Spore: just out of curiosity, how do things work with no output caps (just jumper them)? I see you are using the 49860 which should give you a minimal dc offset: depending on what you have connected to the V-DAC, you should be able to get away with no caps (unless you have a passive volume pot...

One other thing: what do you mean' "weak performance"? I have absolutely no problem with they way this thing sounds!

I don't understand the problem with a tantalum cap on the output of the power supply! It's just there to keep the supply from oscillating with the (relatively) long cable to the V-Dac, and to provide a little extra VHF bypassing. Show me a reputable article that shows how a tantalum cap in the...

Hey everyone: here's my take on the mods to the V-Dac itself. First of all, I have no problems with the optical input. My computer's motherboard does have a spdif header that I'd have to connect to a 75 ohm rca; that's a project for another day. The elimination of ground loops via the optical...

Here you go. Edit: reupped with correct power transformer colors. The case is Hammond part number 1590WP1BK (available from Mouser in the USA). The adjust range is 10.5 to 12.5 VDC.

Hey Dutchamps: The Velleman kit is k1823: I'm getting them from partsexpress.com in the USA. This one has 2 mounting holes and the regulator provides the 3rd mounting point. They have a newer kit with a board that has 4 holes on it and a different layout, but I don't like it as much as this one...

Hey all: I finished a regulated 12V supply for the V-Dac tonight, and it appears to be functioning nicely. One thing I noticed is that the wall wart that comes with the V-Dac is completely unregulated, measuring 16.5V with no load. I haven't played with it much, but that can't be good. One of...

Hello all: I've just received my V-DAC, and I've been following this thread. One mistake that's being made is that C's 55, 60, 155 and 160 are definitely 220 pF, NOT 22 pf. Just to be sure, I pulled one out and measured it. Dutchamps got it right in a previous post. If you go to the TI website...

Here's an update: the new driver (xp) downloads and installs fine. It took a few extra restarts to get the icon to "stick" in the notification area by the clock. I swapped the 2114's for OPA2134's and everything sounds really nice. My impression is that the bottom end is "chunkier" (a good...

Honestly, the 4562 is a fine chip: the bottleneck is with the 2114's, why Asus chose them is a mystery; for all the money they wasted with the posters and fake individual performance reports, they could have dropped the extra 2 bucks and put in 2134's. One other thing: replacing the 4562 will...

The TI 6120 drives the headphones directly (through the relay). Here's the datasheet: http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpa6120a2.pdf Going by the application note on page 1, the 2114's are indeed the current to voltage converters and filters for the D to A. (the parts count around the...

Well, I took a close look at the card, and I'm positive that the 4562 is driving the left and right RCA outputs, and in that application it's a very good choice. The 2114's are a little more obscure: almost all it's connections are running under the chip. My guess is that they are the I to V and...

Well, according to the box, all 3 op amps are replaceable to "tune up your unique sound". In any event, single and dual op amps have entirely different pin outs and there's no way putting a single in a dual socket is going to pass any usable signal (stereo or mono). In some cases (a 5534 for...

I just received the Xonar STX card: I see that there are 3 socketed op amps: 1 LM4562 and 2 JRC 2114D. I've gone through this forum, the Asus forum and the manual and I can't find any reference as to what these chips are doing. If anyone actually knows what the "swappable" opamps are doing, I'd...