FLAC to CD player internal DAC

Dyolf · 11th August 2009, 08:08 PM

Hi
I simply love the sound from my Cambridge CD3, and wondered if it was possible to somehow connect the digital output from my computer to the internal dac (4 x tda1541)
I do not have the schematic, but after reading a lot on the net about this player, it seems to be a relativly simple design.
Any chance that it could be done simply by finding the correct number and placement of the legs, and then solder an input cable?

any thoughts and maybe diagrams will be highly appreiciated.

Steen

rfbrw · 11th August 2009, 08:51 PM

It is possible but it will take a lot more than a connector and a bit of wire especially if you want the CD side to remain operational.

T Leung · 4th December 2010, 11:21 AM

Not just AB switch to go FLAC / PCM from cd ?

Pano · 4th December 2010, 01:10 PM

Probably not, tho it's a cool idea.

The Cambridge dac is most likely fed with an IIS (I2S) bus. It's more than 1 wire.
You could buy a USB to I2S adapter from someone like miniDSP and patch it in.
But the problem of switching still remains.
I²S - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dyolf, did you ever do anything with this?

analog_sa · 4th December 2010, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panomaniac

But the problem of switching still remains.

Nothing that a relay or two cannot solve. More elegant solutions are no doubt available but this worked for me for a couple of years and i could hear no degradation.

Pano · 4th December 2010, 02:06 PM

OK, cool. You didn't have any bandwidth or noise problems with the relays?

analog_sa · 4th December 2010, 05:36 PM

44kHz does not need that much bandwidth. The only limiting factor a relay can present is interelectrode capacitance which to me appears to be on par with the pcb tracks. Didn't really measure the pulse's fronts but couldn't hear any degradation with or without the relays.

wwenze · 4th December 2010, 11:46 PM

If you can't measure the digital-in to the DAC, how about measuring the analogue-out from the DAC to see any degradation in numbers?

analog_sa · 5th December 2010, 06:58 AM

Why would i even suspect a "degradation in numbers"? The very worst i can expect is a slight rounding of the slopes due to the added capacitance. As the I2S is fed into an ASRC in this particular DAC, it seems to make no difference. A relay is just not all that different from a longer PCB track.

rfbrw · 5th December 2010, 10:08 AM

No ASRC in the op's cdp. Makes things a little more complex.

11th August 2009, 08:08 PM	#1
Dyolf diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2009	FLAC to CD player internal DAC Hi I simply love the sound from my Cambridge CD3, and wondered if it was possible to somehow connect the digital output from my computer to the internal dac (4 x tda1541) I do not have the schematic, but after reading a lot on the net about this player, it seems to be a relativly simple design. Any chance that it could be done simply by finding the correct number and placement of the legs, and then solder an input cable? any thoughts and maybe diagrams will be highly appreiciated. Steen

4th December 2010, 01:10 PM	#4
Pano diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: North Carolina Blog Entries: 4	Probably not, tho it's a cool idea. The Cambridge dac is most likely fed with an IIS (I2S) bus. It's more than 1 wire. You could buy a USB to I2S adapter from someone like miniDSP and patch it in. But the problem of switching still remains. I²S - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dyolf, did you ever do anything with this? __________________ Take the Speaker Voltage Test!

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11th August 2009, 08:51 PM	#2
rfbrw diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: .	It is possible but it will take a lot more than a connector and a bit of wire especially if you want the CD side to remain operational.

4th December 2010, 11:21 AM	#3
T Leung diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2010	Not just AB switch to go FLAC / PCM from cd ?

4th December 2010, 02:06 PM	#6
Pano diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: North Carolina Blog Entries: 4	OK, cool. You didn't have any bandwidth or noise problems with the relays?

4th December 2010, 05:36 PM	#7
analog_sa diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sofia	44kHz does not need that much bandwidth. The only limiting factor a relay can present is interelectrode capacitance which to me appears to be on par with the pcb tracks. Didn't really measure the pulse's fronts but couldn't hear any degradation with or without the relays.

4th December 2010, 11:46 PM	#8
wwenze diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2008	If you can't measure the digital-in to the DAC, how about measuring the analogue-out from the DAC to see any degradation in numbers?

5th December 2010, 06:58 AM	#9
analog_sa diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sofia	Why would i even suspect a "degradation in numbers"? The very worst i can expect is a slight rounding of the slopes due to the added capacitance. As the I2S is fed into an ASRC in this particular DAC, it seems to make no difference. A relay is just not all that different from a longer PCB track.

5th December 2010, 10:08 AM	#10
rfbrw diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: .	No ASRC in the op's cdp. Makes things a little more complex.

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