DIY DAC

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pre65
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#1 DIY DAC

Post by pre65 »

Hi-after speaking with Al about his DAC,and reading up on the Lampizator web site i see the recommended chips are CS4397 + CS8416.

I have found this on e-bay and it seems a self contained jobbie

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UPGRADED-24bit-19 ... .m63.l1177

Is this as simple as it looks ?
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Nick
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#2

Post by Nick »

I guess so.
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al newall
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#3

Post by al newall »

I think you will be paying a reasonable £15 premium, for improved power supply and through hole components instead of the infernal surface mounts.

The only thing is, this board is an unknown quantity at the moment, whereas the other type has much written about it, with regard to upgrades etc.
If you don't fancy tackling surface mounts, then this seems good value, if less fun.
Plug and play, as they say.

The seller is the one i used and the same one as mentioned on the Lampy site. So it should be fine.
Much to learn there is.
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pre65
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#4

Post by pre65 »

Thanks Al-i was attracted by the use of "normal" components,although i understand surface mount can be good for digital circuits.

I will give it a go and report back.
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pre65
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#5

Post by pre65 »

Hi-the DAC kit i have ordered has an optical digital input as well as the normal phono digital input.

Now i have never had the opportunity to try an optical connection between transport and DAC and what i have read in the past seemed to suggest cable was best.

Any opinions on optical connections ?
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#6

Post by iansr »

I think that is what Lampizator refers to as the maxi version of that DAC kit and he seems to rate it (for whatever that is worth).

Re the optical cable, the "received wisdom" is that as a digital medium it is inferior to a 75 ohm cable with bnc connectors.
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#7

Post by pre65 »

As i have one older CD player with only an optical digital output at least i will still be able to try the new DAC with it.
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pre65
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#8

Post by pre65 »

Hi-the DAC has just been delivered !

The box was a bit battered (not like fried fish !!) but it works.

Initial impression is positive,its onlt been on 10 mins with the NEC drive and 845 into VoFos but i like what i hear.

Just seems a bit clearer throughout the range,but will give a better opinion when it's had time to burn in.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n146 ... NewDAC.jpg
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#9

Post by pre65 »

As I had a free day today the DAC has finally been re-housed in one of those reasonably priced Italian boxes.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n146 ... inabox.jpg

Whilst the DAC was out of action I put the Cambridge Audio D500 SE CD player back in the system,and was initially supprised by the sound !

But after a short while it wore off and was glad to get the NEC CD rom reader and DAC back where they belong.
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#10

Post by Mike H »

This is the black box on the left yes?
 
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pre65
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#11

Post by pre65 »

Mike H wrote:This is the black box on the left yes?
YES !

The RH one is my NEC CD rom reader (with a digital output as well )
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#12

Post by Max N »

If you want to give the optical link a try, get a good quality (glass not plastic) fibre cable. Mark Grant cables do reasonably priced ones. Any true glass ones should be OK.
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#13

Post by al newall »

I did try the optical thing but wasn't impressed, and ended up removing the toslink socket altogether. Makes more space on the board, to fit a better input cap.
Much to learn there is.
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#14

Post by simon »

Have you tried this DAC Al? If so, what do you think of it - how does it compare to your Lampizator-job?
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al newall
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#15

Post by al newall »

Ah of course this is a different board to mine , isn't it.
Ignore my previous comment then.
Supposed to be much the same though, as far as i remember.
Probably benefit from a Lampy type output stage, just as mine did.

So....no i haven't tried this one, Simon.
Quite happy with mine, it's near enough for me.
Not really interested in trying to squeeze the last few % from CD, or anything for that matter. :)
Much to learn there is.
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