A company called Cyberdrive (previously Forte Audio) is intending to fill a (niche) gap in the media player market, by providing compact players that can output high-res audio and UltraHD video.
Cyberdrive has launched a campaign on crowdfunding website Indiegogo, which went more than 1,600% past its funding goal. The funded players are known as ‘Seiun’; they are roughly smartphone-sized, and each has an integrated DAC and amp.
Three players are being developed. The Seiun is a chunky and low-cost model ($70), with a 1.04″ (128 x 32) display. It will only play audio. The other two players are more advanced, with 5.5″ displays and the ability to output UltraHD video. They are the Seiun Pro (1280 x 720 internally display) and Pro X (1920 x 1080).
The Pro player supports DSD audio over PCM, while the Pro X supports native DSD (DSD is a format used in SACD). Both use an octa-core ARM processor, have a 3,000mAh battery (compared to 500mAh on the Seiun) and support wireless connectivity. Services including Netflix and Spotify can stream content directly to the players.
To play UHD video, the two more advanced players feature a USB-C port, which can output to HDMI 2.0 and doubles as an SPDIF output.
Cyberdrive intends to begin shipping the players in September, according to a recent update. They cost $70 (Seiun), $200 (Seiun Pro) and $300 (Seiun Pro X).
