[qusp]

yeah I got this in the email too, looks interesting, but I already have another direction for sabre. I would tend to agree that the LEDs on the lifted PCB in the center indicate some sort of reg. they talked of having some competition for the PH type upgrade regs in kit form on DIYAUDIO and it fits with LEDs being a good low voltage reference.

@ Nate: I think fallenangel is just saying that now he is free to use whatever output stage he likes, transformers being a very good one IMO. thats the direction i'm going with my ESS9012 build

 

[cobaltmute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grenert /img/forum/go_quote.gif AMB doesn't sell kits. To me, that makes a difference. Your opinion may differ.

He does provide a BOM and that is what people build off of. If he was constantly changing it, you would be saying the same thing about him.

 

[johnwmclean]

After dealing with both companies AMB and TPA, I'll say both companies offer great products. Both do things differently, personally AMB's way of doing things suits me better. Brian and Russ from TPA have been great to deal with and I have no gripes at all with their company.

 

[BrianDonegan]

Hi all. I hope I am not intruding, but this is very good feedback for us.

The Buffalo is really the only module we have redesigned often (well, twice in almost two years). Opus, COD, power supplies, etc are fairly static designs. The first time we changed it because a new version of the chip was released and we wanted to make the best of it. The second time (this time) is in response to lots of customer requests for external I/V. We also added in a bunch of other improvements (why would we not?). We really had no idea people would want to keep "upgrading" their DACs with each release. It's kind of hard to do community development on the Buffalo due to the NDA restrictions for the ESS chip.

The changes to IVY values were just tweaks that came out of extended testing with ESS and customers. Any of the configurations was really good (in our listening tests), they were just small incremental improvements based of feedback. Again, no need to change, but DIY'ers (ourselves included) love to tweak things

. It would be easier to not mention tweaks and changes, but we like to support experimentation. It's up to you to decide to try them or not. We do, however, change the contents of our kits and modules to reflect the best configuration we can muster.

About the Buffalo II...
The small board in the pictures is a shunt-regulated AVCC supply, which is optionally fed from the main VD input, an external pre-regulator or be replaced by an external supply which connects right at the chip pins. In fact, all three of the on-board vregs are easily bypassable as well. The key is that the DAC will work very very well, by itself, right out of the box, but remain highly "tweakable" by those who want to.

The biggest change is the layout which is massively enhanced. More on that later.

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianDonegan /img/forum/go_quote.gif About the Buffalo II... The small board in the pictures is a shunt-regulated AVCC supply, which is optionally fed from the main VD input, an external pre-regulator or be replaced by an external supply which connects right at the chip pins.

*swish*

So it looks like it will drop in nicely behind the current Va supply to my original Buffalo, if I ever decide to upgrade. Cool beans.

Question though. It is sometimes hard to get a sense of the size of the oddball modules...... will the Ballsie Lite be able to stack on top of this?

[EDIT] Oh, and if I go for a more incremental upgrade path, I assume that IVY II will work with the original Buffalo?

 

[BrianDonegan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif So it looks like it will drop in nicely behind the current Va supply to my original Buffalo, if I ever decide to upgrade. Cool beans.

Er, sort of. You would need to do some minor surgery to the original Buffalo to make that work (cutting existing AVCC traces).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Question though. It is sometimes hard to get a sense of the size of the oddball modules...... will the Ballsie Lite be able to stack on top of this?

No, the Ballsie is a bit of an oddball size and won't stack directly. We could make a new version...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, and if I go for a more incremental upgrade path, I assume that IVY II will work with the original Buffalo?

Absolutely. It will also work very well with COD, and even with Opus (as a buffer).

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianDonegan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Er, sort of. You would need to do some minor surgery to the original Buffalo to make that work (cutting existing AVCC traces).

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant that if I replace my current DAC module (ie, the whole thing), the power rail currently supplying Va is still good to use for Va.

Quote:

No, the Ballsie is a bit of an oddball size and won't stack directly. We could make a new version...

Well, having the Bal/SE conversion stack right on top would certainly be desirable......

 

[BrianDonegan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant that if I replace my current DAC module (ie, the whole thing), the power rail currently supplying Va is still good to use for Va. Yes, that would work fine. Well, having the Bal/SE conversion stack right on top would certainly be desirable......

It would. You can use the new IVY in both Balanced and SE at the same time (set up that way in the pic I posted). I agree though. Maybe next time around.

 

[kuben]

Preorders: The Buffalo II Digital-to-Analog Converter

 

[BrianDonegan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, having the Bal/SE conversion stack right on top would certainly be desirable......

Your wish is our command

. Ballsie now integrated into IVY-III, and the whole thing stacks.

 

[Beefy]

Yeah, I saw that - very nice! With any luck I will have $$$ leftover from my electrostatic amp build to do the upgrade thang......

 

[qusp]

hmm, perhaps portable buff32? I already have most of a transportable COD with i2s input, discrete buffered output (balanced) and ASRC built up, this would actually slide in quite nicely and may even provide longer battery life. how many ma Brian? my acko is on the way shortly for home (joining B32 I), but I hadnt counted on this being as reasonably priced. it also works with volumite, which solves my volume control problem as COD doesnt and I have been researching options (not much compact balanced solutions). I had almost settled on a simple 3 position switch with just a few high quality resistors at nominal levels, now this comes out, I had dreamed about something like this when I realized volumite wouldnt work with COD and the B32v2 was going to be as compact as it is, but wrote it off due to price. maybe the COD will go downstairs in the work rig or as a present to a family member. will see what the new day brings

 

[Mr.Shadow]

Looks promising, thanks for the update.

Are you planning on a Async USB 2.0 Receiver ?
With output to I2S preferably

So far all of the Async USB Receiver chips I have seen are USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 with 12mbs speed support.

I think this could make the Buffalo32 even better.

 

[IPodPJ]

Brian,
So based on where you wrote this:

"Four DACs per channel ("Stereo Quad Balanced" mode) or eight DACs per channel for full dual-mono use."

I'm assuming you can buy two of these and use them in a dual mono configuration unlike the previous Buffalo32?

 

[digger945]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianDonegan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your wish is our command . Ballsie now integrated into IVY-III, and the whole thing stacks.

I just noticed that on your website. Very trick.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me like all this stuff is priced a little lower now. My memory fails me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I saw that - very nice! With any luck I will have $$$ leftover from my electrostatic amp build to do the upgrade thang......

Thang? Makes me think I'm at home in thu hills

(yes, I am a hick from the sticks, actually

)