[knireis]

Did anyone try the V-Dac with a Kingrex psu or the new little Pinkie V?

 

[dukja]

I just got an Elpac 12V 4A PS and adapter. I have not heard much dramatic improvement. The soundstage may be a little more focused and low may be tighter, but it is so subtle if it is not placebo.

This is not to discredit the PS upgrade but to show how nice V-DAC may sound without even PS upgrade.

I also just received Audiosector NOS DAC. For those how are not familiar with it, please check here. While AS sound easy going without losing details, I am also very pleased that V-DAC sound very good compare to highly regarded AS NOS DAC.

Both DAC have very good soundstage with my DT880 fed with SPDIF, while V-DAC gives more high end impact and better focus, which may be due to its higher extension. The high end impact is smoothed by AS, which gives some "less focused" feeling. This may be due to the high end rolll off required by NOS, but the details are not lost. And I feel AS may be more detailed than V-DAC due to this "lesser resonant" components. For those who follows the "headphone equalization" thread at Head-Fi may know the "twin peaks" of most phones at 7~11kHz caused by our ear, which actually block some other components to be heard. This seems to be the reason why I feel AS may be a little more detailed.

And I am very happy with both DAC. V-DAC sounds like high-resolution sharper edged image and AS gives still well defined but sweeter and non-fatigue sound. I cannot tell which one I preferred more with my DT880 at this moment yet.

 

[Marky67]

Anyone know if this is a good power supply to go with the V-Dac Worldwide AC/DC Multi-Voltage 3600mA Power Supply > Maplin or would this be a better option AC/DC Multi-Voltage 5/4A Switched Mode Power Supply > Maplin which was posted earlier in the thread?

Cheers
Mark

 

[03029174]

Hi guys,

I've been keeping an eye on the PSU comments for a while and contacted KingRex about their PSU, it costs £170 which is alot and i thought id post here before i bought it. They confirmed it would work with the V-Dac, I really like the sound of the V-Dac but dont know if id be better off spending the money on a more expensive dac. Does anyone who's upgraded the PSU the improvement is worth £170
Thanks

 

[josep]

No way.
For less than half of those 170ukp you can have a 12C gel battery and a nice charger, and this will be hard to win both in SQ and price.
The internal PSU of the V-DAC is its main limitation: spending that much on an external PSU will be wasting money.
There is one inexpensive PSU in DealXtreme (12V DC 50W) that for under $20 shipping included is fine (not the most refined, but stable output): DealExtreme: $16.65 12V 5A 60W AC Power Supply Unit with 5.5mm DC Plug for LCD Monitors Cord - US Plug (110~240V)
Regards

 

[03029174]

Thanks for the advice josep, i wasnt aware of there being a limitation with the internal PSU So even if you bought the best external PSU it would be no good because of the internal PSU being a weak component?

 

[anadin]

Im off to sunny Hastings tomorrow with 20 friends for the bank holiday piss up.

 

[knireis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josep /img/forum/go_quote.gif No way. The internal PSU of the V-DAC is its main limitation: spending that much on an external PSU will be wasting money. Regards

If this is the case, how difficult would it be to just bypass the internal PSU with a good external one?

 

[josep]

IMO, and besides some other considerations, the biggest V-DAC 'limitation' is its internal switching PS for the analog rails (the supply of +V and -V to the opamps), needed as it takes just 12V DC from the outside.
Even this way it is a GREAT sounding piece of gear, thanks to the clever digital design (remember it does use the same upsampler and dac chips than the bigger brothers in the MF range, seems a winning combination btw).

(modder mode on)
We can use a different (=better, worse than the original wallwart I cannot imagine...) PSU (a 12V battery being my personal winner), we can change some capacitors inside, and this will better things. We can then upgrade the opamps, maybe bypass the output capacitors, and the V-DAC will be still further up the scale in SQ, with a small amount of money/time spent on it.
We can then go crazy and mod it to the limit, use an external PS (+5, +12, -12) and use a different IV conversion (passive with high quality transformers), here the complete budget will be around three (3) times the V-DAC price and the results probably worth a 1k$ DAC if not even better, but this is a bit out of logic to me at least.
(modder mode off)

As is, with just a nicer PSU (but do not spend 170 ukp on it!!), this is a most enjoyable DAC, specially at home if you are not looking for the latest detail analysis and drive.
Enjoy it!

