Which DAC is in the kit? If it's the AK4396 the values of r's and C's in the LPF ought to comply to the BOM (Dario's). The R's and C's in the kit are based on another (previous) DAC...
In this thread there was some mention of crackling sound, perhaps it applies to your kit too..
Its the AK4393. The analog circuit should be the same for the AK4396 i would think, not sure though i would have to look at the datasheet to see output p-p. The crackling is probably due to mains noise, i'm using EI iron transformers not a toroid. I will add some bigger caps and tantalum bypass caps. Maybe change/upgrade the regulators, although i don't know if there are better ones. Capacitance should solve this issue i hope. I will try a common mode choke on the mains first. I have a nice IEC socket/filter i salvaged from something.
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Values are ok for the ak4393. The ak4396 needs other values....
About the powersupply.... bigger caps might show some improvement.. if the crackling is caused by hf signals, changing the regulators is not likely to be the solution, for their capability to suppress high frequncies deminisnes. You'll need to add some passive supression in that case.
Adding a choke might be an idea...
I2C hookup
Thanks to all for sharing your ideas and suggestions.
My digital transport has been Squeezebox Touch since it came out. I used it with a DAC05 from Danish Audio Design + a linear PSU for the Touch.
I'm a big fan of the Squeezebox system and I used SqueezePlay on my laptop and the Squeeze App on my phone with great joy.
However, this year I sold the package because I couldn't resist an offer.
A month ago I bought a Raspberry Pi B+. And I also bought the DAC 2496 from 'Silver84'. Bjarne made the full modification of the board and he did a splendid good job. This DAC sounds so good with my tube amplifier that I don't need to look no further.
I also bought a USB to SPDIF converter board from China. I use piCorePlayer on the Raspberry.
Now I'm going to place everything in a Galaxy enclosure. Before I continue I would appriciate your advice concerning I2S vs SPDIF connection.
Right now I use the SPDIF connection. Would using the I2S input provide a better sound?
If I go the I2S way, I would unsolder the four 51R resistors and connect them to the I2S on the USB board, and ground of course. Do I need to do anything else? Is that it?
Thanks!
Jan
Thanks to all for sharing your ideas and suggestions.
My digital transport has been Squeezebox Touch since it came out. I used it with a DAC05 from Danish Audio Design + a linear PSU for the Touch.
I'm a big fan of the Squeezebox system and I used SqueezePlay on my laptop and the Squeeze App on my phone with great joy.
However, this year I sold the package because I couldn't resist an offer.
A month ago I bought a Raspberry Pi B+. And I also bought the DAC 2496 from 'Silver84'. Bjarne made the full modification of the board and he did a splendid good job. This DAC sounds so good with my tube amplifier that I don't need to look no further.
I also bought a USB to SPDIF converter board from China. I use piCorePlayer on the Raspberry.
Now I'm going to place everything in a Galaxy enclosure. Before I continue I would appriciate your advice concerning I2S vs SPDIF connection.
Right now I use the SPDIF connection. Would using the I2S input provide a better sound?
If I go the I2S way, I would unsolder the four 51R resistors and connect them to the I2S on the USB board, and ground of course. Do I need to do anything else? Is that it?
Thanks!
Jan
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SPDIF is a very good digital interface. It has some critics but for external connection between digital equipment it is the best we have.
i2s is designed for use inside equipment with very short track lengths. To use i2s properly as an external transmission you need to use buffered transmitters and receivers. It is also suggested to use PCB mount RF connectors. I have personally tried i2s as an external connection using wires that were about 6cm long. To be totally honest it worked, but I didn't notice any improvement over SPDIF. perhaps it was even worse because the way I was doing it was not optimal. I think it wasn't worth the trouble. My opinion is that SPDIF is very good and you have nothing to worry about by using it.
i2s will NOT give you better sound than SPDIF.
