We have
a lot of news from 432 EVO for 2021:
1. all new new differential clock system for AEON and MASTER
Our AEON and MASTER flagship models now come with a new differential clock system, and existing customers can also upgrade to the new clock. We have been rolling out the new clock since a couple of months, and the feedback is very positive.
As the clock board and the high-end USB output card are 2 separate PCB's, users can keep their burned in output card and just get the new clock. Contrary to some other designs, 432 EVO does not use reclocking USB hubs which feed from the mainboard's USB headers, which then leads us to the next upgraded part:
2. all new shielded internal cabling
All models except the entry level STANDARD model will now be equipped with an uprated internal PCI express cable, which is now more robust, EMI shielded with a conducting polymer and rated for up to 8 gigabit transmission. While the dedicated USB output card does not require such extreme bandwidth for audio, the sound quality difference is noticeable compared to the previous non shielded cable.
3. all new mainboard, twice as fast as N4200 based designs
From April 2021, the MASTER, AEON and HIGH-END models will now feature the fastest Gemini Lake Refresh system on chip from Intel which was released in Q4 2020. This chip is 75% to 100% faster than the N4200 used by several competitors, which was released in 2016.
The STANDARD model will also have a faster CPU compared to any 432 EVO model from 2020, and all units are now equipped with 8 GB RAM, of which a fraction is used under normal audiophile use.
432 EVO will continue using system on chip based designs for the mainboards because of much lower EMI and RF compared to full desktop, or server CPU’s which emit a lot more RF, which has been measured in the lab with microwave radiation meters. SOC’s also help the EVO chassis to stay cool under all conditions, even under full load.
4. Full SSD on custom 3D printed spring suspension mounts
All 432 EVO models are now equipped with 2 TB Samsung SSD's. Any model can also be equipped with 4 TB or 8 TB SSDs.
On models continued in 2021, the SATA is also noise filtered, and SATA protocol tuning is also applied in our flagship products.
We also kept the spring suspension system as it also protects the SSD against mechanical shocks during transport, and now we custom 3D print this part.
5. Roon 1.8
All recent 432 EVO models including the entry level STANDARD model, now can run Roon 1.8 with improved metadata capabilities.
432 EVO has received a lot of positive feedback, and Roon running on 432 EVO is full Roon Core (not an endpoint) combined with 432 EVO’s own sublime player which supports bitperfect, or upsample mode with 10 custom tuneable filters – combined with or without the 432 Hz feature.
On AEON & MASTER Roon actually runs on dedicated CPU cores with its own realtime tuning, and the player and base OS each run on separate CPU cores for optimal software jitter tuning.
Roon users have sent spontaneous emails that the sound quality difference between Logitech Media Server and Roon has become very small, and we have observed that Roon is no longer causing cpu spikes since the March updates. Others have reported Roon is more fluent now, even on older 432 EVO's from several years ago.
We applaud Roon for making the software soundwise also great.
6. Essence model discontinued
The Essence model is the only 432 EVO model with a high-end DAC built-in. Unfortunately this DAC is no longer produced, and therefore the model is being discontinued in it’s current form. There is still some remaining stock, so please contact your reseller for availability of our all-in-one model.
7. 432 EVO MASTER price drop
The 432 EVO MASTER has been reduced in price to € 12500 for the 2 TB model.
Previously it started at € 14000 and 4 TB was the smallest capacity.
The May 2021 pricelist
can be found on our website, being the last item in the Products menu.
