Love to see pix of your dongle-to-RCA mod and modified Buffalo. BTW, is that the 1st gen Buffalo or the Buffalo32? Also, 'at the place recommended at page 1'... page one of what or where?
I spent some time researching the Sigma22 and it looks like a very well thought-out and executed regulator. Thanks for pointing me to it... found several other regulator, amp, and DAC options from both AMB and Glass Jar Audio (who sells the AMB products) that may be useful in future projects.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
I spent some time researching the Sigma22 and it looks like a very well thought-out and executed regulator. Thanks for pointing me to it... found several other regulator, amp, and DAC options from both AMB and Glass Jar Audio (who sells the AMB products) that may be useful in future projects.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
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well i just soldered a gold-plated rca at the pins of the din connector under the board via two 10 cm of 20awg silver-plated wire so that it hangs outside my comp. very ghetto. nothing to be excited about really but it gets the job done. but if you really want pics anyway just ask and next time i have a camera in my possesion i ll upload pics 
it s the first gen buffalo with sigmas here and there powering it.
i put caps at the same places you see on the picture of the digital board.
regarding the sigmas,though not ideal under 5V or so, they serve me very well. i just put two sockets for a diode and a resistor, which affect the output voltage, so i can swap psus in an instant. i also think AMB deserves the highest respect for their effort and god knows it s not wasted!
by the way AMB is supposed to release some time in the future an all out dac that will probably be something to behold.
it s the first gen buffalo with sigmas here and there powering it.
i put caps at the same places you see on the picture of the digital board.
regarding the sigmas,though not ideal under 5V or so, they serve me very well. i just put two sockets for a diode and a resistor, which affect the output voltage, so i can swap psus in an instant. i also think AMB deserves the highest respect for their effort and god knows it s not wasted!
by the way AMB is supposed to release some time in the future an all out dac that will probably be something to behold.
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oops forgot:
on my buffalo i just put the clock the buf32 has and took out the 3.3v reg in order to put a sigma. nothing hardcore. i ll try to post pics next time i have a camera. i suggest you search the buffalo threads out there.a lot of people are putting efforts to mod it and are posting pics.
on my buffalo i just put the clock the buf32 has and took out the 3.3v reg in order to put a sigma. nothing hardcore. i ll try to post pics next time i have a camera. i suggest you search the buffalo threads out there.a lot of people are putting efforts to mod it and are posting pics.
Thx for the info.
On the Juli@ dongle bypass, see the third and fourth responses in this thread:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=48851
I found the device directly upstream of the output dongle connector and soldered there. Bypasses a bit of circuit trace. Might be an improvement, might not, I never tried it any other way. OTOH, it'd be easy for you to move your connections to that point.
I am curious about your mod to the original Buffalo DAC. How much of a diff did the clock module make? I'm setting up a Buff32 for a friend and will get a chance to hear it in my system before I bundle it off to him, but after reading Lukasz Fikus' comments on the Buff32 implementation here:
http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFERENCES/Buffalo DAC/BuffaloDAC.html
I'm tempted to try and find an original Buff DAC to work on.
I saw an interesting set of pix in one of the Buff32 threads where the guy had replaced the regs with Paul Hynes shunt regs and liked that a lot. I have one these regs here to try as a replacement for the Juli@ 3.3v reg... just too many things to do!
More interested in pix of your Buffalo mods than of your Juli@ ones.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
On the Juli@ dongle bypass, see the third and fourth responses in this thread:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=48851
I found the device directly upstream of the output dongle connector and soldered there. Bypasses a bit of circuit trace. Might be an improvement, might not, I never tried it any other way. OTOH, it'd be easy for you to move your connections to that point.
I am curious about your mod to the original Buffalo DAC. How much of a diff did the clock module make? I'm setting up a Buff32 for a friend and will get a chance to hear it in my system before I bundle it off to him, but after reading Lukasz Fikus' comments on the Buff32 implementation here:
http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFERENCES/Buffalo DAC/BuffaloDAC.html
I'm tempted to try and find an original Buff DAC to work on.
