Product agent: Shenghe Audio
The "UK dCS Tour" specially curated by Sunho Media Group has come to a successful conclusion from April 21 to 28, 2024. There are a number of dCS authorized dealers in China, including Guangzhou Elegant Audio Garden, Beijing Beichang Audio, Guangzhou Shunjing Audio, Hangzhou Yiyuan Audio, Chengdu Chaoyin, Wuxi Yinhai Audio, etc. As the exclusive invited media of this trip, "Audiovisual Frontier" specially sent the editor of this magazine, Abi, to bring back the "spy photos" of the dCS factory, take you to understand the history and culture of the world's leading digital audio expert, and gain an in-depth understanding of the core technology of dCS.
▲ 英国dCS工厂位于剑桥Buckingway Business Park（白金威商业园）
The British dCS factory is located in Cambridge Buckingway Business Park, about 15 minutes' drive from Cambridge city center, with a comfortable and beautiful environment. R&D, production, sales, promotion and other departments are among them. Let's take a tour of the dCS factory with our lens to learn about the production process of dCS products.
The current owner, Mr. David Steven, introduced the history of dCS
▲ The content of the first day of the trip was quite compact, and in the morning, Mr. David Steven, the current owner, introduced the history of the company
The first day of the trip was quite intense, with the current head of the company, Mr. David Steven, giving a presentation on the history of the company in the morning. Founded in 1987, dCS was established to provide radar technology for military aircraft, as well as digital/analog, analog-to-digital converters and digital processors for professional use in recording studios. Since its second year of existence, dCS has continued to publish a number of world-first digital technologies, such as the world's first 24-bit analog/digitizer in 1988, the Model 900; In 1993, the world's first 24bit/96kHz analog/digital converter 902 was launched. In 1994, the 900 Master Clock was introduced; In 1995, the 950 digital/analog converter (supporting 24bit/48kHz) was introduced, followed by the upgraded version of the 952 (supporting 24bit/96kHz), and in the 90s of the last century, the professional equipment supporting 24bit/96kHz was launched.
▲ The office area displays dCS's classic ADDA products
Of course, professional equipment is only accessible to users of recording studios/engineers, but the aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys, during which some Japanese audiophiles used the 952 in the recording studio as a home, and found that the sound effect was very pleasantly surprised, after the news spread, many audio fans immediately looked for the 952, and also thought that its sound was very good, so they gave feedback to the dCS factory and asked for a home version. In 1996, the company also took the advice of users seriously, and in 1996 launched the Elgar, the world's first digital/analogue converter for home use, supporting 24bit/96kHz.
▲ This is Elgar, who made dCS famous in the fever circle
In 1997, dCS introduced the 24bit/192kHz digital/analog converter 954 and analog/digital converter 904, which was the world's first digital device with a 192kHz specification. In 1998, dCS added DSD processing technology to the 954 and 904, making it the world's first commercial DSD converter. In the same year, Elgar was upgraded to include DSD decoding and renamed Elgar Plus. In 1999, the Purcell, the world's first home upscaler, was introduced, and in September of the same year, another 24bit/192kHz home digital/analogue converter, the Delius, was introduced, giving enthusiasts an alternative to Elgar.
In October 2001, dCS launched the SACD/CD turntable called Verdi, which is the world's first home SACD/CD turntable using a IEEE1394 digital transmission interface. From Scarlatti to Paganini, Puccini, Debussy to the current Vivaldi, Rossini, and Bartok (the above three series will also be available in APEX versions in 2023), the launch of series has conquered audiophiles around the world again and again, and has also established dCS's position as the king in the field of digital audio playback and decoding.
Finally, Mr. David Steven said: "The unexpected death of my father in 2009 put the company in a difficult situation for a while, but with the support of many long-time employees, as well as the support and encouragement of agents, distributors and audiophiles around the world, we were able to get out of the predicament and smoothly transition to my management of the company. Of course, we will not forget our roots, and tomorrow we will have two veteran engineers, Mr. Chris Hales, Director of Product Development, and Mr. Andy McHarg, Technical Director, meet with you. From the first generation of the Ring DAC to the current eighth generation of the Ring DAC (the latest version of APEX), they are all from them. Finally, once again, welcome and thank Sunho Audio, as well as Chinese distributors and media for visiting our factory. ”
Extremely demanding testing process – a tour of the dCS production hall
▲ Mr. Colin Barker, Head of Production Department
After Mr. David Steven introduced the history of dCS, Mr. Colin Barker, Head of Production, and Mr. Dan Thomas, Manager of Production, led a tour of various departments of the factory to understand the production process. Dan Thomas first explained the production process of the product, after the individual parts from the long-established supplier are sent to the dCS factory, the initial assembly of the circuit section will be carried out, the whole process will take about an hour and a half, and then another technician will check that the internal wiring is correct, the screws are tightened, and the correct voltage will be set. After two people test, a power-on test is carried out, and the basic version of the software is installed, and then an upgrade is performed to ensure that the machine can be upgraded when it arrives at the user's home. Once the upgrade can be completed, each machine is assigned a corresponding serial number and each production and inspection process is recorded.
