Alpha Design Labs/Furutech GT40 24/96 USB DAC/Analog Recorder

(Editorial note: Many AVguide readers are familiar with the Japanese high-end cable and accessory manufacturer Furutech Co., Ltd., but they may not yet be aware of Alpha Design Labs (ADL). ADL is essentially a Furutech spin-off whose mission is to offer “quality products built to Furutech’s Pure Transmission standards at surprisingly affordable prices.”

The first Alpha Design Labs (ADL) product to reach our shores is the ingenious and amazingly cost-effective GT40 24/96 USB DAC/Analog Recorder. As you’ll discover in a moment, the GT40 provides a somewhat unorthodox but extremely useful mix of features that makes it unique, so far as we are aware, among high-end desktop audio products.  Below, we present the text of the ADL/Furutech press release on the GT40, along with two images of the product. Also, watch for an upcoming Playback review of the GT40.)
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Alpha Design Labs by Furutech Ships GT40 24/96 USB DAC

• Features a MM and MC Phono Stage
• Record’s Vinyl and Other Analog Sources
• Now Shipping and an Exceptional Value at $480!

Tokyo • September 13th 2010 • Furutech Co., Ltd., manufacturer of analog and digital audio and video cable plus a wide range of accessories, debuts ADL (Alpha Design Labs), quality products built to Furutech’s Pure Transmission standards at surprisingly affordable prices. ADL’s first product release is the long-awaited GT40 24/96 USB DAC/Analog Recorder, now shipping.

The ADL GT40 24/96 USB DAC/Analog Recorder?

The designed in-house GT40 – stylish and compact – self-installs and dramatically improves computer-based audio from both speakers and headphones. It’s designed for those with growing music collections on their computer hard drives that want (need!) High End sound and an easy way to archive LPs or other analog sources, a first in its product class.

The GT40 records vinyl and other analog sources at 16/44.1 or 24/96 using its bidirectional USB connection and switchable Line, Phono MM/MC analog inputs, plus it features L/R analog outputs, a separate headphone amplifier, gold-plated Teflon-insulated RCA jacks in a high-quality aluminum chassis with a beautifully machined volume knob. CD Redbook 16/44.1 and especially 24/96 files reveal a vivid, captivating sound unheard of at this price… wired with Furutech’s Formula 2 USB cable of course! 

GT40 Sound

The GT40 brings High End sound to your system in the following way: Recall any visit to a fellow audio enthusiast’s home. As music plays you can immediately hear if the sound “sets up” in an audiophile way: A sense of spaciousness, imaging, out-of-the-speaker sound, open highs and an inviting midrange over tight bass. The ADL GT40 brings Furutech’s signature sound of smooth, wideband, detailed clarity to desktop systems, especially with high resolution 24-bit/96kHz files, but music at 16/44.1 also sounds much improved. Your first impression will be that you’ve never experienced compute files sound so open!

GT40 Power Train

The heavily-shielded audiophile-grade GT40 features a trusted low-latency USB 2.0 ASIO audio driver that plays and records up to 96kHz. It’s completely plug-and-play; the operating system installs the GT40 as soon as the USB connection is made. While completely USB powered device might be convenient it simply won’t develop the power required for high-resolution playback, so the GT40 sports an external supply to remedy the issue.

Drive Your Computer Music System to First in Class!

Click Here for Full GT40 Specifications

About Alpha Design Labs

Furutech is justifiably proud of its reputation for engineering, build quality and performance. ADL was created by Furutech to imbue its Pure Transmission Technology into carefully engineered innovative designs that everyone can afford for creating high-level computer-based sound. ADL components are made with the same dedication to total resonance control and refinement as all of Furutech’s many cables and accessories.

About Furutech

Furutech makes a wide variety of high performance 15A and 20A A/V cable and power connectors and parts, as well as distribution/filtering products including the 120Hz standard xv1.3 HDMI cable, GT2 USB 2.0 and GT3 USB 3.0 cables, Ag-12 Silver Tonearm Cable, The Silver Arrows Tonearm Cable, La Source Headshell Wires, Monza LP Stabilizer Weight, the new Lineflux and Evolution II series, Pure Power 6, e-TP4+4, e-TP607, e-TP615 and eTP60 Power Distributors, and e-TP80 Power Filters, deMag Disc and Cable Demagnetizer, PC-2 Disc Pure Cleaner, and their own very special NANO Liquid Contact Enhancer, plus even more fine cable and OEM products.