This puppy is actually fully working at this point, and basically now that I've gotten it all together and completed the proof of concept, I'm going to tear it down again.
Here are the impressions I got at the most recent Central Illinois meet:
Audio Addict: "The focus after the break was on Strohmie's hand built CD player / amplifier. Of course, no meet would be complete without a shoot out and this meet was no different. The shootout was Strohmie's priceless unit and a Raptor and Meridian. Stromhie's creation was really amazing. So much so, Ray and Strohmie started talking some secret language that must only be known by electrical engineers. I will say Jane Monheit sounded very sweet. Of course with the external cd going round and round and round, it was very hynotic."
Ray Samuels: "One think got my full attension & surprised me, Jayson's [sic] hand made CD player. I read about it in some threads & many praised it but I never had the chance to see it or hear it until today. Was I in for a surprise. I was truely shocked when I took the line out of his cd player & connected it to both the Raptor first & the Hornet second. Is this really what I am hearing. Jane Monheit sounded so sweet? I sat for a very long time listening to this hand build cd player with out believing what it is outputing at it's RCA connectors. Jason should be proud of what he has accomplished becuase it really sounded great."
recstar24: "Strohmie's cdp was ace, man that thing had some crazy bass through its dynahi, but through the line out RCA's at the back, that thing was on par with the meridian 508.24 to say the least."
So at this point, given the successful build and public auditions, I think this thread has become nearly complete. I'm going to post an updated first post to basically round out the guide once I get back to Maryland later this week. As I do random other things with the player (I'm going to turn it back towards a pure transport/DAC and implement reclocking in the near future), I'll post progress, but at this point I think most people, with the proper motivation, can follow through the basic aspects of each part of the CD player. The Dynahi will be sold in parts to fund moving expenses and pay off the last of my school bills.
I have to give the most credit in this build to Pedja Rogic, who designed one incredible DAC that I used in this project. Ray was incredulous when I told him that the DAC within this player was non-oversampling, and based on a rather old chip in the 1541A. I urge anyone thinking about building their own DIY CDP or DAC to
visit his website and read through the theory behind his design. I believe he has some boards still left over -- they're 40 Euro, but the sound it produces with the right parts is worth more than that.
Man am I a geek. Hope you guys out there got as much out of this as I did, and if I have convinced even one person that hi-fi sound is possible with your own hands, then I'm content.
