Replacing the DAC chip

srinath · 8th January 2013, 07:11 PM

Has anyone replaced the dac chip with a hand made circuit or something like say tubes or something along with the circuit for it. I know all about the opamp swap for tube based circuit ... but the dac chip itself has been left as is in that case.
Thanks.
Srinath.

Izuall · 9th January 2013, 10:04 AM

That would not work..DACs are fed digital signal and convert it to analog..tubes are mainly analog devices...as for discrete DACs..i dont know if there are any designs that beat the current high performance ICs.

marce · 9th January 2013, 12:17 PM

Why one has to ask, it would not work and to model a DAC chip using discretes etc would be huge.

qusp · 9th January 2013, 01:26 PM

he suggested tubes.... I suppose it would be theoretically possible, but it would be terrible.

imagine the size of a dac made with tubes and resistors!!

srinath · 9th January 2013, 04:02 PM

Well thanks for all the responses. I see a people's put dac projects that they run after the CD player - like from the RCA outputs, and isn't that after the signal is turned to analog and the opamps have done their job etc etc ...

Also is it possible to replace the dac in a cd player, with a better one .. .say a tda1541a ...

I am asking this from a practical view point.
I have a rotel CD player with a tda 1541a, but it has a tray that was broken, and I glued back together. I am trying to see if say my sony or my kenwood that I have a dozen 6 cd cartridges for, I could put the dac in that one and have a 1541 in a better chassis.

Anyway thanks for indulgin me, I am learning ... sometimes a bit slow, but the pursuit is always on ...

Cool.
Srinath.

Julf · 9th January 2013, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp

imagine the size of a dac made with tubes and resistors!!

qusp · 9th January 2013, 05:46 PM

lol 3phase powered Dac

josha · 06:05 PM

Hi Srinath,

The DAC's people use after the CDP are connected to the digital or SPDIF output of the player, not the RCA's. If you have a CDP with a broken /tray transport then the easiest thing to do is to replace that. If you fancy a bit of DIY then you need to be looking at an SPDIF decoder - this will take the digital/spdif output from another player and convert it into a signal that your TDA1541a will accept.

You will need to intercept the signal that your existing CDP was feeding to the TDA1541a and 'replace' it with the signal generated by the SPDIF decoder.

You're essentially turning your broken CDP into a DAC.

This not a trivial undertaking though! My advice would be to replace the broken tray/transport and do plenty or reading on the subject while enjoying your player!

To get you started.....

Digital-to-analog converter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and a bit more in-depth....

A Fundamental Introduction to the Compact Disc Player

Hope this helps.......

BTW - I for one would love a wall of tubes like that but my wife.......

srinath · 9th January 2013, 06:22 PM

I cant easily find a tray to replace that one ... none of them seem to be about the same ... but I can use it as is, its glued but seems to be holding ... and if it fails, I guess I can glue it again.
Worse yet, I looked in my collection for a dead cd player cos I wanted to cannibalise the transformer, and guess what ... they all decided to work.

Cool.
Srinath.

8th January 2013, 07:11 PM	#1
srinath diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010	Replacing the DAC chip Has anyone replaced the dac chip with a hand made circuit or something like say tubes or something along with the circuit for it. I know all about the opamp swap for tube based circuit ... but the dac chip itself has been left as is in that case. Thanks. Srinath.

9th January 2013, 06:02 PM	#8
josha diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire	Hi Srinath, The DAC's people use after the CDP are connected to the digital or SPDIF output of the player, not the RCA's. If you have a CDP with a broken /tray transport then the easiest thing to do is to replace that. If you fancy a bit of DIY then you need to be looking at an SPDIF decoder - this will take the digital/spdif output from another player and convert it into a signal that your TDA1541a will accept. You will need to intercept the signal that your existing CDP was feeding to the TDA1541a and 'replace' it with the signal generated by the SPDIF decoder. You're essentially turning your broken CDP into a DAC. This not a trivial undertaking though! My advice would be to replace the broken tray/transport and do plenty or reading on the subject while enjoying your player! To get you started..... Digital-to-analog converter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and a bit more in-depth.... A Fundamental Introduction to the Compact Disc Player Hope this helps....... BTW - I for one would love a wall of tubes like that but my wife....... Last edited by josha; 9th January 2013 at 06:05 PM.

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9th January 2013, 10:04 AM	#2
Izuall diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2012	That would not work..DACs are fed digital signal and convert it to analog..tubes are mainly analog devices...as for discrete DACs..i dont know if there are any designs that beat the current high performance ICs.

9th January 2013, 12:17 PM	#3
marce diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Blackburn, Lancs	Why one has to ask, it would not work and to model a DAC chip using discretes etc would be huge.

9th January 2013, 01:26 PM	#4
qusp is choosing a less facetious title... diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia	he suggested tubes.... I suppose it would be theoretically possible, but it would be terrible. imagine the size of a dac made with tubes and resistors!!

9th January 2013, 04:02 PM	#5
srinath diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010	Well thanks for all the responses. I see a people's put dac projects that they run after the CD player - like from the RCA outputs, and isn't that after the signal is turned to analog and the opamps have done their job etc etc ... Also is it possible to replace the dac in a cd player, with a better one .. .say a tda1541a ... I am asking this from a practical view point. I have a rotel CD player with a tda 1541a, but it has a tray that was broken, and I glued back together. I am trying to see if say my sony or my kenwood that I have a dozen 6 cd cartridges for, I could put the dac in that one and have a 1541 in a better chassis. Anyway thanks for indulgin me, I am learning ... sometimes a bit slow, but the pursuit is always on ... Cool. Srinath.

9th January 2013, 05:46 PM	#7
qusp is choosing a less facetious title... diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia	lol 3phase powered Dac

9th January 2013, 06:22 PM	#9
srinath diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010	I cant easily find a tray to replace that one ... none of them seem to be about the same ... but I can use it as is, its glued but seems to be holding ... and if it fails, I guess I can glue it again. Worse yet, I looked in my collection for a dead cd player cos I wanted to cannibalise the transformer, and guess what ... they all decided to work. Cool. Srinath.