leo
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Post by leo on Nov 22, 2007 22:19:19 GMT
I've never heard the Meier Corda Opera, Looking at the specs it uses my second favourite dac chip, its a pity they used a classic op-amp I/V section though. Amp section is op-amp based LM6171 with BUF634 buffers so not fine transistors
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Post by krisno on Nov 22, 2007 23:20:38 GMT
Do you know if the McIntosh famous amplifiers, they are transistors these days, but are they ar hybrid, or transistors with 'tubes' at the output stage?
What is your favorite DAC chip? Cirrus logic has some nice onces i believe. Atleast Headroom loves them...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2007 23:44:20 GMT
Krisno McIntosh amplifiers come in many different types and power output. The attached link may be of interest. www.mcintoshlabs.com/faqs.aspxPersonally, I like the PCM1792 as used in the Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3. The PCM1794 is also reported to be very good, as do the ones that you mentioned. SandyK
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 0:30:15 GMT
PCM1792/4/8 and TDA1541S2 beat the ass off any Cirrus Logic dac chip voltage out types are pants ;D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2007 1:03:02 GMT
"PCM1792/4/8 and TDA1541S2 beat the ass off any Cirrus Logic dac chip" Leo Yeah, right ! Now please tell us all where anybody is going to buy a commercial product using the vintage TDA1541S2 . Alex
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 1:05:32 GMT
Marantz CD7 Theres quite a few units out there using the S1 too of course with the ROHS it leaves them buggered
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2007 1:19:59 GMT
Leo It's a superseded model. In any case, at AU$5,800 it's out of reach of most people. Alex
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 1:30:27 GMT
Leo It's a superseded model. In any case, at AU$5,800 it's out of reach of most people. Alex You did ask such a shame as its the best sounding unit made by them IMHO Another beauty with diy if you have one of these chips in your stash, they may be old and discontinued, a pain in the arse to use but I've yet to hear anything else come close for realism, still probably not as good as a good TT set up Anyway PCM179* series are bloody good, better than majority of the junk out there
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Nov 23, 2007 2:36:46 GMT
Is the TDA1543 that bad? The Lite DAC-AH uses 8 in a row, see:
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 10:57:58 GMT
TDA1543 are not bad, they are cheap and so much easier to implement than the TDA1541, the I/V stage is also much easier to design. IMO they are not as refined as TDA1541A and have the noticeable top end roll off in NOS especially if passive I/V is used. They use 8 of the dacs above to boost its output, its easier to get decent sound out of these chips
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 11:00:30 GMT
Once my AYA dac is finished I may build another TDA1543 based dac keeping it very simple, maybe start a new thread
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Post by krisno on Nov 23, 2007 19:11:12 GMT
PCM179x is the chip which is built into the X-Dac V3? And this DAC chip is better than the cirrus logic which is used many places(headroom, etc)?? Who makes this PCM179x? Is this honest? So the X-Dac v3 is a good product? I thought of getting the X-Dav v3 with time... I never bought the X-PSU, rather little pinkie. I don't think I will get 2 little pinkies for 2 seperate boxes, so will the X-DAC v3 sound fine with the classic wallmart? I hear that X-PSU/little pinkie make such improvement also on the DAC? Which gives best sound, lilttle pinke on the X-Can v3 and wallmart on the DAC, og Wallmart on the x-can v3 and littlie pinkie on the X-DAC v3?? The extra power to the DAC might not be that 'essential'?? Lots of questions, feel free to answer those who can . Have a nice weekend!!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2007 20:15:36 GMT
krisno The X-DAC V3 is a very average performer in it's standard state. It does not live up to the manufacturer's hype. It does benefit from the use of a higher current PSU like the Little Pinkie. However , because it's analogue stage does not have voltage regulation, it will benefit even further from a regulated + and - 15V supply. It is also capable of much higher performance with further modifications. My thread in the Musical Fidelity Zone goes further into this aspect. SandyK
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Post by krisno on Nov 23, 2007 21:35:01 GMT
If I get hold of a used X-Dac, can 'Mike' mod the X-Dac for me?
How much does upgrade kit cost? What does it actually do... and how good does it then become? ... Last questions is very subjective, but try please.
Maybe there is smaller and better DAC's to get? If I don't like the X-can v3 sound at all, I will just sell it and get me some other solid state amp. We will see. If so, then the DAC is out of the question anyhow.
Btw, Musical Fidelity is usually value, and the X-Dac does NOT come cheap, so .
But does it perform very much better with a better PSU, the X-dac?
