NOS DAC better than Nobsound TDA1387??

[alphaman]

If you want to understand the re-appreciation of the Philips TDA R2R dac chips ...

The "re-appreciation" might start off with gettin' the TDA architecture right .... no, I ain't talkin' bouts da Bitstream 1990s models. I iz talkin' bouts da classic multi-bit y'all are so Jonesin for.

 

[TheRealDz]

@]eep and @sajunky; thanks for the advice on bypassing capacitors. I finally got around to doing it with my 47 Labs clone, and it sounds fantastic! It makes its $30 cost (without PSU) all the more impressive.

I have some more wire coming, then I am going to bypass the caps on my other TDA DACs.

Wow - thanks again!

 

[magicscreen]

NOS R2R MiniDAC 4x1543 (mod)

Is it this one?

@]eep and @sajunky; thanks for the advice on bypassing capacitors. I finally got around to doing it with my 47 Labs clone, and it sounds fantastic! It makes its $30 cost (without PSU) all the more impressive.

I have some more wire coming, then I am going to bypass the caps on my other TDA DACs.

Wow - thanks again!

47labs TDA1543

12VDC power supply needed, but which one is the + and -? Inner or outer pole of the connector?

 

[]eep]

Usually the centre pin is + and the ring 0. And normally any 12V wall wart will do.

 

[TheRealDz]

NOS R2R MiniDAC 4x1543 (mod)

Is it this one?

47labs TDA1543

12VDC power supply needed, but which one is the + and -? Inner or outer pole of the connector?

Yes - that is it!

 

[TheRealDz]

Ok @sajunky and @]eep, I bought another one.
It looks like there are resistors along with capacitors on the output. Should I bypass the resistors too? Or just the capacitors?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-YJ0085...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

Thanks for your help!

 

[]eep]

This is a bit of guessing and from memory, the 3 R and 2 little caps after the chip should go, except the middle resistor. On mine the values were 680R, 390R and 680R, the 680R plus cap handle the analog low pass filtering from about 15k (CR to ground). The big elco's (10uF?) near the output are the output caps and can be shorted or bypassed. The 2 R after that are most likely the resistors shorting to ground (2k?) and are necessary. So in short you could measure from leg 6 and 8 to output L+R should be uninterrupted and only one R (per channel) to ground just before the output. I don't remember what the middle R does in the analog filter but I remember vaguely desoldering it and it stopped working so leave it.

 

[TheRealDz]

I am going deeper down the rabbit hole:

I bought a TDA1305. I will do the usual output capacitor bypass mod.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Digita...le-DAC-for-Computer-Cell-Phone-/393700439951?

I also bought a PCM56:

US $33.59 11%OFF | PCM56 R2R Decoding Support Format: CD Format WAV 16bit 44.1K
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMzyL2K

And finally, I took the leap on a TeraDak 3.1.

I am more than 10 years late to the party, but am really enjoying the R2R experience!

 

[magicscreen]

I am going deeper down the rabbit hole:

I bought a TDA1305. I will do the usual output capacitor bypass mod.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Digita...le-DAC-for-Computer-Cell-Phone-/393700439951?

I also bought a PCM56:

US $33.59 11%OFF | PCM56 R2R Decoding Support Format: CD Format WAV 16bit 44.1K
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMzyL2K

And finally, I took the leap on a TeraDak 3.1.

I am more than 10 years late to the party, but am really enjoying the R2R experience!

How do you like the PCM56? I've been thinking about it for a while. And searching for a good+cheap USB->SPDIF coaxial DDC like this: CM6631A USB to Coaxial/Optical fiber SPDIF I2S Converter DAC Board 24bit 192khz

I have bought a L1387 4xTDA1387 and it sounds wonderful. It is much better than my delta-sigma DACs. So I am a fan now.

 

[CJG888]

Are those electrolytic caps on the output of the 47Labs clone?

 

[CJG888]

Just ordered one. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against my TeraDak Chameleon (16x TDA1543) with Obbligato output caps…

As chance would have it, I have a spare TeraDak PSU knocking around, so it will be a true like with like comparison.

 

[]eep]

It's easy to change caps. I wish obbligato caps were still made. I can't find them anymore. I found a good replacement for speakers though. For electronics I prefer ye olde paper in oil capacitors.

 

[CJG888]

There’s no way that PIOs could have been made to fit:

 

[CJG888]

At the other end of the scale, I’m still impressed by the performance of the ultra-simple TDA1543 implementation in my Hifiman HM-601Slim and HM-603 DAPs!

The former has recently had its battery replaced .

 

[TheRealDz]

How do you like the PCM56? I've been thinking about it for a while. And searching for a good+cheap USB->SPDIF coaxial DDC like this: CM6631A USB to Coaxial/Optical fiber SPDIF I2S Converter DAC Board 24bit 192khz

I have bought a L1387 4xTDA1387 and it sounds wonderful. It is much better than my delta-sigma DACs. So I am a fan now.

I also have that same 4X TDA1387, and while it sounds great, I think the 8x version sounds a bit better:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/L1387USB-8...Fi-Headphone-Amplifier-DTS-AC3-/253874246751?

The Douk U2 Pro is a fantastic bargain DDC:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Douk-Audio...erter-Digital-Interface-DSD256-/133811849209?