isabellina

The Isabellina digital-to-analog converter (dac) was designed to recreate music from digital media that closely matches the finest sonic qualities of analog sources such as the richness of tone, extraordinary timing/pacing, and an effortless presentation of the music.

isabellina

Unlike many dacs available today, which boast impressive specs but are flawed with an analytical, cold and sterile ("digital") sound, the Isabellina offers a natural and emotionally involving musical presentation that pulls the listener into the music and does not let go!

Inside the Isabellina reflects our philosophy in using carefully voiced premium parts, short signal paths, and going "off-the-grid" with battery power. On the outside you will enjoy simple yet elegant aesthetics and superb build quality. Every Isabellina is proudly hand-made in the USA and carefully tested, inspected, and packaged before making its journey to our highly-valued and satisfied customers.

Our recipe is a purist approach:

  • New-old-stock 16-bit, non-oversampling/non-upsampling D/A chip that implements R-2R conversion
  • No digital filtering
  • Proprietary, discrete Class A transistor output stage (no opamps)
  • SLA battery powered with dedicated linear voltage regulators for the analog and digital sections
  • Highest quality parts and short signal paths throughout

The Isabellina offers the listener three digital inputs that are selectable via a three-position, mini-toggle switch located above the digital input jacks:

USB that converts directly to I2S to feed the internal dac chip (no intermediate s/pdif conversion).  This input offers optimal sound quality and requires the use of a computer (music server) with a USB port.  The power bus from the computer is not used. We instead provide our own clean, on-board +5V line.

Coaxial (s/pdif) with a Vampire 75-ohm BNC input jack followed by a digital pulse isolation transformer that isolates noise and gives precision 75-ohm impedance matching. 

Toslink (optical s/pdif) that naturally offers noise isolation and avoids ground loops from the source component via the optical transmission cable.

isabellina

SMART module equipped

The Isabellina dac features a Red Wine Audio innovation - the SMART module (SLA battery Monitoring and Auto Recharge circuiT). This is a custom-designed circuit board continuously monitors the voltage of the internal SLA batteries. If the voltage drops too low, the SMART module automatically turns off the Isabellina and begins the battery recharge process.

With the SMART module, any user concern of accidentally damaging the internal SLA batteries by forgetting to turn off the Isabellina is eliminated.

Also featuring:

  • Premium Vampire RCA output jacks
  • Custom “touch-sensing” power on/off switch with built-in LED that emits a soft, red glow. This switch is mounted flush with the black-anodized aluminum front panel for a clean appearance and is also made of smooth, black-anodized aluminum.
  • Black, powder-coated aluminum enclosure with a smooth, 0.5” thick black-anodized faceplate that is laser-etched.
  • Rapid-speed SLA battery charger with universal input voltage (100 – 240Vac, 50/60Hz) and IEC power input jack, and output cable featuring a heavy-duty XLR plug.
isabellina
 

Isabellina gets music across in a way that is very rewarding in terms of its complexity of tonal and harmonic ‘rightness’. This complexity reveals itself as there being sense of “depth” or density to the music; not only in how the Isabellina portrays the sonic tapestry of the music, but the overall “presence” of the music as well. The Isabellina presents many layers to explore and does so with an ease and elegance that is very beguiling. There are no hard edges to the music… no grain or glare to turn one away from spending hours listening to one’s collection. No, the Isabellina is very refined while being rich, smooth, lush, and silky, all in the sense of being easy on the ears… as opposed to hard, thin, bland, closed-up, or austere.
Dave Clark - Positive Feedback Online »

 

 

Technical Specifications

Digital to analog converter 16-bit, non-oversampling, using purist R-2R conversion
Analog output stage Discrete, Class-A transistor output (no op-amps)
Number of digital inputs 3 (USB, Coaxial, and Optical), user selectable
Output Impedance

Less than 100 ohms

Output voltage Approx. 2Vrms
Power supply transformer / rectifiers / transformers in signal path None
Batteries 2 x 12V, 5Ah Sealed Lead-Acid (SLA) batteries connected in series (24V system)
Battery charger

Rapid-speed, 24V, 2,000mA SLA "Auto-Charger," custom-modified for use with Red Wine Audio SMART module.

Universal input voltage (100 – 240Vac, 50/60Hz), IEC power input jack, and output cable featuring a heavy duty XLR plug.
Typical play time between full battery charges Approx. 12 hours continuous
Dimensions 12” width x 9” depth x 3.5” height (including feet)
Weight (w/o charger) Approx. 14 lbs.
Package weight Approx. 18 lbs.


Proudly manufactured in the State of Connecticut, United States of America



Pricing Information

isabellina

 

Isabellina
NOS DAC

Price: $2,500

* The Isabellina dac is also featured as an option built into the Red Wine Audio Isabella battery powered vacuum tube line-stage preamplifier

International Customers

* All International Customers, please see our Distributor directory for an Authorized Dealer in your country. We are happy to sell direct to those customers living in countries that are not represented by an authorized Red Wine Audio dealer.

Return Policy

We offer a no-risk 30-day money back return policy, which only applies if the Isabellina and charger are returned to us (at owner’s cost) in the same condition as it was shipped. It is the owner's responsibility to insure the package against damage in shipment. Refunds for purchases made with Paypal will not include Paypal service fees incurred during the transaction.

Warranty

5-years for any manufacturing related defects (parts and labor included). The SLA batteries are not covered under the warranty. Opening the enclosure for any reason other than replacing the batteries and tubes (as outlined in the included owner's manual) will VOID your warranty.

Payment by Money Order and Contact Information

Please see our Contact Page for details.

 
Isabellina Manual (coming soon)
 

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