[shiggins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa I'm really enjoying my Scott Nixon TubeDAC. Many months now, without the temptation to upgrade... too busy listening to my CDs 'all over again'.

Couldn't agree more. I love my TubeDac. Worth every penny as an upgrade to my Marantz CD6000 ose. Listening to this thing through my ppa and Senn HD-650's is bliss. Would have been easier, cheaper and quicker to buy a ready-made DAC, but not near as much fun or satisfying as building it yourself.

Click for bigger:


I bought the kit which has everything you need (minus enclosure, transformer, wires and sockets). The instructions are clear and easy to follow and it worked first time. I also went for the additional sync filter - a boost at 16Khz to compensate for the non-OS nature of the DAC. To be honest, I can't hear any difference with this!!

The sound is smooth and incredibly detailed with solid bass. And yes, it's great to rediscover all you CD's again.

s.

 

[Moskau]

So would you guys say that the DACs you built can run with the ~$950+ range commercial DACs like the Benchmark?

Because I've heard mixed reports that DIY DACs can't compete, which is the opposite of just about everything else DIY ($800 Speakers competing with $6,000 Speakers etc. etc.)

 

[chillysalsa]

It's impossible to quantify a price:value ratio with DIY equipment, you can only compare in listening tests what each thing does better. But yes, the detail and bass are extremely good with the TubeDAC, which I would credit to the TDA1543 chip.

shiggins: what tube are you using? I have found I like the Amperex 6922 with the globe printing and steel pins best. Yet to try a gold pin version. Sovteks were a little too dry IMO, and the stock Miniwatt lacked dynamics.

 

[elnero]

Chillysalsa and shiggins, both beautiful looking amps. Did these end up costing more to build than it would have to buy them pre-built from Scott?

Have either of you built or plan to build any other non-oversampling DAC's?

 

[flecom]

well im planning on putting together a Nonoz III DAC... slightly modified but nothing major... since its a pretty decent DAC that can be constructed for very little money

 

[shiggins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moskau So would you guys say that the DACs you built can run with the ~$950+ range commercial DACs like the Benchmark?

I haven't compared it to any other DACs apart from the built-in Marantz, to which I much prefer the TubeDac.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chillysalsa shiggins: what tube are you using? I have found I like the Amperex 6922 with the globe printing and steel pins best. Yet to try a gold pin version. Sovteks were a little too dry IMO, and the stock Miniwatt lacked dynamics.

To be honest, I haven't done any tube-rolling. I read that the stock Miniwatt was pretty poor so I grabbed myself a couple of Tesla E88CC's off eBay for about £4. I haven't even compared the Tesla's to the Miniwatt - should get around to trying that. But for now, a tube saying "Tesla, made in Russia" sounds cooler than "Miniwatt".

I'll keep an eye out for cheap E188CC's, 7308's or the Amperex you mention (or in fact, any cheap compatible tube).

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero Chillysalsa and shiggins, both beautiful looking amps. Did these end up costing more to build than it would have to buy them pre-built from Scott? Have either of you built or plan to build any other non-oversampling DAC's?

Thanks elnero, got a matching wooden PPA too.

Let me dust off my maths skills. The kit was $245, assembled DAC is $400. The difference is $155 and I'm pretty sure the bits I needed cost less than that (even including the super-oversized 10 amp transformer). I'm not sure how my power supply compares to Scott's uprated 3Xac, but that would be an additional $115. So, it probably cost about the same as a pre-built unit, less if you include the 3Xac. However, I'm sure you could build a non-OS dac for far less than this though (I'm just lazy and wanted a pcb and parts kit).

I don't plan to build another DAC, I'm happy with this one. For now...

 

[shiggins]

Chillysalsa, is your DAC enclosure connected to any ground? Mine isn't but is not causing a problem so far. I'd like to connect it to power supply earth for safety reasons but to signal ground for sonic/shielding reasons. Is spdif ground suitable for this? Any idea if it's possible to earth AND ground the enclosure somehow, or is that a bad idea?

Steve.

