New HQ DIY DAC

[mrarroyo]

Sept 16, 2010 11:26:48 GMT @cjarchez said:

Sept 16, 2010 10:44:43 GMT mrarroyo said:

Stop it guys, this project fills idiots like me who have no ability to build it with envy.

Miguel,

I have recently switched back to using only a Marantz CD52II, as my system is all packed away. It sounds AWFUL after the SCHQDAC being taken out of line, plus mine is not up to full mod. spec. yet...

.....maybe you can persuade Alex to make you one

Stop it! The only way I could get one (specially fully modded) would be to commission one. Not a bad idea actually, I wonder who would be willing to build it and if I could afford it.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2010 10:49:26 GMT mrarroyo said:

Sept 16, 2010 11:26:48 GMT @cjarchez said:

Miguel,

I have recently switched back to using only a Marantz CD52II, as my system is all packed away. It sounds AWFUL after the SCHQDAC being taken out of line, plus mine is not up to full mod. spec. yet...

.....maybe you can persuade Alex to make you one

Stop it! The only way I could get one (specially fully modded) would be to commission one. Not a bad idea actually, I wonder who would be willing to build it and if I could afford it.

Miguel
Unless you suddenly got with it, and pissed off those so called "losssles files"you would be wasting your time and money.
Any better than average commercial DAC is all that is necessary to get the most out of the files that you currently have stored.
After hearing just how good the SC DAC is with DTV from well made TV shows and movies, as well as audio from BluRay movies such as Ävatar,
I am being forced to the unfortunate conclusion that most sources simply aren't good enough. My PC with it's .wav files , (and including high res .wav files) stored on the plugged in Corsair Voyager GT USB pen is certainly good enough, but putting the PC in the listening room so that it can feed audio into the SC DAC and main system is simply not an option.
The Corsair Voyager when plugged into the WD TV Live is very good, but it still doesn't quite live up to the promise shown with some DTV and BluRay movies such as Avatar. Affordable Media players need to accept USB pens and CF cards etc, AND play them WITHOUT dwnsampling, via either a non bandwidth limited Toslink connector or coax SPDIF.
Alex

[mrarroyo]

Alex, guess what? I have two players that use solid state memory to store the files. One ha 16 Gb internal memory and uses up to 32 Gb SD cards for up to 48 Gb of stored loss less FLAC. It is the HiFiMAN HM-602. Cheers.

Oh, I also acquired an old iRiver H120 which I modded to have 80 Gb of internal memory instead of 20 Gb as the original model. Next I will be looking for a second H120 to convert it to 128 Gb using a solid state card, however these cards are still expensive and I may have to wait a bit before doing such a mod.

[Deleted]

Sept 24, 2010 22:39:35 GMT mrarroyo said:

Alex, guess what? I have two players that use solid state memory to store the files. One ha 16 Gb internal memory and uses up to 32 Gb SD cards for up to 48 Gb of stored loss less FLAC. It is the HiFiMAN HM-602. Cheers.

Oh, I also acquired an old iRiver H120 which I modded to have 80 Gb of internal memory instead of 20 Gb as the original model. Next I will be looking for a second H120 to convert it to 128 Gb using a solid state card, however these cards are still expensive and I may have to wait a bit before doing such a mod.

Miguel
Should be a move in the right direction, but it still depends entitrly on how well the products are implemented.
Hopefully, as your storage increases, you will start storing .wav files of your very best material.
Alexu

[sp]

www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_111804/article.html

Silicon Chip published a balanced output board for this DAC on January. I built this DAC a couple of weeks ago from the Altronics kit and have two Jaycar headamp boards for bridging in balanced mode and would be nice to have these ouputs on the DAC. I can't find any information about the output board, nor does jaycar or altronics stock these boards.

Looking at the DAC diagram. Could I simply bypass the final two single ended opamp outputs, and pipe balanced connectors straight from the first four opamps? It looks like the final two opamps are used to sum the differential output? Perhaps all thats needed is to change some resistor values and soldering some connectors from the first four output stages?

