I can answer two of your questions. 15 V works just fine. My R-core is connected straight to the DAC with nothing in between. Have not built the shunt yet and the audio is top quality in my book.
No need to apologize for asking questions. That's why the forum Is here and it's the way we all learn
No need to apologize for asking questions. That's why the forum Is here and it's the way we all learn
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Yes, several ... I'm sure I'll miss some posts, but for example, take a look at:
df_genius's post at 667, p. 67 (not sure if is Salas shunt);
apoopoo999's post at 862 p.87 (Salas);
Giobax's post at 1347, p. 135.
I haven't been watching for posts on the Salas shunt regulator, but it seems like circuit boards for building them are available on this site from time to time. Maybe on Power Supply or Group Buy forums.
Absolutely not.
The DAC sounds great with the OnSemi regulators I'm recommending.
A better PS could improve performance further, though.
When I've tried my simply shunt I've improved performance but not so much to give me motivation to go further, possibly Salas one could give a broader difference..
Dario,
many thanks for the straightforward answers. I use Philips LL high voltage caps in the PS of a KT88 amp and both my Badas.The Rifa PEH series were very good caps as well but discontinued. Point taken re. the Oscons.
Taking care with PS always is a good idea - as I know very well the sound of my Bada h/amp I might try some appropriate Kendials there first (470uF/400/385V) before splashing out on some high value ones. Very often top quality industrial components are way cheaper with longer usable life than the boutique/uber expensive ones.
Will I consider a valve o/put - I don't know as the o/put of this DAC will go to a Tung Sol 6F8G R/P driver feeding 2 x 1578 Russian o/put pre-amp section - I don't like using lots of different valves all adding there own flavour aka a horrible melange sound - others might well disagree - it's all a question of personal taste.
Vamos a ver/ let's see.
many thanks for the straightforward answers. I use Philips LL high voltage caps in the PS of a KT88 amp and both my Badas.The Rifa PEH series were very good caps as well but discontinued. Point taken re. the Oscons.
Taking care with PS always is a good idea - as I know very well the sound of my Bada h/amp I might try some appropriate Kendials there first (470uF/400/385V) before splashing out on some high value ones. Very often top quality industrial components are way cheaper with longer usable life than the boutique/uber expensive ones.
Will I consider a valve o/put - I don't know as the o/put of this DAC will go to a Tung Sol 6F8G R/P driver feeding 2 x 1578 Russian o/put pre-amp section - I don't like using lots of different valves all adding there own flavour aka a horrible melange sound - others might well disagree - it's all a question of personal taste.
Vamos a ver/ let's see.
this thing about the oscons, makes no sense whatsoever. the point of decoupling caps (both bulk and local) for opamps is to supply current as quickly as possible. i'd love to hear an explanation how the current is any more non-linear than silmics, since its a technical claim, some technical proof of that and a real effect on the output would be preferred. electrolytic caps are not linear, none of them, opamps themselves for that matter are not linear, but for decoupling, its really of no consequence.
the most spectacular opamp based amplifier i've ever seen measured extensively with all sorts of analyzers is the SE-SE 'the wire' headphone amp, its measures are essentially perfect and bouncing up against the limits of the instrumentation, I dare say far better in every way than this circuit with some silmic caps. guess what types of caps it uses?
silmics are good caps, I use them myself sometimes, particularly if I have to have a cap directly in the signal path and it has to be too big for a film cap to be used, but for decoupling an opamp supply I will take polymer with small ceramics directly on the pins every time
the most spectacular opamp based amplifier i've ever seen measured extensively with all sorts of analyzers is the SE-SE 'the wire' headphone amp, its measures are essentially perfect and bouncing up against the limits of the instrumentation, I dare say far better in every way than this circuit with some silmic caps. guess what types of caps it uses?
silmics are good caps, I use them myself sometimes, particularly if I have to have a cap directly in the signal path and it has to be too big for a film cap to be used, but for decoupling an opamp supply I will take polymer with small ceramics directly on the pins every time
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There's a large literature of subjective tests reporting OSCONs as bad/strange sounding as analog decoupling caps...
For analog decoupling I will take audio rated caps and a rail to rail film/foil cap as near as possible to pins every time...
In my experience Polymer caps usally sound thinner, less balanced and harsher than audio grade caps.
as delivery is so high of EVOX RIFA SMR: C6, C8, C9 and C21 (and difficulty finding them), i've bought 8 extra from sweden if anyone needs them. PM me to let me know. i'm not looking for a big profit, just trying to help out.
only just bought them, so they'll be a little while coming. UK delivery for 4 incl p+p will be £5, OR £4 if you haggle!
