is kind of sad that the early adopters always turn out to be the better beta testers
Yep. You got a point. I'd also prefer an amp done right from the beginning.
Especially if the receipe (at least most of it) is known, you shouldn't leave
out half of the ingredients.
Quite nicely made full digital amps such as Sumoh or the newer Maestro-50 sell at around 250$. Why should I go for a 100$+PS+tweaks+chassis diy-module instead? And then the V2.1 would be the third one on my table.
PS: On above list of lacking features on the V2.1, I'd like to add that the
digital supply pins would work presamumble better with very low ESR
Oscon decoupling caps attached instead of FCs..
And I'd also say that they should consider an option to get the firmware
updated. One wrong firmware setting and you'd have to go for a new
amp.
Especially after v1.0 failed... FW flash should really be a matter of course nowadays.
I've now come to the conclusion that it's not the remote transmitter thats causeing my problems, it's more likely the reciever. Recently it has started to react to the SB Touch remote every now and then. Veeeeery disconcerting when you're listening well cranked up, just want to add a track to the Touch playlist via remote and the DDX jumps to a EQ setting with max. Bass boost.... OUCH! Then it can take up to 10 min. pressing the EQ button on the DDX remote until it finally gets back to E----, because it only reacts every 10 - 50 pushes of the button and then jumps like 5,6,7 steps ahead.
I'm wondering if I'm the only one with this phenomenon and it has something to do with my build....
Last edited:
Hi there.
I havn't been looking closely at the STA508 power amp chips implementation.
That's what I did now.
First thing I noticed is that the Zobel filter (R63/C52 datasheet) seems to be missing on channel 1 + 2 output on my v2 !?!?
It is recommended in the datasheet and in place on channel 3.
Is there any explanation for this?
Cheers
I havn't been looking closely at the STA508 power amp chips implementation.
That's what I did now.
First thing I noticed is that the Zobel filter (R63/C52 datasheet) seems to be missing on channel 1 + 2 output on my v2 !?!?
It is recommended in the datasheet and in place on channel 3.
Is there any explanation for this?
Cheers
Last edited:
Was busy as well... got fed up with the remote woes and waiting for end of chinese new year (20. Feb)... Had a closer look at the pcb where the display and ir-reciever are mounted. The IR-Diode is a three pin job. Middle (ground?) is connected on the rear traces of pcb and the other two have their traces on the front side. Unfortunately they are only soldered on the rear where the two outer pins actually have no corresponding trace, corrected that.
Disassembled the remote, puuuuh, chinese state of the art workmanship.... not! Ok, I really, honestly wasn't expecting much but they could have made less of a mess of it... The pcb was full of production/soldering residues, half of the soldering joints looked to be cold and the contact pad for the inner of the two batteries fell straight out after opening the remote... Gave all joints a touch of the soldering iron, resoldered both battery contacts adding more points by scratching lacquer where needed, cleaned the whole thing up.
Crossed my fingers, did a reset on the ddx and voila, the remote finally works again and much better and more reliable than to begin with.
So, back to listening enjoyment and waiting for a moment to maybe implement some mods a la "soundcheck".
Disassembled the remote, puuuuh, chinese state of the art workmanship.... not! Ok, I really, honestly wasn't expecting much but they could have made less of a mess of it... The pcb was full of production/soldering residues, half of the soldering joints looked to be cold and the contact pad for the inner of the two batteries fell straight out after opening the remote... Gave all joints a touch of the soldering iron, resoldered both battery contacts adding more points by scratching lacquer where needed, cleaned the whole thing up.
Crossed my fingers, did a reset on the ddx and voila, the remote finally works again and much better and more reliable than to begin with.
So, back to listening enjoyment and waiting for a moment to maybe implement some mods a la "soundcheck".
I do agree. The Maestro-50 also comes in a very nice case by the look of it.
But I cannot find what chip it uses. Do you know? No reviews either, so it would be a shot in the dark.
Anyone listened to one?
True Digital AMP is the term usually used by TI and beside that they talk about PurePath which is a trademark of TI.
There are IMO two major advantages of certain TI TAS chips.
The volume control ican be done via supply voltage. No digital control in this case. That's alsa a very nice feature for -- almost lossless -- speaker leveling and gain control.
And 2nd they use two different switching rates 352.8 (n*44.1) and 384 (n*48). BTW: Regarding switching frequency: NAD is running their famous M51 PCM/PWM DAC or M2 digital amp at 844khz!!
I also own a single chip TI TAS5706 amp. (That chip is also used in miniAMP at 60$). But that 5706 IMO can't compete with the DDX320. In my case the DDX 320 V1 replaced that amp. With my tweaked DDX V2 I'm a huge step ahead of this 5706. However. I havn't listend to the two-chip solutions of TI which would be comparable to the two-chip DDX setup.
