Onkyo's HDC-1.0 HD audio PC for audiophiles
Japan's Onkyo has this new HDC-1.0 media PC in the chute and ready for launch next month in hopes of wooing the audiophile crowd. Set to replace the HDC-7, the HDC-1.0 measures in at 205 x 240 x92.5-mm and brings a Vista pre-load as you'd expect. However, the "wow" is limited to just Home Basic... this ain't no Vista Media Center friends. Instead, Onkyo loads up their own CarryOn Music 10 software to make the most of Onkyo's SE-90PCI PCI card which touts a 2-channel, audiophile grade 110dB SNR and 24bit/192kHz -- yeah, that exceeds CD sound quality. The software also ties back neatly to Onkyo's own "e-onkyo music" 24bit/96kHz download service. At the heart you'll find a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, Intel 945GM integrated graphics, 1GB of memory, 120GB of 2.5-inch SATA disk, gigabit Ethernet, DVI and optical digital output, 6x USB 2.0 (2x in front) and 1x Firewire, and a slot-loading DVD super multi-drive. Onkyo attempts to keep the environment at bay by using an external power source to minimize EMI and by using a single, 8-cm fan and lots of rubber damping to keep things quiet inside the box. The result, according to Onkyo, is a true "HD audio PC." Of course, they could have packed in an SSD and ULV processor to ace the fan and cut the vibration completely, right? Sure, but then we'd be looking at a price much higher than the HDC-1.0's already expensive ¥210,000 (about $1,739) or ¥248,000 (about $2,054) after tossing in the matching digital amplifier. Check the amp and PC splayed after the break.
[Via Impress]