I saw an interesting set of pix in one of the Buff32 threads where the guy had replaced the regs with Paul Hynes shunt regs and liked that a lot. I have one these regs here to try as a replacement for the Juli@ 3.3v reg... just too many things to do!
More interested in pix of your Buffalo mods than of your Juli@ ones.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
first thing i did with the buffalo was going dual over single sigma supply for va and vd. it made a moderate improvement. then i injected directly 3.3v into VD and removed the 3.3v reg. that made a pretty big improvement. then i replaced the clock and it did a nice improvent there too. certainly worth the price for the new crystal. even smoother and detailed sound. but without the new improved supply, not sure it s worth it. i tried a sigma for both avcc and did not notice anything really improved. might be the sigma is showing signs of "choking" for that a low voltage.dont know.next think i try is separate psu for avcc. but first: clean 3.3v in the sound card digital board
Alternative DAC cards on Juli@ Digital Section...
Sorry I haven't posted much in awhile. Been working on I2S-connected DACs to fit on the Juli@ and provide an integrated solution with no compromise. The latest is what I call a 'Buffa-Juli@, where I've mounted a Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo 32 card on the Juli@ and powered it via their Placid shunt regulators. I'm setting this up for a friend of mine and currently burning it in and tweaking it up a a little in my system.
Sound is very good... even, detailed, and very listenable. I've also got an AK4399-based Juli@-mounted DAC card that I've tweaking and in comparison, the Buff32 wins out on detail and even frequency balance while the AK4399 setup has a bit more PRAT and a more liquid midrange. I could live with either, but the Buff32 has enough potential that I popped for one of the new Buffalo-IIs when pre-orders opened tonight... had to be fast, they sold out in 2 1/2 minutes!
I'm very excited about the Buffalo-II as they've reconfigured it to allow easy tweaking, especially around the power supplies, I/V, and filter stages. Lotsa possibilities with it!
Greg in Mississippi
Sorry I haven't posted much in awhile. Been working on I2S-connected DACs to fit on the Juli@ and provide an integrated solution with no compromise. The latest is what I call a 'Buffa-Juli@, where I've mounted a Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo 32 card on the Juli@ and powered it via their Placid shunt regulators. I'm setting this up for a friend of mine and currently burning it in and tweaking it up a a little in my system.
Sound is very good... even, detailed, and very listenable. I've also got an AK4399-based Juli@-mounted DAC card that I've tweaking and in comparison, the Buff32 wins out on detail and even frequency balance while the AK4399 setup has a bit more PRAT and a more liquid midrange. I could live with either, but the Buff32 has enough potential that I popped for one of the new Buffalo-IIs when pre-orders opened tonight... had to be fast, they sold out in 2 1/2 minutes!
I'm very excited about the Buffalo-II as they've reconfigured it to allow easy tweaking, especially around the power supplies, I/V, and filter stages. Lotsa possibilities with it!
Greg in Mississippi
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Thanks, SunRa.
The system is powered by a Linear-hybrid ATX supply, using a good linear supply to feed a modified Pico-PSU. The large caps you see are local bypasses on the Pico inspired by Peter Daniel... he only added them on the input to the Pico, these are the ones for the 3.3v & 5v outputs.
More details in Post #14 above.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
The system is powered by a Linear-hybrid ATX supply, using a good linear supply to feed a modified Pico-PSU. The large caps you see are local bypasses on the Pico inspired by Peter Daniel... he only added them on the input to the Pico, these are the ones for the 3.3v & 5v outputs.
More details in Post #14 above.
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
Sorry about reviving an ancient thread, but I have recently stumbled across the whole CMP2 idea and found it very interesting. Designing and building a silent PC and a linear PSU is a piece of cake for me, as I used to be deep into extreme PC modding/overclocking, so this should be a really fun project.