[Deleted]

Nov 21, 2010 16:15:15 GMT sp said:

www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_111804/article.html

Silicon Chip published a balanced output board for this DAC on January. I built this DAC a couple of weeks ago from the Altronics kit and have two Jaycar headamp boards for bridging in balanced mode and would be nice to have these ouputs on the DAC. I can't find any information about the output board, nor does jaycar or altronics stock these boards.

Looking at the DAC diagram. Could I simply bypass the final two single ended opamp outputs, and pipe balanced connectors straight from the first four opamps? It looks like the final two opamps are used to sum the differential output? Perhaps all thats needed is to change some resistor values and soldering some connectors from the first four output stages?

Hi
I would stick with the original design, and see if RCS Radio stocks those PCBs.
Alex

P.S.

Mag Part No. $ Price Bin Description ................ YearMth
---
SILICON CHIP - 2010 January
sc 01101101 $ 16.00 3182 Balanced Output for DAC.. 2010Jan

[sp]

Thanks for that, much appreciated. I think I must purchase the online magazine article to work out how to wire the module in.

Its quite a good DAC for its price stock - I like the Bur Brown house sound and its laid back signature. It sounds better than the Dacmagic to me. I'd imagine a better PSU and some of the mods described in the mod thread should be able to tighten up the bottom end, which is its biggest weakness as far as I can discern.

[Deleted]

Nov 23, 2010 4:19:58 GMT sp said:

Thanks for that, much appreciated. I think I must purchase the online magazine article to work out how to wire the module in.

Its quite a good DAC for its price stock - I like the Bur Brown house sound and its laid back signature. It sounds better than the Dacmagic to me. I'd imagine a better PSU and some of the mods described in the mod thread should be able to tighten up the bottom end, which is its biggest weakness as far as I can discern.

Actually, the SC DAC in it's original form is a very mediocre performer.It is capable of a huge amount of improvement .
I have a copy of the original article but unfortunately my old Canon scanner is not compatible with Vista or Windows 7.
I will say here what I said to another member who asked a similar question about balanced mode.
Alex

The balanced PCB uses 4 x OPA134. The inputs are picked up at the outsides of the original 2 x 220R resistors on each side .
These are directly above the 2 x22pf per side and directly below the original 27nF of the SC circuit.
The new PCB has 2 PCB mounting XLR connectors.
The existing unbalanced output does not need to be disturbed,, as the new PCB has 1uF BP input electros.
The inputs are connected via short lengths of screened cable, to 2 x 3pin screw terminal blocks.(The shields are connected at the Balanced PCB ONLY) Since the addon is not intrusive, you will be in a better position to compare what we have now as an unbalanced output,with the SC balanced version, which of course has more HF rollof due to their heavier filtering.
The S/N and channel separation figures are however improved over the original, but not necessarily over our modified version with JLHs.

[Deleted]

creeeeeeeek anyone here?

Hi All

sorry I'm late again. first out of the taxi and last into the pub

i've been waiting for jaycar to restock this intersting looking DAC and they have them back in the warehouse.

i've heard good things about this DAC from quite a few RG members so it should be interesting and fun.

i've ordered mine

looks like fun

i'll start reading

take care

[Deleted]

Hi Shaun
Can you add a couple of the KC5418 PSUs to the order before it is shipped ? I can help you cut to the chase a little with this one.
See if you can get a couple of LME49710HAs from Simon too .
For best results you are going to need more JLHs too.
Alex

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2011 23:54:01 GMT @sandyk said:

Hi Shaun
Can you add a couple of the KC5418 PSUs to the order before it is shipped ? I can help you cut to the chase a little with this one.
See if you can get a couple of LME49710HAs from Simon too .
For best results you are going to need more JLHs too.
Alex

Hi Alex

My SC DAC kit turned up this morning along with the PSU.



i must have got the last one as it showed as out of stock again when i popped back to order the PSU's.

i have some LME49710HAs on order from Simon (great service)

i'll make a start on the PSU's over the next few days

take care

[Deleted]

Shaun
That was quick ! I thought it would be well after Easter before it arrived. Normally, things you are waiting on, rarely arrive when you are in a position to spend time with them.
Perhaps that is another one of Murphy's laws ?
Alex

