[SilverCans]

Try to decide from a sound perspective which is better. Assume the default good output caps on the Bantam (I think Wima or Vishay MKT).

 

[tomb]

The Roederstein (Vishay) MKT's seem to be the most detailed and fastest on the Bantam, but the Elna RFS Silmic II's are awfully good and probably have more bass.

As for which is better, I've stated this before - I kind of disagree with having questions such as this in the DIY thread. The DIY designers in our community all seem to find a niche without having a direct competition between designs. This is purposeful, because none of us actively supporting DIY are big guns when it comes to business and investment dollars. It's enough that we can develop the infrastructure to support these designs and offer them to the community at reasonable prices, without putting ourselves in head-to-head competition about who's best, etc.

I think you'll find that the niches in DIY are set in a way that performance is proportional to cost, while each design offers some unique features that distinguish it from other DIY designs. The Bantam, for instance, is probably the smallest available rendition of the PCM2702 DAC topology. It improves on the original Alien DAC by offering a much smaller planform, updated and easier-to-obtain regulators, and offers more options on the output coupling cap selections.

The GrubDAC, in the meantime, is brand new, and is also unique in offering a DAC of the same size as the Bantam without any output coupling capacitors at all. It's definitely unique in that quality so far (for a voltage-output DAC). Meanwhile, it's designer, cobaltmute, went even further in the planform design. It's specifically shaped to not only fit in the same spaces as a Bantam, but it takes full advantage of the built-in mounting features of the translucent Hammond 1551HTBU case - complete with mounting notches, etc.

EDIT: Of course, others are free to express their opinions and have apparently done so in an adjacent thread.

 

[SilverCans]

I understand and appreciate the efforts of the designers and such, however, I have no way of knowing how the Wolfson compares to the PCM2702 and I cant justify (my wallet cant) building both just to find out. It really isn't an indication of the designer's ability, rather of the chips themselves.

 

[jyc327]

silver,
 
i think your best bet is to get the grubDAC seeing you wanted to compare the two chips. the grubDAC was designed to utilize either one of the chips. and if you get the kit you can get the other dac chip for like 4 dollars more. so its a good way to test just the chips. rather then the setup surrounding it.
 
Jacky

 

[tomb]

Quote:

silver,
 
i think your best bet is to get the grubDAC seeing you wanted to compare the two chips. the grubDAC was designed to utilize either one of the chips. and if you get the kit you can get the other dac chip for like 4 dollars more. so its a good way to test just the chips. rather then the setup surrounding it.
 
Jacky

I think you may be confusing the PCM2707 or PCM2706 with the PCM2702.  The GrubDAC is designed to use either the PCM2706 or the PCM2707, but in either case - those chips are only used for the USB-input.  The GrubDAC does not use the PCM2702 at all, which is the basis of the BantamDAC and AlienDAC before it.