Looking at your board you may get better sound by putting small resistors (5 to 20 ohms) in line with your transformer secondary wiring and the terminal blocks on your PCB. This may damp the noise from the power supply and form an RC filter. This will smooth the sound if you find the highs to be harsh sounding. It does not work on all DAC's but does work on some. Try it and see if you like it.
i2s is designed for use inside equipment with very short track lengths. To use i2s properly as an external transmission you need to use buffered transmitters and receivers. It is also suggested to use PCB mount RF connectors. I have personally tried i2s as an external connection using wires that were about 6cm long. To be totally honest it worked, but I didn't notice any improvement over SPDIF. perhaps it was even worse because the way I was doing it was not optimal. I think it wasn't worth the trouble. My opinion is that SPDIF is very good and you have nothing to worry about by using it.
i2s will NOT give you better sound than SPDIF.
Looking at your board you may get better sound by putting small resistors (5 to 20 ohms) in line with your transformer secondary wiring and the terminal blocks on your PCB. This may damp the noise from the power supply and form an RC filter. This will smooth the sound if you find the highs to be harsh sounding. It does not work on all DAC's but does work on some. Try it and see if you like it.
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Thank you Erin.
I will follow your advice and stay with SPDIF.
I don't find the hights harsh, but I will consider your other hint with in-line resistors.
One last thing. This R-core transformer has 2x9V/0.8A and 2x15V/0.5A.
As you perhaps can see on the photo I use 1x9V for the DAC and the other 1x9V for the RaspBerry via the small 5V DC regulator board.
If I'm not mistaken 1x9V/0.8A would be sufficient current for the digital part of the DAC, and thus no need to parallel the 9V secondaries for the digital part?
But I do have a spare 2x7V transformer, approx. 10VA which I could install in the case for powering the Raspberry alone.
Perhaps I should I do this...?
Right now the Raspberry works fine with the 9V/0.8A from the R-core transformer. I intend to keep the little USB/SPDIF board USB-powered by the Raspberry. And perhaps I will add a wifi USB dongle to the Raspberry instead of using wired networking as of now, hence power consumption could be a bit higher.
Thanks.
I will follow your advice and stay with SPDIF.
I don't find the hights harsh, but I will consider your other hint with in-line resistors.
One last thing. This R-core transformer has 2x9V/0.8A and 2x15V/0.5A.
As you perhaps can see on the photo I use 1x9V for the DAC and the other 1x9V for the RaspBerry via the small 5V DC regulator board.
If I'm not mistaken 1x9V/0.8A would be sufficient current for the digital part of the DAC, and thus no need to parallel the 9V secondaries for the digital part?
But I do have a spare 2x7V transformer, approx. 10VA which I could install in the case for powering the Raspberry alone.
Perhaps I should I do this...?
Right now the Raspberry works fine with the 9V/0.8A from the R-core transformer. I intend to keep the little USB/SPDIF board USB-powered by the Raspberry. And perhaps I will add a wifi USB dongle to the Raspberry instead of using wired networking as of now, hence power consumption could be a bit higher.
Thanks.
I dont know the power consumption of the DAC. You should calculate this to tell you if one winding is enough to run it. Sorry I can't be more specific.
Separate transformers may or may not provide better sound. Try it and see after calculating your power requirements.
Separate transformers may or may not provide better sound. Try it and see after calculating your power requirements.
hey guys, im kinda new to electronics (and this forum ;-) ) and thought I'd build this dac as a first try. Soldering went well but I haven't ordered a power supply yet.
I have a 12V DC power supply with 2A lying around and was wondering if i could hook it up to use with the dac - just as an intermediary thing - not even to run it properly, more to try out if the assembly worked out before i order an expensive transformer ;-) Is it possible and where would I have to make to connections?
Would be awesome if you could help me out 🙂
I have a 12V DC power supply with 2A lying around and was wondering if i could hook it up to use with the dac - just as an intermediary thing - not even to run it properly, more to try out if the assembly worked out before i order an expensive transformer ;-) Is it possible and where would I have to make to connections?
