Help me decide which ebay dac please?
- IslandPink
- Amstrad Tower of Power
- Posts: 10041
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 7:01 pm
- Location: Denbigh, N.Wales
#391
Is any of you DAC dabblers going to have a go at recreating the AudioNote DAC2 for reasonable outlay ?
http://www.audionote.co.uk/products/dig ... g_01.shtml
I'd like to hear that !
http://www.audionote.co.uk/products/dig ... g_01.shtml
I'd like to hear that !
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
#392
Check out the Audionote DAC Kit 3.1 at HiFi Collective. I'm tempted......
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/kits/audionotekits.html
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/kits/audionotekits.html
- IslandPink
- Amstrad Tower of Power
- Posts: 10041
- Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 7:01 pm
- Location: Denbigh, N.Wales
#393
I've seen it and coveted it ..
It's a fair few quid ... and I've got too much on my plate currently .
Hey 'plate currently' - it's some sort of pun !
I think that would be a very tasty DAC though .
It's a fair few quid ... and I've got too much on my plate currently .
Hey 'plate currently' - it's some sort of pun !
I think that would be a very tasty DAC though .
"Once you find out ... the Circumstances ; then you can go out"
- Dave the bass
- Amstrad Tower of Power
- Posts: 12276
- Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 4:36 pm
- Location: NW Kent, Darn Sarf innit.
#394
Aye.... shoddy!IslandPink wrote: Hey 'plate currently' - it's some sort of pun !
DTB
"The fat bourgeois and his doppelganger"
#395 Audio Note Dacs
Hi, I had a 2.1 DAC and as standard it very disappointing, whilst it sounded inoffensively analogue it never excited or provided much in the way of detail. Once I modded it, using a master clock to synch it back to the transport and upgrading the power supply it really sang, but that's quite a lot of extra pounds. There are far better bargains around!
Now, I mainly listen to stuff from my Macbook via USB. I recently spent around £50 notes on an E Bay DAC, which sounded pretty good out the box. Now I've rebuilt it with Oscons on digital curcuits, Black Gates on analogue, WIMA and VIsahy all round, upgraded OP amp, Schottkies and better regulators it sounds really high end, and better than the synched Audio Note. Total cost? Around £120!
This is now my joint favourite DAC with a TDA1541 feeding a valve output stage. The 1541 had the edge for intimate music, this one is a better all-rounder with not a hint of digital!
David
Now, I mainly listen to stuff from my Macbook via USB. I recently spent around £50 notes on an E Bay DAC, which sounded pretty good out the box. Now I've rebuilt it with Oscons on digital curcuits, Black Gates on analogue, WIMA and VIsahy all round, upgraded OP amp, Schottkies and better regulators it sounds really high end, and better than the synched Audio Note. Total cost? Around £120!
This is now my joint favourite DAC with a TDA1541 feeding a valve output stage. The 1541 had the edge for intimate music, this one is a better all-rounder with not a hint of digital!
David
#399
Do you prefer the 2496 to the 4397 then? I can't see why the 2496 is not available with a USB convertor going into the receiver chip as the DAC only sees the receiver chip and not what went before. However, reports on various Fora indicated there was little to choose between the 2496 and the 4398.
David
David
#400
PS I do find the whole Lampucera philosophy pretty suspect. Eg, i did try bypassing the coupler between the USB convertor and receiver with a Wima cap and it does get better. But randomly banging in Oscons caused the regulators to run really hot, so obviously there was some oscillation or other effect happening.
David
David
#401
Yes, but it's partly down to presentation.Do you prefer the 2496 to the 4397 then?
The AKM makes it easier hear whats going on, by digging a bit deeper into recordings.
The bass is deeper and clearer too.
It's gained some popularity here, because it has a more analogue sound.
I was very content with the Cirrus dac, but it stopped working and i couldn't find the fault. I still think the Cirrus dac was somehow a bit more punchy and dynamic, but i only notice this on certain recordings.
I played some Sinatra last night for the first time with this dac, and i found it a more interesting and involving experience than last time i played it.
I noticed that with other CDs too, but not all. Could all be down to my mood on the night though. But i don't think so.
It's a bit like listening to a Solid State amp then swapping to valves.
Your later Cirrus dac might be different again, i don't know and can't comment.
Much to learn there is.
#402
Hi AndrewAndrew wrote:Here's how it measures, this is just the e-bay DAC not the valve output stage.
Did you have the LPF and the Op-amp fitted for these measurements?
What is causing the HF roll-off? Is it the anti-aliasing filter in your measurement system?
Thanks
#403
Yes, the standard op amp, and the LFP for the 96.Max N wrote:Hi AndrewAndrew wrote:Here's how it measures, this is just the e-bay DAC not the valve output stage.
Did you have the LPF and the Op-amp fitted for these measurements?
Here's the freq resp of the system in pass through, with no device under test, this the measurement system's baseline, if you prefer.
What is causing the HF roll-off? Is it the anti-aliasing filter in your measurement system?
Thanks
As you can see its pretty flat from 10Hz to 100kHz.
So the roll off you see on the DAC must be coming from the 2496 itself. I suspect the upper freq roll off must be, as you say, the LPF. I don't know about the lower freq roll off, perhaps its the op amp?
cheers,
Andrew
Analogue, the lost world that lies between 0 and 1.
#404
OK Andrew, thanks very much.
I need to read up on filters. I'm familiar with passive filters with a corner frequency and than a slope. But that HF response looks like something else. Is it some kind of active circuit using feedback around the op-amp? In which case it wouldn't be trivial to reproduce the response passively for those of us not using the op-amp.
I need to read up on filters. I'm familiar with passive filters with a corner frequency and than a slope. But that HF response looks like something else. Is it some kind of active circuit using feedback around the op-amp? In which case it wouldn't be trivial to reproduce the response passively for those of us not using the op-amp.