[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb /img/forum/go_quote.gif but the low cost of the Alien seems more than enough to categorize it as perhaps "holding its own," rather than having been eaten.

No, it's still Alien Soup.
Even with the inflated cost of the prototype circuit board my Gamma "lite" build only cost $18 more then my last Alien DAC build did.
Not having to order parts from 4 different vendors makes a world of difference.

And I can assure you the Gamma "lite" drives my HD580s, HD600s, and HD650s a heck of a lot better then any Alien DAC ever will.

 

[cobaltmute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterX /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, it's still Alien Soup. Even with the inflated cost of the prototype circuit board my Gamma "lite" build only cost $18 more then my last Alien DAC build did.

I'm tossed up about posting this, but I'm get really annoyed about these arguments about how cheap some project comes in at. It is getting a bit ridiculous as it seems that everybody can get parts for way cheaper than I can.

the Glass Jar Alien Dac cost me $78CDN. My Gamma1 USB Lite has so far cost me $127 CDN.

Both of the above include all taxes, shipping charges (at lowest cost delivery) and any currency exchange fees paid by me. I'll post all invoices if anybody cares.

I'm still waiting on delivery of my Gamma1 boards to build it and hear it.

 

[error401]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobaltmute /img/forum/go_quote.gif My Gamma1 USB Lite has so far cost me $127 CDN.

I came in at about $55 in parts and $25 for the boards from Ti. With shipping thats ~$100 CAD. Where's the extra 30% coming from

Though I agree about those arguments. When that $18 figure is about a third of the BOM cost of an Alien it's hardly insignificant. BantamDAC is even cheaper. gamma1 is in a different league, but I think Alien/Bantam compete well on price/performance from those RMAA charts.

 

[cobaltmute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by error401 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I came in at about $55 in parts and $25 for the boards from Ti. With shipping thats ~$100 CAD. Where's the extra 30% coming from

Digikey was $66 CDN including the $8 next day shipping. This is for listed BOM parts (so I did have to order the minimums of 10's on the resistors). It is also for the advertised "lite" build which included the power mux, jack etc, as opposed to the "lite-lite" build that MisterX built. This does include the 14558C01 box (as does the pricing for the Alien above)

From AMB, the board+DAC+Ferrites was $25US = $30CDN on my Visa. The shop order which equal 6x Wima MKS2 1μF 63V MKS film capacitor and included the shipping for the boards was $27.63US = $33CDN on my Visa. Shipping from AMB was basic USPS Priority International Mail + I did opt to put the insurance on it ($17.75US shipping + $1.70US insurance). Ti did credit back the $2 small order charge between the two.

So the grand total of my invoices was $129 CDN. I should have dropped it the $120 CDN probably to take off the extra capacitors for my box.

So $120 CDN is my all in price for the gamma1. I'm not expecting to have to order anything else.

For reference, just the parts for the Bantam, from Digikey Canada (including having to order 10 parts of something to meet minimums and shipping) = $50CDN. This is BOM on the Bantam website straight uploaded to Digikey. You would have to buy and ship the DAC board from Beezer + add a case.

 

[cobaltmute]

I should note that I'm not bitching about the money I'm spending. If I didn't want to spend it, I wouldn't be doing it. I spend what I want to spend.

It is the "You can build a dac for $X" that get's me annoyed. No you can't - unless you have every part including the board in your bin and don't have to pay shipping, taxes, exchange etc. Those extras are $Y and sometimes $Y is nearly the same as $X.

As an example, if I can get the Bantam parts from Mouser at the $23US listed on the BOM. I still have to pay shipping (assuming $1US=$1CDN). To Canada, $8 USPS for the cheapest. That's 1/3 the price of the parts and that is a significant amount.

 

[cobaltmute]

I just thought of another note:

I'm going by invoice cost. What you have to order to start the project fresh (no bin parts) equals the cost of the project even if you have leftover parts.

 

[zare]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobaltmute /img/forum/go_quote.gif So the grand total of my invoices was $129 CDN. I should have dropped it the $120 CDN probably to take off the extra capacitors for my box.

For full version my parts were 142CAN, but this was before $CAN when ballistic. Still, when you add 40US for boards and reg. wallwart and .. thing start adding up quickly.