The AKM delivers +/-2.5V peak (about 1.75V RMS) max output, balanced, on a 2.5V DC level. But you probably would want some active filtering after that, so you can set that up to get any output level you want.
BTW I don't see why an attenuator at the output would increase noise. It would attenuate signal and noise equally. It would only increase noise if you would attenuate so much that you would need additional gain downstream and THAT could increase noise. But that should not be the case here.
jd
Attenuator adds noise because it is adding series resistance. HOWEVER, the amount of noise being added may (or may not) be larger than the amount of noise that is being reduced by attenuation (in combination with, to keep comparison equal, the reduction of some upstream or downstream attenuation).
Also, of course, the series resistance causes a bandwidth reduction, since it is feeding additional cable and active device with shunt capacitance. The effect of that may be principally supersonic, however it might be as audibly significant as other things people worry about. A 3dB lowpass at 100Khz causes still measurable error at 20Khz.
Charles
its a bit late in the day, but i just wanted to let you guys know that customer support at ART replied to inform me that their T8 will do the balanced to unbalanced conversion to hook up the dcx2496 to power amps with unbalanced inputs. plus you get two more channels to convert the unbalanced output of your cd player or whatever to the balanced inputs of the dcx2496...
let us know if this works out for anyone!
let us know if this works out for anyone!
XLR to RCA adapters
I use cheap XLR to RCA adapters and leave pin 3 open. Or if you feel that you must, terminate pin 3 to pin 1 with a resistor of around the same value as your amp input.
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Buy American Recorder (ART) XLR Female to RCA Female Adapter | Cable Adapters | Musician's Friend
Scott
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I use cheap XLR to RCA adapters and leave pin 3 open. Or if you feel that you must, terminate pin 3 to pin 1 with a resistor of around the same value as your amp input.
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Buy American Recorder (ART) XLR Female to RCA Female Adapter | Cable Adapters | Musician's Friend
Scott
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I couldn't agree more with this. I run many tests and configurations, and if the system, speakers, amps... allow, nothing beats clean DAC + no active + transformer output. If your speaker and amp configuration is good enough it will let you hear the difference. I have to have after my Lundahls, in 4 channels preamps and those are really good ones CCsXBOSOZ, while I have two channels just with Lundahls. When I use DCX2496 just as a two channel DAC and run just Lundahls before the amp, it is something hard to describe. Beautiful, open and clean. I would recommend to anyone just to get two transformers and first try on some full range speakers. It is easy mod.
Not so much a matter of taste as a matter of self delusion.
Properly controlled tests, anyone?
Test measure the actual output of your standard DCX. The distortion should be low, the noise should be low, and the bandwidth should exceed 20-20k. Also use a cable tester on your interconnects. There should be no crackles.
Also check that your DCX has no internal problems involving the ribbon cable or the input circuitry as documented elsewhere.
You now have an excellent piece of equipment. Further tweaks are for the fun of tweaking and for the fun of experiencing the amazing self delusion that occurs when we do uncontrolled testing.
Properly controlled tests, anyone?
Test measure the actual output of your standard DCX. The distortion should be low, the noise should be low, and the bandwidth should exceed 20-20k. Also use a cable tester on your interconnects. There should be no crackles.
Also check that your DCX has no internal problems involving the ribbon cable or the input circuitry as documented elsewhere.
You now have an excellent piece of equipment. Further tweaks are for the fun of tweaking and for the fun of experiencing the amazing self delusion that occurs when we do uncontrolled testing.
????
Did you make any mods to your unit? Did you listen DCX that has any work done? Did you ever open DCX? Are you saying what you are saying because you didn't like the results of your mod, or you are saying because you are delusional, stuck in, and believing in what you think is the only way. By your estimate, you are stating that Behringer with this digital crossover has reached the end of audio nirvana and no improvements to the quality are possible? Would you please explain to me what is the proper test and what would you try to achieve or to prove with it. Did you make that proper test?
LOL, can we say
?Don't worry AR2. The DCX is perfect. It uses opamps for the outputs. There are perfect. Ditto the cheap electrolytic coupling caps, they are also perfect. Ask any 1st year engineering student, he can tell you.
And show you pretty numbers to prove it.I don't even have to delude myself, I have ears. For fans of broken glass in a sea of mud, the stock DCX is perfect. For the rest of us, well..... (we shall quite happily continue to delude ourselves).
Nothing happy about changing something that doesn't need changing because you imagined a difference. That's sad. Next week you'll imagine the opposite difference because the high priests of hifi fashion invoked a new creed, e.g. transformers are worse than capacitors that are wound internally like transformers (name your own **)
The happiness comes when you realise what is really happening and walk away! Then you can spend time upgrading your hifi in ways that work!
The happiness comes when you realise what is really happening and walk away! Then you can spend time upgrading your hifi in ways that work!
calm down , my Master Burner ....
it's just internet ......