 

[chillysalsa]

Shiggins: No, I don't have any ground. The unit is really quiet, so I don't see any need for it.
This is the exact tube I am using, I got it off eBay member:
NOS Amperex

 

[flecom]

does anyone know if you can stack the DAC's in the Nonoz dac?

also do they have to be physically stacked on top of each other or can they all be on the PCB and just wired to each other? so that you can just put a big heatsink ontop of all of them?

also im planning on using my DAC with the NEC CD-Rom which outputs a TTL signal... instead of converting from TTL > S/PDIF and then from S/PDIF to whatever the reciever takes, the reciever specifies that it can take a TTL signal with a gate, any ideas what kind of gate would be good for this application? as i think it would be better to just go TTL straight into the reciever?

 

[slindeman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flecom does anyone know if you can stack the DAC's in the Nonoz dac?

Sure you can, you have to divide the I/V and vref resistor values by 2 (or more if you use more than 2 in your stack). And make sure your power supply can handle the extra current draw (and heat from the DAC chips and regulator).

Quote:

Originally Posted by flecom also do they have to be physically stacked on top of each other or can they all be on the PCB and just wired to each other? so that you can just put a big heatsink ontop of all of them?

Seems easier to stack them on top of each other. With a stack of 2 running at 8V I don't use a heatsink and I'm not too worried.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flecom also im planning on using my DAC with the NEC CD-Rom which outputs a TTL signal... instead of converting from TTL > S/PDIF and then from S/PDIF to whatever the reciever takes, the reciever specifies that it can take a TTL signal with a gate, any ideas what kind of gate would be good for this application? as i think it would be better to just go TTL straight into the reciever?

Do you mean the bare drive or the standalone unit? My standalone NEC outputs S/PDIF.

 

[flecom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slindeman Sure you can, you have to divide the I/V and vref resistor values by 2 (or more if you use more than 2 in your stack). And make sure your power supply can handle the extra current draw (and heat from the DAC chips and regulator).

k

Quote:

Originally Posted by slindeman Seems easier to stack them on top of each other. With a stack of 2 running at 8V I don't use a heatsink and I'm not too worried.

i was planning on using 2... i will try them w/o heatsinks... if they are too hot for my taste i guess i can figure something out from there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by slindeman Do you mean the bare drive or the standalone unit? My standalone NEC outputs S/PDIF.

i only have the actuall drive itself, the 6Xi... no case/psu etc... so i have the TTL output from the back of the drive...

the standalone unit has a TTL > S/PDIF converter circuit that IIRC isnt that great anyway

anywho im planning on putting the whole thing in one case... CD-Rom, DAC and a PPA like 3 channel amp with glassman's buffers and three powersupplies (one for cdrom, one for dac, and one for amp)

im trying to do the whole thing as cheaply as possible, since this will be an "at work" setup probably and none of my CD's are that great quality to require a billion dollar cd player setup

thats the plan so far in my head... im going to start a worklog thread when the current crazyness dies down (getting started in a new job and starting school @ the same time...

)

 

[ooheadsoo]

