I popped in a OPA2134 that I had laying around - drop in replacement for the LT1364 in nearly all respects (pinouts, etc)
The slew rate for the LT1364 is 750 V\us (min) - 1000 V/us (max) for 15V (I am at 12V)
The slew rate for the OPA2134 is around 20V/us
I am under the understanding that higher slew rates are better....
I haven't decided which I like better yet. Sounds a bit more tamed and not as bright with the OPA2134 vs the LT1364.
I have a stacked (4x) TDA1543 w/ CS8414 at 7.1V with the touted Vref - 386R and I/V - 560R. Sounds very nice and everyone I have polled listening to my system prefers this over all of my DACs including the CS4397 with LT1364.
The TDA1543 is a bit darker, but still very pleasing, while the CS4397 with OPA2134 is a bit more defined and brighter....need more listening...
The slew rate for the LT1364 is 750 V\us (min) - 1000 V/us (max) for 15V (I am at 12V)
The slew rate for the OPA2134 is around 20V/us
I am under the understanding that higher slew rates are better....
I haven't decided which I like better yet. Sounds a bit more tamed and not as bright with the OPA2134 vs the LT1364.
I have a stacked (4x) TDA1543 w/ CS8414 at 7.1V with the touted Vref - 386R and I/V - 560R. Sounds very nice and everyone I have polled listening to my system prefers this over all of my DACs including the CS4397 with LT1364.
The TDA1543 is a bit darker, but still very pleasing, while the CS4397 with OPA2134 is a bit more defined and brighter....need more listening...
Thanks for your findings. I don't think I have enough resolution in my system (or maybe even my ears) to hear the difference - I don't think I'll be changing out the opamp.
Slew rate is an indication of performance but the 2134 was designed specifically for audio and there are certainly many other factors..
Slew rate is an indication of performance but the 2134 was designed specifically for audio and there are certainly many other factors..
Did something real crazy tonight on a whim. As I posted above comparing to my stacked (4) TDA1543/CS8414 DAC against my CS4397/CS8416, I took another OPA2134 and stacked it on top of the one I dropped in the other night.
I know there is some merit to paralleling DACs, so I decided on trying to see if the same merits apply to Opamp.
Well it worked fine - no hum/hiss/issues at all. I could not do any critical listening to the stacked opamp, but decided to get back to it later when I have more time...
Anyone tried paralleling opamps before in DACs?
BTW - I ordered a few LM4562 and LM6172 to try out too....
I know there is some merit to paralleling DACs, so I decided on trying to see if the same merits apply to Opamp.
Well it worked fine - no hum/hiss/issues at all. I could not do any critical listening to the stacked opamp, but decided to get back to it later when I have more time...
Anyone tried paralleling opamps before in DACs?
BTW - I ordered a few LM4562 and LM6172 to try out too....
andyjevans said:
I don't think it is available any longer. It looks like it has been replaced by the "SUPER Pro" version.
http://www.diykits.com.hk/
http://www.obadimports.citymax.com/catalog/item/4377355/4684274.htm
andyjevans said:
There are some cheap boards on eBay - search for 24bit/192kHz dac. I have the version with surface mount components. It isn't actually configured for the higher sampling rates, though. There's some discussion here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=315
I found the following, which suggests that you don't get upsampling and you have other problems:
I have finally got my board working at 96kHz, thanks to some help from error401 over at diyAudio. In case anyone is interested, the mod. involves lifting pin 2 of the CS4397 (to remove its ground connection) and wiring it direct to pin 16 of the CS8416. The board will then process all sampling rates up to and including 96kHz (and maybe 192kHz, though I'm not able to test that). Doing this involved micro-surgery more delicate than I generally care to undertake so don't do this at home unless you have to, or you are comfortable with such things. It does sound really good at 96kHz, though! http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=315&page=7
Yes it will then receive and convert a 96kHz signal but it won't upsample of course. You have to lift pin 2 of the CS4397 away from its ground connection on the board. Its no use trying to cut the trace leading from it - possibly the pad connects to the ground plane in some inaccesible place under the board. You then solder a thin wire from that pin to pin16 of CS8416 - no need to lift pin 16. I'm using balanced out too - direct into a TVC. I found that with no filtering after the dac outputs the hiss level rises somewhat, so I'm experimenting with a bit of passive filtering. At present I've got the + and - outputs going through series resistors of 240 ohms followed by 2.2nF bridging between + and -. That cuts the noise out, but I might experiment with slightly smaller caps.