Would be awesome if you could help me out 🙂
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Can I just hook it up to + and - of the KBP206? and find another 9v source and hook it up to KBP210?
Hi. Do you think that this this better than that and can be connected to nanoDigi?
NEW TE7022L+ES9023 USB DAC With A Coaxial SPDIF And I2S Output ZJ-in Other Consumer Electronics from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
NEW TE7022L+ES9023 USB DAC With A Coaxial SPDIF And I2S Output ZJ-in Other Consumer Electronics from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
No. You need at least a simetric power supply minimum 2x12v
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Hello,
I'm searching for some price/performance DAC to connect to my PC via USB. I'm building a headphone amplifier ''The Wire'' link: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/head...igh-performance-headphone-amplifier-pcbs.html
And I'm searching for some good DAC to go with this amplifier. It will be plugged to my computer (motherboard Gigabyte h81m-hd3 with Realtek Alc892 codec). So I'm searching to improve the sound quality for my headphone amplifier. I listen to music 192kbps or more. Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Best regards, Žiga
I'm searching for some price/performance DAC to connect to my PC via USB. I'm building a headphone amplifier ''The Wire'' link: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/head...igh-performance-headphone-amplifier-pcbs.html
And I'm searching for some good DAC to go with this amplifier. It will be plugged to my computer (motherboard Gigabyte h81m-hd3 with Realtek Alc892 codec). So I'm searching to improve the sound quality for my headphone amplifier. I listen to music 192kbps or more. Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Best regards, Žiga
Does anyone know the package type of the receiver IC (cs8416)? I can't tell if it is SOIC or TSOP.
I'm new to this forum, so maybe I come up with redundant information for just a small improvement; but anyway, it might be useful to know...
I bought the AK4396-DAC-Kit-2496-CS8416 assembled PCB and the R core transformer.
When connecting these together it occurred to me that some information was not obviously available: the phase relationship of the secondary windings for the symmetrical power voltages +/- 15V.
Here's why this needs some attention:
In the schematic in Erin's post #774 http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/atta...6-ak4393-dac-kit-cs8416-ak4393-5532-loopy.gif in this thread, you see a transformer with a center tap connected to the ground (center) pin of J3 on the PCB. Point is that the R core I and may others bought, doesn't come with a center tap, but with 2 separate 15V windings - which is fine, but which wire ends are to be connected together to make a center tap ?
- Taking 2 ends with the same phase together results in the 2 windings both charging the positive capacitor during one mains phase half, and both charging the negative capacitor during the other mains phase half. Mainly resulting in a poor winding current balancing, and a capacitor ripple frequency of fMains.
- Taking 2 ends with opposite phase together results in the 2 windings each charging a different capacitor during one mains phase half, and swap this charging during the other phase half.
Resulting in an optimal winding current balancing and a ripple frequency of 2*fMains.
So, using the latter configuration produces only half of the ripple voltage compared to the first (using the same capacitor values). Small detail perhaps, but it comes at zero cost and only small effort...
Tip to determine the phases of the secondary 15V windings:
take together a wire from each winding and measure the voltage over the remaining winding ends. (Be careful not to short together the 2 ends of one winding.) If the measured AC value is negligible it means that opposite phase ends are now connected; if the value is roughly 30V it means that the windings are now in series, and that the connected point can act as the center tap we were looking for.
I bought the AK4396-DAC-Kit-2496-CS8416 assembled PCB and the R core transformer.
When connecting these together it occurred to me that some information was not obviously available: the phase relationship of the secondary windings for the symmetrical power voltages +/- 15V.
