A NOS 192/24 DAC with the PCM1794 (and WaveIO USB input)

Holy moly, I have just removed the Cinemag transformers from the output and tried running the DDDAC balanced straight through to my Hypex NC400 amp (extremely low DC offset and the amp is working fine).

AMAZING...... I thought it was sounding incredible before, but now the whole soundstage has just opened up, loads more detail but also smoother. Just had to say!!!
 
Absolutely, it's all about personal taste :) And yes it will definitely depend on individual systems, varying based on how the following pre or power amp reacts to having a little DC on the line.

I was tempted with the Sowters as well, but at €700 I thought I ought to at least try it without any transformers and actually make some money from selling the cinemags. I wont be changing now.
 
Well, I have the opposite impression. After I mounted Cinemags the sound is the best so far.
I like the sound with transformers on output so much that I ordered a pair Sowters from Doede. I guess it depends on the rest of the system and what kind of sound one prefer.

Are you running four decks? Or one deck and the buffer? I have the sowters with one deck and a buffer. Next step for me is to order three more DAC boards. That will unfortunately require a new case :eek:
 
Well, I have the opposite impression. After I mounted Cinemags the sound is the best so far.
I like the sound with transformers on output so much that I ordered a pair Sowters from Doede. I guess it depends on the rest of the system and what kind of sound one prefer.

The two previous posts to me are clearly not to do with fundamental fidelity of the sound but rather the personal sense of perceived quality. I think there is merit in both approaches, and I at the present time prefer the passive I/V with Rhopoint GG102 resistors. The sound to me seems more natural.
 
Are you running four decks? Or one deck and the buffer? I have the sowters with one deck and a buffer. Next step for me is to order three more DAC boards. That will unfortunately require a new case :eek:



I am running 8 decks now, but the first time I tried the Cinemags I had 4 of the old/previous dac boards, and the sound was a litle bit "dull" and not so clear and dynamic. So the Cinemags was removed.

After a while i put in 4 of the new boards together with the old ones WITHOUT the Cinemags. I gave it some time to 'burn in' before a conclusion was made.

The sound with 8 boards (4 new and 4 old)become clearer and much more dynamic and with more details, but the dddac was simply to sterile/cold sounding for my taste on my revealing horn speakers.

One day I suddenly remember the Cinemags that I had laying around and put them back in.

Oh la la,,,my jaw dropped to the floor as the music filled my listening room.
Absolute all parameters made a big jump up the ladder. 3D is now at another level, but what I like best is the smooth and warm/detailed sound with transformers on output.

Therefore I took the chance and ordered a pair of the Sowters from Doede, and if I am lucky the sound will be even better. Will report back when I know.
 
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Hello guys, I need some help configuring the BBB to run directly with the DDAC without the main board.
In post 4705, user jptz explained how to do so, but I have a question: the last instruction is "In our MPD client program we have to choose "Botic-Split" as output device." - that means that in Volumio I have to change the output device? After all the modding my volumio still only show "Botic", no "Botic-split"
I am running the latest debian 8.7 and have the latest volumio 2.129.

Thank you !
 

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Hello,

I recently changed the capacitors on both my DDDAC power supplies and the 12V one works fine, but I am having issues with the 5V since hooking it back up. This one is set to exactly 5V and when the WaveIO is not attached the LEDs are strongly lit.

When I connect the 5V PSU to the WaveIO, both LEDs get dimmer with the LED closest to the transformer starting to flicker, and the WaveIO is not detected by Windows. The LED on the WaveIO also dims and flickers slightly when connected externally, but when I power the WaveIO from the USB card the LED is strongly lit and Windows detects it ok.

Any suggestions on what the issue might be? Thanks in advance for any help with this, not sure what to try next.

Here are the changes made since it worked without issue:
Both Nichicon 4700μF / 25V replaced with Silmic II 3300μF / 50V
Rear pair of Nichicon 470μF / 25V replaced with Audio Note KAISEI 100μF / 100V
Final decoupling 100n MKT replaced with 100n / 250V MKT
New fuse holder and fuse
 
I cannot comment how successful the change of capacitors was, but let's start with first things first. The 5 Volt must be adjusted with a load and re-adjusted after warm up after 30 minutes or so. The WaveIO represents a load of approx. 13 Ohm / 2 Watt. Easy to do with a few resistors. The value is NOT critical. Everything between 10 and 15 Ohm will do for this purpose. Now you will see if there is a problem with the WaveIO or with the power supply. When you still have problems, measure the DC voltage at the Fuse versus GND and report back
 
I cannot comment how successful the change of capacitors was, but let's start with first things first. The 5 Volt must be adjusted with a load and re-adjusted after warm up after 30 minutes or so. The WaveIO represents a load of approx. 13 Ohm / 2 Watt. Easy to do with a few resistors. The value is NOT critical. Everything between 10 and 15 Ohm will do for this purpose. Now you will see if there is a problem with the WaveIO or with the power supply. When you still have problems, measure the DC voltage at the Fuse versus GND and report back
Thanks for the quick reply Doede. I don't have any 2W resistors, so I will need to get some to try this out. Just so I'm clear, the 5V should be adjusted with a resistor load not the WaveIO correct? When the WaveIO was connected during testing, there was only about 4.1V on the terminals, but adjusting the trimmer made little difference in the value.

Does the 12V need to be adjusted under load as well?

I will report back once I'm able to test, thanks again.