originally a sigma22 was supplying it, then i tried the teflon (i like them too.best i tried yet in psu's of my small inventory) mod and then a AA battery directly replacing the reg. the battery killed the "attack" a bit but everything else just made me realize how a good supply can be important. going to try battery supplying the reg next.
i guess we could continue this in another thread(buffalo tweaking?) as i don t want to hijack acko 's?
i guess we could continue this in another thread(buffalo tweaking?) as i don t want to hijack acko 's?
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For the sake of full disclosure: I'm a complete ignoramus, but know someone who is handy with a soldering iron.
Ideally, I would love to have an Acko-DAC that could work as both a 2-channel or 8-channel DAC and be fed by my Mac Mini via USB or firewire.
Enjoying Burson Audio's basic pre and power amp combo, I would love to employ their op-amps and power regulators in such a DAC.
However, I fear this would blow the budget right out of the water.
Has anyone written a parts list to put together something like this - that they would care to share with us?
Cheers, Luke.
Being the luddite I am, I haven't the faintest as to the logistics and practicality
Ideally, I would love to have an Acko-DAC that could work as both a 2-channel or 8-channel DAC and be fed by my Mac Mini via USB or firewire.
Enjoying Burson Audio's basic pre and power amp combo, I would love to employ their op-amps and power regulators in such a DAC.
However, I fear this would blow the budget right out of the water.
Has anyone written a parts list to put together something like this - that they would care to share with us?
Cheers, Luke.
Being the luddite I am, I haven't the faintest as to the logistics and practicality
the full 8 channel version wont be available for a little while after the 2 channel, but it will be possible yes
I have some burson regs and opamps too, but I would not use the regs in this dac, for starters they dont even go low enough re voltage to be of any use (in fact they dont even have a -5v let alone 3v3 and 1v2) but they will also be outgunned by the regs acko has designed IMO, the design is considerably more sophisticated. you could use the opamps on the output and regulate them with the burson regs, but you would have to bridge them as they are not differential/balanced. so realy I dont think they are such a good match, design wise anyway. I wil be trying them in this manner, but regulated with other means. just as part of the I/V comparison I have planned. I do not expect them to win against the other things I have planned. I would also think that the bursons will not provide the DNR provided by some other options, though they of course could still sound quite good
what budget?
of course someone has written a parts list hehe, how else do you think acko ordered the parts? no the BOM hasnt been made publicly available yet and the PCBs havent either. testing is still ongoing, though we are not far now
so it would seem
I will be building this up as one of the first people to do so and I do have a number of output stages and regulators planned to test; including the burson opamps and I may even try the regs powering them, along with many variant of super regulator and acko's own designs. I suggest sticking to ackos designs for the low voltage regs or perhaps a modified salas shunt, the paul hynes stuff would get pricey very quickly and the bursons as noted are no use at all.so perhaps stay on the sideline a little longer while the first round goes out.
@ qusp,
if you are still investigating in an output stage, i think ray s cd output stage might be a contender. not a detail monster but it has good bass and soundstage and sounds very natural with the buffalo, but you ll have to tweak it a wee bit. also ray is very easy to talk with.
Ray's Audio Page
if you are still investigating in an output stage, i think ray s cd output stage might be a contender. not a detail monster but it has good bass and soundstage and sounds very natural with the buffalo, but you ll have to tweak it a wee bit. also ray is very easy to talk with.
Ray's Audio Page
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Thanks qusp for your very helpful answers, it's much appreciated,
I was keen to hear about what parts people are going to be using with this DAC.
Mr. Mantas, I read about the Lampirized tube output stage used with the first TPA Buffalo DAC with interest - he certainly seemed happy with the results.
I look forward to hearing more about what you guys come up with,
I was keen to hear about what parts people are going to be using with this DAC.
Mr. Mantas, I read about the Lampirized tube output stage used with the first TPA Buffalo DAC with interest - he certainly seemed happy with the results.
I look forward to hearing more about what you guys come up with,
thanks for the tip, but i'm about full up with options.
* transformer coupled, with the new CuTF copper with teflon film VCAPs (just arrived today) across the secondaries.
* sjostrom audio QRV08 (2 bridged)
* borbely EB-109/437 (all FET with TFTF PCB)
• passive resistor I/V with TX2575
• D1B1 or mesmerize
• opamp I/V's of a few types, including the bursons
• discrete unity gain diamond buffers
• perhaps a simple cathode follower
and thats about me and my wallet covered
most of these will be taken on with headphones in mind, but they will also be driving my active monitors so any gain if at all will be low to unity. also looking into building myself some DIY class D actives a bit down the track, so i'll be keeping an eye on any multichannel developments and matching uC implementationI dont think about it much, I guess I get a bit put off by his mad scientist build quality, the amount of inductance that man creates with his builds is insane, not at all suited for high frequency/resolution design IMO
Thanks qusp for your very helpful answers, it's much appreciated,
I was keen to hear about what parts people are going to be using with this DAC.
Mr. Mantas, I read about the Lampirized tube output stage used with the first TPA Buffalo DAC with interest - he certainly seemed happy with the results.
