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The Black Box™ was first introduced in 2007 and gained early attention at CES in January 2008. During that show, few people were paying attention to computer-based music (at least within the audiophile community) and virtually all digital audio relied upon the CD transports.

One year later, at CES 2009, there was more attention being paid to music servers, but The Black Box™ still stood out as a leader in the field. Robert Harley of Absolute Sound called it "the first turnkey server to offer uncompromising sonic performance" -- a statement he underscored with an emphatic, "I was completely blown away."

In addition, Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems proudly accepted an invitation to join with other industry-leading manufacturers to participate in the "The World's Best Audio System 2009" hosted by SoundStage!, with The Black Box™ providing the front-end source of a truly impressive system.

In the years that have followed, many of the audiophile industry's biggest manufacturers have jumped on the music server bandwagon, and the market is swamped with computer-based digital music solutions. Some of these products are great; some aren't. But none include the proprietary Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems sound card. Among the advantages of this exclusive feature is the I2S digital interface for use with MSB's award winning DACs.

At Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems, we recognize that the world of digital music is quickly changing, and we are committed to leveraging ongoing technical advancements to continually improve upon The Black Box™. This is something we can do because we designed it as an open-architecture platform. As advancements become available, The Black Box™ ships with those upgrades included, and existing customers can easily upgrade their units to enjoy whatever gains have been achieved.

  
 

The Black Box™ is a hybrid design

Blue Smoke Entertainments Systems adopted a "hybrid design" when creating The Black Box™ This hybrid design marries the advantages of the two most common design approaches undertaken by other music server manufacturers.

Some music servers are designed for the general "consumer electronics" customer. These products can be relatively easy to use, and they boast custom programming and dedicated chip-sets to produce a stand-alone unit. However, simplicity comes at the sacrifice of flexibility and future expansibility.

In contrast, other systems are extensions of the personal computer, allowing extreme flexibility and expansibility. However, standard computers and off-the-shelf hardware create a very poor environment for audio processing and quality.

The Black Box™ is a "hybrid" of these two approaches, embracing the flexibility of the standard PC while also including proprietary hardware and software only where necessary for uncompromising audio quality.
 

Audiophile Quality

Our hardware solutions include:

  • No moving parts during playback to reduce mechanical and electrically induced noise
  • Power supply that is efficient and external to the system, supplying low-voltage, clean DC power
  • No on-board displays which are typically high voltage and hence output noise (even when shielded)
  • Aluminum core heat-sinks and heat piping for thermal dissipation
  • External storage of media files
  • A proprietary sound card which provides unprecedented audio quality
  • Capacity to slave to an external word clock over a BNC S/PDIF connection
  • S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink and MSB Technology proprietary I2S digital outputs
  • S/PDIF and MSB Technology proprietary I2S digital inputs
  • Hardware selectable upsampling (linear fit)

Our software solutions include:

  • Use of Windows 7™ tweaked for optimal audio performance
  • Proprietary Bit-Perfect Ripper™ for batch ripping of media files
  • Proprietary tray application which allows users to output native bit-perfect through 24 bit/192kHz and up-sample or down-sample through software. Tray application also provides easy selection of signal-routing to utilize external word clock
  • Software selectable upsampling (curve fit)

Black Box™ Quick Facts:

  • The Black Box is the only music server that is compatible with the MSB Network ... which means it can be paired with the MSB DAC to provide users with the lowest possible jitter and unparalleled musicality.
  • While most "audiophile" music servers use one of a handful of off-the-shelf "professional grade" sound cards, we developed a proprietary sound card capable of achieving our lofty goals.
  • The Black Box™ is able to up-sample OR down-sample through either software OR hardware settings. This provides the ultimate in flexibility and virtually guarantees a seamless match within anyone's system.

On the Horizon for The Black Box™

  • Keep your eyes open for news about ongoing developments