[Deleted]

Shaun,

At the rate you're going you'll have yours finished and fully modded before mine is 100%

I've brought the box-of-necessaries into work in case I get a chance later

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2011 10:35:19 GMT @sandyk said:

Shaun
That was quick ! I thought it would be well after Easter before it arrived. Normally, things you are waiting on, rarely arrive when you are in a position to spend time with them.
Perhaps that is another one of Murphy's laws ?
Alex

Hi Alex

yes that's good old Aus post for you. pretty impressed with the delivery time.

take care

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2011 11:59:13 GMT @cjarchez said:

Shaun,

At the rate you're going you'll have yours finished and fully modded before mine is 100%

I've brought the box-of-necessaries into work in case I get a chance later

Hi Chris

i thought it might be fun to work together on this as I'm going to need plenty of help from you and others who have done the work

so I'll post some pictures as i go.

should be fun

take care

[Deleted]

Hi Chris

i forgot to mention I'm ordering from Jcar in the next few days if you need anything like an extra PSU or some caps let me know and I'll add yours to my order

take care

[Deleted]

Hi Shaun,

There is some spooky mind reading going on, I was just thinking to ask!

You have PM.

Cheers,

Chris

PS

Ooh, if you have any joy with that case please let me know the details.
Ta

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2011 17:07:41 GMT @cjarchez said:

Hi Shaun,

There is some spooky mind reading going on, I was just thinking to ask!

You have PM.

Cheers,

Chris

PS

Ooh, if you have any joy with that case please let me know the details.
Ta

Hi Chris

i have your PM

the case seams to be AUS and NZ only as far as i can tell so it's back to the not knowing a thing drawing board for me. there must be something similar though so I'll look round when i have time.

OK any more for any more on the Jcar order extravaganza? I'm going to be ordering very soon so let me know. if your not fast you're last.

take care

[jeffc]

Hi Shaun,

You're gonna be awarded DIY champion around these parts soon . Terrific DAC BTW once tweaked according to Alex's endorsed mods and apparently, according to a little birdie, there's possibly still more SQ to be wrung out of it by tweaking the low voltage JLHs.

On cases, depending on the level of power supply sophistication, transformers, PSUs, JLHs and whatever other regulators (AK Cricket’s of Paul Hynes types) used, you might need quite a bit of real estate to accommodate these. Of the 4 cases I recently purchased from vt4c, I got an AV200 for casing up my SC-DAC.

www.vt4c.com/shop/program/main.php?cat_id=1&group_id=2&hit_cat=

Exactly the same high quality as the AV69 seen in pics of my AK Class A HA build, only a bit wider and higher. Some of the other cases might be suitable too. Postage is best value for weights up to 7 kg, and as a I have a few un-cased projects , this was the reason for me getting 4. Anyway, just a heads up in "case" this might be useful, sorry for the pun.

cheers..jeffc

[Deleted]

Hi Jeff

''You're gonna be awarded DIY champion around these parts soon ''

nnnnnaaaaa i've just got a great front end PC and HA/pre now i want to squeeze a little more out of them. I'm more used to building SE tube stuff so breadboard quick and dirty-have a listen if it's cr***p break it down and do something else. Alex's HA is the first build I've done where I've not felt like tweaking after a few days. it's that good.

according to a little birdie, there's possibly still more SQ to be wrung out of it by tweaking the low voltage JLHs.

Yes Could be

''On cases, depending on the level of power supply sophistication, transformers, PSUs, JLHs and whatever other regulators (AK Cricket’s of Paul Hynes types) used, you might need quite a bit of real estate to accommodate these. Of the 4 cases I recently purchased from vt4c, I got an AV200 for casing up my SC-DAC.''

thats a really nice looking case and would be great for the SC DAC and quite a few other projects but i think i may stay in Europe and get one of those Hifi2000 cases to match the class a. 400x300x80 should just about do it. with cases i like to start big and let the project grow into it.

''a few UN-cased projects''

well done don't give them house space unless they make the grade. speaking of UN-cased projects the Helder2020 turned up today so I'll post on that when I've nailed it to some wood and had a listen but i must say the board and build quality look pretty good. I've read your posts on this thread and they are just great and i still love those speakers. , my first OB's where cardboard stiffened with wood treatment worked pretty well.

