DACKit complete, but a few issues!!

[jonclancy]

Hi Andrea,

First listening seems to be fast, but with more emphasis on the mids and lows than I was expecting. The deatail is there, but is more in the background than the foreground. The soundstage does seem deep and well-defined. Of course, there is plenty of running in to do, and I expect the sound to change through the process. We'll be conducting some AB testing when it has had a chance to settle down. The output level appeared to be very high at first - had the amp turned way down for a quiet-ish volume - but this has now settled down.

There is a background hiss that was very much attenuated when I defeated the tone controls on the Arcam amp (with the "Direct" switch). Overall, it sounds very nice and I am combing the CD collection for some decent recordings to try out (it's amazing how poor some production is nowadays!!)

I am delighted that I can top up the battery using the CSI Airflow battery conditioner I used to use when I had an old classic car. This has been sat in the box for a couple of years and now has a decent job to do (thank goodnes - it wasn't cheap!!).

The bottom line is that this has been a really SUCCESSFUL project. I have had plenty of questions along the way, and a problem to solve that was caused by my inexperience with a soldering iron!! The good news is that the DAC is working well, but the best news was that I have learned a whole load of stuff in the process!!!

I recommend the DacKit if you haven't built one already!

Cheers

Jon

[jonclancy]

In fact, just listening to Annie Lennox' new disc "Bare" and it is sounding better all the time. Detail is appearing and there is plenty of weight in the bass.

I wonder what it will sound like after a couple of hundred hours burn in???

Jon

[Andypairo]

Originally posted by jonclancy
Hi Andrea,

First listening seems to be fast, but with more emphasis on the mids and lows than I was expecting. The deatail is there, but is more in the background than the foreground. The soundstage does seem deep and well-defined. Of course, there is plenty of running in to do, and I expect the sound to change through the process.
--zip--

I recommend the DacKit if you haven't built one already!

Cheers

Jon

Well, the "background" detail is about the same impression I had with mine (I've actually built one, based on Doede's DDDAC).
For now I only tested it at 7.5V but I expect things to change playing with Vcc...

Cheers

Andrea

[jonclancy]

Are you going up or down on the Vcc?

Jon

[Andypairo]

I'll try both and then will let my ears choose

Cheers

Andrea

PS I just borrowed a digicam, shortly I'll post some shots of my setup.