Dossier — Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB
The brochure speaks; the silicon answers. What follows is what each has said.
+ Vendor page › +Claims breakdown
| Claim | Bucket | Witnessed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-bit / 96 kHz | PCM | Alt 1, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 44.1Alt 2, Subslot 3 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 44.1Alt 3, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 48Alt 4, Subslot 3 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 48Alt 5, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 88.2Alt 6, Subslot 3 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 88.2Alt 7, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 96Alt 8, Subslot 3 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 96 | ✓ Match |
Remarks
A clean concordance. Audio-Technica lists the StreamSet's supported playback at 16- and 24-bit across 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz — and the silicon descriptor witnesses exactly that. No more, no less. What the descriptor adds is the shape of the path: the StreamSet speaks an older tongue — USB Audio Class 1, at full speed — yet it more than keeps pace with its more modern brethren, save for the higher sample rates and the DSD their newer class affords.
The Forge has noted before that this machine, plugged into a desktop PC and left to the system's own devices, sounded rather lackluster. But fed unadulterated audio by the Engine at the native sample rates it truly supports, the output is nothing short of sacred.
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