 

[effi]

Hello
I am looking for a schematic of the v-dac
thank you in advance!
effi

 

[effi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josep /img/forum/go_quote.gif IMO, and besides some other considerations, the biggest V-DAC 'limitation' is its internal switching PS for the analog rails (the supply of +V and -V to the opamps), needed as it takes just 12V DC from the outside. Even this way it is a GREAT sounding piece of gear, thanks to the clever digital design (remember it does use the same upsampler and dac chips than the bigger brothers in the MF range, seems a winning combination btw).

hi josep,
you are absolutely right!! - have you done this mods?
What kind of regulators (LM317/LM337, 7812/7912...) have you build in?
Thanks
effi

 

[03029174]

Hi guys, just wanted to let you know i bought a new PSU yesterday, after the advice from members on this thread i opted for a cheaper model than i had in mind. I bought AC/DC Fixed-Voltage Switched Mode Power Supplies > Maplin
The 12v version comes with a 1.3mm connector which fits the V-Dac fine. The unit now runs cooler, still warm but with the old PSU the V-DAC was 10x hotter. I seem to be noticing the biggest difference in the highs of the music, they are much more pronounced with the new PSU, to the point where i've had to reduce the volume alittle which is affecting the rest of the sound alittle. I'll report back when i've spent abit more time with it and hopefully my ears will adjust to the new sound alittle more

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 03029174 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I seem to be noticing the biggest difference in the highs of the music, they are much more pronounced with the new PSU, to the point where i've had to reduce the volume alittle which is affecting the rest of the sound alittle. I'll report back when i've spent abit more time with it and hopefully my ears will adjust to the new sound alittle more

In my experience, when that happens after changing a power supply, it means the power supply is not up to the current demands of the component it is powering. The V-DAC shouldn't be doing that at all with a PSU upgrade - if anything the highs should seem more controlled, more smooth and less grainy than before. I know that PSU has enough current going by spec, but that often does not tell the whole story.

Incidentally, if anyone is interested, here is a "pre-review" of the V-DAC. Apparently it is going to be reviewed in the June issue of Playback Magazine. The author seems rather enthusiastic about it. To be honest, I don't really take much notice at all of professional reviews these days, as it seems everything is met with glorious enthusiasm:

The Little DAC That Could | AV Guide

Personally, my enthusiasm for the V-DAC has been tempered after auditioning a Cambridge 840C CD player last week (which the UK mags think is only a "4 star" player LOL). Unfortunately I don't think the V-DAC is remotely in the same class as the 840C (or even on the same planet), but I did at least prefer the V-DAC to the DACMagic (which isn't saying much, as the DACMagic was barely any better than my DVD player).

I am now hoping Cambridge bring out a much higher quality stand alone DAC based on the 840C. I will hold onto my V-DAC till then though, as I can't really think of anything better for the money. But that is the point - for the money.

 

[chews89]

Hey V-Dac owners,

I'm just wondering how you place the V-Dac within your setup(physically). Because I noticed that the outputs and inputs are placed on either side of the DAC itself which I find rather awkward and not very visually pleasing.(I'd rather have all the wires sticking out the back of a unit which faces the wall)

I know that this is purely aesthetic and not performance related at all. It may not matter to you at all but I'm just curious. Some pictures would be bonus.

Cheers

 

[effi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chews89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey V-Dac owners, I'm just wondering how you place the V-Dac within your setup(physically). Because I noticed that the outputs and inputs are placed on either side of the DAC itself which I find rather awkward and not very visually pleasing.(I'd rather have all the wires sticking out the back of a unit which faces the wall) I know that this is purely aesthetic and not performance related at all. It may not matter to you at all but I'm just curious. Some pictures would be bonus. Cheers

Hi chews89,
I use my V-DAC in combination with a small Media-Player (Markus800).
So I built a short (10cm) digital-cable to connect player and dac.
The dac is behind the player.
many greetings from germany
effi