Kenwood DA-1100EX (1994)
The Kenwood DA-1100EX is a 20-bit D/A converter released in 1994. It was an "exclusive model" that succeeded the earlier DA-1100 in the line-up, an upmarket variant aimed at a more demanding audience. At the time it was considered a technically very advanced product. It did nothing to reverse Kenwood's decline, though, and as the record notes, it went almost unnoticed by both the specialized press and music lovers.
The converter section uses two 20-bit PCM 63 DACs, one per channel, in what Kenwood called an MDS type A configuration. An 8x oversampling digital filter and a PLL circuit to reduce jitter go with them. The DA-1100EX is a dual-mono design, with a separate large power transformer for each channel - a 115VA supply with two coils, one for the digital section and one for the analog, and a total capacitance of 22,000 microfarads. Digital inputs are two coaxial and one Toslink. Analog output is a single pair of unbalanced RCA jacks, via the output section only. It handles PCM at 16, 20, and 24 bits, with sampling frequencies of 32, 48, and 96 kHz.
The measured figures are impressive for the era. Total harmonic distortion is rated at 0.0008% at 1 kHz, frequency response runs from 2 Hz to 90 kHz, and signal-to-noise ratio is 112 dB. Output level is 2.2 V RMS. The unit draws 115 VA, measures 440 × 93 × 279 mm, and weighs 6.3 kg. HiFI-Stereo (January 1989, p.97) carried period coverage of Kenwood's digital offerings, though the DA-1100EX itself received little sustained attention from the press.
No original launch price has survived in the record, nor an end-of-production date. What remains is the picture of a serious, well-engineered converter that arrived at a moment when Kenwood's reputation was already slipping — a technically ambitious product that the market largely passed by.
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