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GLD1.0 Digital Player Launch Event by Cen.Grand : Original Interface Enables 100% Synchronized Data Output

简介：7月5日，广州HI END臻品展期间，世纪格雷在展会现场举行了GLD1.0同步数据数字播放器的产品发布会。作为世纪格雷历经多年潜心研发的、拥有完全自主创新技术的数字流媒体播放器

Introduction:
On July 5th, during the Guangzhou HI END Premium Audio Exhibition, Century Grey held a product launch event at the venue to unveil the GLD1.0 Synchronous Data Digital Player. This digital streaming media player represents the culmination of many years of dedicated research and development by Century Grey and features fully independent, proprietary technologies.

7月5日，广州HI END臻品展期间，世纪格雷在展会现场举行了GLD1.0同步数据数字播放器的产品发布会。作为世纪格雷历经多年潜心研发的、拥有完全自主创新技术的数字流媒体播放器，它承载着世纪格雷多年的音响研发经验和对理想音源的追求，有着特别的架构、独创的接口，能够做到数据100%精确输出到解码环节。世纪格雷主创设计师邓剑辉先生到场讲解产品特色和精确同步数据的原理，期间还播放多段音乐演示，搭配世纪格雷全平衡前级9i-938+世纪格雷大功率全平衡单声道后级9i-958四台双推英国ATC SCM 150PSLSE签名版15寸落地音箱，让在场来宾充分感受到GLD1.0精确传输带来的极致音质魅力。

On July 5th, during the Guangzhou HI END Premium Audio Exhibition, Cen.Grand held a product launch event at the venue to introduce the GLD1.0 Synchronous Data Digital Player. As a digital streaming media player developed through years of dedicated research by Cen.Grand and built upon fully original and proprietary technologies, the GLD1.0 embodies the company’s deep expertise in audio engineering and relentless pursuit of the ideal sound source.

With a unique architecture and an original output interface, the GLD1.0 achieves 100% accurate data transmission to the decoding stage. Mr. Jianhui Deng, Cen.Grand’s chief designer, was present to explain the product’s features and the principles behind its precise data synchronization.

During the event, multiple music demonstrations were presented using a full Cen.Grand setup: the fully balanced preamplifier 9i-938 paired with four units of the high-power, fully balanced monoblock amplifier 9i-958, driving a bi-amped configuration of British ATC SCM150PSL SE Signature 15-inch floorstanding speakers. Guests on site were deeply impressed by the exceptional sound quality enabled by the GLD1.0’s precision data transmission.

要说到世纪格雷对音源的展望与目标，得从一开始说起。世纪格雷与2011年在深圳创立。初创产品线为蓝光视频产品。与众不同的是世纪格雷与美国Marvell公司合作，在其蓝光方案中加入了“独立音频双时钟”架构，这个hifi级数字时钟架构使世纪格雷的蓝光产品在音质上处于领先地位。2013年，9i-AD音视频播放器上市，很快引爆了hifi市场，后来的9i-AD乌金版，乌金终极版成为炙手可热的数字播放器，良好的市场口碑奠定了世纪格雷的品牌基础。

从2014年开始，DSD音频受到hifi圈的广泛关注，DSD逐渐成为数字音频的主流需求，于是世纪格雷DSD解码器产品方案正式立项，方案要求这款DSD解码器为标准的1bit架构，具备升频功能，并能重建时钟，前端时钟不直接参与DA转换。项目历时五年左右完成，DSDAC1.0于2019年正式上市，它也是世界上少数真正1bit架构的DSD解码器。

To understand Cen.Grand’s vision and ambition for digital audio sources, we must start from the very beginning.

Cen.Grand was founded in 2011 in Shenzhen, with its initial product line focused on Blu-ray video players. What set Cen.Grand apart from the start was its collaboration with Marvell, a U.S.-based semiconductor company. Cen.Grand integrated an innovative dual independent audio clock architecture into Marvell’s Blu-ray platform—an audiophile-grade digital clock system that placed its Blu-ray products at the forefront of sound quality within the category.

In 2013, Cen.Grand released the 9i-AD audio-video player, which quickly gained traction in the HiFi market. The later variants, including the 9i-AD Wujin Edition and the Wujin Ultimate Edition, became highly sought-after digital players. These successes established a strong reputation for the Cen.Grand brand in the HiFi community.