▲ After the parts provided by long-established suppliers are delivered to the dCS factory, the circuit part will be preliminarily assembled
The second phase is to enter the "automated test station" to conduct nearly 300 tests. Because it is impossible to find a suitable set of test equipment on the market to meet the extremely demanding technical specifications of the dCS factory, it has developed its own test equipment, a total of 8 "automatic testing stations" to test the product, and customize the corresponding test items, procedures and duration for each product, the input and output of each machine, and each sampling rate will be tested, each test takes 1 to 4 hours, depending on which product is currently being tested.
▲ Mr. Dan Thomas is introducing the function of the "automatic test station" to us
▲ Since it is impossible to find suitable test equipment on the market to meet the extremely demanding technical specifications of the dCS factory, we have developed our own test equipment
▲ Products that are being automatically tested
After the "Auto Test" test, the product enters the "Endurance Test" phase, which is tested for up to 48 hours of continuous on/off cycles every 15 minutes to ensure stability between all parts. After that, it will enter an "automatic test" of 1 to 4 hours to check for failures again, and all items must be passed to be considered passed. Once the product passes the second automated test, its results are saved on the automated test server and saved forever, and any testing process and data for this machine can be retrieved at a later date.
▲ The display box operation interface of the "automatic test station" can understand the test status of each product in real time
▲ After nearly 3 days of testing, the products that pass will be sent to the inspection table, and then manually check whether there are any missing items in the automatic testing process
After nearly 3 days of testing, the products are sent to the inspection table. The technician enters the serial number of the product on the computer, and then manually checks whether there are any missing items in the automatic testing process, and after ensuring that it passes, it will be stored in the semi-finished product storage area. When the factory receives the corresponding order, the semi-finished product will be removed from the semi-finished product storage area for further installation and commissioning. Depending on the product model, color, customer and destination country of the order, the technician of the dCS factory will go to the warehouse to register and receive the corresponding parts for installation.
▲ After passing the automatic test and manual inspection, the product will be stored in the semi-finished product storage area
Every piece of metal parts taken out of the warehouse must be inspected and then assembled, before installing the top plate, you need to check whether the screws are tight, whether the connecting wires are connected, to ensure that there is no dust on the screen, and then let another colleague check again, each stage must be checked by two people, to ensure that the top plate is installed after the error, and then you can enter the next test process.
▲ Every piece of metal parts taken out of the warehouse must be inspected and then assembled, and before installing the top plate, you need to check whether the screws are tight, whether the connecting wires are connected, and ensure that there is no dust on the screen
Some readers may wonder why another technician is doing the inspection? The reason is this, all the employees of dCS, especially all the technicians in the production workshop, have to go through 12 months of training, the first 6 months are to understand the product and carry out relevant training, learn how to install the machine; The installation of the machine needs to be completed under supervision in the next 6 months; That is, it takes 12 months to complete the production completely on your own, so everyone is highly trained and each technician knows how to assemble and inspect each stage of the production process. At present, there are 13 products in dCS, and in these 13 products, there are a total of 3,500 parts, and all technicians have to memorize these parts, so mutual inspection can better detect problems in the assembly process.
▲ All employees of dCS, especially all technicians in the production workshop, have to go through 12 months of training
The next process is to enter the sound test area, which is not a critical listening stage, but to detect the sound anomalies that cannot be detected by the machine during the automatic test, especially when switching frequencies and inputs, whether there will be any abnormal sounds. And test whether the files with different sampling rates, different bitrates, and different formats can be played correctly, and whether the functions and corresponding keys work normally, these items will be recorded in detail in the log of the product serial number, and the shipping label and serial number label will be printed.
▲ The next process is to enter the sound test area, which is not a critical listening stage, but to detect sound anomalies that cannot be detected by the machine during the automatic test
At this point, the product is sent to the inspection area for final inspection and packaging, and first needs to be tested for safety – simulated electric shock test, short circuit test, etc., to test whether all insulation and grounding are working properly. After ensuring that it is normal, a "first sensory inspection" is carried out, where the first technician first inspects the entire machine, checking that each panel is free of extras, no scratches, no gaps, no dust on the screen...... All serial numbers are then compared with the documentation to confirm that there are no problems, and then the production manager Dan Thomas or the production head Mr. Colin Barker, plus a member of the marketing team, will check the three-person inspection. The technician then cleans the entire machine, covers it with a dust cap, applies a screen protector, and then packs it into a sheepskin bag and a custom shipping box. In addition, the accessories in the box need to be checked by two people to ensure that all cables, manuals and other accessories are correctly packed and shipped. That's it for the two-channel products (Vivaldi, Rossini and Bartok).
