KISS Retro DACery
Jul 5, 2006 12:53:25 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Jul 5, 2006 12:53:25 GMT
Forward is back so Keep It Simple STOOOOOOPID !
Been all over the map in my DIY Dactations and it comes to me that my simple little 'nothing" DACs mostly sound best and that my "all out assualt rickerdactyls" may be damned impressive on paper,have all the "catch phrases" inact (Non OS,Passive IV,Single Ended Triode Ouput,Etc.) the additional cost and complexity does not exactly make for a noticeably better sounding interface so I regressed a bit and went back to a "younger smarter Rick" time.
While re-evaluating total system integration and shelf space,mine was getting a bit uh,cluttered looking,I recently managed to consolidate ALL my various system switching under a single hood which aleviated the need for all those damn interconnects that no matter how hard you try end up looking like a damn rat is nesting back there .Turned out very satisfying.
So I'm looking at all those stooooopid digital interfaces and thinking "jeez,do I really need a separate DAC for every single damn digital source ?" to which I self answered
"get a grip Rick,you are talking to yourself again dude" oops !
So I began the "weeding" process of tending the digital garden.First up for execution,um I mean selection,was to decide just which of my THREE traditional DACs was best.My all out assualt on sanity USB/SPDIF/AES3 Tube DAC,my modified budget DAC the DITB or my slimmed down Non OS AD1865 DAC and the Assault On Sanity DAC was the loser !
Not a bad DAC but when directly compared to my modified Audio Alchemy 4X OS DITB using the "outdated" AD1860 16 Bit DAC chip was soundly beat........dammit !
The "modified" part is just where I disconnected the internal output section then cut the Vout/Iout connection at the DAC chip then brought the wires out to an external steel box where I have the "new" output section-a passive IV converter/gain stage consisting of a Caddock resistor,an LCR single stage low pass filter and an old microphone input transformer pulled from a mixer years ago.Simple and cheap,tidy package even with the "add-on" box that sits on top.
So out went the imressive beast while the tiny little bitch stayed in.
Next up was the head-to-head between my KISS AD1865 Non OS DAC,also a small and light no bloat DAC with an output stage like the above but using a Sowter 18:1 output Trafos and with an "interface" between the receiver and DAC chip for the non OS operation copied from the Audio Note U.K. DAC (as in the All Out Assualt on my wallet DAC).A friggin' TIE !
Not exactly the same sounding but I can not hnestly say which one I prefer.I recently picked up a second DITB for mere pennies so maybe some kind of bastard step child of the two is my my list where I try to remove the digital filter chip and replace it with a Non OS board,decide which of the two passive IV stages sounds best then make THAT the sole SPDIF DAC in my sytsem.
So have two presently but need to nail down the one and move on.
Next up : USB and that means SUPERDAC back up to the plate.I had nothing to compare it with so I went rummaging through my "DAC Chip" bin,a scary place not for the squeemish, remembering how many good reports the very unassuming Fubar DAC ll has been getting nipped up a new/old PCM2702 USB DAC on a perf board.nothing fancy,no active output stage,a few resistors and caps and.......it also killed the Assualt on the Senses all things considered so that baby is toast as far as Rick DAC territory goes.I may move it to the bedroom just because but it is OUT as my feature DAC !
and yes this sort of came as a total surprise.Why I never did a straight up head-to-head before I don't know though maybe I knew something subconsciously that i did not want to face up to in the light of day.too much time on my hands yesterday was my downfall
So my fancy ass PCM2706/I2S interface/AES3/Caax SPDIF/Non OS/AD1865/Passive IV Stage/Triode output DAC gets whipped by the "DAC In The Box" and "USB In The Box" (yup,named the bitch ),both taking up no more than 5 inches X 4 inches of space when stacked which has shattered my world because I thought I was sooooo smart and had such a good design only to have the simple as they come competition knock it right off the rack !
But this still leaves three DACs (DAC Sandwich anyone ?) and that means three line outs and I can not have that.I just consolidated all my switching into a single device and to lose three inuts out of the four right out of the gate just will not do !
What to do ?
A-Decide if I want the 4X OS DITB,a Non OS DITB or an AD1865 Non OS as my ONLY SPDIF input DAC
B-Add a set of "loop through" jacks and a DPDT switch to the USB DAC so I can loop the DITB line outputs through with the front panel switch selecting which feed goes to "Input 2" (1 is reserved for vinyl )
Total footprint less the power supply module : 5.5x4x5 for the entire digital section !!!!!!!
I now have a single shelf with the digital interface on the left,my passive control console in the middle (11.5" wide so takes little space) and a class-A line driver/headphone driver on the right (5 inches wide)
All Ineed do now is make a more permanant board for the USB DAC or look into replacing IT with a PCM2704 if future testing proves the DITB+ sounds better with the USB DAC acting as a USB-To-SPDIF interface or if the PCM2702 DAC section holds up.
Either way it goes I simplified and streamlined BIG TIME with the only downside being it took so long to revisit DACs I had used long ago and dismissed looking for that elusive "ultimate" that sometimes is right there but being so unassuming,so diminutive,so SIMPLE gets overlooked in the rush to improve things.
History revisited or back to the future ? Losing my sanity ?
