DACs

RedGTiVR6 · 10-12-2006, 10:07 AM

What is a DAC?

From the Stereophile Forums talking about jitter and USB DACs as well as USB two way communications for error correction. VERY good read.

Silverstone DAC
Reviews Here:
- PC Modding Malaysia Review
- Thread here on MP3Car
- Another thread here on MP3Car
Douglas hpdaq
Reviews Here:
- Thread here on MP3Car
Quote: Originally Posted by ScottFX

we'll call it the 'douglas' hpdac. since this is a diy board you can use whichever components you'd like. I'm currently running burr-brown opamps and blackgate caps.

also... since it's a diy board you can wire it with female rca's to connect directly to your amp. This will give you a digital signal within inches (or less) of your x-over or amp. If you are going the x-over route you can also think about cracking that active x-over open and wiring the outputs of the dac directly to the inputs of the x-over.
Griffin iMic
Reviews Here:
Hippo HiFi Bloat

durwood · 10-13-2006, 01:01 PM

Here's a Pro Audio DAC

MiniDAC ($1000)

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/minidac.php

scott_fx · 10-13-2006, 01:03 PM

nice find, apogee is the standard in pro audio...but at a price.

durwood · 10-13-2006, 02:02 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by scott_fx

nice find, apogee is the standard in pro audio...but at a price.

Thanks, although your find is more practical in price.
Yep I agree...Quality=Bling Bling

lorenwade · 10-16-2006, 09:43 AM

You might add headroom to your list of USB DACs. They're audiphile quality... and amazing.

http://www.headphone.com/

RedGTiVR6 · 10-16-2006, 10:30 AM

are you referring to these?

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/

I'd imagine that the vast majority of those would work if they use 12v power from the wall wart

I don't know why I didn't think about them, seeing as how I've got the headroom sitting right here at my desk with my Sennheiser 595s.

lorenwade · 10-16-2006, 10:44 AM

Yes, those. Thats all headroom makes.

Yea, I'm surprised no one posted it. Not only are their products astonishing quality, their service is superb as well.

And your Sennhesiers appreciate it I'm sure.

scott_fx · 10-26-2006, 09:40 PM

if you want to convert any dac to usb you can purchase one of these puppies:
http://www.hagtech.com/hagusb.html no drivers to install or update... this should open up the world of dac's to us.

scott_fx · 10-30-2006, 09:41 AM

and this one too...cheaper:
http://www.coemaudio.com.au/products.php?product_id=96

scott_fx · 11-18-2006, 03:34 PM

this isn't a usb dac, but it could be made into one very easily. I think maybe we should change the title of this thread to just 'dacs' in stead of 'usb dacs'

anyways; Brian, one of the owners of 'twisted pear audio' has been helping me out a ton with an audiophile grade stepped attenuator that i'm integrating into my dac. I've come across a lot of people that just give the quick answers and expect you to buy. but Brian has gone above and beyond the call of duty and is actually excited to see his application to make it into the 12vdc automotive world.

enough about my experience with him, now onto the dac;
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/opus%5Copus.aspx
thread about the opus dac:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...threadid=79456
toslink post:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...53#post1059953

his site with other great audio gear:
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/

crabbdaddy · 11-28-2006, 10:54 AM

i guess im getting a little off topic

..please move if needed.
interesting logic behind the design.

tube DAC
http://www.scott-nixon.com/dac.htm

review links are in the above link... its a neat idea for the usb version. seems it only takes 12V AC which a PS could be built to handle.

RedGTiVR6 · 11-28-2006, 01:06 PM

you might want to check one of the stickeys 'USB DACs'

moving this post and yours to that thread.

scott_fx · 11-28-2006, 01:17 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by crabbdaddy

i guess im getting a little off topic

..please move if needed.
interesting logic behind the design.

tube DAC
http://www.scott-nixon.com/dac.htm

review links are in the above link... its a neat idea for the usb version. seems it only takes 12V AC which a PS could be built to handle.

the stepped attenuator that i got from twisted pear is a 5-12v ac unit also. here is what brian told me about that:

Quote:

It was designed for AC input, but if you supply DC instead, the rectifier diodes will just pass it through. Good news is that it won;t matter which pin you use for +12 and GND. Both ways will work the same.

also, if you were to use that one in an automotive environment you'd probably want to solder the tube to the board. a major factor of tube failure are tubes that aren't seated properly.

OhSh1rt · 01-02-2007, 09:56 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by scott_fx

also, if you were to use that one in an automotive environment you'd probably want to solder the tube to the board. a major factor of tube failure are tubes that aren't seated properly.

And shock mount it somehow, anything you do how however, the tube will always have some distortion and from the second you turn it on it begins to deteriorate. Tubes sound great in a guitar amp, but they aren't exactly (at least mathematically) good at reproducing a sound accurately.

-jeffrey

scott_fx · 01-02-2007, 11:15 AM

that may be true; but there are a lot of people that still love that tube amp sound. :-)