5
VRDS mechanism for DVD and SACD players,
incorporating a duralumin turntable and a
SS400 bridge
The VDRS mechanism completely eliminates any vibration
caused by the disc itself, thanks to the full-diameter clamp
that clamps the disc securely to the turntable. Additionally,
warping and other defects of the disc are eliminated. The
constancy of the reading angle between the optical pickup
and the disc pits is therefore increased, and read errors,
together with the occurrence of timing errors to the clock
circuit, are significantly reduced.
Playback of DVD/SACD discs requires high-speed rotation and
a high degree of precision, and the UX-3 accordingly uses a
duralumin turntable. The bridge employs a pair of precisely
engineered ball bearings, and is constructed of 10mm thick
SS400 steel.
Coreless motor with neodymium magnets
A newly developed three-phase brushless spindle motor
provides the fast and accurate turntable rotation required for
DVD and SACD playback. This, coupled with the clamping
turntable and the precision ball bearings, eliminate irregular
rotation and vibration.
Neodymium stabilizes the motor's driving current, reducing
influence on the audio sections of the unit.
Constant-angle optical pickup mounted on a
sled with feedback-monitored speed control
By mounting the pickup on a sled whose axis is rigid, the
pickup lens is maintained at a constant angle and the laser
beam, and hence the optical axis, is maintained in an accurate
vertical orientation. An Esoteric original three-phase brushless
motor with hall element detection drives the sled, and the
speed of the sled is monitored and used to control the sled
itself in a servo feedback operation, meaning the sled is highly
responsive and smooth in its operation.
Sturdy, rigid chassis with triple-point
pinpoint foot support
The unit is constructed with a 5mm thick robust steel base
plate, and is divided into three logical sections, thereby
reducing interference between components of the unit.
Highly rigid mounts are used for the VDRS disc mechanism.
To eliminate vibration, three solid (tool steel) feet support the
unit and isolate it mechanically.
Brushed aluminum finish exemplifies the
quality of construction
The front panel is constructed of thick brushed aluminum.
The high-quality luxurious finish matches the overall attention
to the finest possible quality, shown in such details as the
illuminated periphery to the control buttons, the top-panel
logo, and the milled aluminum disc tray.
Unsurpassed design and features
Separation of power supplies for each major function (digital
audio, DAC circuitry, analog audio) ensures total fidelity. The
DACs for video and audio have sub-ground impedances with
exceptional S/N figures. DTS 96/24 decoder, as well as Dolby
Digital and DTS decoders are incorporated. Full 5.1 surround
playback, including DVD audio and SACD playback is possible
with the UX-3.
A lip sync control allows precise synchronization between
picture and audio.
Audio DACs
All audio channels use Burr-Brown 24-bit DA converters
(PCM1704). Improved linearity is achieved for the two front
channels by the use of dual converters for each channel.
The audio DAC boards employ a high-quality quartz crystal,
resulting in the almost complete elimination of jitter and
subsequent distortion-free DA conversion.
Super high-precision video output
The UX-3 uses the 14-bit 216MHz video DAC from Analog
Devices; the ADV7314. This provides 16x oversampling on
interlace playback and 8x oversampling on progressive-scan
playback. Noise is therefore shifted to unwanted regions, and
an outstandingly clear picture results. In the progressive-scan
mode, smoothing is achieved using DCDi chips from Faroudja.
NTSC and PAL playback and progressive-scan
Both PAL and NTSC discs can be played back and conversion
between the standards is possible, allowing the same monitor
and player to be used for discs produced to either standard.
Progressive-scan playback (with the appropriate television or
monitor) allows the best possible picture quality, even with
large screens.
Word synchronization
A master word clock from a high-quality DA converter or
master clock generator can be used for clock synchronization,
resulting in the almost complete elimination of jitter.
Using a high-quality clock signal provided by an external DA
converter such as the Esoteric G-0/G-0s provides optimum
video and audio quality, up to 192kHz, optimizing a top
ranking universal player like the UX-3.
i.LINK (AUDIO) terminal
In addition to the digital audio from DVD-Video, CD and
video CD, the digital surround audio from SACD and DVD-
Audio discs can be output from the i.LINK (AUDIO) terminal.
Features
