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Buffalo II

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Hi Russ & Brian,

Been enjoying the buffalo II DAC for long time now but now am exploring options for optimising the PSU arrangements.

Is it possible to have completely separate digital & analogue supplies & ground planes & also have completely separate supplies for the L & R channels ?

Or do I have to have a different DAC for each channel to give this kind of separation.

I am stuggling to find schematic & PCB layout - could you help with that ?

I attach a pic to show you the regulator boards I have at present. I am using a single placid supply at present.

Any advice you may have to get the very best from this buffalo DAC would be welcome.

thanks

mike mears

p.s. I am trying to prevent any noise on the digital ground polluting the analogue grounds & likewise between the two analogue channels.
 

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Dear All,

I have a Buffalo II board that I have been using for long. Yesterday I noticed that the left channel had a lower volume than the right. Indeed, while I get 3V out of the right channel, I get 160 mV out of the left. The phases are exactly the same amplitude.
I am suspecting that some of the internal DACs of the chip died. I also measured the voltage out of the board and I get 46 mV for the right channel and 38 mV for the left.

Any hint ? Do I have to find a new board ?

Thanks,

Davide
 
Dear All,

I have a Buffalo II board that I have been using for long. Yesterday I noticed that the left channel had a lower volume than the right. Indeed, while I get 3V out of the right channel, I get 160 mV out of the left. The phases are exactly the same amplitude.
I am suspecting that some of the internal DACs of the chip died. I also measured the voltage out of the board and I get 46 mV for the right channel and 38 mV for the left.

Any hint ? Do I have to find a new board ?

Thanks,

Davide

False alarm, it's something strange in the analog part.

D.
 
Member
Joined 2007
Paid Member
My BII was reliable and enjoyable for many years without fail.

Part of a hobby in audio, not to mention the DIY mindset, is to be curious about and seek meaningful upgrades. So the BII was eventually replaced by 3 BIIIs plus a BBB/Hermes/Cronus. That was a serious improvement! Now the new ESS pro chips are shaking things up again and I will be testing one soon. For me there is enjoyment in the projects and building, not only in savoring the fruits of that ‘labor’ - the marvelous music! :)
 
I wonder if long time users of BII, maybe 80MHz ones, are still up and running, of course now and then someone with a problem shows up, cooling, solder joint or builder related mistake, but in the end how many are just enjoing their DAC?
My dual-mono BIIs worked fine for a while, until I tried installing BBB/Hermes/Cronus. I wanted to control the hardware volume via ALSA. I could never get it to work, it just played one channel on both DACs. Then I ruined the pads/pins on the boards trying to reconnect Volumite, which no longer seemed to work. So the whole, expensive lot sits gathering dust. I now just use an old Samsung Q1 Ultra connected to a Cambridge Audio DAC XS.
 
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