TDA1541A non-o/s DAC PCB

[jean-paul]

Since I gave up designing an *excellent* pcb for TDA1541A I am in for a few boards. The board you show at your website would be good as it is ( at least it looks very good at the pictures ! ). Will your new board be totally different or will it be based on that one apart from the concept ? Please do consider the use of an input transformer with CS8412, my guess is that you'll like it as much as I do.

A second suggestion is to integrate the power supplies ( except transformers ) on the pcb avoiding wiring. Inexperienced participants sometimes have hum after putting a DAC together and integrating power supplies would be a solution for that. It's just an idea ( using RCA connectors directly on the pcb for input and outputs could be a suggestion too with the same objective ).

If you need help I would be delighted to help you out with the layout as long as you do the TDA part

[jean-paul]

Your board could be friends with this one:

My CDM4 CD Transportmechanics pcb

[Marlowe]

I want one to three PCBs

[Nuuk]

Hello uncle Pedja

I have been looking at the Scott Nixon 1543 kit. Is your 1541A a better sounding DAC and if so how much more complicated would it be to put together for a complete DAC novice?

[Pedja]

Originally posted by Calimero
Is the board you mention in this thread a new design or the one you have already available.

Originally posted by jean-paul
Will your new board be totally different or will it be based on that one apart from the concept ?

The new board will be based on the previous project and will be made in the same spirit.

Originally posted by Calimero
Is it an idea to allow for different kind of ASR's, as I think besides SPDIF or I2S, an USB type of input would be nice.

If done without the reclocker it would be done that way to be able to accept one. So, of course, can be used for I2S directly, but I did not think about the USB compatibility. With flip-flops included on the board one can experiment with different can oscillators. I yet have to decide about this.

Originally posted by Calimero
PS: your web-site is well documented and it is hard to imagine you do this for hobby. It has a very professional look.

Thanks. I did not do it professionally until now but this may change soon. As about the look of the site, it takes some time to design it, but once the layout is made, it can be easily filled with the content (as it arrives).

Pedja

[Pedja]

Originally posted by jean-paul
Please do consider the use of an input transformer with CS8412, my guess is that you'll like it as much as I do.

I must say I did not try the input transformer previously. Since at this moment it would take some time to do that, it would make all the process certainly slower.

A second suggestion is to integrate the power supplies ( except transformers ) on the pcb avoiding wiring. Inexperienced participants sometimes have hum after putting a DAC together and integrating power supplies would be a solution for that. It's just an idea ( using RCA connectors directly on the pcb for input and outputs could be a suggestion too with the same objective ).

Else than the reclocker for which I am still not sure what to do (if I read correctly the previous posts, the “modular concept” could be preferable but from the experience I know that the much of possibilities rarely lead to the much of the executions), the board will accept all the parts except the mains transformer(s). The output connectors will be at the upper right corner of the board (where they conventionally belong) but the situation with the S/PDIF input is not that simple. While I was designing the first board I have spent some time rotating and moving the chips trying to finish with S/PDIF input at the same side of the board, but the result always was worse for many other things. Finished with what you could see. The input could be still routed anywhere using the board, but in the previous case, considering the distance, I have decided to use the coax.

If you need help I would be delighted to help you out with the layout as long as you do the TDA part

Thanks for the offer. Actually there are not a lot of things that still have to be decided and then all should go relatively fast. I think I tried hundred options for routing around 1541 – none is perfect. The way Peter did it is probably the best I saw but it needs skills/nerves/time...

Pedja

[Pedja]

Originally posted by Nuuk
Hello uncle Pedja

I have been looking at the Scott Nixon 1543 kit. Is your 1541A a better sounding DAC and if so how much more complicated would it be to put together for a complete DAC novice?

Hello uncle Nick,

You could make both for the price of one conventional CD player and be the first who will report about that.

Seriously, this is the interesting question, you in fact left me without some resolved answer. So, it seems I could not offer you more than this few facts/thoughts.

Firstly, I have never heard Scott’s DAC but I do have something like that made with slightly different parts. Scott’s layout (done with a help of the others on the Chip Amp Forum some time ago but it is finally his own design) is excellent and I must say here he was the one who helped me when I was designing my own board for TDA1543. I firstly wanted to buy his one but he had the problem with the e-mail account at that time; when he answered after some time I have did a lot of work already and he offered me the help to finish it, yes, for free, and he was a great help for me then.

TDA1543 DAC is the gainclone among the DACs, it makes you not to forget the line between the engineering and the designing with the goal of the good sound. At one side it is as simple as the DAC can be and at the other not a lot of that will sound better. I know many that simply can not think seriously about the TDA1543 and they are very wrong.

I still certainly prefer my TDA1541A with reclocker and I/V I am using now to the TDA1543 with passive I/V, but I have also put much more effort into it.

This project will not require any special skills to build but the things might be clearer if you wait a bit to see the way it will look definitely. Anyway, feel free to ask further if the answer was not acceptable...

Pedja

[Whit]

I'd like two or three boards.

[tg3]

I'm in for at least two boards. Would like an option for I2S input.

[Borc]

I'm interested for one too.