Warwick Acoustics Aperio

APERIO – from the Latin, meaning to uncover, open, reveal. The model name for Warwick Acoustics’ flagship, reference headphone system is a literal match for our design goal: to reproduce and reveal all recorded audio content definitively, without alteration. The APERIO is designed for the demanding professional audio market, as a reference studio monitor headphone system for High-Resolution Audio production, mastering, mixing and recording applications. Moreover, the APERIO is designed to be equally capable in ultra-high-end home consumer applications. The APERIO reference headphone system strives to deliver the highest level of audio performance achievable, by means of our proprietary planar electrostatic technology. The APERIO utilises a highly-refined, evolutionary advancement of technology originally developed by Warwick Acoustics for it’s ground-breaking and multi-award-winning Sonoma Model One Headphone System. DESIGN PHILOSOPHY Central to achieving our performance goal is the Design Philosophy behind the APERIO – a concept embodied in every product developed by Warwick Acoustics and the mantra of our design and development team, from initial concept through final production. To be truly revealing of all audio content without alteration requires the entire sound reproduction system, or every element in the signal path, to be accurate and free from all forms of distortion – in a word, completely “transparent”. The reproduction system cannot impose its own sonic character - or colourations of any kind - upon the audio content. All data, whether it be analogue or digital, must be reproduced unadulterated. Warwick Acoustics espouses a “Complete System Design” approach for all of our products. Complete System Design entails development and engineering of every element in the signal path of the sound reproduction system, from the initial delivery of analogue or digital audio content (data) to the final sound at the listener’s ears. The APERIO represents the pinnacle of this design philosophy by eliminating compromise for every element of the system and employingextraordinary attention to detail. A “flagship” or “reference” product should inherently mean that no compromises in design or execution are acceptable and that all the details matter. We believe a “Complete System Design” philosophy is necessary and required to achieve the highest level of audio performance and sound quality. This is analogous to a computer company controlling and optimising the hardware and OS software together, or to a premium automotive brand developing an ultra- high-performance sports car (“supercar” or “hypercar”). The highest levels of performance cannot be achieved with a “Hot Rod” approach of mixing and matching disparate components and technologies because they are not optimised to work together in a synergistic manner. Engineering of a complete and fully-optimised system will always outperform a combination of separately-engineered components at the highest levels. This Engineering philosophy is well-understood, accepted and applied in the computer, aerospace and automotive worlds. And we believe the same philosophy is valid for sound reproduction. The APERIO’s purpose is simply to reproduce audio content as pristinely and accurately as possible – without change or alteration. And this can only be achieved by means of a Complete System Design methodology.  While the APERIO exhibits exceptional audio performance measurements – both electrical and acoustical, it was not designed to meet specific measurements or expressly to measure well. The performance measurements serve primarily to validate that relevant key metrics have been met and that no performance anomalies have obscured sound reproduction. We believe measurements do not fully characterise a product’s sound quality; however, we feel they are a necessary and crucial part of the design process, and provide confirmation that units are performing properly after assembly. Warwick Acoustics is one of the very few manufacturers to provide individual measurements of every system built to end users. A final element of our Design Philosophy for the APERIO should be apparent from its appearance. This is a product that employs the finest materials available in a carefully-assembled system of the highest build quality possible. Warwick Acoustics believes in and adheres to a “Form Follows Function” industrial design principle (per the American architect Louis Henry Sullivan), epitomised by the APERIO. We do not design our products to appear purposely “exotic” or over-stylised, like much of the “audio jewellery” that inundates the high end consumer audio market. Instead we aspire for our products to look and feel beautiful in an authentic, functional way, with an innate, timeless element of “quality” in every piece.   APPLICATIONS / FEATURES The APERIO is designed for demanding applications that require ultra-high resolution and higher output levels. The APERIO has been optimised for resolving the most minute, low-level details present on any form of audio media. These capabilities must be achieved without inducing distortion artifacts and other anomalies, such as “listener fatigue”. Sound reproduction quality and audio performance should be identical at all listening levels. The APERIO features a wide range of inputs, including balanced and unbalanced analogue, AES3 (AES/EBU), S/PDIF Coaxial, USB and Ethernet (LAN). The APERIO is unique in being a fully networkable product that exceeds typical DLNA limitations and allows digital audio reproduction of native or DoP 256 fs DSD and higher sample rate PCM formats to 384 kHz. Within the APERIO all audio signals are kept in their native domain and format: analogue always remains analogue; DSD stays DSD until its final conversion to analogue; PCM sample rates are neverconverted. The signal path is pure, as direct as possible and unadulterated. The APERIO also features an exceptional Line Output section for driving other electronics and sound reproduction components that includeoutboard amplifiers and loudspeakers. Balanced and unbalanced outputs are capable of driving very long cables to the highest levels withprodigious current delivery. For studio applications, downstream components connected by 150-meter balanced cables can be driven to 15 dBu without distortion. The Line Output feature, in conjunction with an uncompromised Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC), preamplifier functionality and outstanding audio fidelity, enable the APERIO to perform optimally as the central hub of a state-of-the-art, two-channel studio monitoring system or ultra-high-end home audio system.