The point here is not about moding or not. I have no problem that someone differ in his opinion, but I do not understand why someone has to insult all the great people that shared their knowledge and their experience - just to prove his point. I would be quite happy to accept different opinion or to let anyone else keep his own through normal discussion or experiment.
This board is all about sound and we have no chance to collectively listen, justify or test. Doing it together gives more credibility and it is more fun. So if sharing experience here is the best we could do, why we have to act differently than if we are listening together? If we listen together we would be most likely polite to each other even if we differ in our opinions.
Numerous treads went south because of disrespect, and we lost great members of the DIY audio board for the same reason. If you follow, this tread started in 2003! It provided me with the great amount of knowledge,
with the great pleasure of completing the project based on experiences that other people shared here. I hate seeing non constructive insulting posts deserved by no one.
What I would welcome is if the poster shared with us his experience of two DCX units, one completely upgraded and one out of stock. And I would accept his opinion with all respect that his experience is based on measurement, listening tests and so on. I would take it very seriously if after that he reports here that he feels that there is no reason to upgrade because he cannot hear or measure any difference. Not to mention that I did that for myself, out of curiosity and to hear the difference.
If he did that, than he would not declare all the great members delusional... people that gave something for everyones pleasure and knowledge, the ones that posted pictures, measurements, schematics, and finished designs and boards.
Oh I do my friend, I do!
There are so many little tweaks that don't really matter that it's good to find the ones that actually work. I can't argue with you there. Engineers have been telling me that transformers are "no good" for decades. I still don't believe them.It's called trolling. An old and widely practiced sport on the Internet. Fun for some, not for others. (I do it on the political forums - great fun!)
Funny, it's trolling when it's at odds to the popular opinion. I call it voicing your honest opinion. For what it's worth I'm with tnargs on this, I have a DCX and I have opened it but I'm not tempted to "improve" it as I don't think the effort will bring significant returns. I'd rather spend my time (and money) improving other parts of my system.
Have fun gentlemen.
No problems with that whatsoever, but you didn't come here to insult everyone that think differently. And, talking about unit, everyone here had a chance to listen to it in the stock shape. That is the very reason we went to improve it. Than we all had a chance to listen to it in changed shape. Than we reported here our findings. Sometimes we had light and sometimes we had big improvements. What is the problem with that? The only one that didn't hear the difference, I am assuming, are the ones that kept the unit in the stock shape. How valid is than that debate, if it is based on the assumption in one case and on the live experience in the second?
From a different standpoint... If your statement is that eliminating jitter, eliminating cheap electrolytic capacitor form the path of the signal, eliminating opamps and replacing them with passive circuitry will have no positive improvements, than I have no comments. But I doubt that you think that. What you most likely wanted to say is that DCX as is, is good enough for you, your system, your need... And with that I will completely agree, have no business arguing about your own experience.
Best regards
I have 3 DCX, one with the analogue O/P stages removed and Lundahl OPTs in their place. Not a massive difference, but I had the TXs to hand so cost me nothing. I also like the isolation to the poweramps and the level reduction.
As I have been extremely underwhelmed with clock changes in the past, I'll leave it at that, as I will probably replace the front speaker DCX for a DEQX later.
I have only tested via the AES input, with VC done in the analogue domain after the DCX. However, I have a very nice proto ADC on loan and I can get one for dirt, so I may just go into the DCX AES from this unit for my TT and other analogue sources.
As I have been extremely underwhelmed with clock changes in the past, I'll leave it at that, as I will probably replace the front speaker DCX for a DEQX later.
I have only tested via the AES input, with VC done in the analogue domain after the DCX. However, I have a very nice proto ADC on loan and I can get one for dirt, so I may just go into the DCX AES from this unit for my TT and other analogue sources.
No, that was not what I wanted to say, quite opposite. My point was that I have no idea what is your system, how does it sounds, and what is consisted off. I cannot comment remotely without ever seeing it, hearing it, nor I have any business telling if it works for you or not. I simply expressed and shared my opinion about my experience and I was declared as delusional, and most likely by someone who never had a chance to hear the difference. Commenting without that would be equal to myself describing or giving opinion of your system and even worst, stating that you are delusional since it sounds good to you.
This particular conversation went this way because of Tnargs improper comments. My reaction was to the language and the offensive way of expressing his opinion.
AR2
I didnt find his post improper at all because if you didnt do the properly controlled tests your posted opinion isnt worth much actually when it comes to posting in what I would like to be a audio science forum.
Subjective opinion without validation IMO should be done on audiophilesmokingcrack.com
Now on the other hand, I thought I read a post that had links to measured output differences proving there is a difference but I can not find it. I do know someone that does the mods offers 100% money back garuntee (I saw that in an email discussion) so no harm in trying it if someone wants to (I will when I have time for the project).
In the end people will always extremely exaggerate the differences (both ways) because conclusions are always going to be subjective when they are not controlled.
Figure out how to control all this changes then there can be a great discussion until then Exaggerations will still lead many people down the wrong path.
Would you spend $500 on a DCX mod or $500 on better room treatments?
Also which one has solid science and proof behind its improvements?