[mudhole]

Hi hotaudio40:
Do you have a standalone USB DAC or a USB DAC+amp with standalone DAC function?

 

[hotaudio40]

Yes, I just made a pure DAC with NO buffer.

So it can NOT be used with headphones as the line outs are taken right off the DAC.

I call it the "DAC STRAIGHT".

It is on evilbay right now.
I just listed it.

It can ONLY be used as a source for feeding amps, and receivers.

And can only be used with loads HIGHER THEN 5,000 OHMS.

I wanted to hear PURE DAC sound from my normally buffered "SUPREME".

So I built one.

It has a VERY neutral, very accurate sound.

Do a search on evilbay for "DAC STRAIGHT" that should take you there.

Thanks very much!
hotaudio40

 

[cegras]

So this will work with headphone amplifiers, hotaudio?

 

[hotaudio40]

Yes, it will work with pretty much any amplifier

 

[hotaudio40]

Hey I got to thinking, If I'm going to take the signal right off the DAC...

Why don't I eliminate the output capacitors too....

Then there is NO caps in the Audio signal of the DAC.

Now this WON"T WORK if your amplifier is DC coupled, but as far as I know, 99.9% of amps are AC coupled.

I do make DC coupled amplifiers, in fact all my TPA6120 models are DC coupled now, so you CAN NOT use this DC coupled DAC with my high-end headphone amps... at least not in DC mode.

But you can use it with just about all other amps as far as I know.

You'd have to check the specs on your amplifier or look at the schematic to see if the inputs are AC coupled.

Chances are they are.

In this model, NOT THE ONE ABOVE, that one is AC coupled...

I put a switch, to select AC or DC output coupling of the DAC.

It seems to work fine with the amps I've tried, but I know that they have AC coupled inputs.

I'm going to call it the "DAC STRAIGHT DUAL MODE"

It is built, just not listed anywhere till testing is finished.

hotaudio40

 

[mudhole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotaudio40 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, I just made a pure DAC with NO buffer. So it can NOT be used with headphones as the line outs are taken right off the DAC. I call it the "DAC STRAIGHT". And can only be used with loads HIGHER THEN 5,000 OHMS. Ihotaudio40

What do you mean "can only be used with loads HIGHER THEN 5,000 OHMS"?
Can I use it to feed my Little Dot MKIII?

And what's the chips inside, I can not find any info from your ebay discreption.

 

[mudhole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotaudio40 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey I got to thinking, If I'm going to take the signal right off the DAC... Why don't I eliminate the output capacitors too.... Then there is NO caps in the Audio signal of the DAC. Now this WON"T WORK if your amplifier is DC coupled, but as far as I know, 99.9% of amps are AC coupled. I do make DC coupled amplifiers, in fact all my TPA6120 models are DC coupled now, so you CAN NOT use this DC coupled DAC with my high-end headphone amps... at least not in DC mode. But you can use it with just about all other amps as far as I know. You'd have to check the specs on your amplifier or look at the schematic to see if the inputs are AC coupled. Chances are they are. In this model, NOT THE ONE ABOVE, that one is AC coupled... I put a switch, to select AC or DC output coupling of the DAC. It seems to work fine with the amps I've tried, but I know that they have AC coupled inputs. I'm going to call it the "DAC STRAIGHT DUAL MODE" It is built, just not listed anywhere till testing is finished. hotaudio40

Sorry for my limited electronic knowlege. Frankly, I can't totally understand. I just want to find a affordable decent usb DAC connect my PC(foobar2000) and little dot mKIII amp. Could you please suggest one model for me? Just simple and better SQ.

 

[paara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudhole /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do you mean "can only be used with loads HIGHER THEN 5,000 OHMS"? Can I use it to feed my Little Dot MKIII? And what's the chips inside, I can not find any info from your ebay discreption.

