NOS DAC better than Nobsound TDA1387??

[alphaman]

matts19:
Man you said more in above post than I’ve excreted in my whole tenure here at Jude’s.
Maybe you copy n’pasted… dacs ain’t worth keystrokes, toots.

 

[matts19]

I apologize for being too wordy, I removed most of the text now

 

[sajunky]

TDA1305 got me interested in more TDA chips, and I came across TDA1541A regarded as being one of the best. This prompted me to go search it up on ebay and aliexpress, and found two candidates both costing about $300 including shipping.

But their implementations are vastly different judging from their pictures... if anyone is familiar with circuits, I am curious if you could tell me which one seems more well implemented in conjunction with what they say on their respective pages... I appreciate it !

1) Aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256801113091162.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.609d2e0eD1tocp





2) Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255102441370




========== Notes ========
I can see that the second come comes with 4 large OP amps but OP amps are not obvious in the first one. But on the other hand, the first one has large power supplies whereas the power supply from the 2nd one seem very anemic.

The first use SAA7220 digital filter, popular three decades ago, terrible sound. DAC chip looks remarked. USB interface is unknown, not a current industry standad.

In the second one DAC and filter chip is unknown, technology is surface mounting, a separate module for USB interface, but not one of two leading brands XMOS/Amanero, most other solutions give problems.

Both use opamps in the I/V conversion, buffer.

$300? Audio GD R2R-11 can be found $300-350 second hand.

 

[alphaman]

The first use SAA7220 digital filter, popular three decades ago, terrible sound.

No! On another forum, there’s a thread dedicated to optimizing the 7220.
My best sounding digital source device in my sordid collection has that chip… diy tweaked.

 

[sajunky]

No! On another forum, there’s a thread dedicated to optimizing the 7220.
My best sounding digital source device in my sordid collection has that chip… diy tweaked.

.LOL.

 

[povidlo]

I really like TDA1543 in my Hifiman 603 Slim dap. Really glad I was able to pick up this DAP recently as it’s nearly impossible to find another DAP with a NOS DAC chip besides new R2R implementations by Cayin and HiBy. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003696236398.html

Not so much L1387 that’s equipped with 8x TDA1387. It has very noise headphone output, while the sound is gloomy and congested.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001202145841.html

 

[sajunky]

I really like TDA1543 in my Hifiman 603 Slim dap. Really glad I was able to pick up this DAP recently as it’s nearly impossible to find another DAP with a NOS DAC chip besides new R2R implementations by Cayin and HiBy. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003696236398.html

Not so much L1387 that’s equipped with 8x TDA1387. It has very noise headphone output, while the sound is gloomy and congested.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001202145841.html

Not sure it is NOS. NOS chip do not imply design. TDA1387 chip the same, this specific model is actually OS. I agree that HPA is not top quality, it sounds better on the RCA connection, but I disagree, it is not noisy. It sounds fine with HD40 BTNC, but not able to drive HD600 properly. It is USB powered what can be expected? When I pair it with Fiio E12A, sound is dry, atrificially clean, it loose properties of a ladder converter. It is why I returned to the internal amp when using HD40.

A reason why Hifiman sounds better is perhaps because it use its own internal battery.

 

[povidlo]

Thanks for the feedback. If I understand correctly, are you saying multibit chip can be OS depending on implementation?

On my L1387 unit there's audible hiss with low impedance headphones on 3.5mm out. And it is not powerful enough for the likes of HD600-650 like you said. So it's hard for me to find it an appropriate partner. I also agree that RCA out is better but it still sounds too thick to me, with very early hiqh freq roll off. W510 TDA1305 I mentioned earlier is also usb powered but it's dead silent through 3.5mm. W510 is less powerful but much airier and relaxed in comparison to grumpy L1387.

 

[TheRealDz]

I love my L1387. I don't hear any thickness or reduced high frequencies. I am running mine through two different DDCs though - I wonder if that's reducing the burden on the receiver and cleaning things up...

 

[TheRealDz]

IIRC, the L1387 is putting out close to 1 watt class A (why it runs so damn hot).

