DAC 2496 (AK4393) DAC KIT With CS8416+AK4393+5532

[bcmbob]

Thanks!

[j baldam]

Hi, could anyone please advise on the suitability of this as opposed to the BOM recommendation.

ONE Pieces BB BUF634U 50mA HIGH-SPEED for Linn Wharfedale Amp BUF634 | eBay

Just realised this appears to be a single op-amp.

[slider2828]

Hey Bob, did you have a chance to fire up the Wolfson Dac?

[bcmbob]

No Sir, still struggling . - but getting lots of help

Latest developments here.

[PreSapian]

i finally got to try out this dac today and i must agree, it really is the best.

cs4398, pcm1704, tda1543 none of these that i tried in the past can compare to 4396's transparency and naturality. so mich detail presented in such an organic matter, oh my!

i do have a dilema, tho- passive or active? i've already tried both and tho i can't quickly a/b them, passive defintely has more transparency and nuisance whereas active as an amazing bass and dynamic. active i tried was a discrete module in an otherwise stock board.

[bcmbob]

PreSapian, I'm not understanding your terminology "Passive - Active" Can you say that another way? It might be something obvious but I haven't heard it described that way.

[PreSapian]

sorry bob, i had to end my posting abruptly when the waitress brought out my food. (i diyaudio everywhere )

by passive i meant by a capacitor straight from the + legs of the ak4396 chips. the caps i'm using are mundorf supreme 1.5uf. maybe the lack of bass is due to their values not being high enough? no matter, this dac has convinced me to shell out for line trafos in the future

strange tho the dynamic is still on par with my tda1543 that also uses cap output, 2uf this time. maybe the dimunitive dynamics are inherent to this method of output?

as for active output, i didn't swap anything but the op-amp in an otherwise stock build straight from ebay, the full built kit.

(the chassis they come in is especially nice, btw. coupled with an r-core perfect for the dac, i find the price $82 be a bargain. in fact, i think it's still a bargain if it was only for the casing and the transformer alone)

[bcmbob]

Thanks, makes sense even to me now.

[ClaveFremen]

While it works, AK4396 it's not designed to drive a capacitive load, it's for this reason you loose some dynamic and bass...

I would go for active.

[apoopoo999]

Originally Posted by PreSapian

i finally got to try out this dac today and i must agree, it really is the best.

cs4398, pcm1704, tda1543 none of these that i tried in the past can compare to 4396's transparency and naturality. so mich detail presented in such an organic matter, oh my!

i do have a dilema, tho- passive or active? i've already tried both and tho i can't quickly a/b them, passive defintely has more transparency and nuisance whereas active as an amazing bass and dynamic. active i tried was a discrete module in an otherwise stock board.

If you are only listening to an unmodified board wait until you try Clavefremens BOM