MINI PCM2704 HI-FI USB DAC SOUND CARD, No Brainer?
Dec 4, 2010 at 2:46 AM Post #16 of 30
ok did the mod all hiss gone
biggrin.gif
, i only had 47n caps is that going to make a difference? i used 300ohm on the output to get lower volume. sounds great to me im no sound buff but it sounds very much like my xonar dx which is loads better than my onboard and laptop sound
 
Dec 6, 2010 at 4:10 PM Post #17 of 30
Spanket, good to see your getting quality on par with your xonar dx.
 
Using mine at the moment on my trip abroad, better than my laptop sound card. Very enjoyable actually.
 
Experiment with film caps for output, you might get even more out of it.
 
May 15, 2011 at 11:22 AM Post #18 of 30
I'm resurrecting this old thread, as I recently ordered a similar PCM2704 DAC from ebay, for 15€ shipped. I did all the mods outlined in this thread, using a few parts salvaged from an old broken AlienDAC.
 
I added the 22n+16R filter, swapped the output caps for a pair of Blackgates NX bypassed with tiny film caps, changed the cap near the DAC for an OSCON.
 
The DAC is not high end, but for what it cost it's really ok connected to my T-AMP.
 
Jun 28, 2011 at 1:54 AM Post #19 of 30
hi guys.
 
I bought one of these on ebay, and instead of getting this one, I got another similar version with a 3.5mm out.
It's probably more suited for this application, but it sucks for mine, as my intention was not to plug headphones, but use it for line out to a t-amp.
 
the one I received is the same as this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370518799953
 
do you think this would be suitable to use as line out and not headphones?
 
Jul 19, 2011 at 8:59 AM Post #20 of 30
I bought the same version of the "PCM2704 Mini DAC" that Aussiebuddha got. Although i didn't get it from the same seller on ebay it is exactly the same board.

My plan was to use the Mini DAC with my office T-amp speaker setup while I mod my normal DAC. I like to listen to things for a few months unmodified before messing with upgrades. I must agree with the prior people's opinions. These little DACs are good. They aren't top shelf audiophile stuff but for 10$ plus shipping. I must say it is amazing. I have tried it with headphones and hooked up to my T-amp and I love it. This is the best DAC I have owned without ITS OWN power supply (it has USB power).
 
I started to look at the Data sheets for the PCM2704 and it seems this version of the board (the one with the four larger electrolytics at each corner) has the " 22n + 16R " included on the board. That explains why I had no headphone problems right out of the box. The DAC has very little to no background noise at all.
 
I have some upgrades planned and I think I'm going to try the further output filter suggested by the data sheet specific for use with speaker amps.
 
 
Apr 16, 2012 at 11:51 AM Post #22 of 30
Hello! 
 
Just joined, great forum and I got a lot of info in the past. 
 
But now I'm in a position where I want to try to buy something small from ebay to see how it works (never done it before), the front audio panel on my pc stopped working and I've been looking for a while at some external sound card for better audio but on a budget.
 
Also I have almost all components for a basic cmoy that I'll try to build when I find the time. Which I would like to then mod together with this dac into a single unit (I'm just playing here, I'm a beginner).
 
My first question is how would you compare this board with something like this: http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-siberia-usb-soundcard audio quality wise?
 
Also does this work with no problems on windows 7? There is a warning on the manufacturer's website: http://www.ti.com/product/pcm2704.
 
Thank you!
 
Jan 14, 2013 at 11:45 AM Post #24 of 30
I plan to get one of these, any comments?, thanks.  gychang
Quote:
I bought the same version of the "PCM2704 Mini DAC" that Aussiebuddha got. Although i didn't get it from the same seller on ebay it is exactly the same board.

My plan was to use the Mini DAC with my office T-amp speaker setup while I mod my normal DAC. I like to listen to things for a few months unmodified before messing with upgrades.
I have some upgrades planned and I think I'm going to try the further output filter suggested by the data sheet specific for use with speaker amps.
 

 
Dec 16, 2013 at 8:31 PM Post #25 of 30
   
....  
 
 

 
 
   

I am new to all this and would appreciate some pointers.
 
Since the board I'm getting looks similar to the ones shown by AusieBuddha and Eric1110, could you correlate the mods you made above to the reference diagram in the PCM2047 documentation? Figure 32 on Page 28.
http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/pcm2707.pdf
 
Thank you.
 
Dec 16, 2013 at 8:33 PM Post #26 of 30
   
....  
 
 

 
 
   

I am new to all this and would appreciate some pointers.
 
Since the board I'm getting looks similar to the ones shown by AusieBuddha and Eric1110, could you correlate the mods you made above to the reference diagram in the PCM2047 documentation? Figure 32 on Page 28.
 
I cannot put external links in my post just yet, so please refer to the link in
http://www.head-fi.org/t/521017/mini-pcm2704-hi-fi-usb-dac-sound-card-no-brainer#post_7080981
 
Thank you.
 
Sep 1, 2014 at 12:15 PM Post #27 of 30
Sorry for necro-ing this topic. I noticed you guys mentioned hissing?
 
I need a new DAC to replace my current one as it's hissing too much that it's almost unbearable using my earphones with it. Care to test it with IEMs and let me know?
 
Thank you very much
 
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:58 AM Post #29 of 30
Hello guys!
I have a problem ...
Got EMI headphones VSONIC GR06, but listen music only over laptop.
Headphones are of 24Ω, the maximum input power of 50 mW Sensitivity: 108dB ≧ (at500Hz).
The laptop is with DAC (sound chip) Sigmatel 9273, on my Dell Studio 1535.
I bought on ebay auction MUSE X5 Audio HiFi Mini PCM2704 DAC USB for $ 8.5 with free shipping.
 
Question... whether the sound will be optimal for these headphones, only with this DAC PCM2704 (without amp), perhaps it contains a minimal amp?
 
edit:
Or to take..
 
PCM2706 + + CS4344 Dual TDA1308 Parallel Output USB DAC Headphone Amplifier
 
Picture (open)
 

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