What I wanted to ask is whether it is possible to get Juli@ I2S output to work with TDA1543? I read somewhere that Juli@ operates at 24 bits, while the ancient TDA1543 is only 16-bit. I don't really know how I2S works - would it simply drop the least significant bits?... It would be really neat to be able to feed the card's output directly into the DAC chip.
Edit:
What I wanted to ask is whether it is possible to get Juli@ I2S output to work with TDA1543? I read somewhere that Juli@ operates at 24 bits, while the ancient TDA1543 is only 16-bit. I don't really know how I2S works - would it simply drop the least significant bits?... It would be really neat to be able to feed the card's output directly into the DAC chip.
Edit:
- from the Wikipedia article on I2S. I guess, that kinda answers my question
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I don't have a Juli@, but I do use CMP2 machine USB to a PCM2706 Dac which creates an I2S stream that I wired to my TDA1543. Then switched to TDA1541. Both work beautifully. Don't forget to connect the ground wire.
Good how to article on I2S from a Juli@ over on Head-fi. I've got one and it works great. Also see the CMP thread on Audio asylum on how to drive the Juli@ with battery power for another jump in SQ. See links.
Easy I2S from Juli@ PCI sound card - Head-Fi.org Community
Audio Asylum Thread Printer
Good Luck
Mark
Easy I2S from Juli@ PCI sound card - Head-Fi.org Community
Audio Asylum Thread Printer
Good Luck
Mark
He posts regularly on the cmp2 forum
RE: Suggestions welcome for modification U1 voltage regulator on the Juli@ digital part. - GStew - Computer Audio Asylum
RE: Suggestions welcome for modification U1 voltage regulator on the Juli@ digital part. - GStew - Computer Audio Asylum
LOL... Sorry, I've been meaning to post updates here for several months and just have been too busy***. I'm still working my cMP... it now has a fully-linear power supplies for the motherboard and all the peripherals, an SSD (in addition to the much larger HDD) for the operating system and storage of music favorites, and I've been playing around with different DACs mounted on the Juli@ digital section. To my ear, it is sounding very good!
I'll try to post some updates later this week. Bernard, if you have specific questions, fire away and I'll answer as best as I can.
Uncle Leon, did you ever try a TDA1543 on a Juli@? I've been following the Daniel/Bobken thread on pushing the limits of the TDA1543 DAC and plan to try an I2S-connected version in my cMP (I built one of Peter D's DACs from a kit and that was what I used with my cMP at first).
Sorry for being so quiet. More soon!
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. *** Most of my recent cMP time has been spent hunting down an intermittent problem which I've now narrowed down to the processor, the SSD, or possibly the heat from all the linear supplies and regulators (11 supplies, 13 regulators so far!). Someday I'll write a lengthy post of this saga!
I'll try to post some updates later this week. Bernard, if you have specific questions, fire away and I'll answer as best as I can.
Uncle Leon, did you ever try a TDA1543 on a Juli@? I've been following the Daniel/Bobken thread on pushing the limits of the TDA1543 DAC and plan to try an I2S-connected version in my cMP (I built one of Peter D's DACs from a kit and that was what I used with my cMP at first).
Sorry for being so quiet. More soon!
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. *** Most of my recent cMP time has been spent hunting down an intermittent problem which I've now narrowed down to the processor, the SSD, or possibly the heat from all the linear supplies and regulators (11 supplies, 13 regulators so far!). Someday I'll write a lengthy post of this saga!
FYI, another take on Peter's fine DAC kit. I too drove it with CMP and was happy. I got intrigued with building a 1541a tube output DAC. I truncated Peter's DAC after the PCM2706 chip and steal the I2S stream to drive the 1541a DAC. It is a very sweet combination. I have played with the power supply on Peter's board and to my ears was improved by replacing the blackgate caps with Oscon SEP organic polymer. Another key improvement to Peter's DAC was driving it via AQVOX ASIO drivers. At this stage, I expect it is a pretty good source of I2S you can get coming from CMP.
