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Do DAPs have Ground buffered Amps?

post #1 of 7
5/12/11 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 

Hey Guys,

i was building the Mini^3 amp,

and i saw other amps too.

i've been wondering, do these portable DAPs like Sansa fuze and iPods have Ground buffered Amps in them?

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post #2 of 7
5/13/11 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 

Did i post this in the wrong Forum?

BTW, bump.

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post #3 of 7
5/13/11 at 11:43am

many use DC blocking/coupling output Caps - and due to the small physical size they may be too small in value and can cut into low frequency response

 

famously the 1st gen iPod Shuffle had DC coupled output - I bought one just to use for sub sonic test waveforms

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post #4 of 7
5/21/11 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 

ground buffered here means the three channel topology we find in the Mini^3 and other amps, where the ground is powered separately by a third OPamp. I think DAPs dont have these type of amps at all.

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post #5 of 7
5/21/11 at 11:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcx View Post

many use DC blocking/coupling output Caps - and due to the small physical size they may be too small in value and can cut into low frequency response

 

famously the 1st gen iPod Shuffle had DC coupled output - I bought one just to use for sub sonic test waveforms


i think it would be extremely unusual to find a single-supply DAP these days that uses coupling caps.  i would bet 99% of them are using charge pumps to create a negative rail.

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post #6 of 7
5/21/11 at 11:58pm
Thread Starter 

is that kind of a Capacitor pump design ever going to be better (SQ wise) than an OPamp at the ground?


Edited by psgarcha92 - 5/21/11 at 11:59pm
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post #7 of 7
5/22/11 at 12:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by psgarcha92 View Post

is that kind of a Capacitor pump design ever going to be better (SQ wise) than an OPamp at the ground?


i think that would depend on the implementation.  

 

If the DAP can ever be powered by a computer or charger without isolation, then there would be a design flaw that no serious company could allow if they used a virtual ground for the audio output.

 

let's see...plugged into computer's USB port.  ground = 0V.  connect headphone/line output back into computer.  ground = 1/2.  a problem there...

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