uncola
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This thread is to discuss the Vinshine Audio DAC R2R-REF dac and headphone amp. This is a commercial dac and headphone amp incorporating the well known Soekris diy dac pcb which was one of the things which made multibit r2r dacs popular again after delta sigma chip dacs ruled the world for decades due to being cheaper to make. It also incorporates a custom vinshine audio low noise linear regulated psu and digital input switching board and the amanero combo384 usb to i2s input board. For headphone amplification a lehmann type headphone amp is provided with dual 1/4" outputs. This dac is shipping extremely soon and I wanted owners to have a place to post impressions and discuss good headphone and speaker pairings. I was one of the first to preorder when it was offered earlier this year in a group buy.
The dac is capable of 32 bit 384KHz PCM playback, DoP 256 and has both fixed output for pure dac mode and a variable volume output level controlled by a volume knob.
Design emphasizes minimal use of hook up wire, most components plug directly into each other or use very short ribbon cable. Dual transformers, one for dac one for headphone amp.
Professionally test benched with audio precision measuring device etc.
Digital input board with low noise linear regulator:

Headphone Amp Board:

Master Sample being sound tested, amanero not pictured, soekris pcb back right.

Current status of development: All PCBs are finished and the metal chassis is currently being manufactured. Should ship out soon!
Follow progress here: http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=223862.0
Here's what the front/rear ports will look like, it's going to be black anodized with laser etched text and gold brand badge

Metalwork for the case: this is before polishing and anodizing. Check those thick panels! It could chop an orc skull in half



About Vinshine Audio: Alvin created several successful group buys for audio fans on the forum xtremeplace and I took part in his Jay's Audio 12V linear power supply group buy which many bought to use with their Geek Pulse dac. After creating a few more group buys Alvin decided to launch his own brand and the DAC R2R-REF is one of his first new products. His products ship worldwide and prices are listed in singapore dollars so you'll notice the price in us dollars being lower.
http://www.vinshineaudio.com/
About Soekris dac: The Soekris dam1021 dac pcb was created by Soren for diyers to use to build their own dacs with a high quality multibit r2r resister ladder based module and contains a spartan fpga for control and digital filters. It's firmware upgradeable via serial port and a few third party digital filters have been released so far. You can see it's development here.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/259488-reference-dac-module-discrete-r-2r-sign-magnitude-24-bit-384-khz.html
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/267948-soekris-s-dac-implementations.html
About multibit r2r sound: They're known to preserve microplankton details that help create holographic illusion of instrument placement throughout the room especially with speakers and to have less digital glare in the treble. But the specific implementation of the dac and surrounding circuitry design are as important as dac topology. Discussion of r2r dac sound here http://www.head-fi.org/t/777597/vintage-current-r2r-dac-owners-discussion-insight-and-review-thread
The dac is capable of 32 bit 384KHz PCM playback, DoP 256 and has both fixed output for pure dac mode and a variable volume output level controlled by a volume knob.
Design emphasizes minimal use of hook up wire, most components plug directly into each other or use very short ribbon cable. Dual transformers, one for dac one for headphone amp.
Professionally test benched with audio precision measuring device etc.
Digital input board with low noise linear regulator:
Headphone Amp Board:
Master Sample being sound tested, amanero not pictured, soekris pcb back right.
Current status of development: All PCBs are finished and the metal chassis is currently being manufactured. Should ship out soon!
Follow progress here: http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=223862.0
Here's what the front/rear ports will look like, it's going to be black anodized with laser etched text and gold brand badge
Metalwork for the case: this is before polishing and anodizing. Check those thick panels! It could chop an orc skull in half
About Vinshine Audio: Alvin created several successful group buys for audio fans on the forum xtremeplace and I took part in his Jay's Audio 12V linear power supply group buy which many bought to use with their Geek Pulse dac. After creating a few more group buys Alvin decided to launch his own brand and the DAC R2R-REF is one of his first new products. His products ship worldwide and prices are listed in singapore dollars so you'll notice the price in us dollars being lower.
http://www.vinshineaudio.com/
About Soekris dac: The Soekris dam1021 dac pcb was created by Soren for diyers to use to build their own dacs with a high quality multibit r2r resister ladder based module and contains a spartan fpga for control and digital filters. It's firmware upgradeable via serial port and a few third party digital filters have been released so far. You can see it's development here.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/259488-reference-dac-module-discrete-r-2r-sign-magnitude-24-bit-384-khz.html
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/267948-soekris-s-dac-implementations.html
About multibit r2r sound: They're known to preserve microplankton details that help create holographic illusion of instrument placement throughout the room especially with speakers and to have less digital glare in the treble. But the specific implementation of the dac and surrounding circuitry design are as important as dac topology. Discussion of r2r dac sound here http://www.head-fi.org/t/777597/vintage-current-r2r-dac-owners-discussion-insight-and-review-thread