Hi Krede,
I can do a complete 8 channel DAC with USB input only for $1650.00. For the 8 channel USB input device I'm using miniDSP's USBStreamer. I think Kuribo is supplying his own USB device.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for the interest.
Best regards,
Al
I can do a complete 8 channel DAC with USB input only for $1650.00. For the 8 channel USB input device I'm using miniDSP's USBStreamer. I think Kuribo is supplying his own USB device.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for the interest.
Best regards,
Al
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I would like to order a complete stereo dac, fully built for 230V mains voltage operation, comprising:
1x ES9018 DAC Board
1x I/V AMP2
1x Control boards, with OLED display
1x S/PDIF input board
1x I2S/DSD (USB) input board
1x Amanero adaptor board
1x External dac power supply module
1x External I/V AMP2 power supply module
1x External MCU, I2S/DSD power supply
1x Amanero
1x Protocase Enclosure
Cheers
1x ES9018 DAC Board
1x I/V AMP2
1x Control boards, with OLED display
1x S/PDIF input board
1x I2S/DSD (USB) input board
1x Amanero adaptor board
1x External dac power supply module
1x External I/V AMP2 power supply module
1x External MCU, I2S/DSD power supply
1x Amanero
1x Protocase Enclosure
Cheers
Thanks CaféNoir for joining the group buy. I really appreciate it
So far 5 diyAudio members have joined the GB. Twenty more to go.
Quick update. I did receive the new enclosure from protocase.com. There are some minor cosmetic issues with the front panel but otherwise I'm very pleased with the overall results. I should have a new front panel by the following week.
On the design front I've started working on my own multichannel/surround sound USB device using a XMOS micro-controller. It will deliver bit perfect multichannel I2S/DSD outputs using dual synchronous clocking. I'll use the time off during the holidays from my regular job to hopefully get a lot done. In the meantime I'll use miniDSP's USBStreamer multichannel device until my device is available.
If anybody has any questions or would like to see anything added to my DAC design or would like to join the GB please let me know.
Best regards,
Al
So far 5 diyAudio members have joined the GB. Twenty more to go.
Quick update. I did receive the new enclosure from protocase.com. There are some minor cosmetic issues with the front panel but otherwise I'm very pleased with the overall results. I should have a new front panel by the following week.
On the design front I've started working on my own multichannel/surround sound USB device using a XMOS micro-controller. It will deliver bit perfect multichannel I2S/DSD outputs using dual synchronous clocking. I'll use the time off during the holidays from my regular job to hopefully get a lot done. In the meantime I'll use miniDSP's USBStreamer multichannel device until my device is available.
If anybody has any questions or would like to see anything added to my DAC design or would like to join the GB please let me know.
Best regards,
Al
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Hi Everybody,
Happy New Year! Just wanted to provide a quick update on the latest developments.
The enclosure from protocase.com is finally done. It took longer than expected but it was well worth the effort. It looks really nice. I've attached some pics of the new enclosure with everything installed. I also added a pic of THD/THD+N measurements that were taken off an EMU0404 using SpectrPlus's spectrum analyzer software with an S/PDIF 96Khz/24bit 0db@1Khz DAC input.
As far as the group buy I've decided to put a deadline of February 28th without putting any specific unit target amount. Whether it's one Blackbird DAC or 25 makes no difference to me. I really want do this. I'll put together a GB thread in the coming days to hopefully attract more interest and consolidate as much information as I can to makes things easier to follow.
I also started laying out the PCB for my own XMOS based USB stereo and multichannel device to operate with my Blackbird DAC. I'm hoping that I may have something by the end of February.
If anybody wants to join the GB please let me know. If you have any questions or advice I'm all ears.
Best regards,
Al
Happy New Year! Just wanted to provide a quick update on the latest developments.
The enclosure from protocase.com is finally done. It took longer than expected but it was well worth the effort. It looks really nice. I've attached some pics of the new enclosure with everything installed. I also added a pic of THD/THD+N measurements that were taken off an EMU0404 using SpectrPlus's spectrum analyzer software with an S/PDIF 96Khz/24bit 0db@1Khz DAC input.
As far as the group buy I've decided to put a deadline of February 28th without putting any specific unit target amount. Whether it's one Blackbird DAC or 25 makes no difference to me. I really want do this. I'll put together a GB thread in the coming days to hopefully attract more interest and consolidate as much information as I can to makes things easier to follow.
I also started laying out the PCB for my own XMOS based USB stereo and multichannel device to operate with my Blackbird DAC. I'm hoping that I may have something by the end of February.
If anybody wants to join the GB please let me know. If you have any questions or advice I'm all ears.