By 2014, DSD audio had begun receiving widespread attention in the audiophile world, and DSD was gradually becoming the mainstream demand for digital audio. In response, Cen.Grand formally launched a development project for a DSD decoder. The design goal was clear: a true 1-bit architecture, with upsampling capability, and a reconstructed clock system—meaning the incoming clock would not directly influence the final D/A conversion process.

After nearly five years of intensive development, the DSDAC 1.0 was officially released in 2019. It became one of the few digital-to-analog converters in the world to feature a genuine 1-bit DSD architecture, marking a major milestone in Cen.Grand’s pursuit of sonic perfection.

2021年DSDAC1.0豪华版上市。这是世纪格雷一款里程碑式的产品。凭借着出色并领先同级产品的性能，多家评测媒体机构给出了超高的评价及奖项，DSDAC1.0豪华版因此以超出预期的速度迅速打开了国际市场，它与另一款产品9i-906“银狐”耳机放大器一道，成为世纪格雷在国际hifi领域的名片。

2018年，考虑到蓝光产品作为音源的局限性以及hifi市场对纯音频放大器的需求，新一代的音源产品开发立项并启动。经过曲折的历程之后，具有重大创新技术的同步数据数字播放器GLD1.0终于在2024年8月开始向预定用户发货，这款世纪格雷的核心战略级产品终于完成了。

In 2021, the DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe Edition was released—marking a true milestone in Cen.Grand’s product evolution. With performance that surpassed its peers in the same class, it received exceptional reviews and accolades from multiple international audio media outlets. Thanks to its outstanding technical capabilities, the DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe Edition rapidly gained traction in overseas markets at a pace that exceeded expectations. Alongside Cen.Grand’s 9i-906 “Silver Fox” headphone amplifier, it has become one of the brand’s signature products on the global HiFi stage.

Back in 2018, recognizing the limitations of Blu-ray products as high-end audio sources and responding to the rising demand in the HiFi market for dedicated audio source and amplification solutions, Cen.Grand initiated the development of a next-generation digital audio source. After years of challenges and breakthroughs, the result was the GLD1.0 Synchronous Data Digital Player, featuring groundbreaking innovations. This strategic flagship product was finally completed and began shipping to pre-order customers in August 2024, marking a major achievement in Cen.Grand’s pursuit of ultimate sound reproduction.

GLD1.0的研发动机源于hifi圈一个长期存在的说法，数播不如CD。经过细致的研究，世纪格雷发现问题出在数据的传输环节，其中最大的问题就是USB异步音频协议，这是一个允许数据错误的协议。由于音频播放对实时性要求很高，当数据传输出现异常时只能忽略，或者丢弃数据包，不可能有复杂的纠错流程。由于绝大多数数字播放器都采用ARM方案做主控，过去这类ARM方案并不是为hifi音频设计，没有专用的音频数据输出接口，只能通过USB异步音频协议从USB口输出，这就造成数据完整性（bit perfect）受损，从而直接使音质劣化。另外由于ARM方案性能较弱，算力有限，在数据过程中存在过载等错误，这些原因使数播性能打了折扣，使“数播不如CD”这个观点广为流传。

问题定位了，GLD1.0的方案也就确定了。最终GLD1.0确定的架构由以下几部分组成：为X86_64，Windows系统，PCIe接口数据输出，同步数字时钟系统，POW传输协议，POW接收模块等。这个方案在软件生态环境上等同于电脑，它能做所有电脑能做的工作。因为采用了intel的cpu，所以它具备了强大的算力，又因为它有先进的数据传输处理系统，实现了数据完整性100%（bit perfect）。GLD1.0有两款产品：豪华版和标准板。豪华版采用11代i7做主控，标准板采用12代赛扬做主控。

The development of GLD1.0 was driven by a long-standing belief in the HiFi community: digital streamers are inferior to CD players. After in-depth research, Cen.Grand identified that the root cause lies in the data transmission process, with the USB asynchronous audio protocol being the primary culprit. This protocol inherently permits data errors. Due to the high real-time demands of audio playback, any transmission anomalies typically result in dropped or ignored data packets—there is simply no room for complex error correction during playback.

