Bobwire Audio has introduced its first product, the DAT1 Digital Audio Trigger, which adds an industry-standard 12-volt DC trigger output to any audio component with a digital audio optical (SPDIF) output. This allows devices like the Sonos Connect, Amazon Echo Link, and many others that lack 12-volt triggers, to turn on and off connected power amplifiers and other equipment.
While some audio amplifiers have analog audio detection circuits, these are not always reliable, especially at lower listening levels. Because the DAT1 is monitoring the digital signal, the 12-volt trigger is activated immediately, as soon as the music starts and at any volume level.
The 12-volt DC trigger standard is very useful to custom integrators, audio enthusiasts, and pro audio users, because it uses inexpensive 3.5mm mono cables to send turn-on/off commands to external amplifiers, smart home controls systems, cooling fans, dropping projector screens, and other accessories. Unfortunately, most streaming devices, TVs, CD/DVD/Blu-ray players, video game systems, computers, and others don’t have a 12-volt trigger output.
The Bobwire DAT1’s on-board software analyzes the optical digital signal to determine when the connected device is powered on, paused, or playing music, and then activates one of the two 12-volt outputs accordingly.
Additional features include an optical audio looping output so that the digital signal may be passed on to another DAC or surround sound receiver. The analog audio output uses a high-resolution 192-kHz 24-bit digital-to-analog converter. The 12-volt outputs are rated to 500 mA each, which allows them to directly drive high-power devices, such as cooling fans and multiple relays. LEDs are provided for each of the 12-volt outputs to aid in troubleshooting.
Included in the box is the DAT1 device, high-current power supply, 3-foot optical cable, and 6-foot trigger cable.
The Bobwire DAT1 is available now with a retail price of $79.99. An introductory price of $39.99 can be found on Amazon with Prime shipping.
Located in San Francisco, Bobwire was founded in 2019 by Bob MacDonald who has more than 20 years of experience installing custom audio systems.