▲ For the final inspection and packaging of the inspection area, safety tests are first required - simulated electric shock test, short circuit test, etc
▲ These two are important equipment for safety testing, which are used for simulated electric shock tests, short circuit tests, etc
▲ This is a checklist for each test, which lists the items and time of each test very clearly, and lists whether the test is passed
▲ This location is the finished product packaging area of dCS, and the products will be sent to all over the world after the packaging is completed
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LINA has its own production and testing processes
LINA is a very hot new product of dCS in the last two years, and its production method is also slightly different from the traditional two-channel product. The metal housing part and the electronic part of the LINA are sent to the dCS production hall in two separate material boxes, and the technicians install and test them according to the production requirements of LINA. In view of the fact that the electronic part of the LINA has been tested in detail by the upstream supplier, the test method is different from that of the two-channel product, and dCS has also developed 4 sets of "automatic test stations" dedicated to LINA, which perform 160 functional tests on each machine. After passing the automated test, LINA's products need to pass the safety test before they are packaged.
▲ The metal shell and electronic parts of LINA are sent to the production workshop of dCS for installation and testing in two separate material boxes
▲ This is Lina's electronic part material box
▲ This is the metal shell part and the electronic part of Lina
▲ dCS has specially developed 4 sets of "automatic test stations" dedicated to LINA, and conducts 160 functional tests on each machine
Immediately afterwards, Dan Thomas, Production Manager, and Colin Barker, Head of Production, led us to the area on the first floor to see the calibration process of the master clock products. Due to the different temperatures in different countries and regions, it will have a certain impact on the main clock products, and how to ensure that there is still an accurate clock signal output in different temperature environments needs to be calibrated. The crystal oscillator is first cooled to 5°C by a special machine, and then linearly raised to 45°C to detect its temperature change characteristics, and then the relevant data is input into the equation designed by dCS for calculation, and input into the machine for correction, so as to complete the clock calibration process.
▲ This machine is used to calibrate the clock products of dCS
The first floor of the dCS factory is equipped with equipment dedicated to clock calibration, and it is also a warehouse for dCS, where various components, spare parts, and metal parts are stored. In addition, there are some spare components of old models for maintenance to ensure that products of different periods can be properly repaired. Colin Barker showed us the various states of the front panel of the Rossini CD, from the whole aluminium brick to the finished product.
▲ The area on the first floor of the factory is also a warehouse for dCS, where various components, spare parts, and metal parts are also stored
▲ Mr. Colin Barker specially showed us the various states of the front panel of Rossini CD from the whole aluminum brick to the finished product
At the end of the workshop, Mr. Colin Barker showed us two shelves, which are specially used to place the products that have problems detected in each test program and the products that have been repaired, and each unit has a detailed test report to inform the reason for the failure, which shows that the test procedures of dCS are extremely strict. Colin Barker emphasized: "Although these two shelves are not large, they are never full thanks to our many tedious and rigorous testing processes!" "The stability and durability of dCS products are well known to those who have owned them!
▲ Mr. Colin Barker showed us two shelves, which are specially used to place the products that have detected problems in each test program and the products that have been repaired, and each one has a detailed test report
epilogue
There are many opportunities for Abi to visit domestic audio manufacturers, but it is the first time to visit the factories of top audio brands in Europe. The visit was full of harvest, and I also felt the differences between domestic and foreign manufacturers in staff training, product production process, testing requirements, and quality control, and I could understand why dCS can become a world-class digital audio expert, and is well received by audiophiles all over the world, which is not unrelated to their meticulous attitude towards employees, products, and testing.
▲ The office area of the dCS sales department
Due to the limited space of the magazine, we will introduce it to you here for the time being. In the next issue, Mr. James Cook, Product Marketing Manager of dCS, will introduce the core digital technologies of dCS in detail, Mr. Alasdair McDonald, Export Sales Manager, will introduce the different series of products and give a audition, Mr. Chris Hales, Director of Product R&D and Mr. Andy McHarg, Technical Director, will introduce Ring DAC technology, Mr. Ross Bowman, Commercial Director, and Harry, Head of Design, will introduce the Ring DAC technology Mr. Sawyer will show off some of the products on the exterior and interior of the products, and you can follow Audiovisual Frontier magazine and Audiovisual to Frontier online platforms.