Compact Pimeta for may dac.

[setmenu]

This is the amp that will accompany the mini nos dac posted previously:

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/attac...achmentid=3046

The amp is basically a Pimeta except all OPs are singles and buffers HA5002, each channel is built on its own board and plugged [soldered] into the power board.

One feature I am very glad I could incorporate , is the ability to plug in different cap/R bass boost modules.

I have only listened briefly thus far , but I am very pleased with the sound.
It may even be a little more 'open ' sounding than my other PCB based Pimeta.

As for the bass boost..YAY

, what a darn useful feature.
The only module I have made so far is .22uf/30kR , great fun!
Makes the DT931s rumble, hehe.
Hopefully this feature will enable me to tune the ETY4 low end when I actually
obtain a pair....


Cheers

Setmenu

 

[Pars]

Very cool and original! I love the use of the copper foil on the board, I assume for a ground bus or plane? Nice work.

Regards,

Chris

 

[eric343]

Have you been taking classes from Sijosae?

Nice work. Very very tight...

 

[till]

This is a great project! Even the blue Hammond case is one of my favourites

Did you make a schematic, especially of the mini NOS DAC? I'll take anything

 

[Lil_JV]

Wow! Great work! That is a very very tight and well layed out amp. I wish I could do that.

I am going to be building my own mint-type amp on protoboard soon(with the help of erix). This makes me even more excited to start my project.

Again, very nice.

JV.

 

[was ist los?]

Nice work, i too incorporte a ground plane with copper in mine. I wonder who's is smaller, yours or mine.

 

[damitamit]

wow, thats small setmenu!!

what is the board u have used? I always see it on Sijosae's amps.

 

[setmenu]

Hi Folks
Thanks for the kind words.
Regarding the dac, these seem to be popular little things and there is plenty of info about them at www.diyaudio.com
Also check out Fedde Bouwman,s site http://www.fedde.tk/
This was my starting point.

The board used is 'matrix' board that I obtained from RS components.

Soooo , was ist Los ......Just how big is yours ?

This set up when finished will mean a much lighter portable hifi than my
previous setup..YAY!
But then I see people with their nice shiny Ipods slipped into their top
pockets and think Hmmm...


Setmenu

 

[setmenu]

Managed to shoehorn it all together today.
After some listening tests, I decided on the more inconvenient twin battery
pack approach to supply the amp and dac separately.
Sounds nice

Setmenu

 

[damitamit]

damn!, that is stuffed!

very nicely done! even got a ALPS Blue and a 1/8" jack socket

 

[was ist los?]

An awesome portable setup you have there!

 

[setmenu]

I have had time to audition this unit a little more now.
As with anything one creates a little time is usually required to form an honest opinion of it

This time round I had a pretty good idea what to expect as I already have
a Pimeta amp [But with HA5002 buffers rather than Burr Brown 634s] and
had already made two of these dacs to try with it.
I found the combination to be pretty satisfying overall, all be it a tad laid back
in the treble department.
The question was, would my P2P Pimeta crammed into a case with the dac sound the same?
Well , there are some differences between the Pimetas besides the p2p
layout, 3 single OPAs as opposed to one single and one dual and also the use
of some .01uf decoupling caps close the the OPA/buff pins.
So there would certainly be some scope for differences there.

On the whole it does sound pretty close but with a slightly softer treble.
I doubt the softening would be of any consequence without the already laid
back HF response of the dac coming into play here.[bear in mind I mainly listen to a Stax 4040/Arcam CD23 combo,so I like my top end well lit..]
This soft top end can with the right choice of recording make for some very effortless ,organic and liquid listening experiences, I have been quite taken aback at times.
The downside is that dense recordings with an even or lowered treble content
can sometimes appear somewhat muddy and veiled sounding.
As it stands this unit may intrude a little into my choice of recordings, we shall see...
Is it an improvement over the DEJ2000s own sound?
Well it is certainly different.
This is an area where personal bias creeps in, afterall no one wants to invest time and money into something for nothing!
At present I have not spent a lot of time comparing the two, I do like the 2000 , it is a nice sounding unit [through the Pimeta] and could happily
live with it.
The dac /amp combo sounds a little smoother and 'organic' but does seem more recording sensitive, then again the 2000 would probably go the other
way with bright recordings...

So in conclusion, I don't have one ,as it is still early days.
Also I have yet to sort some compact battery packs and take this thing out and about.
Oh, and hopefully I will have the opportunity to plug some ety4 phones into
it at the weekend and play with bass boost etc , as the intention was to
build this for them in the first place...



Cheers


Setmenu