Cheers
There are IMO two major advantages of certain TI TAS chips.
The volume control ican be done via supply voltage. No digital control in this case. That's alsa a very nice feature for -- almost lossless -- speaker leveling and gain control.
And 2nd they use two different switching rates 352.8 (n*44.1) and 384 (n*48). BTW: Regarding switching frequency: NAD is running their famous M51 PCM/PWM DAC or M2 digital amp at 844khz!!
I also own a single chip TI TAS5706 amp. (That chip is also used in miniAMP at 60$). But that 5706 IMO can't compete with the DDX320. In my case the DDX 320 V1 replaced that amp. With my tweaked DDX V2 I'm a huge step ahead of this 5706. However. I havn't listend to the two-chip solutions of TI which would be comparable to the two-chip DDX setup.
Cheers
Last edited:
Yes, it is certainly a TI chip : if you look at Maestro-50 technologic FAQ, Ava speaks about "Pure audio", "modulator" and the pictures diagrram are the same than the Texas Instrument true digital audio power amplifiers PDF.
So it's certainly a TAS chip.
(Like the HFX RiAMP 2.1/100 : same pictures but not the same price
, TAS5086 for convertor/modulator and TAS5342L for power stage)Sorry for my english
.Very helpful and thanks also Soundcheck. I have to say the build quality of the HifimeDIY gear does put me off, as well as their treatment of you and other 'beta testers'.Yes, it is certainly a TI chip : if you look at Maestro-50 technologic FAQ, Ava speaks about "Pure audio", "modulator" and the pictures diagrram are the same than the Texas Instrument true digital audio power amplifiers PDF.
So it's certainly a TAS chip.
(Like the HFX RiAMP 2.1/100 : same pictures but not the same price
Sorry for my english
I have emailed Maestro to ask what Ti chips that they are using.
Bet I don't get an answer.
Yes, it is certainly a TI chip : if you look at Maestro-50 technologic FAQ, Ava speaks about "Pure audio", "modulator" and the pictures diagrram are the same than the Texas Instrument true digital audio power amplifiers PDF.
So it's certainly a TAS chip.
(Like the HFX RiAMP 2.1/100 : same pictures but not the same price
Sorry for my english
So much for my cynicism. In 10 minutes (at 20:30 in UK) the dealer replied as follows!
We are using TI 5086D and 5342L
We also have highly optimised firmware to ensure near perfect audio resolution, which results in beautifully clear, yet powerful reproduction.
In a billet aerospace grade aluminium case, volume control and a 5 year warranty. I would bet build quality would be good. All for £229.
DDX320 needs to up its game.
I have no connection with the company and apologise for hijacking this thread to a non-DIY product.
I have a line by Dewey from "Malcolm in the middle" that I like very much - I didn't expect anything yet I am disappointed...
The DDX320 looked like a nice inexpensive thing to try and if soundcheck likes it then it must really sound good. I had a friend design a battery pack and recharger for it and found nice metal boxes and so on and it died almost instantly.
Of course it will be repaired and it is not going to cost much but the feeling that it is not completely OK will remain, especially after they put out a new version(and still did not apply what Klaus suggested) in a month or two.
That is not how you find loyal customers - sell underdeveloped products and replace them each month with a new underdeveloped product. £229 is not that much at all, considering the case, the warranty, the looks, it is not supposed to replace my Muse power 160, the DDX320 was expected to drive a pair of desktop speakers...
The DDX320 looked like a nice inexpensive thing to try and if soundcheck likes it then it must really sound good. I had a friend design a battery pack and recharger for it and found nice metal boxes and so on and it died almost instantly.
Of course it will be repaired and it is not going to cost much but the feeling that it is not completely OK will remain, especially after they put out a new version(and still did not apply what Klaus suggested) in a month or two.
That is not how you find loyal customers - sell underdeveloped products and replace them each month with a new underdeveloped product. £229 is not that much at all, considering the case, the warranty, the looks, it is not supposed to replace my Muse power 160, the DDX320 was expected to drive a pair of desktop speakers...
To be honest.
I can't really complain. Non of my amps had any issues. They always worked out of the box.
And if I talk about optimizations, folks, this is what you can do with basically every device out there. There's always space for improvement
Nobody has done an A/B comparison of the V2.1 and V2. So we don't even know how much better, if any better, V2.1 really is. Nobody has done a comparison with Sumoh or Ava. We don't really know in what league these guys are playing.
Let's stop the bashing. I count on DiyHifiMe to improve the production quality and to get V3 ready sooner or later. We know they are listening. I'll skip the V2.1 (except they send me one for comparison. )
If I compare my DDX to my TP Buffalo DAC + Amp, I know what value ( sound quality and cost ) I got in my hands.
