[infinitesymphony]

Are there any DACs or CDPs currently in production that use R-2R DAC chips like the Burr-Brown PCM1702 or PCM1704 that also have balanced analog output?

The only one that I've been able to confirm is the Mark Levinson No.36 DAC and subsequent No.360 DAC, which use PCM1704...

 

[Roam]

Simaudio MOON Andromeda
Flagship product, with a flagship price. Still quite reasonable as far as flagship CD players are concerned.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roam /img/forum/go_quote.gif Simaudio MOON Andromeda Flagship product, with a flagship price. Still quite reasonable as far as flagship CD players are concerned.

Wow... 37,000 uF of capacitance (digital+analog) in a CD player!

"Moon Andromeda Reference CD player, 24bit/705.6kHz, fully balanced, top loading, with separate power supply. $12,500."

So, out of my budget for the next decade or so.

I see that the Simaudio Moon Eclipse also uses PCM1704K. I guess I'd overlooked the balanced outputs on that one. Interesting.

Actually, most of Simaudio's Moon products look interesting and have balanced outputs... PCM1798 in the Supernova.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Moon Andromeda Reference CD player, 24bit/705.6kHz, fully balanced, top loading, with separate power supply. $12,500."

Yup, those guys at Sim definitely go all out for their statement pieces.

It's a little curious they would say this, though:

"Internal 24-bit/705.6kHz upsampling using BurrBrown DF1704 Digital Filter with 16X oversampling"

Probably the market expectations made Sim say the above statement to at least mention the word "upsampling," when in reality, it's straight 16x oversampling (44.1kHz x16=705.6kHz). No "upsampling" involved as traditionally used in other upsampling DAC's using upsampling chips.

This is actually a really good thing IMO.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif Probably the market expectations made Sim say the above statement to at least mention the word "upsampling," when in reality, it's straight 16x oversampling (44.1kHz x16=705.6kHz). No "upsampling" involved as traditionally used in other upsampling DAC's using upsampling chips. This is actually a really good thing IMO.

I wondered about that and hadn't looked closely... I agree; my experiences with hardware and software upsampling have lead me to believe that the process often adds unwanted high-frequency artifacts.

Granted, I haven't heard the dCS Purcell.

I wish that R-2R DACs had found their way into budget gear... Are there any other manufacturers who produced or are producing R-2R-based DAC chips equal to or better than Burr-Brown's PCM170x series?

Edit: Possibly one of these?

Analog Devices AD1851
Analog Devices AD1860
Analog Devices AD1862
Analog Devices AD1865
Burr-Brown PCM56
Burr-Brown PCM63
Philips TDA1541

 

[ferds]

If your into DIY.. take a look at the PassLab D1 clone in diyaudio.com.. it uses 4 pcm63p-k in balanced with JFET VI.

here : diyAudio Forums - NP D1 DAC clone with enhancement

 

[ferds]

 

[infinitesymphony]

Too complicated for me to build, but it looks very interesting... Any idea what the final cost of parts might be?

 

[ferds]

I already order Board + parts from Spencer.. i think the total cost for parts is around $350-400.

 

[regal]

DAC-38 has a PCM1704K and balanced output.

I truly think the PCM1704+DF1704 was the best DAC chip/filter made, or possible a tie with the AD1862+PDM100 combo.

Ferds, I looked into Spencers kit but it seems the filter and the chip were unobtainium. You must have gotten in early.