DAC 2496 (AK4393) DAC KIT With CS8416+AK4393+5532

Thank you Erin... Nice that you help me a little out :)

Well thoose link, released ;) a lot more quistions through.
As i wrote before, i have been reading some of this thread, and i guess that my choice will be in theese 3 below cheap DAC's.


The first (1. Hi-RES Sibilliance DAC ?) one linked, i bellive having some Sibbilince (High pitchesss) problems, so i do not think it would be that, due to my setup, witch is kindoff Sibillince -sensitive allready, so not wanting to add some more. (Hope you can understand what i mean ???)

1. Hi-RES Sibilliance DAC ? :
NEW DAC 24BIT 192KHZ CS8416 + AK4396 + NE5532P BOARD KIT FOR DIY | eBay


The second one (2. AK 24/96 ? HI-RES ? DAC), i bellive will be my first chooise, i am just not sure weather this one really supports HI-RES files ???

2. AK 24/96 ? HI-RES ? DAC :
DAC 2496 (AK4393) DAC KIT With CS8416+AK4393+5532 | eBay


The last one (3. HI-RES CS DAC), I also bellive looks good, but if the CS's tend to do Sibillance easier, i might allready have made my choise for the 2. , if it's supporting HI-RES, thats too say :)

3. HI-RES CS DAC :
Best CS8416 CS4398 192Khz/24Bit USB Coaxial DAC DIY Kit | eBay


Again... Thanks for helping !
 
AK4393 does 24/96
AK4396 does 24/192

I don't own the CS4398 kit I cant comment too much on it. I think there is another thread on DIYAudio.

Sibilance in my experience is related to either:

Low quality crossover components in your speaker crossover.
Low quality film capacitors in your DAC analog filter
Inadequate decoupling and/or bypassing capacitors of opamps
Inadequate power supply filtering
Low quality capacitors anywhere in your system.
High jitter, or external noise in your digital transport.
Switch mode power supplies anywhere in your system.
Silver cables can increase brightness / sibilance
Bad choice of speaker cable or interconnect cable
Not using ferrite on power cable.

I hope I understand you correctly.
AK4393 has a soft "analog" top end
AK4393 has a slightly more detailed top end.
No problem with sibilance if you follow the instructions on this thread with either DAC.
If you use the kit standard, as supplied by the seller I give no guarantee.
You must supply your own nice capacitors with any ebay kit.
Almost nothing comes out of the factory as good as it can be. OK
 
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Not using ferrite on power cable.

I wasent aware of that point !

Well... I am not really having sibilliance problems, i just pointed out, that i actually have a system, which is sensitive (have tried some things which causes sibilliance). - Too bad that the 4393 kit doesen't do HI-RES.. it's the kit which looks at the best quality... well there will then be excuses to modify one of the other kits ;) even more...

I think this one, will be my chooise then :
NEW DAC 24BIT 192KHZ CS8416 + AK4396 + NE5532P BOARD KIT FOR DIY | eBay

Any BOM for this DAC, any opAmp suggestions (I have some OPA2134, havent investigated if they fit or not) ?

Anything funny improvements ;)

Jesper.
 
Anything funny improvements ;)

Jesper.

We are on page 85. If you check the thread there are suggestions.All improvements listed apply equally to the AK4393 or AK4396. The only difference relates to the filter settings of the AK4396 where you should check the AK4396 datasheet and install the recommended capacitor and resistor values which differ from the ones supplied with the kit.
 
I just completed my AK4395 version of this DAC with opa827. I used ClaveFreman's BOM and I am using 2 x 3.3v Salsa Shunt 2 x 5v Salas Shunt and a separate 7812 and 7912 power supply. Im a little disappointed, it doesnt sound as good as my CS4398 DAC. Maybe the AK4396 sounds better? From all the hype about the AK4395 I was expecting to be blown away. The AK4395 is very smooth and analog, but the CS4398 seems to have more resolution and detail.

Hi,

well, you're not using exactly my BOM... ;)

For example you're using Nichicon KW or KZ on opamp decoupling, Cerafines are much more coherent and detailed...

Salas shunt are for sure superior regs but why didn't you used them also where they give their best, i.e. on analog rails of the opamp?

IMHO it wasn't a great idea to take off-board the LM78xx/79xx regs since you used, from what I can see, the same topology already present on the PCB....

And those regs are not the MC78xx/79xx I'm suggesting, am I wrong? ;)

BTW I think AK4396 is better than AK4395...
 
BTW which specific CS4398 DAC kit are you talking about ?

I am comparing it to a gigaworks cs4398 - cs8416 - cs8421, with opa627.

After a bit more listening this is my conclusion

AK4395 smooth and more analog sounding then cs4398
AK4395's bass is fuller and has more weight
Sound stage loses its depth and imaging is not as precise as CS4398
Details in the mids are lost. It sounds a bit "veiled" compared to the CS4398
I think what I like most about the CS4398 is its "airy" presentation.
 
Hi,

well, you're not using exactly my BOM... ;)

For example you're using Nichicon KW or KZ on opamp decoupling, Cerafines are much more coherent and detailed...

I just looked at your bom again and I see you noted RFS are better then the KZ I am using right now. Should I use RFS (Silmic) or ROA (Cerafine)?

Salas shunt are for sure superior regs but why didn't you used them also where they give their best, i.e. on analog rails of the opamp?

IMHO it wasn't a great idea to take off-board the LM78xx/79xx regs since you used, from what I can see, the same topology already present on the PCB....

And those regs are not the MC78xx/79xx I'm suggesting, am I wrong? ;)

BTW I think AK4396 is better than AK4395...

Yes you are correct, those are some texas instrument regulators I had. Right now I am still building the Salas shunt 12v regs. When those are complete I will report back.
 
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This dac Is great (sorry)

I appreciate all the work and effort you guys have put into this kit, I think in the end its a matter of personal taste that counts well to me anyway and i am no expert on electronics but i am nearing 50yrs old and have been a musician on and off over the years I know what my ears like at the moment, I really like realism of this dac. I love the TDA's and continue to listen to them also but nothing is perfect, sound sources arent perfect either, quality varies in all aspects of sound depending on the source if its a crapy recording going in you wont get good one coming out unless you are at mixing desk etc.

I love music but sometimes I focus alot to the technicalities, and miss out on the music being played.

I reckon competition and variety is the way to go, just make a dac case with all the top end dacs in it so you can choose whatever you want.

Again thanks for this forum and the passion to excel

PM
 
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I am comparing it to a gigaworks cs4398 - cs8416 - cs8421, with opa627.

After a bit more listening this is my conclusion

AK4395 smooth and more analog sounding then cs4398
AK4395's bass is fuller and has more weight
Sound stage loses its depth and imaging is not as precise as CS4398
Details in the mids are lost. It sounds a bit "veiled" compared to the CS4398
I think what I like most about the CS4398 is its "airy" presentation.

OK, I see this is a upsampling DAC which makes things different as well. BTW did you try ESS DACs yet ?