And don't forget. DiyHifiMe is not Audio-GD. They focus on reasonable and rather low cost solutions.
Most of us over here are early adopters or even innovators. Yep. We are kind of beta testers. That's the price you have to pay if you're heading the crowd. That also happens to Bufallo owners, iancandas fifo reclocker owners asf.
To be constructive. Perhaps some of you guys can add some improvement proposals or at least confirm/question my stuff.
Cheers
I can't really complain. Non of my amps had any issues. They always worked out of the box.
And if I talk about optimizations, folks, this is what you can do with basically every device out there. There's always space for improvement
Nobody has done an A/B comparison of the V2.1 and V2. So we don't even know how much better, if any better, V2.1 really is. Nobody has done a comparison with Sumoh or Ava. We don't really know in what league these guys are playing.
Let's stop the bashing. I count on DiyHifiMe to improve the production quality and to get V3 ready sooner or later. We know they are listening. I'll skip the V2.1 (except they send me one for comparison.
)If I compare my DDX to my TP Buffalo DAC + Amp, I know what value ( sound quality and cost ) I got in my hands.
And don't forget. DiyHifiMe is not Audio-GD. They focus on reasonable and rather low cost solutions.
Most of us over here are early adopters or even innovators. Yep. We are kind of beta testers. That's the price you have to pay if you're heading the crowd. That also happens to Bufallo owners, iancandas fifo reclocker owners asf.
To be constructive. Perhaps some of you guys can add some improvement proposals or at least confirm/question my stuff.
Cheers
Last edited:
I agree with soundcheck, no bashing needed (nor intended)...
The only gripe I have is that I'm not quite content yet with the implementation of DSP features in the DDX. I'm very happy with the soundquality of the amp stages. This is my first and only amp from HiFiMeDIY but I imagine that the "bare" amps a la T1 etc. are most likely no-brainers.
I am well aware of the risk involved of being an early adopter and can live with that^^.
Imho I would try to make the DSP features and their remote controlling as bug-free as possible, because not being able to control those features makes the DDX more or less useless as a 2.1 amp, which just happens to be its specific characteristic (along with digital only signal processing) letting it stand out from other diy amps.
That being my main "proposal" I would add:
-a alternative to ir-remote for dsp setup
-60hz x-over frequency
-phase shift for sub
-Firmware flash ability (usb?)
Soundcheck has got the hardware covered so I'll pass on that one
The only gripe I have is that I'm not quite content yet with the implementation of DSP features in the DDX. I'm very happy with the soundquality of the amp stages. This is my first and only amp from HiFiMeDIY but I imagine that the "bare" amps a la T1 etc. are most likely no-brainers.
I am well aware of the risk involved of being an early adopter and can live with that^^.
Imho I would try to make the DSP features and their remote controlling as bug-free as possible, because not being able to control those features makes the DDX more or less useless as a 2.1 amp, which just happens to be its specific characteristic (along with digital only signal processing) letting it stand out from other diy amps.
That being my main "proposal" I would add:
-a alternative to ir-remote for dsp setup
-60hz x-over frequency
-phase shift for sub
-Firmware flash ability (usb?)
Soundcheck has got the hardware covered so I'll pass on that one
mostly agree, but i'm unaware of any issues with fifo that havent turned out to be user error (one borderline/intermittent solder joint I think I can remember that didnt show up in testing, but was handled straight away). for sure you dont have any idea, you only turn up in the thread every now and then to post your misunderstandings. I guess they must be very secretive owners.
now of course we all must take some issue every now and again for exploring new territory, it is not normally expected to involve smoke out of the box... why are you fixing it Nik? why not send it back and exchange for V3?
Last edited:
So it's the same chips than HFX riamp (900$
)...the TAS5342L is a 2x100W 4
the TAS5086 is a 6 channel PWM processor with bass management
Why did they all use a 6 channels chip for stereo or 2.1 amp ?
@Hifimediy : what about a new stereo full digital amp module with the new TAS5624A ? (150W Stereo/300W Mono PurePath HD Digital-Input Power Stage)
Do it before Sinewave
You didn't get the point. ian is also changing/evolving rather continously his "ultimate" (that was the thread announcement of day one) reclocker. That's why I brought his project up.
My thread appearance over there:
I was just questioning the "ultimate" subject about that project. There was no misunderstanding.
I never received an answer if the source wouldn't matter with this device anymore as long as bitperfect data are received. That's IMO the key question of todays digital audio. It wasn't answered, and that's why I left that thread.
I've been fooled much too often to run after the next "ultimate" thing.
Please stop spreading nonsense.
Last edited:
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.