Also following the Daniel / Bobkin thread. Parts arrived today for the serial regulator which I plan to try first on the 1541a power supply. I put some Burson shunt regs on the -15v and -5v feeds of the 1541 with quite good results. Next up, the series reg on +5v. If all goes well I plan to put the regs on the Daniel board for clock and 2706 power consumers. I expect what Peter and Bob have created is quite special, as power seems to be everything.
Also following the Daniel / Bobkin thread. Parts arrived today for the serial regulator which I plan to try first on the 1541a power supply. I put some Burson shunt regs on the -15v and -5v feeds of the 1541 with quite good results. Next up, the series reg on +5v. If all goes well I plan to put the regs on the Daniel board for clock and 2706 power consumers. I expect what Peter and Bob have created is quite special, as power seems to be everything.
cMP-DAC-Talk
I have a hankering to try a TDA1541-based DAC... I still have the modified CDB650 I did back in the Audio Amateur Pooge articles days (1990 or so) where I did a separate box for the TDA1541 hanging under the 650 with a bunch of simple op-amp/pass transistor series regulators... one for each rail on the 1541 and one each for the +- of each channel's output stage. I was very happy with the sound back then. Of course, having 10 or so power supplies and a bunch of separate regulator sections in both the player and the DAC box was a large contributor to it's sound! (Snapshot of the DAC section attached... there really is a TDA1541 under all those Wima's!)
With some packaging planning, it should transport right onto my cMP.
But the Daniel / Bobkin 1543 will come first. I have most of the parts to do an I2S-connected version except the BSP129's for the shunt reg, but I'll use the Supertex DN2540 that Bobkin recommended to start off as I have a bunch of those from a different shunt reg setup. And the whole DAC + shunt regs can be done quite compactly & fit right onto the Juli@ digital section as I've done with AK4398, AK4399, & ES9022 DAC cards (and a Buffalo-32 for another AA inmate. And someday I'll finish mounting the Buff-II that I have for myself!). Plus I already have appropriate raw DC supplies in my cMP setup.
As for an I2S source, I'm still partial to a PCI-connected card and the Juli@ seems to still be one of the better ones around (and cheap enough to modify with impunity). Adding the additional chips and conversions of either USB or SPDIF seems to provide a lot of opportunity for additional jitter if not done correctly... and I am clear I don't know enough to do it correctly. I have less to mess up with an I2S-connection as long as I keep it short to keep signal integrity up... hence the Juli@-mounted cards. Pix of my ES9022-on-a-Juli@ (using EUVL's board) is also attached.
Wlowes, post pix!
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. And your comment about the improvements from a different driver remind me that I need to try the various versions of the Juli@ drivers.
I have a hankering to try a TDA1541-based DAC... I still have the modified CDB650 I did back in the Audio Amateur Pooge articles days (1990 or so) where I did a separate box for the TDA1541 hanging under the 650 with a bunch of simple op-amp/pass transistor series regulators... one for each rail on the 1541 and one each for the +- of each channel's output stage. I was very happy with the sound back then. Of course, having 10 or so power supplies and a bunch of separate regulator sections in both the player and the DAC box was a large contributor to it's sound! (Snapshot of the DAC section attached... there really is a TDA1541 under all those Wima's!)
With some packaging planning, it should transport right onto my cMP.
But the Daniel / Bobkin 1543 will come first. I have most of the parts to do an I2S-connected version except the BSP129's for the shunt reg, but I'll use the Supertex DN2540 that Bobkin recommended to start off as I have a bunch of those from a different shunt reg setup. And the whole DAC + shunt regs can be done quite compactly & fit right onto the Juli@ digital section as I've done with AK4398, AK4399, & ES9022 DAC cards (and a Buffalo-32 for another AA inmate. And someday I'll finish mounting the Buff-II that I have for myself!). Plus I already have appropriate raw DC supplies in my cMP setup.