I look forward to hearing more about what you guys come up with,
cool yeah so that above is what i'm trying for output, I have an even larger collection of regs i'll be trying out
at the moment its just PCBs ªall ready, but undergoing testing I think, dont quote me on that), but there will be an assembled option at some point soon enough. what it costs is really up to you; this dac is a tweakers dream, there will be an opamp I/V stage offered as well as PSU and regs, but really its wide open what you do with it and how far you tke it. You can supply the whole shebang with one dual and one bipolar supply and probably share some regs too, or you can do as I am and have a discrete reg for every supply point, I would hate to hazard a guess at what i'm spending on it and I would rather stay that way, but i'll let acko fill you in on prices. you would be able to case up a reasonable build for under a grand though I would think. depends on what you do. maybe even ~500 if you cheap out on everything.
but a fully kitted out dac of this calibre should compete with the very best commercial offerings, for instance i'm thinking the QRV08 and borbely options with this dac would be hard to beat at any price. having been using a buffalo32 for quite a while now and having some insight into the design of this baby, I can see it = win.
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an excuse, actually I was thinking primary. never used transformers for output before at all only heard the result and liked it and i'm the first to admit I know nothing about it in a practical sense, but someone recommended some caps there so was going to give it a whirl. I mean any small amount of Dc and HF junk should be taken care of by the natural rolloff of the XFMR right? didnt buy the CuTF for that purpose, actually didnt buy them for any specific purpose, I was just sent a prerelease email to get in before the general public and found myself drooling and couldnt resist. silly thing is all my current builds are direct coupled, so really stretching to find somewhere to put them. might end up cracking open my active monitors and putting them in there.
have you found an optimum loading for the transformers on your sabre John? resistive that is
nah havent tried any of it on the buff (most of them are just PCBs still, the QRV08 are on their way, mostly finished one), the buff is pretty much stock aside from having all the active components replaced (apart from the dac and XO) since the possum incident, havent even worked up the courage to throw the switch on it again since that TBH. the meter says all is well, but after doing such major surgery and not even knowing for sure the dac isnt fried (tho its unlikely) i've been dragging my feet a bit with the last touches. using different PSUs tho
have you found an optimum loading for the transformers on your sabre John? resistive that is
nah havent tried any of it on the buff (most of them are just PCBs still, the QRV08 are on their way, mostly finished one), the buff is pretty much stock aside from having all the active components replaced (apart from the dac and XO) since the possum incident, havent even worked up the courage to throw the switch on it again since that TBH. the meter says all is well, but after doing such major surgery and not even knowing for sure the dac isnt fried (tho its unlikely) i've been dragging my feet a bit with the last touches. using different PSUs tho
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actually I should clarify that. the transformer output, I have the o-netics trannies, received them the other day but have done nothing with them yet. the bursons etc are obviously already made up except for a bit of perf i'll use for tacking it together, the D1B1 iPCB doesnt exist yet, so i'm probably going to knock that up P2P before deciding whether I want to take it further; but the QRV08s are well on their way, the discrete buffers I have already built up and the borbely PCBs I am still finalizing the order. so the first cabs off the rank will be the QRV08, opamp I/Vs, passive resistive I/V, the transformers, the buffers and possibly the D1B1 P2P. the rest will follow as the time comes to hand.
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qusp,
The 1.655V bias on the ESS outputs should cancel if going differential into the O-netics. BudP will be able to advise on whether the primary or secondary needs loading (I don't think so but no harm to check). At the moment I've only got a working ES9022 DAC which is Vout with no bias & doesn't need a transformer. I'll be trying two of these DACs shortly in a differential configuration & may try a transformer then.
The 1.655V bias on the ESS outputs should cancel if going differential into the O-netics. BudP will be able to advise on whether the primary or secondary needs loading (I don't think so but no harm to check). At the moment I've only got a working ES9022 DAC which is Vout with no bias & doesn't need a transformer. I'll be trying two of these DACs shortly in a differential configuration & may try a transformer then.
oh I just assumed you were using trannies due to the thread. I didnt buy them from budP, bought used, but I guess he'll still help out. but surely it would depend as much on the output impedance of the sabre as the trannies themselves whether they need to be loaded? anyway i'll check with bud, too OT for here
Sorry, I'm confusing you - I have used output transformers on other DACs that had bias on the output stages & found the sound wonderful. I agree about the output impedance of the Sabre determining the load but this is a strange DAC in that driving into a load below something like 920ohm (I can't remember if this is the correct figure) it's mainly outputting current & above this mainly voltage - I resume there is a scale from all current to all voltage but I'm unsure how it works.
no drama, i'm sometimes easily confused yeah I did know that about the sabre, thus my temptation to try different levels of loading (thought it was around 700R tho, but that 900R may include the output impedance of the dac I guess); I wish ESS would reply to my request to sign an NDA and gain access to the datasheet, since this will be the 3rd sabre I own I figure or hope they will let me sign my life away for. so I bought a pair of very high quality 5k 1285G 5ppm vishay/TX pots to put across the primary of each tranny to try to find the correct amount of loading by ear (or may pick myself up a used scope), to put them across the secondary would exaggerate the amount the the material the XO is made of influences the sound would it not?
yeah I did know that about the sabre, thus my temptation to try different levels of loading (thought it was around 700R tho, but that 900R may include the output impedance of the dac I guess); I wish ESS would reply to my request to sign an NDA and gain access to the datasheet, since this will be the 3rd sabre I own I figure or hope they will let me sign my life away for. so I bought a pair of very high quality 5k 1285G 5ppm vishay/TX pots to put across the primary of each tranny to try to find the correct amount of loading by ear (or may pick myself up a used scope), to put them across the secondary would exaggerate the amount the the material the XO is made of influences the sound would it not?- Status
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