I've spent years trying to design a holy grail amplifier system and I've almost completed my work.
The specs are way better than anything I've ever seen and it is reflected in the sound.
I've put so much time and money into this, I have everything riding on the hope that I start a company and sell audio systems. I'm running into a road block though. I need expertise I don't have in order to finish.
I have no connections to anybody. I need to start networking but I don't know where to start. I want to avoid throwing my designs into the open and ruining my years of work. It's unfortunate I don't live in CO or I'd join one of the zillion audio companies that seem to be out there.
I need someone with the skills to design the digital portion of things like FIFOs and DACs, someone with the knowledge to design SMPS, as well as someone who is knowledgeable about PCB layout. Third party feedback on analog design would be a godsend too, trying to look at something from all angles is a long and annoying process to do all by oneself.
Anyone out there in the CT region that has a passion for audio design? I know this is a long shot but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
The specs are way better than anything I've ever seen and it is reflected in the sound.
I've put so much time and money into this, I have everything riding on the hope that I start a company and sell audio systems. I'm running into a road block though. I need expertise I don't have in order to finish.
I have no connections to anybody. I need to start networking but I don't know where to start. I want to avoid throwing my designs into the open and ruining my years of work. It's unfortunate I don't live in CO or I'd join one of the zillion audio companies that seem to be out there.
I need someone with the skills to design the digital portion of things like FIFOs and DACs, someone with the knowledge to design SMPS, as well as someone who is knowledgeable about PCB layout. Third party feedback on analog design would be a godsend too, trying to look at something from all angles is a long and annoying process to do all by oneself.
Anyone out there in the CT region that has a passion for audio design? I know this is a long shot but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
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Connecticut should have been spelled-out (ugh); or be, IMHO, abbreviated "Conn"; but the US Postal Service issued 2-letter Postal Codes. Colorado is CO, Connecticut is CT.
Read the market. You can't sell pure designs. Of course you can try. But there's zillions of "free" designs posted on the interweb. Thinking in other markets, the only mass-sales of designs that I can think of are house plans. $5 for a small print or $500 for large-scale 4-set signed prints suitable for getting a Building Permit. And I'm not sure how many of these get sold today.
The market is not about designs, or even products, but how *fast* you can get a product to market at your price before the cloners eat your breakfast; or how long you can hold-up "perceived quality" among your wealthier customers.
I wonder what your skills are. Anyway, you are a bit late, some 50 years, I guess.
Sorry I didn't literally mean sell designs, I meant products based off of my designs. Selling sound systems. Getting designs from prototype to product is an overwhelming amount or work and money for me and it's starting to dip outside my bubble of expertise.
I specialize in analog, my advantage seems to be my creativity as I've not seen such designs in use or with similar performance, I figure it would be foolish to not sell them. Plus I barely make enough money to live which is why I'm hoping to use this as a way out.
I don't really consider myself to be some great designer or anything, I just look for problems and come up with solutions, it's only when I look around does it seem that way. I'm far from impressed with the designs and the sound of the designs that I've seen in the market.
I certainly haven't heard anything on the market sound better than what I've made, which is the end goal anyway. My only interest is the best sound possible.
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Out of curiosity, what part of the FIFO or DAC that is in your amplifier? Or do you mean "amplifier system" that includes the entire audio chain - transport, DAC, preamp, amplifier?
As for the DAC, you probably have to purchase off the shell stuffs. As for FIFO or anything digital related, my guess if FPGA. Although I heard dCS designs their entire ring DAC using exclusively FPGA which is interesting because you need reconstructive filter and opamp on the analog stage and I don't know if those are in the FPGA.
As for the DAC, you probably have to purchase off the shell stuffs. As for FIFO or anything digital related, my guess if FPGA. Although I heard dCS designs their entire ring DAC using exclusively FPGA which is interesting because you need reconstructive filter and opamp on the analog stage and I don't know if those are in the FPGA.
I meant everything between the PC and your ears. The bulk of my R&D has been in developing the amplification stage and the power buffer stage of an amplifier. My equipment can't measure the distortion of my power buffer stage but the theoretical distortion should be 0.000000000225%. It certainly sounds this way. Note that I don't treat specs as the end-all of sound, not even close. But I try to design the most technically perfect designs that I can and so far it has worked out exactly as I'd hoped.
The distortion of the power buffer stage should remain pretty much the same at any power level which is unique I think.
I actually intend to implement it into a 1000W amp with a sort of sliding bias I'm working on so it can remain pure class A and not be insanely large or expensive.
The amplification stage that I spent a long time working on does not have a sound, I've confirmed this with level shifting the output and comparing it to the raw signal source. I cannot tell the difference. I was actually disappointed by this because I thought it would add something to the sound but I guess adding distortion isn't that hard to do if I wanted. I don't know what the distortion is in % but the DB was averaged at about -120db with the exception of 2nd harmonic using 4P1L. I expect better using solid state.
I recently started designing dac output stages and I came up with a rather unique concept and was so taken away by the sound it created that I decided I needed to integrate DACs into my amp design or at least sell dedicated dacs. It completely destroyed the sound of the output stage that was in my Audio-GD NFB-1 dac that it replaced. I recently purchased an Es9038 Buffalo dac with IANs FIFO buffer as a replacement and it was well worth it so if I was to make a DAC product I would definitely go with a similar configuration.
I also recently designed a power supply that performs between a million and a billion times better than the jung super regulator in comparative simulation (depending on where you are on the audio frequency spectrum). I intend to use this new reg as my standard reg for my designs, maybe make a thread about it and sell kits once I optimize the prototype.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, I have a big laundry list of really cool amp/speaker concepts and spice designs that I haven't been able to get around to. I get overwhelmed and drool over the possibilities.