 

[matts19]

The first use SAA7220 digital filter, popular three decades ago, terrible sound. DAC chip looks remarked. USB interface is unknown, not a current industry standad.

In the second one DAC and filter chip is unknown, technology is surface mounting, a separate module for USB interface, but not one of two leading brands XMOS/Amanero, most other solutions give problems.

Both use opamps in the I/V conversion, buffer.

$300? Audio GD R2R-11 can be found $300-350 second hand.

I've already got Ares 2 but finding that my recent purchase of TDA1305 DAC blew way past my expectation. I just took another plunge and ordered a little more expensive one, a $300 TDA1541A DAC from Aliexpress. It is a gamble with no guarantee... but I'll report back after Sept 17 when it arrives.

 

[alphaman]

The Ares 2 is an absolute POS.
I got mine in June 2020, the Covid farce runnin’ hot, and was concerned about TP stockpiling … put the Denafrips away… no more poop issues.
About that 1541A/7220 unit shown above… looks like the Chinese copycatted a Naim. Soup to nuts.
Jesus HC.
Dem Chinese… good fer nothin’… I mean, no originality… LOOKIN’ “impressive “, smilin’ fer da kamera , and the worst QC on the planet.
Oh man … I gotta take a dump… thanx godz fer TP. Uhhhhhhhhngggggghhhhhh! Pass the Preparation H.

 

[sajunky]

When buying Chineese Aliexpress goods that have opamps onboard, be prepared to replace all of them ($5-$15 each), as most likely it will be faked/remarked $0.1 parts. I got fake opamps from a Topping official distributor, paying $130 retail price for their top model D30.

It is why L1387 model has a real value. It doesn't have opamps that deteriorate sound (even when using real parts), but there is still possibility to get inferior quality capacitors that cause a hum as recently reported. It is why, get a Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC from the official Douk Audio store, you will be paying $5 more for a product, not saving $5 for a junk.

 

[matts19]

The Ares 2 is an absolute POS.
I got mine in June 2020, the Covid farce runnin’ hot, and was concerned about TP stockpiling … put the Denafrips away… no more poop issues.
About that 1541A/7220 unit shown above… looks like the Chinese copycatted a Naim. Soup to nuts.
Jesus HC.
Dem Chinese… good fer nothin’… I mean, no originality… LOOKIN’ “impressive “, smilin’ fer da kamera , and the worst QC on the planet.
Oh man … I gotta take a dump… thanx godz fer TP. Uhhhhhhhhngggggghhhhhh! Pass the Preparation H.

After having ordered it I realized it had TDA1541A R1, which is an inferior version of TDA1541A. What can I say, the better versions (1541A, 1541A S1, etc) would have been much more expensive so I had no choice anyway. I even saw a single chip for TDA1541A S1 on ebay for over $500 - crazy for something that went out of production in 1990's. Still, being that this DAC with TDA1541A R1 cost me over $300, I'd be happy as long as it ends up sounding better than my current ~$50 TDA1305 DAC which is already very good to my ears.

 

[matts19]

My order for TDA1541A DAC got canceled by seller They shouldn't accept orders for things they cannot make LOL. I am back to square one for TDA1541A search. But you know what, scrap Aliexpress DACs for TDA1541A. This chip has many parameters and is supposed to be hard to implement right. I might as well look at MHDT Orchid or Audial Aya 5 or Audial S5.

Meanwhile, I placed an order for 47Labs clone of TDA1543 DAC by Lushya to see for myself how good it sounds. Funny that it has very little circuitry, but some reviews had high praises.

This makes me wonder, how does something simple like this differ from a DAC with bulked up power supply and caps ? For example, there is this "NEW TeraDak V2.7D DAC TDA1543 NOS DAC 26D 96k/24bit COAXIAL /OPTICAL input USB DAC 110V/230V" on Aliexpress, which I'd assume is genuine TeraDak, also having the same TDA1543 chip, with lots of bulky components, costing much more. Going by the 47Labs clone, it takes very little parts to make a fully working and (apparently) fine sounding DAC.