I emailed Peter Burke who built the dddac1543 recently and he is looking into building the dac for me. I'd try my hand at it myself but I really don't have the time and I'm nervous about soldering 8 ICs together and the ensuing flaming tower. Case work is also not my forte. Anyway, he's still considering whether he can do it or not and hasn't come up with any $numbers yet. Key for him is to get enough people interested so that he doesn't have to spend so much time on little old me all by myself. He's also waiting for Doede to give the thumbs up for him to do the work, just in case Doede objects. I think the 8 paralleled chips will really give this dac a leg up over other single chip tda1543 designs. Peter's also looking into getting copper parts milled for a dac heatsink instead of a fan, which will cost around $60 or s,o for his own usage; that seems like a worthwhile option. I'm getting excited about this dac! According to Peter's experiences, it matched a sony 999es platinum signature modded unit with tubed output. The Sony owner, I would surmise, was not very amused, but he's not selling the sony or anything drastic like that. After all, his power cables cost more than the dddac1543 and he's not about to go through all that hassle of selling his stuff just to get the same sound. Anyway, I thought some of you who are less diy inclined might be interested in hearing about this.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo I emailed Peter Burke who built the dddac1543 recently and he is looking into building the dac for me. I'd try my hand at it myself but I really don't have the time and I'm nervous about soldering 8 ICs together and the ensuing flaming tower. Case work is also not my forte. Anyway, he's still considering whether he can do it or not and hasn't come up with any $numbers yet. Key for him is to get enough people interested so that he doesn't have to spend so much time on little old me all by myself. He's also waiting for Doede to give the thumbs up for him to do the work, just in case Doede objects. I think the 8 paralleled chips will really give this dac a leg up over other single chip tda1543 designs. Peter's also looking into getting copper parts milled for a dac heatsink instead of a fan, which will cost around $60 or s,o for his own usage; that seems like a worthwhile option. I'm getting excited about this dac! According to Peter's experiences, it matched a sony 999es platinum signature modded unit with tubed output. The Sony owner, I would surmise, was not very amused, but he's not selling the sony or anything drastic like that. After all, his power cables cost more than the dddac1543 and he's not about to go through all that hassle of selling his stuff just to get the same sound. Anyway, I thought some of you who are less diy inclined might be interested in hearing about this.

I would be interested as well but it would be dependant on cost. I know the kit from the DDAC1543 website is 120 euros which is quite reasonable but I think Peter went more all out with his build so I'm not sure if I would be able to afford it or not. At this point I'm looking at a used Rega or getting someone to build a DAC, I'll have to weight the cost to what I feel the performance gains will be before I jump on anything.

Please let me know when you find out an estimate or if there are other people out there building DAC's for sale feel free to contact me through PM.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Peter just got approval from Doede yesterday to build the dacs for those who are interested. The only thing Doede asked is for the PCB and some major parts be ordered from him, which seems reasonable on all fronts because some of those parts are actually cheaper in Germany. Peter's working on an order form of sorts for the dac. I don't have an idea for the cost yet and it's worrying me as well. Email or PM me if you want Peter's email, etc.

 

[pburke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intlplby if you follow the directions for the DDDAC is it necessary to have an oscilloscope?

I didn't use one - you do need a good voltmeter and a good bench power supply (to set the battery checker values for the various LED positions).

The DDDAC mostly needs some time to fill in the areas that aren't explained on the official site.

I have contacted Doede who designed the kit and we now have an agreement that I can build the unit for interested customers, using core parts I optain from him (the PCB, clock, and ICs that are hard to find in the US). The rest is going to be high grade parts like I used. The final design of what I'll be selling isn't quite finished - issues like safety suddenly come to the foreground, so batteries cannot be sitting around without a case, etc.

I have found a way to do away with the fans permanently, even in a 16-DAC version. It required some rather costly machined parts for the heat sinking, but it should be reliable and quiet.

Once I decide on a chassis to use, I'll build the first prototypes and set up a web page with info and options (8-DACs, 16-DACs, upgrade path, headphone amp output with regular attenuators, stepped attenuators customized for certain headphones, USB interface, etc)

Price point? I'll try to keep the base 8-DAC single battery unit (blackgates, Auricaps, bypassed, machined faceplates, etc) under $500. I can't say what the upgrades will cost until I see what it takes to put it all together.

I've been contacted by several folks from this forum about the DAC, so here's the post to confirm those "rumors" that I'd be building the DDDAC for others.

There won't be a "kit" from me - Doede is selling a kit himself, so it would make little sense to swap out a few parts and add those I came up with to sell a second kit. I figure that the people who can put together a kit can use his site and kit to do what I did - with some patience. The first DAC always takes the most effort.

Anyway - maybe a quick poll to help me along - would people prefer a large chassis (regular 17" 2U or higher box) with internal batteries, or a small DAC with remote batteries to hide somewhere behind a rack? I do have to standardize before ordering parts in to get the cooling parts optimized for the chosen box.

Peter