This product was the first Hi-End card to use a top DAC from AKM and high quality additional components. Prior to this product, top DACs used to be installed only in expensive limited-edition studio cards for $1000 and higher, such as LynxTwo, ProTools HD, etc. Along with high quality components, the card uses multifunction drivers. The price of the ProdigyHD2 Gold on the Russian market is quite acceptable.
As far as we know, Audiotrak offers two cards for the European market - Prodigy HD2 (without Gold suffix) and Prodigy Hi-Fi. These cards may appear on our market as well.
The low-profile card can be installed into a stylish and small HTPC with other Hi-Fi/Hi-End components. The most difficult problem will be to choose a noiseless PSU for your low-profile PC case, because they have non-standard dimensions. You might want to use a PSU as a stand-alone unit, so that you could choose any PC case you like and any PSU installed in a well ventilated place. If you choose a PSU with removable cables, you may make then longer and put inside a shielded pipe. A low-profile bracket is included into the bundle.
The Prodigy HD2 Gold contains high quality opamps for the line-out with the Triple OPAMP technology - two OPA2134 from Burr-Brown + JRC5532. Dip connectors allow to replace opamps without soldering. Headphones-out is based on two JRC4580 chips that provide the output power of 120 mW. The card for the European market (Prodigy HD2) uses the NE5532 instead of the OPA2134. Thus, you can replace the NE5532 with the OPA2134 for $16-20 to upgrade your card to the Gold edition. The only competitors of our card under review are new Auzentech cards on CMI8788 and the Auzen X-FI Prelude 7.1 to be launched this year.
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