Quote: Originally Posted by Icithis Dunno if this is more for the computer forum or this one, so I'll start here. My current setup: 2x Studiophile BX8 monitors 1x Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS 2x 1/4" mono TRS cables running to.. 1x 2 1/4" mono female to 1 3.5mm stereo male Y splitter...

Quote: Originally Posted by cgrums Hey guys. I've been having the damndest time soldering the DAC chip down. I've tried on all 3 of the PCBs I have and not a single one came out. I think I've got the technique down but need to remove the three chips so I can try again. For some reason I...

Quote: Originally Posted by skudmunky I'm a bit confused by the power options, I'd like to have options to wall power and USB power, how should I go about doing that, with an adjustable voltage regulator? Nothing special. If you would like to underpower PCM2702 when used with...

Quote: Originally Posted by threepointone Is there a pcb design package that is actually on par with the interface/flexibility of these programs? PADS and Altium Designer.

Quote: Originally Posted by pegasus21 The BUF634U is only used for configurations where the power supply will be shared with an amplifier right? For all other configurations it's not needed? This is correct

Quote: Originally Posted by pddjsteve Come on, everybody! You know you want one! We're up to 380 and just a day left to get in on this! We already hit 400 in some sense. One cannot order 380 PCBs from EuroCircuits. It has to be rounded up.

I just confirmed it. I cannot join you guys at this time due to my earlier commitments. Have fun and don’t forget to post some pictures.

Quote: Originally Posted by nihraguk I have not soldered anything in my life. ....................... Is this even a good idea? I do NOT recommend this project if you have no previous soldering experience. Quote: Originally Posted by nihraguk Should I be starting...

Quote: Originally Posted by kklee So I researched prices and found something interesting. Just like Shure's dealer policies, you can only get a Fluke DMM for a decent price if you're American. Every authorized vendor in Canada sells it for Canadian list, $618CA. Even worse is that I...

Quote: Originally Posted by jdimitri Hey all, just ordered 2 boards for me to experiment with.. I've soldered quite a bit before, mostly on guitars, but never these tiny tiny chips Anyone got any guides that i can look to? Thanks folks, looks like i'm going to come back here with...

Quote: Originally Posted by t52 some more info on my problem: the dc offset on both channels is the same within 1mV, i also checked with a dmm in the 200kohms range from output to ground (before output caps) and measured 2x ~90kohms, also identical (dac off). i also looked at the...

Round 3 of Alien DAC v1.1 group buy is now open. If you would like to get a few boards, check out the group buy forum.

To be honest, I have never heard of this site before. So I did not pay much attention to it. This morning I checked usage stats for my web site. Apparently hackaday generated over 3000 visits in the past two days. They seem to be quite popular.

Quote: Originally Posted by t52 here are some pictures of the second one i built, this time with a nice wood case http://t5.xlhost.de/Photos/DIY%20Projects/Alien%20DAC Wow! Such a large case for such a small thingy! It looks great, though. Good job!

Quote: Originally Posted by ozshadow What precautions should you take with this regarding plugging and unplugging things with the power on in this design? This beast is quite resilient. It survived all my cruel experiments and so did my computer. Mind you, I was very resourceful...

Checking my email today, I wondered why all of a sudden I became so popular. Then I found this thread, which explained it all. Smart move, bhjazz! The number of boards on backlog exceeded 100 in a couple of days. I submitted a request for Round 3 to Jude as per head-fi policy. If Jude does not...

Quote: Originally Posted by whiz i have a problem too... i'm going to use high quality components like os-con for the C23-C33 and panasonic FC for the C2 and i can't find not even one brand of the capacitors specified for the output......i could use whatever i have! but i don't think...

Quote: Originally Posted by whiz What do you think for these characteristics for the AV+ 5V inductor?? Axial Lead Inductors inductance (μH) 27 Q3 min 50 Test freq. (Mhz) 2.5 DCR max ohm 2.1 SRF min (Mhz) 12 Irms (mA) 140 inductance (μH) 22 Q3 min 50 Test freq...

Quote: Originally Posted by splaz Well got on the 2nd group buy and am sourcing parts. For CL/CR. Two caps that I can actually get for that are Nichicon FG 47uF or Elna Starget 22uF either of them worth considering ? If you cannot get hi-end electrolytics, go for...

Quote: Originally Posted by deadlierchair Alright, all of that is understood. I checked those two pins to see if there were any bridges but couldn't find anything. At this point I'm wondering if there are bad connections elsewhere on the board, if I soldered on an incorrect part, or if I...

Sorry for the mess with Vref on my site. I updated the page with proper values. If you notice any typos or errors, please do bring it up.

Quote: Originally Posted by ozshadow I missed the buy, but hope once I finish these PPAS someone has an extra. Was wondering how the sound quality was over say an Audigy X-fi If you mean Alien DAC, then Round 2 is still open. Hurry or you miss the second group buy too. I hope...

Quote: Originally Posted by pddjsteve If there is a solder bridge anywhere, its there. I've checked over EVERY other component with a magnifier. But the +5 line is shorted to G somewhere. Hold the board against bright light while checking it with magnifier.

Quote: Originally Posted by whiz 3)so many people made that board...why don't you use RMAA to see the results in papers? perfection might be not audiable to our ears due to imperfection, but no one cares to test it and upload some diagrams? except Alf and maybe 1-2 more? if i had the...

Swapping capacitors may not reduce noise to a reasonable level. Unless you specifically designed your board to fight noise, there is no surprise you getting these figures. If you would like to get some advice on how to improve your design, you must post your schematic and you board layout...