Behringer DCX2496 digital X-over

Hi

The Silicon Chip K5600 6 channel remote volume control
is still on special at Altronics with a rack
mount case. Specs look fairly good. I bought
one and will update the TL072s when I get round
to assembling it. Have not got the cash for the
DCX yet but will have to attenuate the DCX outputs
which I hope will not be an issue.

Regards

AnthonyPT

http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?area=item&id=K5600
 
AX tech editor
Joined 2002
Paid Member
AnthonyPT said:
Hi

The Silicon Chip K5600 6 channel remote volume control
is still on special at Altronics with a rack
mount case. Specs look fairly good. I bought
one and will update the TL072s when I get round
to assembling it. Have not got the cash for the
DCX yet but will have to attenuate the DCX outputs
which I hope will not be an issue.

Regards

AnthonyPT

http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?area=item&id=K5600


Anthony,

That is an interesting unit! Is that price in Aussi dollars?
Do you have any info on how it works, solid state vca or mechanical pots?

Jan Didden
 

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Ak4395

ergo said:
sendler,

Is the AK4395 a full drop in replacement or did you have to change something besides the chips also?
.
I just dropped mine in. I haven't had anyone hack the controler code so so I'm not sure which control register defaults may be different between the two but the AK4395 sounds great in my DCX. It has even better see through transparancy and the improvement in the bass is unbelievable! It adds another octave of extension with greater slam and speed.

Did you do the simple RC out before the change of DAC IC's or after? If after then what were the most obvious changes in sound that made it better?
.
I swapped one dac before switching to the direct out mod. At that time I was running the output in what could be called the stage 2 mod, with c43 bypassed with a .01 Dayton foil cap and the signal tapped off of the output of ic1b pin 7. See above for the changes in the sonics. The improvements were the same with the active out and then later, the direct out.

I have ran the DCX with simple RC also for quite long but as I need a volume after DCX and I have different amps (one 4 channel and one 2 channel) I had problems with the arrangement. Somehow the sound is not as good if a passive volume is inside the DCX and there is no active stage after it. And it is not just in highs. The mid and bass also lack freedom and livelyness.
.
You and I have already discussed this. Passive volume controls sound much better when positioned at, or in, the amp. It is a little less convienient when changing volumes but the price/state of the art performance is worth it if the highest sound quality takes precedence.

So this is why I'm working on a version where I will use RC followed by 6 channel 10k ohm pot and followed by opamp to get some gain and to buffer the output.
.
Sounds like a plan. I like the Linear Technology LT1360 opamp.
Or, you could even use the ic1b that is already in the DCX to start out with as those opamps are really not that bad.

It also makes it possible to have different gains in analog stage for different channels and I do not have to sacrifice so much DAC resolution in tweeter channels.
.
Keeping the digital attenuation minimal. Good plan.
.
Check here for your regional distributor for the 4395 chips.
Ask for some free samples.
http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/akm/en/cpnydata/euro_sr.html
.
When my supplier is back in stock in 6 weeks, I will buy a tray of 50 to resell for those of you that want to try the dac upgrade.
World wide shipping has turned out to be pretty reasonable via USPS costing only $20 to $25 to ship my attenuators anywhere in the world. My only hesitation to buying 50 chips is the fear that Behringer is doing a redisign of the DCX and SRC that would leave me stuck with them at $7 each but Behringer says that the DCX is still a current product and is just out of stock.

Scott

Ergo
 
Account Closed
Joined 2001
janneman said:
Thanks Anthony,

I just downloaded the article part 1. Nice! This may not be the most-fi unit available but for that price it may help me to get into multichannel-issues while developing my own 6 channel control. I have to see if they will ship to Europe.

Jan Didden


Jan,

All the info/schematics are available on the DCX forum. Look at the top of the files section. It's been there for awhile.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCX2496/

Davey.
 
I'm sure your tired of it...but..

Greetings,
I think I've been thru most of the info here and on the Yahoo grps page. I'm still in a quandray. I'm looking at the DCX2496 or the 3400(?) 3 way analog. Due to how my system will be laid out I MUST use the analog in and control volume BEFORE the X-over.

My pre will be a Bosoz (I think I can get some good levels out) and the 2 hi-pass amps will be aleph. My situation is that I need some solid opinions (surprise). Do you guys think that the front-end level issue can be overcome to equal the quality I will get with the analog unit, condidering the flexibility of the DCX. I am willing to do some careful level matching..In other words, 'Is it really THAT bad or is post attenuation just a bit better'? I know how tough a question this is. I am willing to do some mods to the DCX. The time alignment will be very useful to me and my setup, but not if it 'really' sounds like DOG. The WAF makes it tough to make purchasing mistakes and I want to be as sure as I can be before plunking the cash down.

Sorry to be a pain in the a~~!
Marc
 
Account Closed
Joined 2001
Marc,

It's not a pain-in-the-..........it's actually the basic question that most users have with the DCX...for home use.

