linear power supply in a separate chassis to ensure the best physical isolation from sensitive audio circuits. This ensures cleaner, more stable power for superior sound quality.
- Streaming and Network Support: The MPS-X also supports streaming from internet services and network-attached storage (NAS). Using proprietary clocking and buffering, it eliminates incoming jitter, encoding data natively to Coax, AES, or the proprietary PLINK output for pristine audio quality.
How It Works:
The MPS-X acts as a digital hub, isolating noisy digital sources like computers, servers, and NAS from the MPD-8 or MPD-6 DACs. By connecting your digital sources to the MPS-X and linking it to your DAC via PLINK, the system ensures complete physical and galvanic separation, which minimizes noise and jitter. This results in a dramatic sonic improvement compared to direct connections via USB or other common interfaces.
The MPS-X is equipped with the same sophisticated clock generator and jitter filter as other Playback Designs products. By cleaning the audio signal twice—once in the MPS-X and again in the DAC—the sound is filtered, buffered, and preserved without altering the bits, ensuring the highest fidelity possible.
PLINK Interface:
The PLINK interface was first introduced by Playback Designs more than 15 years ago and has since evolved to support modern formats like DSD up to 11.2MHz. This high-bandwidth, low-jitter interface is superior to TosLink and is designed to transmit the most reliable signal between digital sources and Playback Designs DACs. The MPD-8 and MPD-6 fully leverage this advanced technology for the best possible sound quality.
Why Choose the Playback Designs MPS-X?
The MPS-X is essential for getting the most out of your MPD-8 or MPD-6 DAC. By isolating digital sources, reducing jitter, and providing superior signal transmission via PLINK, the MPS-X enhances both the performance and sound quality of your system. Whether you're streaming high-resolution audio or using network-attached storage, the MPS-X ensures that your DAC delivers pristine, dynamic sound.
