TDA1541 S1 vs TDA1541A

[Chivvyp]

Hi,

Does anyone know how a TDA1541S1 (non-a) compares with an ordinary TDA1541A?

Regards

Pete

[marcelnl]

yes

but I guess you want to know the difference ;-)

The S1 and S2 are selected from the general production, and have guaranteed precision specs
So you may get lucky with an ordinary 1541 but you have a far better chance of hitting a sweet sounding TDA 1541 when buying the specially selected ones. The sound quality really improves a lot with the higher precision versions. I started with a S1 and ended up with the S2 and really was impressed by the differenence it made.

I'd go for the gold crown (two crowns stamped on the housing) any day....if available (and in case they are legit and not restamped ordinary 1541s)

[amc184]

I've compared the two, and to me the S1 is worthwhile. I won't go into detail, but to me my S1's sound has all the good points of a TDA1541A without as much of the flaws.

The S1 is just a selected grade, so in theory some normal TDA1541As should be just as good, but my S1 is miles ahead of any of my other TDA1541As.

Edit: Sorry, I thought this thread was about the S1. The A and non A sound different, but I don't have an opinion on which sounds better.

[marcelnl]

same misstake here, on the 1541 vs the A....

[amc184]

Hang on, just looked at the thread title again. What is this thread about Pete, TDA1541A vs TDA1541A S1 or TDA1541 vs TDA1541A?

[Chivvyp]

It's specifically about the S1 version of the non-a chip as against the ordinary version on the a chip.

I know the a is better than the non-a version in the ordianary forms but wondered if the selected versions of the non-a chip rated higher than the ordinary a versions.

Regards

Pete

[Extreme_Boky]

Originally Posted by Chivvyp

Hi,

Does anyone know how a TDA1541S1 (non-a) compares with an ordinary TDA1541A?

Regards

Pete

If yo are willing to waste your time and money with 1541, get S1 by all means.

Plain 1541 (1541A) have shut-in, harsh sound compared with S1, easily noticeable in NOS applications with analogue non-feedback stages.

Also all 1541 (1541A) sound different!!! I have tried 6 or 7 plain 1541’s and they all sounded different…. The S1 (I pulled out of CD94MKII) sounded far superior. Interesting thing was that even 2 S1 DAC’s I pulled out of that CD player sounded different (!?)…

It is interesting chip for DIY in NOS applications; however you will need to spend 10 X more money to get half decent sound compared to modern DAC’s…

I suggest you skip 1541 and try 1704 in differential configuration (if you can still find them), or an excellent 1794 with a lot of current-out swing (8 mA) -> perfect…. miles ahead of that 1541. If treated half as decent as 1541, that 1794 will blow your mind.

Boky

[AndrewGM]

Nothing wrong with TDA 1541A - period.
Organise the power supplies on the player properly, give everything that'll take a clock signal it's own clock signal ( 11.289 and 5.6 ) and prepare for a shock Mr Boky.
You really must speak for yourself on this one - many love the 1541 and do not spend so much getting them right either.
I could spend the next 10 minutes saying that NOS is a waste of time ( i've done it and reverted back ) but it would be rude of me to insult NOS lovers.

Yours ears - my ears, music preferences, room acoustic , speakers and amplification....all completely different. Not to mention how our brains interpret music and noise.
We're so ' off topic ' already - apologies Chivvyp because I can't answer your original question either.

[singa]

Originally Posted by Chivvyp

It's specifically about the S1 version of the non-a chip as against the ordinary version on the a chip.

I know the a is better than the non-a version in the ordianary forms but wondered if the selected versions of the non-a chip rated higher than the ordinary a versions.

Hi, To put the record straight,all S1's and S2 originate from TDA1541A.It superceded TDA1541 and subseqently Philips decided it made marketing sense to preselect the better A's to "prove" they had a better DAC to put
them in up market cd players and charged more for them.

[Chivvyp]

I have a chip marked TDA1541 S1 in an original Mission cd player, and they are also mentioned in some of the player/mechanism/dac lists around the web.

Regards

Pete