BUILD THREAD - A New Take on the Classic Pass Labs D1 with an ESS Dac

[ed linssen]

Hi OPC,
Could you please try to read my PM (sent two weeks ago) and tell us what to expect? Both me and Buzzborb.
Thanks and sorry for (ab)using your time,
Ed

[ed linssen]

Originally Posted by ed linssen

Hi OPC,
Could you please try to read my PM (sent two weeks ago) and tell us what to expect? Both me and Buzzborb.
Thanks and sorry for (ab)using your time,
Ed

Buzz F orb of course, sorry!

[opc]

Read and replied!

Unfortunately the boards shipped out long before you guys decided to swap so it will have to make the trip back across the ocean to buzzforb in the USA once it arrive in the EU.

Cheers,
Owen

[MisterRogers]

Hey Owen - I was wondering if you ever built this enclosure? Based you your approach, I drafted a similar case. Dimensions will be 11in deep by 16in (ID) wide and 6in tall. Total width is between 20in and 24in, depending on if heatsink extensions are installed. I found some unique heatsink on eBay for this.

With the height, I partitioned it as two 3in levels. Heatsinks were $35 each, and raw 6061 aluminum came to $166. Wouldn't even tell you what it's costing me to have is milled, drilled, tapped and polished. I'll just say that I'll not be going 'all in' on a case like this until I build up a small shop with the gear I need to do it myself.

Anyway, as much as I've enjoyed the NTD1, it'll be worth it. Case should be assembled by the end of next week. I'll post pictures

Originally Posted by opc

Hi Guys,

I drew up a quick model of what my plans are for the DAC, so everyone can get an idea of where I'm going with mine.

For reference, the bottom plate is 0.5" thick, the whole DAC is about 12.5"wide by 12.25" deep and 3" high

I'm going to use Aavid 65535 extrusions cut to 3" lengths for the sides.

The 1" by 1" bars will transfer heat from the bottom plate to the sinks, and the whole thing should run pretty cool.

The .zip attachment is the Google Sketchup file.

Cheers,
Owen

[adelias]

I thought that I would post a few photos of my DAC in its current state. Although not completed by any means, I believe its close.

[opc]

Wow! I am green with envy!

That is by far the cleanest implementation of the NTD1 I've seen to date.

Wanna make me one?

Mine is still a tangled mess of wires in my media cabinet

How are the thermals? Does it run at a decent temp?

What is the deal with the output arrangement? I can't quite figure out from looking at it how you hooked it up.

Cheers,
Owen

[adelias]

Originally Posted by opc

How are the thermals? Does it run at a decent temp?

What is the deal with the output arrangement? I can't quite figure out from looking at it how you hooked it up.

After running it for 8 hours the temps seemed acceptable.

The output has a relay that serves as a pass-thru for my surround processor when the DAC is turned off.

[qusp]

looking good adelias, only one thing I can see, I see a familiar coax cable type that if it is what I think it is, its magnetic.

[bigpandahk]

I've search the thread but can't find the answer, could someone help?

Can the NTD1 output be connected as SE (unbalance)?

[pinnocchio]

I was planning to use a single transformer for the NTD1 power supply but make a secondary for each supply.

Please let me know if good enough. Also, I am planning for voltage drop for the regulators but want to make sure the safety margin is good enough. I don`t want the regs having to drop too much voltage since I don`t want them to overheat but don`t want them to sag either.

Dual Primary 115/230Vac - 250VA total
Quad Secondaries 41Vac (ea. 55VA) + dual secondary 9Vac (ea. 15VA)

Of course shielded encapsulated.

Anybody have part numbers (Digikey, Mouser, etc) for the BII/BIII headers to the NTD1 PCB?

Thanks
Do