[Xenophon]

Bit out of topic but am very curious to hear where you got a chance to hear the yamamoto dac and the totaldac, never ever seen these in a store here! Totaldac has no distributor in japan so it's interesting to hear a dealer purchased one direct for the local market.
Also, am pretty curious to hear more about the comparisons (i have the ss version of the yamamoto dac), pm is ok if this is not the right thread but it's always good to share.
Arnaud

Going by your name I suppose you're either French or Canadian, lucky to live in Tokyo, incredible stuff they have there and lots of tube gear, to my surprise.  Do hope you speak Japanese, have a pack of what I thought were chocolates sitting in my fridge in Delhi, turns out they're individually packed hard-boiled quail 'tea-eggs', no matter, they taste good.  Am at the airport now (Delhi, not Japan), going to Europe for 2 weeks and the exact addresses are in my notebook which I don't have here but here's what I recall:
 
- The Totaldac I heard in a place called 'Axis' or something, they were not far from 'Meijingumae' (sp?) metro station, a bit out of the way but doable for me (my hotel was close to Nagatacho subway).  I received the address from a colleague who used to be based in Tokyo.  This is a place that sells nothing but super high-end gear, they also carry DACs like the MSB diamond (which I didn't even try to audition as for that one I DID notice the price in time) and speaker systems that cost more than a decent house.
- Other gear was in Akihabara, stumbled over the Yamamoto in a store that specialised in tube amps located in a building with various audio gear stores, from large to very small and was attracted purely based on its looks. 
 
Have to run now but will post some impressions (for what they're worth, auditioning environment was not ideal) once I'm settled in my place in Belgium and hooked up to my modest DV 337 tube amp and burning in the latest tubes which arrived in my absence.

 

[arnaud]

  Going by your name I suppose you're either French or Canadian, lucky to live in Tokyo, incredible stuff they have there and lots of tube gear, to my surprise.  Do hope you speak Japanese, have a pack of what I thought were chocolates sitting in my fridge in Delhi, turns out they're individually packed hard-boiled quail 'tea-eggs', no matter, they taste good.  Am at the airport now (Delhi, not Japan), going to Europe for 2 weeks and the exact addresses are in my notebook which I don't have here but here's what I recall:
 
- The Totaldac I heard in a place called 'Axis' or something, they were not far from 'Meijingumae' (sp?) metro station, a bit out of the way but doable for me (my hotel was close to Nagatacho subway).  I received the address from a colleague who used to be based in Tokyo.  This is a place that sells nothing but super high-end gear, they also carry DACs like the MSB diamond (which I didn't even try to audition as for that one I DID notice the price in time) and speaker systems that cost more than a decent house.
- Other gear was in Akihabara, stumbled over the Yamamoto in a store that specialised in tube amps located in a building with various audio gear stores, from large to very small and was attracted purely based on its looks. 
 
Have to run now but will post some impressions (for what they're worth, auditioning environment was not ideal) once I'm settled in my place in Belgium and hooked up to my modest DV 337 tube amp and burning in the latest tubes which arrived in my absence.

 
Thanks for the heads-up. You came well prepared as you know more about fancy stores than the locals . I did search "axis" but nothing came out yet. There is the distributor for MSB gear (http://www.axiss.co.jp) so maybe that's the name you picked on the brochure you brought back? They don't distribute totalDAC though (have bigger fish to catch now I guess ). So, I'd much appreciate hearing from you through PM!
 
For the Yamamoto, I may be able to guess where you went. There are some stores left with old school DIY / tube amps + high-efficiency speakers but they're like endangered / borderline extinct species in a sea of tablets / smartphones and other mainstream goods in electric city...
 
Good settling in Belgium (you're on a world tour or? ) and looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[scriabinist]

Hi,
 
To those who have this Calyx Femto Dac, could you confirm that it has a 'humming' sound, quite audible within 1 meter in a quiet setting, not so audible outside about 3 meters from the unit.

It's a beautiful sounding DAC, but I'm wondering if this 'hum' is normal for this unit.
 
Cheers, 

 

[Gandah]

  Hi,
 
To those who have this Calyx Femto Dac, could you confirm that it has a 'humming' sound, quite audible within 1 meter in a quiet setting, not so audible outside about 3 meters from the unit.

It's a beautiful sounding DAC, but I'm wondering if this 'hum' is normal for this unit.
 
Cheers, 

1 meter yes I do hear a slight hum, its not really a problem though I've heard a lot worse

 

[Matias]

Never had any hum at all, even close to the unit. Hum is transformer noise, power input. Did you check yours if it is all alright?