Anyway at the moment my goal is to perfect and convert my dac/amp combo into a product since it's currently my best attempt and I've never heard anything sound so clean and realistic. Since I don't have much money I want to start with a headphone amp as an official product and rent a booth at next years CanJam in NY. Hoping Jude from Head-fi might be able to connect me to some people.
The distortion of the power buffer stage should remain pretty much the same at any power level which is unique I think.
I actually intend to implement it into a 1000W amp with a sort of sliding bias I'm working on so it can remain pure class A and not be insanely large or expensive.
The amplification stage that I spent a long time working on does not have a sound, I've confirmed this with level shifting the output and comparing it to the raw signal source. I cannot tell the difference. I was actually disappointed by this because I thought it would add something to the sound but I guess adding distortion isn't that hard to do if I wanted. I don't know what the distortion is in % but the DB was averaged at about -120db with the exception of 2nd harmonic using 4P1L. I expect better using solid state.
I recently started designing dac output stages and I came up with a rather unique concept and was so taken away by the sound it created that I decided I needed to integrate DACs into my amp design or at least sell dedicated dacs. It completely destroyed the sound of the output stage that was in my Audio-GD NFB-1 dac that it replaced. I recently purchased an Es9038 Buffalo dac with IANs FIFO buffer as a replacement and it was well worth it so if I was to make a DAC product I would definitely go with a similar configuration.
I also recently designed a power supply that performs between a million and a billion times better than the jung super regulator in comparative simulation (depending on where you are on the audio frequency spectrum). I intend to use this new reg as my standard reg for my designs, maybe make a thread about it and sell kits once I optimize the prototype.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, I have a big laundry list of really cool amp/speaker concepts and spice designs that I haven't been able to get around to. I get overwhelmed and drool over the possibilities.
Anyway at the moment my goal is to perfect and convert my dac/amp combo into a product since it's currently my best attempt and I've never heard anything sound so clean and realistic. Since I don't have much money I want to start with a headphone amp as an official product and rent a booth at next years CanJam in NY. Hoping Jude from Head-fi might be able to connect me to some people.
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Yeah, I'm assuming you mean the I/V or buffer stage. This is the portion of the dac that I designed. I'm out of my element trying to design the DAC itself.
Although currently I'm direct coupling the dac output stage to the other stages because the amplification stage and the power buffer stage will both self compensate for a non zero volt input bias voltage without issues.
This is why I'd prefer to integrate the dac into my designs because I can avoid caps and the particular DAC output stage design that I've created does not lend itself well to having a 0v output voltage.
Haha yeah, I haven't even gotten to that part yet.
I am no expert, but I guess you could build a digital preamp stage before the DAC (which will need some sort of DSP) or if after the DAC (before the amp) then it has to be analog, but then you want to couple the DAC output directly to the amp buffer input so that may be something else the I/V stage is where you build the preamp.
Hm… usually for an amp input stage, DC is not a problem since the amp buffer input is high impedance as long as the DC source does not mess up the bias of the amp input buffer. I mean isn’t your DAC output is buffered with an Opamp (as an I to V conversion)? DC tends to be a problem for output only. I know Arcam uses some type of feedback servo to track the output stage DC level and correct for it therefore does not need an output cap.
I still think having an external preamp helps. The low level signal from the DAC will be susceptible to the amp high current.
It’s the most important.
The only analog that is before a DAC is the digital signal.
The "preamp" stage as you put it is usually an I to V stage followed by a buffer to maximize the performance of the DAC.
High impedance means no current will flow, the DC voltage biases the output stage so it functions correctly and so there is no DC voltage at the output of the amplifier.
Usually this means you need to cap couple the previous stage to it or the previous stage needs to be at the required bias voltage.
In my case the designs self compensate for almost any input bias voltage as a coincidence of the design.
If you see a dac using an opamp as I/V conversion it is not high end. Opamps are not the best way to go about this if you care about sound.
I'm not sure there is a consensus on why this is but it's generally agreed that opamps sound bad in this duty.
Yeah a lot of people do that, but if the dac output is at X voltage and the servo output is at Y voltage they can't mix together without some sort of DC blocking, usually.
That's not how it works. As you said the amp has a high input impedance. No current will flow. Well some tiny amount will flow due to input capacitance but that problem is designed out.
I don't know what your your idea of a preamp is, but my dac output stage can technically amplify to just about any voltage without an external amplification stage and without much of a change in distortion if any (in theory).
I'm deciding if I want to use the DAC as an amplification stage or to use the dedicated amplification stage I designed. There's a bunch of variables I need to consider and testing to be done.
But also comparatively straightforward. I need to finish completing my designs first or I have nothing. One thing at a time. Right now I need to start building my connections and hopefully recruit some outside help.
I meant having a preamp so the user can change the volume. Let's assume your DAC can amplify to any voltage level, how does the user change the volume in your design? Changing volume may sound trivial but Conrad Johnson spend a lot of money on the step resistor ladder and those things don't come cheap.
Oh so you're talking about an attenuator.
With modern dacs you can just use your PC to adjust volume without data loss most of the time.
As a product though I have a few ideas that will allow me to physically adjust the volume without sound degradation within my dac or power buffer stages.
It's one of the last things on my to-do list because it is an easy variable to solve in this case.
I don't agree with the typical interstage volume adjustment because of impedance matching issues and other things.
Yeah, that's why I'm hoping to find someone with a passion for audio design as a potential business partner rather than a short term paid engineer.
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