((the items bought from sweden cost 13.33euros, plus taxes and shipping = 41.68 euros!!!!))
only just bought them, so they'll be a little while coming. UK delivery for 4 incl p+p will be £5, OR £4 if you haggle!
((the items bought from sweden cost 13.33euros, plus taxes and shipping = 41.68 euros!!!!))
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Is there a particular seller that offers the boards without the 3.3 and 5V regulators pre-soldered? I was thinking about one of the cs4398 boards but that might limit my choice.
Also if they are fitted, what would the harm of wiring new supplies to the outputs of these regulators (there would be no components installed on the supply side).
hi guys
youve all got me intrested in this dac,just a quick question...
im looking at this
Assembled DAC 2496 (AK4396) CS8416 DAC With Transformer | eBay
it shows the rn20 transformer with the 2x9v and the 2x 15v secondries,but in the discription he mentions x1 transformer and only 2x 15v secondries???
has anyone brought from this seller and do you actully get the the rn20 transformer with the four lots of secondries???
many thanks
smithie
youve all got me intrested in this dac,just a quick question...
im looking at this
Assembled DAC 2496 (AK4396) CS8416 DAC With Transformer | eBay
it shows the rn20 transformer with the 2x9v and the 2x 15v secondries,but in the discription he mentions x1 transformer and only 2x 15v secondries???
has anyone brought from this seller and do you actully get the the rn20 transformer with the four lots of secondries???
many thanks
smithie
i think from the erin's original post, that is the seller he or she used. or i definitely remember reading about 'along'. maybe do a search for 'along'. sorry, not much help, am i!? i'm pretty sure from reading in the beginning that they come 2x15 and 2x9, but i can't tell you for sure. have you mailed the seller in ebay??
be aware, i'm a complete noob! but, i've read that if you're gonna follow dario's (clave) BOM, then it might be better to buy an unpopulated board and follow the BOM and images/schematic.
by de-soldering a populated board to change all according to the BOM, runs the risk of damaging the board and/or making it messy.
just what i read somewhere, if it helps (althought i see you've been a member for some time, so your skills are probably good
by de-soldering a populated board to change all according to the BOM, runs the risk of damaging the board and/or making it messy.
just what i read somewhere, if it helps (althought i see you've been a member for some time, so your skills are probably good
For what it's worth - I would prefer to buy a complete kit, build it, test it and use it over a two to five day burn-in. When you are satisfied, then upgrade. I have done ten or twelve builds over the past three years an this approach has given me the best results. If something goes wrong it is easier to troubleshoot and get advice from both the original vendor and the members here on the forum with an "as published" build.
If you are a seasoned builder and understand how easy it is to get the wrong part from Mouser and other distributors (even sometimes when you have the part numbers) then I say go for it.
Dario's BOMs are excellent and proven to work if constructed correctly. The cost/waste of the two step method just adds some predictability and reassurance to the new DIYer. I haven't added up the cost of the leftover parts from build - then upgrade of this DAC, but it's a bargain compared to potential hours and hours of recovery activities.
Just my two cents.
If you are a seasoned builder and understand how easy it is to get the wrong part from Mouser and other distributors (even sometimes when you have the part numbers) then I say go for it.
Dario's BOMs are excellent and proven to work if constructed correctly. The cost/waste of the two step method just adds some predictability and reassurance to the new DIYer. I haven't added up the cost of the leftover parts from build - then upgrade of this DAC, but it's a bargain compared to potential hours and hours of recovery activities.
Just my two cents.
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BobM,
wise words and that is why I bought 2 boards. I know from bitter experience though that PCBs do not like too much soldering and we already know from others on this thread that this PCB is a little fragile.
When I started kit building there was a very experienced E/E on that kit forum that advised to 'only make one change at a time' otherwise ' you lose any point of reference'.
So I would add where you know that it is likely you will try different components use pcb pins or solid core copper wire to solder to - saves a lot of trouble.
wise words and that is why I bought 2 boards. I know from bitter experience though that PCBs do not like too much soldering and we already know from others on this thread that this PCB is a little fragile.
When I started kit building there was a very experienced E/E on that kit forum that advised to 'only make one change at a time' otherwise ' you lose any point of reference'.
So I would add where you know that it is likely you will try different components use pcb pins or solid core copper wire to solder to - saves a lot of trouble.