K
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Post by ruicanela on Nov 23, 2007 21:35:25 GMT
Here is a reply to the topic subject: Please recommend amp for AKG K701 .... 1st :I have AKG K701 and Heed Canamp 2nd:I owned a X-Can V3 without any mods and I sold it because the pair (K701+X-CanV3) sounded to much bright and spark with poor bass. 3rd:AKG K701 and Heed Canamp sounds very, very good. Huge sounstage and very musical. Sound like a tube amp. I LOVE IT. 4th: Forget X-Canv3 with K701 5th: If you want very bad X-Canv3 buy your self HD650 or HD600 ;D Cheers Rui
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Post by krisno on Nov 23, 2007 21:57:09 GMT
I know people say it's a bright combination... But its 'tubes' and I want to try that out... Always had solid state.. I thought tubes is important with headphones as its more laid back, and cuts of the harsh part in recordings. Long time headphone listening is tyering... But as you say, best is probably X-can V3 + senneheiser. But then again, that is why I got the little pinkie. To increase the bass etc.. I can always get Heed, but well, I won't. I can also change the tubes. But tell me, Mike writes on his page about this X-Silver interconnect. Is this connect meant to be used between DAC and X-Can? 1) Is it any point to have silver between those 2, it won't be too harsh and bright? Can you hear the difference compared to a good copper cable? 2) What is price of that x-silver cable... its 'perfect' length and good looks But what else is good with AKG, only Headroom? I can't believe Heed is the only working amp with AKG. I will get the Heed v2 if its not as 'homemade'.. K
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 22:10:00 GMT
Your a hard fellow to please ;D
There will be a lot of amps good for AKG K701's, unfortunately my K701's are quite new so not had chance to try many amps with them yet.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2007 22:11:15 GMT
ruicanela My apologies for the thread drifting off the original topic. However, Krisno was the originator of this thread, and asked many different questions. Krisno The modifications described in the "Extreme Modifications..." thread were aimed at more experienced DiY people. There are 3 basically similar units in Sydney, built by myself and a couple of friends for our own , non profit , benefit. I am more than happy to have people like Mike, Benny and Leo etc. perform their own individual modifications using these posted modifications as a general guide, and charge a suitable fee for performing these enhancements. Assuming of course, that they have any desire in providing such a service ! I have never done any modifications on a commercial basis. The individual described series of modifications, each take the X-DAC V3 to a higher level of performance. THe first step which could be performed, is replacing the standard wallwart with a Little Pinkie V3. This alone is a quite noticeable improvement ,without even touching the actual X-DAC V3. IMHO, the full modifications will take the performance of the V3 way past the performance of the respected (and expensive) Marantz SA11 SACD/CD player. It can also be used in association with audio from DVD players etc with input to the X-DAC of up to 24bit 192 KHZ. It oversamples normal CD to these specifications also. Obviously , to obtain the full benefits of these modifications, the rest of the ancillary equipment should also be of a suitable high standard. SandyK
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Post by krisno on Nov 23, 2007 22:19:10 GMT
SanydK
That mod, does it include putting a transformer(PSU) inside the X-DAc v3, or the pictures showing the torriodal transformer, is it really there by default?
What would you take for shipping me a 'used' X-dac v3 with complete mods, 220volt, to norway? I mean, price of the x-dac, not shipping
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2007 22:36:20 GMT
krisno The toroidal transformer is inside a separate box as in the photo. It also has an on/off switch. Sorry, but I do not do any modifications to any equipment other than my own. My friends , who are 20 years younger than me, do their own modifications whenever they like what they hear with my changes. As I said, I am quite happy for other people to use these suggestions, and charge for their services. If I was 20 s younger, perhaps I would consider. (I am 68)
In any case, although my regulated PSU works well, it looks amateurish, and not up to the aesthetic standards of Mike's efforts.
SandyK
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Post by krisno on Nov 23, 2007 22:41:43 GMT
So, which DAC is most value for money in the $500-1000 range?? also preferbly not a big box...
Headroom Micro dac? But then again, that is cirrus logic chip.
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 23, 2007 22:59:59 GMT
Good grief, poor Alex was only 18 at the start of this thread If you have $1000 to spend then maybe a headphone amp and dac combo would be the easiest way to go, unfortunately if you want compact then the Cirrus logic chips will be more common as they require less external components compared to things like PCM179* etc. Good one Leo !!! Alex
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Post by ruicanela on Nov 23, 2007 23:18:59 GMT
I know people say it's a bright combination... But its 'tubes' and I want to try that out... Always had solid state.. I thought tubes is important with headphones as its more laid back, and cuts of the harsh part in recordings. Long time headphone listening is tyering... But as you say, best is probably X-can V3 + senneheiser. But then again, that is why I got the little pinkie. To increase the bass etc.. I can always get Heed, but well, I won't. I can also change the tubes. But tell me, Mike writes on his page about this X-Silver interconnect. Is this connect meant to be used between DAC and X-Can? 1) Is it any point to have silver between those 2, it won't be too harsh and bright? Can you hear the difference compared to a good copper cable? 2) What is price of that x-silver cable... its 'perfect' length and good looks But what else is good with AKG, only Headroom? I can't believe Heed is the only working amp with AKG. I will get the Heed v2 if its not as 'homemade'.. K Krisno, a good tube amp sound as good as a solid state. Don't think that it wil cuts of the harsh part in recordings. If the source is bad the final sound wil be bad as well. Other thing: My Heed is probalbly one month old and it sounds very good. I can't say if it's diferent from the first units made by Heed but i I can tell you that the sound is very good. If you want a tube amp to work wiht AKG K701 without spending by money why don't you try Darkvoice brand? It was some good sounding models. And everyone sais it as a good sinergy with K701. Cheers Rui
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Nov 24, 2007 1:40:47 GMT
SandyK, sent you a PM on mods for the X-Dac V3. Thanks.
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leo
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Post by leo on Nov 24, 2007 11:49:05 GMT
SandyK, sent you a PM on mods for the X-Dac V3. Thanks. Get that soldering iron out Miguel, do you have the X-Dac V3?
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