Ooops. I didn't mean to post the page yet as it is still under construction, but that is the correct price.
One thing you are not seeing on the page at the moment is the AVCC shunt reg module that comes with the DAC and plugs into the headers on either side of the chip.
Power for the AVCC shunt reg is taken from VD by default, but you can easily use an off-board pre-regulator for it if you want, by not installing the VD pin in the AVCC header.
To bypass one (or all) of the on-board regs, you simply remove a ferrite on the bottom of the board.
The bypassing is actually very flexible. You can either power your off-board reg with the VD from the board (VD pin on each header), or ignore it completely and just use the power in and ground pins.
One thing you are not seeing on the page at the moment is the AVCC shunt reg module that comes with the DAC and plugs into the headers on either side of the chip.
Power for the AVCC shunt reg is taken from VD by default, but you can easily use an off-board pre-regulator for it if you want, by not installing the VD pin in the AVCC header.
To bypass one (or all) of the on-board regs, you simply remove a ferrite on the bottom of the board.
The bypassing is actually very flexible. You can either power your off-board reg with the VD from the board (VD pin on each header), or ignore it completely and just use the power in and ground pins.
Awesome
But I am even more interested in the IVY-II pricing/availability. Get those happening, as well as some Ballsie Lites in the same stackable footprint, and TPA will get even more of my money
Actually, I am reworking the IVY PCB at the moment precisely to make it more practical for those who want everything.
The board is the same size as the BUfallo32S designed so that Bufallo II DAC sits on top. In the center section is the equivalent of a Ballsie Lite. Because it is actually an improvement over the Buf32 version(IVY II), we are calling the board the IVYIII. Each balanced I/V channel and the Ballsie section will have it's own power input, but jumpers will be provided so you can use a single supply for all three.
There are two sets of inputs for the IVY, one set directly lines up with the Buffalo outputs, so when stacked you have the shortest possible signal path. The other set is on the end, so they will line up with the outputs of the COD and Opus. The module is very flexible.
Brian and I do not yet have final pricing on it, but it will likely be in the $70 area (0.1% resistors, four OPA1632, one LM4562 (not final yet), polyprop capacitors, etc).
Cheers!
Russ
The board is the same size as the BUfallo32S designed so that Bufallo II DAC sits on top. In the center section is the equivalent of a Ballsie Lite. Because it is actually an improvement over the Buf32 version(IVY II), we are calling the board the IVYIII. Each balanced I/V channel and the Ballsie section will have it's own power input, but jumpers will be provided so you can use a single supply for all three.
There are two sets of inputs for the IVY, one set directly lines up with the Buffalo outputs, so when stacked you have the shortest possible signal path. The other set is on the end, so they will line up with the outputs of the COD and Opus. The module is very flexible.
Brian and I do not yet have final pricing on it, but it will likely be in the $70 area (0.1% resistors, four OPA1632, one LM4562 (not final yet), polyprop capacitors, etc).
Cheers!
Russ
Last edited:
As I currently have the B24/IVY I stack, it will require re-drilling my base plate - something I wouldn't have had to do with the 'half' modules in the original Buffalo II picture...... but in the long run it sounds like a MUCH better solution, so I'm a happy camper. I think you will find a lot of B32S owners who will be very happy too
And all things considered, the price seems pretty keen to me!
As I currently have the B24/IVY I stack, it will require re-drilling my base plate - something I wouldn't have had to do with the 'half' modules in the original Buffalo II picture...... but in the long run it sounds like a MUCH better solution, so I'm a happy camper. I think you will find a lot of B32S owners who will be very happy too
And all things considered, the price seems pretty keen to me!
Actually, the mounting holes are the same as the Buffalo's, so you should not need any new holes.
I love it!!! A dream board for PSU tweaker addicts. Although I'm not completely sure, it looks like it will be possible to do A/B testing of different supply types/combinations without soldering....
I see that the output to the I/V-stage has the option of using 2.56 mm pitch connectors (I still miss it on the digital in.....). I'm very happy about this and I actually asked for this option when we were asked about our desired features. I find the terminal blocks impractical, in particular on stacked modules, and kind of over-sized compared to the rest of the design. As the output of the BII and IVYII/III are supposed to be aligned I was thinking that maybe you were considering some kind of direct "plug-and-play" connector rather than wires between these module. Are you?
Great work. Can't wait to get one of these!
Nic
P.S. Great work on the Haiti raffle. I would love a selling prize increase by lets say 5$ on each order, and maybe a corresponding profit drop, all donated to humanitarian no-profit organizations like MSF or UNICEF. There is a constant need for these donations and it does put our audio hobby in strongly needed perspective....