Most digital streamers on the market use ARM-based platforms as their main controller. However, these ARM solutions were not originally designed for high-end audio applications and generally lack dedicated audio data output interfaces. As a result, audio data must be output via USB asynchronous transmission, which compromises bit-perfect integrity, directly degrading sound quality.

Moreover, due to the limited computational power of ARM systems, data processing overloads or latency-related errors often occur—further reducing performance and reinforcing the notion that "streamers sound worse than CDs."

Once the problem was clearly identified, Cen.Grand formulated the architecture of GLD1.0 accordingly. The finalized design consists of the following core components:

• x86_64 architecture

• Windows operating system

• PCIe-based data output

• Synchronous digital clock system

• POW (Precision Output Waveform) transmission protocol

• POW receiving module

•  

This system offers a software ecosystem equivalent to a PC, capable of performing all typical computing tasks. Powered by Intel CPUs, GLD1.0 boasts robust computing power, and thanks to its advanced transmission and data handling system, it achieves 100% bit-perfect audio data integrity.

GLD1.0 is available in two variants:

• Deluxe Edition: equipped with an 11th Gen Intel i7 processor as the main controller

• Standard Edition: equipped with a 12th Gen Intel Celeron processor

This comprehensive rethinking of the digital player platform places GLD1.0 at the forefront of modern HiFi source design.

GLD1.0一大亮点，便是“抛弃USB异步音频协议，采用PCIe此协议并实现同步传输”。USB异步音频协议是允许错误的协议，PCIe是不允许有错误的传输协议。在PCIe传输中实现同步控制是一项复杂的工作。尽管PCIe并不是什么新技术，但是世纪格雷围绕PCIe协议和接口，在GLD1.0上做了很多开创性的设计：首先它的时钟架构非常复杂，才能使异步的PCIe跑出了同步的状态，其次POW协议使用光纤传输数据，BNC同轴传输时钟，到了接收端再还原成I2S给解码器。这种传输方式可以轻易传送8通道的数据和时钟。

其次是POW传输协议。POW是英语“parting of the way”的简称，中文意思为”分道扬镳“，寓意数据时钟分开传输，用光纤传输数据，用同轴线传输时钟，到解码器后再通过特别设计的接收模块接收下来，还原成I2S数据，以获得最佳性能。

另外，与获得“Roon Ready”认证的产品相比，GLD1.0能实现更强大的“Roon Server”功能。也就是说GLD1.0是一台Roon服务器，不仅能在线播放，还能管理本地文件，与Roon Ready设备相比是一个巨大的优势。

最后的提问环节，有发烧友问到世纪格雷会不会推出结合GLD1.0转盘与DSDAC1.0解码的合并产品？答案是肯定的，后续的合并播放机GLS1.0将在年内上市。

One of the key highlights of the GLD1.0 is its abandonment of the USB asynchronous audio protocol in favor of PCIe with synchronized transmission. While the USB asynchronous audio protocol permits transmission errors, PCIe is a protocol that does not allow errors. However, achieving synchronized control over PCIe is technically complex.

Though PCIe itself is not a new technology, Cen.Grand has developed a range of innovative, first-of-its-kind designs around the PCIe protocol and interface within the GLD1.0. First, its clock architecture is highly sophisticated, allowing asynchronous PCIe to operate in a synchronized mode. Second, the POW protocol separates data and clock: data is transmitted via optical fiber, while the BNC coaxial cable transmits the clock. On the receiving end, the signal is reconstructed into I²S format for the DAC. This transmission method supports multi-channel transmission, easily handling up to eight channels of synchronized data and clock.

A key component of this system is the POW transmission protocol, which stands for Parting of the Way—symbolizing the separation of data and clock. The protocol transmits data through optical fiber and clock through coaxial cable, which are then received and restored into I²S format by a specially designed receiving module on the DAC side, ensuring optimal performance.

Additionally, compared to products certified as “Roon Ready,” the GLD1.0 is capable of functioning as a full “Roon Server.” This means it can not only stream content online but also manage local music files, offering a significant advantage over typical Roon Ready devices, which are limited to endpoint functionality.

During the final Q&A session of the event, one attendee asked whether Cen.Grand would release an integrated unit combining the GLD1.0 transport and the DSDAC 1.0 decoder. The answer was affirmative: Cen.Grand revealed that a combined flagship player, named GLS1.0, is already in development and scheduled for release later this year.