http://ezdiyaudio.informe.com/cs4397-dac-dt55-15.html
I have finally got my board working at 96kHz, thanks to some help from error401 over at diyAudio. In case anyone is interested, the mod. involves lifting pin 2 of the CS4397 (to remove its ground connection) and wiring it direct to pin 16 of the CS8416. The board will then process all sampling rates up to and including 96kHz (and maybe 192kHz, though I'm not able to test that). Doing this involved micro-surgery more delicate than I generally care to undertake so don't do this at home unless you have to, or you are comfortable with such things. It does sound really good at 96kHz, though! http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=315&page=7
Yes it will then receive and convert a 96kHz signal but it won't upsample of course. You have to lift pin 2 of the CS4397 away from its ground connection on the board. Its no use trying to cut the trace leading from it - possibly the pad connects to the ground plane in some inaccesible place under the board. You then solder a thin wire from that pin to pin16 of CS8416 - no need to lift pin 16. I'm using balanced out too - direct into a TVC. I found that with no filtering after the dac outputs the hiss level rises somewhat, so I'm experimenting with a bit of passive filtering. At present I've got the + and - outputs going through series resistors of 240 ohms followed by 2.2nF bridging between + and -. That cuts the noise out, but I might experiment with slightly smaller caps.
http://ezdiyaudio.informe.com/cs4397-dac-dt55-15.html
Hello
My experience in the last two years:
The original DAC in a Box is dead. After 16 months or so constantly switched on (on a 12V regulated psu) it stopped working. Just some brabbling clicking noise.
So, the replacement from
http://www.diykits.com.hk/
is indeed the Super Pro series. There are two versions: one with SPDIF input and one with additional USB input.
I dont use the 20V psu delivered with them, as they get too warm, I use a good self made regulated 9V psu.
From the USB version I got one faulty unit (distortions after 10 minutes operating). Mr. Wu replaced it without problems.
He is offering some bipolar cap sets to replace the four caps on the audio output of the CS4398 and the two output caps.
A good modification.
But be warned: when you are not so experienced with soldering, these boards are quite full of small smd devices. So one must be carefully modifying it.
BTW: since some weeks I own a Zhaolu D3 DAC (slightly modified with bipolar caps) and a SndScape Cinema! card in the PC with TG-Link.
And this gives much better sound reproduction than with the USB Super Pro!
But the Super Pro is still a good base to attach own analog output stages.
Franz
My experience in the last two years:
The original DAC in a Box is dead. After 16 months or so constantly switched on (on a 12V regulated psu) it stopped working. Just some brabbling clicking noise.
So, the replacement from
http://www.diykits.com.hk/
is indeed the Super Pro series. There are two versions: one with SPDIF input and one with additional USB input.
I dont use the 20V psu delivered with them, as they get too warm, I use a good self made regulated 9V psu.
From the USB version I got one faulty unit (distortions after 10 minutes operating). Mr. Wu replaced it without problems.
He is offering some bipolar cap sets to replace the four caps on the audio output of the CS4398 and the two output caps.
A good modification.
But be warned: when you are not so experienced with soldering, these boards are quite full of small smd devices. So one must be carefully modifying it.
BTW: since some weeks I own a Zhaolu D3 DAC (slightly modified with bipolar caps) and a SndScape Cinema! card in the PC with TG-Link.
And this gives much better sound reproduction than with the USB Super Pro!
But the Super Pro is still a good base to attach own analog output stages.
Franz
Been a long time since I posted here. After trying a number of OPAMPS, I finally settled on the LT6172 on this CS4397 DAC.
I also bought a Benchmark DAC1 and this tiny CS4397 with a LT6172 still sounds better than all the DACs including the Benchmark.
I lent it to a friend for his opinion, as he has a DAC1 too.
I replaced the PS with a modified 12VDC 1A PS from a Printer....
I want to pick up another CS4398 that is currently the hot ticket here on DIYAudio
I also bought a Benchmark DAC1 and this tiny CS4397 with a LT6172 still sounds better than all the DACs including the Benchmark.
I lent it to a friend for his opinion, as he has a DAC1 too.
I replaced the PS with a modified 12VDC 1A PS from a Printer....
I want to pick up another CS4398 that is currently the hot ticket here on DIYAudio
I did eventually find an answer, if anyone else is interested...
When a spec sheet specifies:
"Advanced Multi-bit Delta Sigma Architecture"
it is indeed a bitstream and not a multibit r2r ladder dac,
hope this clarifies things for someone out there
When a spec sheet specifies:
"Advanced Multi-bit Delta Sigma Architecture"
it is indeed a bitstream and not a multibit r2r ladder dac,
source: Mother of Tone - Conversion Techniques
hope this clarifies things for someone out there
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