So the mounting holes are the same for the B24, but the board size is that of the B32S, with integrated Ballsie-like circuit for dedicated balanced and single ended......
Brian, you just made my day. This sounds like it will be the easiest upgrade I will ever do!
greetings to all
after reading 78 pages of the thread.. and not having slept whole nights to monitor eBay auctions ...
I finally bought all the transformer that I thought were suitable for the output of my buffalo DAC !
namely:
UTC HA-108 for tension mode
Audio Tekne LT-8310 for tension mode
Jensen Jt11P1 for tension mode
UTC HA-101 for current mode
Stevenson & Billington TX-103 for current mode
advise me how different processors, to run the big test ....
course I'll tell you what results I get
thanks and greetings
after reading 78 pages of the thread.. and not having slept whole nights to monitor eBay auctions ...
I finally bought all the transformer that I thought were suitable for the output of my buffalo DAC !
namely:
UTC HA-108 for tension mode
Audio Tekne LT-8310 for tension mode
Jensen Jt11P1 for tension mode
UTC HA-101 for current mode
Stevenson & Billington TX-103 for current mode
advise me how different processors, to run the big test ....
course I'll tell you what results I get
thanks and greetings
Hi Alboran,
A very interesting start! I am sorry I cannot give advice but I am very interested in transformers as a part of an I/V stage, please keep us posted.
And a question for TP guys - will there be a pre order as last time or you will just sell the boards when they are ready? Can we please preorder now...
A very interesting start! I am sorry I cannot give advice but I am very interested in transformers as a part of an I/V stage, please keep us posted.
And a question for TP guys - will there be a pre order as last time or you will just sell the boards when they are ready? Can we please preorder now...
You can connect any output stage you like to the Buffalo II. You have a wide variety of voltage input and current input output stages that should work just fine.
How well a third party output stage works is anybody's guess so I can't make any predictions, but the choice is yours.
When will you be getting preorders ?, will it be in your website ?
best regards and thank you,
Pepe
Dear Russ: I have a Buffalo 32S with Placid power supplies.
The other day, a friend played for me some 352.8kHz 32-bit files master recordings, using one of ESS's evaluation DACs. According to my friend, ESS's evaluation DAC needed to be modified with a faster master clock in order to play the 352.8kHz files. I believe that he said that 80MHz wasn't enough, and the next faster oscillator that he had was 100MHz, so that's what he put in, and it worked.
I want to also be able to listen to these 352.8kHz files on the Buffalo 32S, and am willing to replace the Crystek clock, but would prefer not to put in any faster clock than is necessary. I would also prefer to do a minimum of clock swapping to find the right frequency - grin. Given the above, do you have any suggestion as to what frequency clock I should put in?
TIA, jonathan carr
The other day, a friend played for me some 352.8kHz 32-bit files master recordings, using one of ESS's evaluation DACs. According to my friend, ESS's evaluation DAC needed to be modified with a faster master clock in order to play the 352.8kHz files. I believe that he said that 80MHz wasn't enough, and the next faster oscillator that he had was 100MHz, so that's what he put in, and it worked.
I want to also be able to listen to these 352.8kHz files on the Buffalo 32S, and am willing to replace the Crystek clock, but would prefer not to put in any faster clock than is necessary. I would also prefer to do a minimum of clock swapping to find the right frequency - grin. Given the above, do you have any suggestion as to what frequency clock I should put in?
TIA, jonathan carr
Buffalo II pre-orders
I will begin taking pre-orders for the Buffalo II tomorrow evening. I am going to update the web page with the exact times in the next hour or so.
Pre-orders, as usual, will be taken through the web site, the same as if you were just buying something. If you order other parts along with your pre-ordered DAC, I will assume you want them all shipped together.
I will also be taking pre-orders for the new IVY-III. I will get it's web page and details up today as well.
I expect to begin shipping the Buffalos and IVYs the week of March 8th, if all goes as expected with manufacturing.
I will begin taking pre-orders for the Buffalo II tomorrow evening. I am going to update the web page with the exact times in the next hour or so.
Pre-orders, as usual, will be taken through the web site, the same as if you were just buying something. If you order other parts along with your pre-ordered DAC, I will assume you want them all shipped together.
I will also be taking pre-orders for the new IVY-III. I will get it's web page and details up today as well.
I expect to begin shipping the Buffalos and IVYs the week of March 8th, if all goes as expected with manufacturing.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.