Here's why this needs some attention:
In the schematic in Erin's post #774 http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/atta...6-ak4393-dac-kit-cs8416-ak4393-5532-loopy.gif in this thread, you see a transformer with a center tap connected to the ground (center) pin of J3 on the PCB. Point is that the R core I and may others bought, doesn't come with a center tap, but with 2 separate 15V windings - which is fine, but which wire ends are to be connected together to make a center tap ?
- Taking 2 ends with the same phase together results in the 2 windings both charging the positive capacitor during one mains phase half, and both charging the negative capacitor during the other mains phase half. Mainly resulting in a poor winding current balancing, and a capacitor ripple frequency of fMains.
- Taking 2 ends with opposite phase together results in the 2 windings each charging a different capacitor during one mains phase half, and swap this charging during the other phase half.
Resulting in an optimal winding current balancing and a ripple frequency of 2*fMains.
So, using the latter configuration produces only half of the ripple voltage compared to the first (using the same capacitor values). Small detail perhaps, but it comes at zero cost and only small effort...
Tip to determine the phases of the secondary 15V windings:
take together a wire from each winding and measure the voltage over the remaining winding ends. (Be careful not to short together the 2 ends of one winding.) If the measured AC value is negligible it means that opposite phase ends are now connected; if the value is roughly 30V it means that the windings are now in series, and that the connected point can act as the center tap we were looking for.
Not working anymore
My DAC has been running fine for a year now, but now I have problems with sound coming out.
It is connected to my Macbook Pro via an optical to coax converter.
Lately I had to switch it on and off to get it running. It produced some glitches and other digital noise only. After switching on and off it was running again. But today it stopped, only some glitches nothing else. I don´t know where to start looking for mistakes, that´s why I am posting here in the the hope to get some help 🙂
My DAC has been running fine for a year now, but now I have problems with sound coming out.
It is connected to my Macbook Pro via an optical to coax converter.
Lately I had to switch it on and off to get it running. It produced some glitches and other digital noise only. After switching on and off it was running again. But today it stopped, only some glitches nothing else. I don´t know where to start looking for mistakes, that´s why I am posting here in the the hope to get some help 🙂
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Hi Sangeet2,
Trouble shooting is starting at one end of a circuit and going to the other,I would suggest to check the Power supply for correct voltages,if OK. Try another input source ,maybe use another computer and see if anything changes,Your finger is a good tool for finding heat,if you can't touch a chip or part for 5 seconds it's probably fried,but just a rule of thumb,
Check the board over with a magnifying glass, look for bad solder joints,balls of solder and heat,it causes places to change color usually towards black or brown,tops of caps usually dome over on top,or look bulged,If you can find or use a scope you can look at the signal and follow where it goes and where it stops. The schematic or a flow chart is helpful here or Throw it away and get a new one,Replacing SMD parts is a art,
I hope this general guide may help you !
If you will post a pic maybe a schematic That will help!
NS
Trouble shooting is starting at one end of a circuit and going to the other,I would suggest to check the Power supply for correct voltages,if OK. Try another input source ,maybe use another computer and see if anything changes,Your finger is a good tool for finding heat,if you can't touch a chip or part for 5 seconds it's probably fried,but just a rule of thumb,
Check the board over with a magnifying glass, look for bad solder joints,balls of solder and heat,it causes places to change color usually towards black or brown,tops of caps usually dome over on top,or look bulged,If you can find or use a scope you can look at the signal and follow where it goes and where it stops. The schematic or a flow chart is helpful here or Throw it away and get a new one,Replacing SMD parts is a art,
I hope this general guide may help you !
If you will post a pic maybe a schematic That will help!
NS
Attachments
HiSangeet2,
Before I would replace the PCB,you might check the traces point to point,and also to ground,If you have a scope you can check signal lines for activity,then try to isolate the bad chip and replace it.
Radio shack sells a signal injector and a reader for digital.🙂
Here a ebay auction,It's about the price of the chip alone....http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+dac.TRS0&_nkw=cs9414+and+AK4393+dac&_sacat=0
NS
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