You could add fixed attenuators to the six outputs of the DCX and it will work fine for your configuration. Many DIY-audiophiles (myself included) tend to get a little obsessed with wringing the last bit of "performance" out of a piece of gear, but in the case of the DCX it's really not necessary....it's pretty darn good stock (used correctly.) You really don't need to mod it.

If you're using XLR/RCA adaptors on the outputs break the internal pin 1-3 connection on those. That will shift the internal levels of the DCX higher by 6db. If you want to take it farther you can add some external fixed-resistor attenuators to reduce the level a bit more....maybe 6db. That's an additional 12db voltage gain your preamp would have to provide, and that's assuming that you don't have lowish gain power amps and lowish efficiency speakers that would have already forced the internal levels too high.

Cheers,

Davey.
 
Thanks Davey,

As further info:
My amps are low power, lowish gain. My amps and pre are are all balanced. I will have ~12w to a 105dB compression driver, ~25w to a 96dB midbass, and sub us undecided...probably something 'horn-ish'. Reason for my Need to have level adj. prior to the Xover:

This setup will also serve double duty as the front stage of a home theater setup. The two front outputs from my sony es proc. will be fed into the preamp in a custom fixed level input(in the preamp) and home theater volume will be handled by the sony processor. Because of the consideration of the additional 3 HT channels (which will come directly from the proc and to dedicated amp channels)..I must adjust volume prior to the DCX.

Thanks a lot..
 
" My amps are low power, lowish gain. My amps and pre are are all balanced. I will have ~12w to a 105dB compression driver, ~25w to a 96dB midbass, and sub us undecided...probably something 'horn-ish'. Reason for my Need to have level adj. prior to the Xover: "

You can do it, you just need to set levels in/out optimally. I'm doing it that way and it is fine.

With the high efficiency drivers you will need a lot of attenuation on your amps. Probably 20dB or more and it will take some time to get it set for each driver.

I'm running horns too (LaScala Bass bins, Altec 288/805B, JBL 2404H) and with the proper attenuation on the amps the Behringer is dead quiet. I had more of a problem just with the hiss in the amps themselves. The levels are setup such that the loudest I listen to (THX Ref level) playing 0dBFS pink noise is within a couple of dB of clipping the input and outputs of the Behringer.

Good luck,

Shawn
 
Is there a way to maybe modify the gain on the analog output stage so that it outputs a weaker signal? The gain is to high for my chipamps and i dont want to put attenuators in the signal since that will alter the highpass (dc blocking) filter on the input stage of my amps.
 
Hi Akunec,
do not worry about needing high attenuation after DCX for a following high gain amp.

A low attenuation level requires a series resistor only slightly higher than the ground resistor. This leads to a high output resistance (impedance).

A high attenuation gives a low output resistance due to the NEED for a low value ground resistor.

This falls exactly into what YOU need - high attenuation AND low output resistance. No problems.
 
Konnichiwa,

akunec said:
Is there a way to maybe modify the gain on the analog output stage so that it outputs a weaker signal? The gain is to high for my chipamps and i dont want to put attenuators in the signal since that will alter the highpass (dc blocking) filter on the input stage of my amps.

How about you re-build your chip-amp's with a balanced input and a gain set such that you get a direct match between the DCX clipping and the Chipamp clipping?

Sayonara
 
Konnichiwa,

akunec said:
Does the DCX clip at 5v?

+22dbu = 9.76V

akunec said:
So since the chip amps clip at 25v, ill need a gain of 20log(25/5)=14db. Does that sound right?

You need to do two things. You need to change the input to balanced and you need to lower gain to what is needed (I'd say 10db), BUT the LM38XX series needs at least a gain of 10 (20db). The way around this is a suitable value resistor between positive and negative input to ensure the (noise) gain referred to the positive input remains greater or equal to 10.

For a balaned Input you take a pair of 330K Resistors, one as feedback resistor, the other from the positive input to ground. You then use a pair of 100K resistor to the respective inputs (+ to pin 2 and - to pin3, pin 1 of XLR grounded). To make sure the noise gain is high enough, con nect a 33k Resistor directly across the + & - input pin on the LM38XX Chip.

Like the attached (not tested but should work fine...).

Sayonara
 

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gain trial and error

Beyond matching the gain to clip at the same time you want to maximize digital resolution and signal /noise by having the total gain such that the outputs of the DCX are nearly maxed when you have the max listening level that you want. Hopefully this will be well below clipping the amp. You can reduce the gain of the amp but keep in mind most power amps become unstable below a certain gain. The LM3886 is supposed to be ok down to a gain of 10 which is pretty low though and should get you close to where you want to be. Most other power amp circuits I've seen have minimum gains in the 20's. The most flexible way is to use an adjustable L pad on the input of the amp as in the circuit that is recommended on the National Semi Data sheet for your amp.
This allows you to keep the output turned up on the DCX for the best sound and still get any listening level that you want.