Build thread for Diyinhk ES9018 DAC on Ebay

[KlipschKid]

Yeah, cool party-wear too ;-)

Here's the happy couple, ready to say their vows :



I drilled one extra hole in the ES9018 board near the op amp power input. It's the only corner with a free space for a hole, that still gives reasonable access to connection points. Total height of the two together is 45mm.

Honeymoon shot - ewweeyy.

[syklab]

Hi Tom,
What are those 2 rows of dip connectors in the middle used for?
Interest are building up, I will try to build this dac after CNY.

Cheers

[KlipschKid]

Originally Posted by syklab

Hi Tom,
What are those 2 rows of dip connectors in the middle used for?
Interest are building up, I will try to build this dac after CNY.

Cheers

They are op amp sockets for the I/V. I cut the bridges so I could keep access to my ground strap, should I need to modify it. I put an op amp into the dip sockets while soldering to make sure they are correctly aligned.

I have fitted the buffer LME49990 op amps w/o sockets as I'm certain they are keepers. But I can still de-solder them from the adapter pcb if something better does come along.

[qusp]

Originally Posted by syklab

Looks nice, does it comes in more than 5X magnifying power or is 5X enough ?

try to magnify something in photoshop to 500% and answer that for yourself, if you need more than 5x magnification, you should think about finding another hobby. also higher than that if you move your head more than a little bit, it becomes jerky.

[enjoybiking]

When I turned 50+ I started buying reading glasses in 3 packs [eyes fine otherwise] -- when I'm down in the basement playing with SMD stuff I wear 2 pair, it helps if they are clean I'm NOT suggesting it's the best solution. That's ~2+ 2+ for me. I also have a large illuminated magnifier I found someone had discarded, it is not installed yet, probably nowhere near enough on it's own. Do my glasses help me find a tiny $pec of SOT-23 Micrel regulator I drop? NOPE!

Originally Posted by qusp

try to magnify something in photoshop to 500% and answer that for yourself, if you need more than 5x magnification, you should think about finding another hobby. also higher than that if you move your head more than a little bit, it becomes jerky.

[glt]

I switched the ADP151 regulator for a LT1963A regulator. The LT1963A adjustable has a noise level of 14 uV RMS compared to 9 uV RMS in the ADP but vastly more capable in current capability. Building the $99 ES9018 DAC Board H i F i D U I N O

[qusp]

why arent you using the TPS47xx? the transient response of the 1963A isnt so hot, it relies very heavily (as many LDOs) on the capacitors. I quite like the 1963A i've used it regularly for the same reasons you describe, but the TPS represents a changing of the guard for me, especially since it has a negative counterpart.

[glt]

I wanted to use that, but the minimum output voltage is 1.4V. Don't want to overclock the chip :-). I will use it for the input 3.3v supply

[KlipschKid]

Great job, as always GLT !

What do you guys think of the ADP7104 ?

BTW, diyinhk is selling two more DIY DAC boards, and I've always wanted to try the AKM AK4399.

[Jackal29a]

Originally Posted by diyinhk

Delta-sigma DAC VS Test
reference condition:
Same I2S input,
Same headphone AMP, same headphone, same ear
Same power regulator
Same computer USB input
ES9018 VS PCM1794A VS AK4399
follow each offical datasheet demo IV LPF circuit
blind test,
only ear will told the best

p.s. the latest version ES9018 PCB with the latest es9018 chip seems have no unlock problem at default power on setting with asyn 100M clock with cm6631a, need to confirm with longer test time.

Very interesting DACs, though DSD1794a instead of PCM would have been even more interesting IMO.
Could you please post a better pic of the AK4399? It is very difficult to read the connectors' labels in that one. The one on your ebay store is fine for the other side.
Could the +/-12V be upped to +/-15?