DIY DACs

Alien DAC

Grub DAC

Y1

These names seem to come up pretty often.

Check the data sheets for PCM2704 and PCM1793 if you want

to design your own. Also check out DAC chips from Wolfson.

ESS keeps their data sheets under control and you have to

write to them and request one if you want one.

A simple DAC based on just a PCM2704 is pretty easy to

design and build with just the schematics in the data sheet.

I  am about i the same boat as the OP I have been looking for a new project. How do the DACs mentioned compared to an iPod with rockbox and .flac? Will I see any improvement or would I be better off building a nice LOD and maybe DIYmoding the ipod?

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowjeep 

I  am about i the same boat as the OP I have been looking for a new project. How do the DACs mentioned compared to an iPod with rockbox and .flac? Will I see any improvement or would I be better off building a nice LOD and maybe DIYmoding the ipod?

There were no DACs mentioned in the sense you meant it, only a few DAC chips - some of which have no existing DIY designs available.   I'm sorry to say that there's quite a bit more involved than just studying the schematic for one of those chips in order to design one for yourself.  Not difficult, really, if you're already an advanced DIY-er and have toyed around with some PCB work, but otherwise, the difficulty is a different story.

AlienDAC, BantamDAC, GrubDAC, Gamma 1, Gamma 2, a number of more expensive options from Twisted Pear, then there are some rather complicated DAC kits that can be bought from Asia on e-bay - these are all some of the DIY DACs available.  There are others, I'm sure, but perhaps not as prevalent in this community.  As for sound, I think you'll find that they'll all be competitive with an iPod and are better than many sound cards, especially laptop or motherboard sound cards.

Keep in mind that with few exceptions, almost all DIY DAC kits require some sort of SMD soldering.  There are some excellent tutorials out there and some people claim that SMD soldering is easier than through-hole.  I think that's probably a minority opinion, though.
 

Thanks tomb, I have read your grub dac tutorial and watch a number of tutorials on SMD and I am confident I can do it.  I have zero knowledge of how this stuff actually work, I just know how to put it together. So design from scratch is way over my ability level right now. I am really looking for a step up from the iPod in terms of SQ and I thought about a decent CDP or SACD player but then I realized I really don't have any cds worth listening to.

*hijacks thread*

If I was to try make a DIY DAC for a max of $200, could I get significantly better sound than my EF2A's Burr-Brown PCM2702? 

Wow it's 3 AM. . . . 

There are but I think they all require some "write you own code" knowledge.

People use the PCM270x because they provide a simple solution.

I'd say that certain configurations of the gamma 1 could be built for under $100. I'm going to build mine, and the total cost is $58, but I already have some of the parts. Plus the y1 can be upgraded to the y2 whenever you feel upgraditis hit.