Whatever it is it works for me presently and I think I can lose DAC from my "to do" list.A list that is getting smaller as beleive it of not my main system does.System efficiency and DIY do not usually belong in the same sentence but every once in a while it works out that way
Been all over the map in my DIY Dactations and it comes to me that my simple little 'nothing" DACs mostly sound best and that my "all out assualt rickerdactyls" may be damned impressive on paper,have all the "catch phrases" inact (Non OS,Passive IV,Single Ended Triode Ouput,Etc.) the additional cost and complexity does not exactly make for a noticeably better sounding interface so I regressed a bit and went back to a "younger smarter Rick" time.
While re-evaluating total system integration and shelf space,mine was getting a bit uh,cluttered looking,I recently managed to consolidate ALL my various system switching under a single hood which aleviated the need for all those damn interconnects that no matter how hard you try end up looking like a damn rat is nesting back there .Turned out very satisfying.
So I'm looking at all those stooooopid digital interfaces and thinking "jeez,do I really need a separate DAC for every single damn digital source ?" to which I self answered
"get a grip Rick,you are talking to yourself again dude" oops !
So I began the "weeding" process of tending the digital garden.First up for execution,um I mean selection,was to decide just which of my THREE traditional DACs was best.My all out assualt on sanity USB/SPDIF/AES3 Tube DAC,my modified budget DAC the DITB or my slimmed down Non OS AD1865 DAC and the Assault On Sanity DAC was the loser !
Not a bad DAC but when directly compared to my modified Audio Alchemy 4X OS DITB using the "outdated" AD1860 16 Bit DAC chip was soundly beat........dammit !
The "modified" part is just where I disconnected the internal output section then cut the Vout/Iout connection at the DAC chip then brought the wires out to an external steel box where I have the "new" output section-a passive IV converter/gain stage consisting of a Caddock resistor,an LCR single stage low pass filter and an old microphone input transformer pulled from a mixer years ago.Simple and cheap,tidy package even with the "add-on" box that sits on top.
So out went the imressive beast while the tiny little bitch stayed in.
Next up was the head-to-head between my KISS AD1865 Non OS DAC,also a small and light no bloat DAC with an output stage like the above but using a Sowter 18:1 output Trafos and with an "interface" between the receiver and DAC chip for the non OS operation copied from the Audio Note U.K. DAC (as in the All Out Assualt on my wallet DAC).A friggin' TIE !
Not exactly the same sounding but I can not hnestly say which one I prefer.I recently picked up a second DITB for mere pennies so maybe some kind of bastard step child of the two is my my list where I try to remove the digital filter chip and replace it with a Non OS board,decide which of the two passive IV stages sounds best then make THAT the sole SPDIF DAC in my sytsem.
So have two presently but need to nail down the one and move on.
Next up : USB and that means SUPERDAC back up to the plate.I had nothing to compare it with so I went rummaging through my "DAC Chip" bin,a scary place not for the squeemish, remembering how many good reports the very unassuming Fubar DAC ll has been getting nipped up a new/old PCM2702 USB DAC on a perf board.nothing fancy,no active output stage,a few resistors and caps and.......it also killed the Assualt on the Senses all things considered so that baby is toast as far as Rick DAC territory goes.I may move it to the bedroom just because but it is OUT as my feature DAC !
and yes this sort of came as a total surprise.Why I never did a straight up head-to-head before I don't know though maybe I knew something subconsciously that i did not want to face up to in the light of day.too much time on my hands yesterday was my downfall
So my fancy ass PCM2706/I2S interface/AES3/Caax SPDIF/Non OS/AD1865/Passive IV Stage/Triode output DAC gets whipped by the "DAC In The Box" and "USB In The Box" (yup,named the bitch ),both taking up no more than 5 inches X 4 inches of space when stacked which has shattered my world because I thought I was sooooo smart and had such a good design only to have the simple as they come competition knock it right off the rack !
But this still leaves three DACs (DAC Sandwich anyone ?) and that means three line outs and I can not have that.I just consolidated all my switching into a single device and to lose three inuts out of the four right out of the gate just will not do !
What to do ?
A-Decide if I want the 4X OS DITB,a Non OS DITB or an AD1865 Non OS as my ONLY SPDIF input DAC
B-Add a set of "loop through" jacks and a DPDT switch to the USB DAC so I can loop the DITB line outputs through with the front panel switch selecting which feed goes to "Input 2" (1 is reserved for vinyl )
Total footprint less the power supply module : 5.5x4x5 for the entire digital section !!!!!!!
I now have a single shelf with the digital interface on the left,my passive control console in the middle (11.5" wide so takes little space) and a class-A line driver/headphone driver on the right (5 inches wide)
All Ineed do now is make a more permanant board for the USB DAC or look into replacing IT with a PCM2704 if future testing proves the DITB+ sounds better with the USB DAC acting as a USB-To-SPDIF interface or if the PCM2702 DAC section holds up.
Either way it goes I simplified and streamlined BIG TIME with the only downside being it took so long to revisit DACs I had used long ago and dismissed looking for that elusive "ultimate" that sometimes is right there but being so unassuming,so diminutive,so SIMPLE gets overlooked in the rush to improve things.
History revisited or back to the future ? Losing my sanity ?
Whatever it is it works for me presently and I think I can lose DAC from my "to do" list.A list that is getting smaller as beleive it of not my main system does.System efficiency and DIY do not usually belong in the same sentence but every once in a while it works out that way