As for an I2S source, I'm still partial to a PCI-connected card and the Juli@ seems to still be one of the better ones around (and cheap enough to modify with impunity). Adding the additional chips and conversions of either USB or SPDIF seems to provide a lot of opportunity for additional jitter if not done correctly... and I am clear I don't know enough to do it correctly. I have less to mess up with an I2S-connection as long as I keep it short to keep signal integrity up... hence the Juli@-mounted cards. Pix of my ES9022-on-a-Juli@ (using EUVL's board) is also attached.
Wlowes, post pix!
Later!
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. And your comment about the improvements from a different driver remind me that I need to try the various versions of the Juli@ drivers.
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1541a with Peter's DAC driving i2S
Greg
Love your work. That is one of the most radical 1541's I have seen to date. When you get to it, if you have not done the DEM reclocking tweek, that's top of list. $1 and a simple mod but it is night and day jump up. EC Designs has it figured out.
Attached is a pic one rev old. I have since added Burson regs on -15 and -5 so the board is getting pretty crowded. I have the parts arriving for Bobkin's Series reg so that goes on the +5 on the week end.
The DAC board came from an ARCAM Alpha CDP. In fact the DAC is now in the old ARCAM case. The USB hits Peter's board. The 1543 is removed and it simply produces I2S. This goes via short CATV to 1541a input. Output goes straight to Russian 6n2p triodes and on to the amp.
Peter's board has Oscon SEP caps replacing the BG N's. The power supply for the 1543 now powers the clock (small jump). Will soon have Bobkin regs.
All old supply caps on the 1541 replaced with lots of BG STD followed by BG N. Oscon SEP near the consumers. DEM is reclocked to WS or 44.1. This cuts a bunch of jitter produced by the oscillator at pins 16 & 17. I connected I2S directly to pins 1-4. Most advocate a signal attenuator. Maybe later.
The rest of the box is full of power supplies for the tube output stage. Choke supply on the B+ was a nice add. Also, the output of the tubes are coupled using Obligatto PIO with Russian Teflon bypass (also nice). I have found that Russian KBG PIO is a step up, but I am ok with the Obligattos.
I also found the whole thing likes to run on good mains. I run it via a power conditioner based on a large toriod isolation transformer with caps and RF filters.
The other Key to Peter's was the pure ASIO driver.
I enjoyed Peter's DAC as designed, but to my ear, I far prefer the current state.
Greg
Love your work. That is one of the most radical 1541's I have seen to date. When you get to it, if you have not done the DEM reclocking tweek, that's top of list. $1 and a simple mod but it is night and day jump up. EC Designs has it figured out.
Attached is a pic one rev old. I have since added Burson regs on -15 and -5 so the board is getting pretty crowded. I have the parts arriving for Bobkin's Series reg so that goes on the +5 on the week end.
The DAC board came from an ARCAM Alpha CDP. In fact the DAC is now in the old ARCAM case. The USB hits Peter's board. The 1543 is removed and it simply produces I2S. This goes via short CATV to 1541a input. Output goes straight to Russian 6n2p triodes and on to the amp.
Peter's board has Oscon SEP caps replacing the BG N's. The power supply for the 1543 now powers the clock (small jump). Will soon have Bobkin regs.
All old supply caps on the 1541 replaced with lots of BG STD followed by BG N. Oscon SEP near the consumers. DEM is reclocked to WS or 44.1. This cuts a bunch of jitter produced by the oscillator at pins 16 & 17. I connected I2S directly to pins 1-4. Most advocate a signal attenuator. Maybe later.
The rest of the box is full of power supplies for the tube output stage. Choke supply on the B+ was a nice add. Also, the output of the tubes are coupled using Obligatto PIO with Russian Teflon bypass (also nice). I have found that Russian KBG PIO is a step up, but I am ok with the Obligattos.
I also found the whole thing likes to run on good mains. I run it via a power conditioner based on a large toriod isolation transformer with caps and RF filters.
The other Key to Peter's was the pure ASIO driver.
I enjoyed Peter's DAC as designed, but to my ear, I far prefer the current state.
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