Best regards,
Al
Attachments
This is 2channel's wife.... just informing the forum and contacts that 2channel died in a tragic accident on New Year's Eve. He loved the interaction of sites like this.
Saddened to hear this tragic news. May he rest in peace.
Hi dhalbakken,
I'm open to selling individual boards of everything I've designed for my ES9018 Blackbird DAC in addition to some new designs I'm working on. Lets see how things turn out by the February 28th deadline. I'll know then if it's possible from a cost perspective. Hopefully you're willing to hang on till then.
To clarify. You're interested in buying a fully assembled DAC with the Crystek's CCHD-575 100Mhz femto clock populated? Just curious, what do you plan to use for the I/V + output section?
Thanks for the interest.
Al
I'm open to selling individual boards of everything I've designed for my ES9018 Blackbird DAC in addition to some new designs I'm working on. Lets see how things turn out by the February 28th deadline. I'll know then if it's possible from a cost perspective. Hopefully you're willing to hang on till then.
To clarify. You're interested in buying a fully assembled DAC with the Crystek's CCHD-575 100Mhz femto clock populated? Just curious, what do you plan to use for the I/V + output section?
Thanks for the interest.
Al
Hi Al,
Thanks for identifying the clock part. I had not seen it identified in this thread.
Regarding I/V...I want to experiment. I'd like to try voltage mode using a simple 1st order filter (like Joe Rasmussen's tweak) on the DAC output then, if possible, DC coupling into either 1 (unbalanced) or 2 (balanced) CS3318 volume control chips. I'd like to try voltage and current modes using some Broskie tube circuits and perhaps Barbara Gerhold's tube output stage. I'd like to try some discrete FET circuits from Nelson Pass and others.
In truth, I'd prefer to buy just a bare, unpopulated board. That would give me the most flexibility. I have an ES3318 chip waiting to mount onto a Weiliang DAC board. I bought the Weiliang board thinking I could use it for experimentation. But the board layout for supplies and grounds is not ideal; it would be easier for me to start with a well-designed circuit board, which I believe you have produced.
I think your micro-controller is located on your DAC board. Since I already have an Arduino controlling my CS3318 volume control, I would prefer to use that Arduino to also control the ES3018. Thus an unpopulated board might better suit my needs.
I am interested in the CCHD-575 from you because of Digikey's shipping policy to my country. Ordering just that part from them would result in a $40 US shipping fee, more than doubling the price of the part.
One more thing prompting my request for a bare board is import duty.
If you are unable to supply an unpopulated board, I would consider a populated one if the price is similar to what you posted in message 238.
My intended application is, like many who have posted to this thread, a DSP crossover running on the PC, then driving the DAC through USB.
It is interesting that you're looking at an XMOS I2S converter of your own. I've done a bit of investigating of XMOS's open source code for their reference boards. It really looks easy to adapt that code to one's own needs. Just a few #define type things. And you only need 5 XMOS cores at 80 MHz minimum to support 8 output channels from a USB input. This can be provided by an inexpensive XMOS chip with a single tile. I think you need a more expensive 2-tile chip to add S/PDIF. And their U-series chip makes things really easy for the USB PHY connection. No, I don't work for XMOS...just reporting my thoughts.
The biggest question for me for an 8 channel USB-I2S board is a Windows driver. Since I already own a USBStreamer, I suspect I could use that driver for my own design. But a commercial vendor would probably have to write one or negotiate with Thesycon. I tried out the ASIO driver written for the "Open-source USB interface: Audio Widget" documented on this site. It worked fine driving a 2-channel XMOS USB-I2S board from Weiliang. And there is nothing in the driver's code limiting it to only 2-channels. If I get more time, I intend to try it with 8-channels.
Anyway, thanks for your great DAC design and I wish you luck with your own XMOS board.
Dave
Thanks for identifying the clock part. I had not seen it identified in this thread.
Regarding I/V...I want to experiment. I'd like to try voltage mode using a simple 1st order filter (like Joe Rasmussen's tweak) on the DAC output then, if possible, DC coupling into either 1 (unbalanced) or 2 (balanced) CS3318 volume control chips. I'd like to try voltage and current modes using some Broskie tube circuits and perhaps Barbara Gerhold's tube output stage. I'd like to try some discrete FET circuits from Nelson Pass and others.
In truth, I'd prefer to buy just a bare, unpopulated board. That would give me the most flexibility. I have an ES3318 chip waiting to mount onto a Weiliang DAC board. I bought the Weiliang board thinking I could use it for experimentation. But the board layout for supplies and grounds is not ideal; it would be easier for me to start with a well-designed circuit board, which I believe you have produced.
