$80 a piece, I guess it all comes down to what you are looking for. Keep in mind that not only are you increasing the effective impedance of the load in order to satisfy the DAC output, but as a consequence you are also increasing the effective source impedance of the combination, which then serves the next stage (volume control, preamp, amp, whatever). Higher source impedance limits what you can drive and system frequency response.
The Jensens easily fit within a single rack space enclosure (in my case, a DCX2496). Without any series resistance, I can drive a cable to my preamp with very low source impedance.
The Jensens easily fit within a single rack space enclosure (in my case, a DCX2496). Without any series resistance, I can drive a cable to my preamp with very low source impedance.
The Cinemag transformers were designed by the same engineer, Tom Reichenbach, as the Jensens. I've had many recording people tell me that the Cinemags actually sound better, and have proven this to myself, and they are generally 30-50% cheaper. Cost competitive or cheaper than the Lundahls, which I actually think are BADLY designed transformers by comparison.
hi all experts,
Micromegas DAC apart,
my intentions is to purchase ,used, a PD 95 or PD 77 Pioneer wich was 1 bit , differential output current dac chips ( if i remember correctly).
Jet "stand alone" ,with poor iC buffer and amplifications / low pass filter, they IMHO sound "GOOD" ,
but I suspect that IF I remove that darmn IC and swap with a sowter or lundhal transformer ,
the sound will be GREAT.
ARE I "crazy"?
Cheers,
paolo venezia Italy
I have NO doubt that the Pioneer "pulseflow" D-S dacs will sound a hell of a lot better with no opamps in the path, but, my impression of their fundamental sound capability, based on years of 'conventional', i.e., still with opamps, upgrading compared to doing same to other dacs, is that they will still sound rather feeble in the low bass & overall less musical than any ladder dac or, say, B-B PCM1794 or similar D-S dac.
The other issue is lack of available detailed specs on the "pulseflow" dac chips, i.e., output current, compliance voltage, etc. I've personally never seen a full datasheet on any PD2026/2028/2029/etc., but you may get lucky and find them with some serious hunting.
I currently use the Lundahl 1527XL tranny as the output on my DAC, why do you say its badly designed? I am not defending Lundahl, but genuinely interested in your thoughts. What Cinemag tx would you recommend as a repalcement?
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