Halo CD 1

About the Halo CD 1

The Parasound Halo CD-1 Reference Player is a high-end audiophile CD player that uses advanced Holm Acoustics technology to achieve nearly bit-perfect CD playback. It employs a slot-loading CD ROM drive running at four times the speed of conventional CD players, combined with an onboard Intel ITX computer running Linux and proprietary software to read and re-read CD data multiple times, significantly reducing errors and error concealment effects. The player buffers 30 seconds of audio data to ensure jitter-free output, which is then processed by a single Analog Devices AD1853 DAC chip upsampling the original 44.1kHz data to 352.8kHz. Users can select between two analog output stages: direct low-noise National LME49990 op-amps or a discrete transistor output stage in a Darlington configuration, subtly altering the sonic character. The Halo CD-1 features a rugged aluminum chassis with extensive shielding, three separate power supplies for analog and digital circuits, and offers balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog outputs, plus digital outputs via BNC, coaxial, and optical connectors. It is praised for its transparency, detail retrieval, dynamic and refined sound presentation, and low noise operation. The player is