I think your micro-controller is located on your DAC board. Since I already have an Arduino controlling my CS3318 volume control, I would prefer to use that Arduino to also control the ES3018. Thus an unpopulated board might better suit my needs.
I am interested in the CCHD-575 from you because of Digikey's shipping policy to my country. Ordering just that part from them would result in a $40 US shipping fee, more than doubling the price of the part.
One more thing prompting my request for a bare board is import duty.
If you are unable to supply an unpopulated board, I would consider a populated one if the price is similar to what you posted in message 238.
My intended application is, like many who have posted to this thread, a DSP crossover running on the PC, then driving the DAC through USB.
It is interesting that you're looking at an XMOS I2S converter of your own. I've done a bit of investigating of XMOS's open source code for their reference boards. It really looks easy to adapt that code to one's own needs. Just a few #define type things. And you only need 5 XMOS cores at 80 MHz minimum to support 8 output channels from a USB input. This can be provided by an inexpensive XMOS chip with a single tile. I think you need a more expensive 2-tile chip to add S/PDIF. And their U-series chip makes things really easy for the USB PHY connection. No, I don't work for XMOS...just reporting my thoughts.
The biggest question for me for an 8 channel USB-I2S board is a Windows driver. Since I already own a USBStreamer, I suspect I could use that driver for my own design. But a commercial vendor would probably have to write one or negotiate with Thesycon. I tried out the ASIO driver written for the "Open-source USB interface: Audio Widget" documented on this site. It worked fine driving a 2-channel XMOS USB-I2S board from Weiliang. And there is nothing in the driver's code limiting it to only 2-channels. If I get more time, I intend to try it with 8-channels.
Anyway, thanks for your great DAC design and I wish you luck with your own XMOS board.
Dave
Hey All,
I wanted to have a chat with Al - get his Ok before I posted this.
Al provided me with a fully built stereo 'Blackbird' DAC roughly a week ago. I've been testing and comparing it to my other DAC's; one of them a 9018 customized Buffalo. I'm setting up a 'mini-meet' in the Denver area for those who would like to have a listen. Please let me know if you'd like to attend. Ideally, we can get a few of the better 9018 DAC's there for comparison.
I'm also working on a full review that I hope to post around the 10th of March. After that, Blackbird will 'wing' its way to a good friend that has very good measuring gear.
I know Al will make some announcements soon - I'll just say this: It will be very much worth the wait.
I wanted to have a chat with Al - get his Ok before I posted this.
Al provided me with a fully built stereo 'Blackbird' DAC roughly a week ago. I've been testing and comparing it to my other DAC's; one of them a 9018 customized Buffalo. I'm setting up a 'mini-meet' in the Denver area for those who would like to have a listen. Please let me know if you'd like to attend. Ideally, we can get a few of the better 9018 DAC's there for comparison.
I'm also working on a full review that I hope to post around the 10th of March. After that, Blackbird will 'wing' its way to a good friend that has very good measuring gear.
I know Al will make some announcements soon - I'll just say this: It will be very much worth the wait.
Hi CaféNoir and All,
You’re right the deadline is approaching but unfortunately there’s not enough interest for me carry on with the group buy by the end of the month.
The good news is that I’m still very committed to this project and currently working on a plan with diyAudio member MisterRogers to help promote the Blackbird DAC to hopefully restore the interest I had early on to get the group buy off and running.
On the design front, I had to put my XMOS design on hold for a few weeks because of the work load at my regular job. Luckily things have calm down a bit so I should be back at it this weekend. I did add, as a standard feature, a headphone output to my I/V_AMP2 board using the LME49990/LME49600. The headphone jack will be located between the OLED and the Volume Control switches on the front panel of the enclosure.
As you read from MisterRogers there will be a lot going on in March so please stay tuned. I encourage those in the Denver area to attend the 'mini meet' and have a listen.
Best regards,
Al
You’re right the deadline is approaching but unfortunately there’s not enough interest for me carry on with the group buy by the end of the month.
The good news is that I’m still very committed to this project and currently working on a plan with diyAudio member MisterRogers to help promote the Blackbird DAC to hopefully restore the interest I had early on to get the group buy off and running.
On the design front, I had to put my XMOS design on hold for a few weeks because of the work load at my regular job. Luckily things have calm down a bit so I should be back at it this weekend. I did add, as a standard feature, a headphone output to my I/V_AMP2 board using the LME49990/LME49600. The headphone jack will be located between the OLED and the Volume Control switches on the front panel of the enclosure.
As you read from MisterRogers there will be a lot going on in March so please stay tuned. I encourage those in the Denver area to attend the 'mini meet' and have a listen.
Best regards,
Al
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