It means that you can only use it to feed your amplifier or reciever. (or a 5000+ ohm HP

)
So, yes you can use it for your Little Dot MKIII
A normal amp has an input impedance around 50,000 ohms

If it is an capacitor-less version of the DAC supreme, it uses the PCM2702.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudhole /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry for my limited electronic knowlege. Frankly, I can't totally understand. I just want to find a affordable decent usb DAC connect my PC(foobar2000) and little dot mKIII amp. Could you please suggest one model for me? Just simple and better SQ.

Well the best DAC depend a little on your budget.

The DAC DESTROYER and then MARK IV USB DAC use the PCM2705 chip
HOTAUDIO SUPREME use the PCM2702

All of Daves DAC's have a pre out (except HOTUSB 1), so you can use all of them to feed your amp...

I have the supreme, and I use it to feed a Head-direct EF-1 and I am very pleased with that DAC.
So the supreme will be a safe bet.

Correct me if I am wrong Dave.

EDIT: . to ,

 

[hotaudio40]

Yes you are very correct, just missing a comma instead of the period

"A normal amp has an input impedance around 50.000 ohms"

50.000 should be 50,000 ohms

You know more about my stuff then I do...

lol

hotaudio40

 

[Blast]

Would I be able to connect the Headphone Amplifier with Alps volume control to a Mark IV DAC for a complete solution?

 

[hotaudio40]

Hey, then I do a little more thinking, and I realize that the DC coupled DAC, the "STRAIGHT DAC DUAL MODE" puts out a DC voltage of half the supply voltage ie 2.5 Volts... That's why you need the DC blocking capacitors in the amplifier...

Then I think, hmmm, if I made a CLASS A headphone amp that say ran off of 5 Volts...

I'd want to set the bias around 2.5 volts....

How convenient...

I get my 16 ohm 94dB headphones next week...

Interesting....

lol

 

[hotaudio40]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blast /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would I be able to connect the Headphone Amplifier with Alps volume control to a Mark IV DAC for a complete solution?

Yes, that is a great combo.

You may not necessarily need the headphone amp because the MARK IV puts out quite a large voltage swing. Close to 4.3 Volts peak to peak maybe even a little higher.

The headphone amplifier only gets you a couple more volts, maybe 6 or 7 volts peak to peak, which is probably way too loud.

The TPA does enhance the sound quality though...
No doubt about that.

I use both sometimes, and sometimes I use just the DAC, depends.

hotaudio40

 

[mudhole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paara /img/forum/go_quote.gif It means that you can only use it to feed your amplifier or reciever. (or a 5000+ ohm HP ) So, yes you can use it for your Little Dot MKIII A normal amp has an input impedance around 50.000 ohms If it is an capacitor-less version of the DAC supreme, it uses the PCM2702. Well the best DAC depend a little on your budget. The DAC DESTROYER and then MARK IV USB DAC use the PCM2705 chip HOTAUDIO SUPREME use the PCM2702 All of Daves DAC's have a pre out (except HOTUSB 1), so you can use all of them to feed your amp... I have the supreme, and I use it to feed a Head-direct EF-1 and I am very pleased with that DAC. So the supreme will be a safe bet. Correct me if I am wrong Dave.

Thanks Paara,
I am going to talk with Dave throw pm. Now I am narrow down to DAC straight and Ibasso D10 which also can benifit my protable rig. But I don't know which is better on the DAC part?
I know ibasso D10 use a WM8740 chip.

 

[lowlevelowl]

I don't know if the D10 or Supreme is better, I haven't heard the D10 yet.

But I can say that I am extremely pleased with my Supreme, and Dave is a pleasure to work with. His DACs are handmade in Canada, so you won't have to worry about shipping to China if warranty issues arise, like you would with the D10.

EDIT: Typos.

 

[hotaudio40]

Yes, and they were built by a guy who was a professional trouble shooter for three of the top electronic manufacturers in the USA and Canada, and has seen 10s' of thousands of failures and fixed them all

He was also a quality engineer and process engineer for several years as well...

So his stuff is built pretty good.