AshK
New Zealand audio manufacturer Plinius has released the Tiki, a network audio player, described as a “network connected Digital to Analogue converter” by the company. The Tiki’s 24bit/96kbps DAC is taken from Plinius’ CD-101 CD player and it offers support for FLAC, LPCM, AIFF and MP3 file formats.
In an interesting twist, the Tiki uses Ethernet to connect to network audio sources. As the Plinius press release put it: “After considering the options for transmission of digital audio Plinius have determined the benefits of Ethernet make this protocol the most suitable in capturing the potential of quality digital audio transmission. With advantages over USB and S/PDIF in areas of isolation, clock configuration, simplicity of design, cable lengths and multi-room capability, Ethernet was a clear choice in achieving the Plinius design goals, and also proves a platform that will be supported by future developments that are just around the corner.”
Unusually for a DAC, the Tiki’s chassis design is modeled closely on Plinius’ amplifier and CD player products, in fact, according to the Plinius site, the dimensions are much the same as a 9200 integrated amp, with the Tiki being 80mm tall instead of 120mm. It’s a solid piece of kit too, weighing in at 5.5kg.
Dimensions:
Height: 80mm
Width: 450mm
Depth: 400mm
The Tiki can be controlled by wireless and mobile devices and will be available in black or silver. Pricing is TBC.
More info at http://www.pliniusaudio.nzld.com/products/tiki.asp
No relation to Tiki Taane, one hopes!