 

[Gandah]

  Never had any hum at all, even close to the unit. Hum is transformer noise, power input. Did you check yours if it is all alright?

Do you use a power planet or power cleaner? I'm not even sure if that would lessen the hum, but would be interesting if you do and is the reason why no hum.

 

[scriabinist]

Hey Gandah, thanks for your reply. BTW, did you upgrade Femto's firmware to 3.3.0?  And does it change the sound at all? In general, do DAC firmware upgrades change sounds?
 
http://www.calyxaudio.com/cgi/bbs/board.php?bo_table=T_techDown_eng&eng=1

 

[Gandah]

  Hey Gandah, thanks for your reply. BTW, did you upgrade Femto's firmware to 3.3.0?  And does it change the sound at all? In general, do DAC firmware upgrades change sounds?
 
http://www.calyxaudio.com/cgi/bbs/board.php?bo_table=T_techDown_eng&eng=1

I was already on 3.3.0 when I got this Dac so I can't tell you the difference sorry, maybe someone could chime in that does know

 

[scriabinist]

Yes, keen to hear if Matias or others use a power conditioner to eliminate any hum - definitely audible on my unit. As I mainly do headphone listening with the unit closeby, I'd like to eliminate it.

 

[Gandah]

  Yes, keen to hear if Matias or others use a power conditioner to eliminate any hum - definitely audible on my unit. As I mainly do headphone listening with the unit closeby, I'd like to eliminate it.

Try plugging your amp and dac in 2 separate outlets, this can eliminate a lot of static feedback from ground loop

 

[Matias]

I didn't have hum without using a power conditioner. But try using a good one, see if it is helps.

 

[Gandah]

Help needed my Femto every now and then powers off and I have to wait for around an hour before it powers on again which is pretty annoying, does anyone else have this problem or a solution?

I'm guessing after 10+ years the power supply may need replacing but unsure

 

[Matias]

Help needed my Femto every now and then powers off and I have to wait for around an hour before it powers on again which is pretty annoying, does anyone else have this problem or a solution?

I'm guessing after 10+ years the power supply may need replacing but unsure

If your power supply needs recap, it is a good opportunity for the technician to upgrade it as well. I had a Femto that was upgraded and later I sold it.

Power supply capacitors from Nichicon UHW, long lasting series.

5 pieces - 3900uF 35 Volts - UHW1V392MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1V392MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DEnEcyJZvY0Rj3x1CNuxpVCw==

3 pieces - 2200uF 25 Volts - UHW1E222MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1E222MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DEUIqGm0Xekx3ZpJpL5ShgaQ==

13 pieces - 4700uF 16 Volts - UHW1C472MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1C472MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DE9hYW//rLTT09O7llvIVCxQ==

Voltage regulators from LT Linear Technologies LM337 for negative and LM317 for positive. You have to check which format (package) as I am not sure, probably T package.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/LM317T-LF01?qs=X1J7HmVL2ZHzzfjGVIAf1w==
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/LM337T-LF01?qs=X1J7HmVL2ZEIkGbtFYSE3A==

 

[Gandah]

If your power supply needs recap, it is a good opportunity for the technician to upgrade it as well. I had a Femto that was upgraded and later I sold it.

Power supply capacitors from Nichicon UHW, long lasting series.

5 pieces - 3900uF 35 Volts - UHW1V392MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1V392MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DEnEcyJZvY0Rj3x1CNuxpVCw==

3 pieces - 2200uF 25 Volts - UHW1E222MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1E222MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DEUIqGm0Xekx3ZpJpL5ShgaQ==

13 pieces - 4700uF 16 Volts - UHW1C472MHD
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Nichicon/UHW1C472MHD?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtZ1n0r9vR22UhSjrTM10DE9hYW//rLTT09O7llvIVCxQ==

Voltage regulators from LT Linear Technologies LM337 for negative and LM317 for positive. You have to check which format (package) as I am not sure, probably T package.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/LM317T-LF01?qs=X1J7HmVL2ZHzzfjGVIAf1w==
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/LM337T-LF01?qs=X1J7HmVL2ZEIkGbtFYSE3A==

Thanks for the info Matias, I will definitely look into it I'm hoping it is just a bad cup but still unsure until I have a look inside

 

[Pinkfloyd0]

Hello Gandah,

did you resolve the problem you were having with your Femto? Did you do the recap like Matias suggested?

Kind greetings