Jeff and others who have built the SC DAC please post some pictures to keep Alex's company

take care

[Deleted]

Jeff and others who have built the SC DAC please post some pictures to keep Alex's company

Mine are there somewhere, not too much different looking to now,I didn't have a chance to do any tinkering today, I only got home about 20 mins ago, busy day.

the case seams to be AUS and NZ only as far as i can tell so it's back to the not knowing a thing drawing board for me. there must be something similar though so I'll look round when i have time

Snap!

[Deleted]

Jeff and others who have built the SC DAC please post some pictures to keep Alex's company

Here is a more recent photo. Since then, one half of the "Cricket" has been replaced by a Paul Hynes 3.3V 3 pin regulator which now supplies the DIR9001 on the Input PCB.
There is a better photo in page 1 of the Tweaks thread.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Deleted]

Apr 24, 2011 8:20:11 GMT @sandyk said:

Jeff and others who have built the SC DAC please post some pictures to keep Alex's company

Here is a more recent photo. Since then, one half of the "Cricket" has been replaced by a Paul Hynes 3.3V 3 pin regulator which now supplies the DIR9001 on the Input PCB.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Hi Alex

Nice work and lots of attention to detail. I've not used the Paul Hynes regs but I've heard that they are really pretty good.

IYHO did using the PH instead if the cricket make much difference SQ wise?

i see that you've have re clocked again any comments on SQ would be great. i re clocked my Marantz CD17KIS and the improvement SQ wise was no subtle. cleaner, clearer and more balanced with less of that over warm CD17 signature.anyone else re clocked?

so I'm just trying to get a handle on what does what before i start the build proper. I've never built a DAC and slept through digital electronics at college so it should be interesting and fun.

thanks for the photo it helps me to think about board placement issues. I'll start building up the PSU's in a few days and post some pictures.

take care

[Deleted]

Apr 24, 2011 9:29:27 GMT @shaun said:

Apr 24, 2011 8:20:11 GMT @sandyk said:

Here is a more recent photo. Since then, one half of the "Cricket" has been replaced by a Paul Hynes 3.3V 3 pin regulator which now supplies the DIR9001 on the Input PCB.

Hi Alex

Nice work and lots of attention to detail. I've not used the Paul Hynes regs but I've heard that they are really pretty good.

IYHO did using the PH instead if the cricket make much difference SQ wise?

i see that you've have re clocked again any comments on SQ would be great. i re clocked my Marantz CD17KIS and the improvement SQ wise was no subtle. cleaner, clearer and more balanced with less of that over warm CD17 signature.anyone else re clocked?

so I'm just trying to get a handle on what does what before i start the build proper. I've never built a DAC and slept through digital electronics at college so it should be interesting and fun.

thanks for the photo it helps me to think about board placement issues. I'll start building up the PSU's in a few days and post some pictures.

take care

Hi Shaun
The change to the PH reg only gave a small improvement, but still worthwhile. The external oscillator should not make any difference in theory, as it is only used here as a reference.However, Alfred thought it did give a small improvement.Perhaps there was less internal interaction in the DIR9001 due to PSU issues ?
Alex

[Deleted]

The external oscillator should not make any difference in theory, as it is only used here as a reference.However

Hi Alex

thanks for the info but as we know theory is only half of the story so for me 3 or 4 small improvements add up and start to make a larger difference.

so i think I'll start with Your cricket (which Will has kindly offered to provide me with) and do the analogue and digital board mods you've outlined in the tweaks thread. also go with the dual Jaycar PSU from the off and see how she goes from there.

the only tough part that i can see is doing the led push button board which looks a touch fiddly. any heads up on what others have found tough would be great.
i think that i may go for the internal mounting of the above board as i find most LED pretty irritating and (well let's be honest)to cut down on the metal work.

oh yes

one last thing

I'm only going to use SPDIF so it would be nice to loose the optical inputs. anyone else gone down that road? some tips would be really useful.

looks like lots of fun

take care