me, I try to avoid parts with limited lifetime, like potentiometers, switches and relays....
While you do this, don't forget to set a fair stage...
If you have played the Naim for along time, it's inevitable that you have tweaked the rest of the system so that the net result is to your favour. Now, when you introduce a new piece of equipment into the chain, wouldn't you say that it is fair that you go to some extent to make the changed chain sound as good as possible - like you did with the Naim in it? So, just don't throw the new DAC in and dismiss it because it sound bright or what have you - instead, ask which alteration to the rest component in the system could be made so to increase the SQ..
Think if the Naim was the limiter of the system and now, with the new component, there is a potential for elevating the stakes.
Fair?
//
Hi Soekris
I have been using soekris dac1021 12 from past 4 years and happy with it
Suddenly due to shot at home DAC is not functional, after having a close look at Dac found the trace from input to mcc mb16s damaged and checked the continuity of the bridge rectifier with multimeter and i guess it got damaged as i am getting beep sound when tested
Please let me know what need to be done to get my dac back to functional
Regards
I have been using soekris dac1021 12 from past 4 years and happy with it
Suddenly due to shot at home DAC is not functional, after having a close look at Dac found the trace from input to mcc mb16s damaged and checked the continuity of the bridge rectifier with multimeter and i guess it got damaged as i am getting beep sound when tested
Please let me know what need to be done to get my dac back to functional
Regards
Try first replacing obvious dead parts.... But it seems like it got a serious hit, the whole board might be dead....
Check if there are any obvious shorts on all the individual power rails by measuring resistance. Remove stuff until none of the power rails are shorted. Yes, much easier said than done.
Replace the components, repair the tracks, apply power from a current limited source and pray it works. Only the fpga is really hard to replace.
There is likely too much damage and a repair may not be worth it.
I'm probably one of the few people who actually need more than 16 bits all the time, since my area of application is the studio environment...
Anyway, with the digital volume control for the DAM1021 cranked all the way up (+ 15 dB) and the operating systems on-board digital volume control set down correspondingly, I start to hear a little grain in the signal on the studio monitors in a fully treated room. This is with a 24 bit - 2.5 bit (15 dB) = 21.5 dB digital volume control. The DAM1021 has 28 bits, so it's 6,5 bit or 39 dB better for the worst-case scenario.
The digital volume control of the DAM1021 is good enough.
The Naim CD3 is only one of the devices I can compare and the system is not optimized for it.
It sounds very good, but the other DACs sound as good.
I will compare this DAC with other devices like a AD1865 based DAC, a TDA1541A NOS DAC fed by the "ultimate" FIFO buffer and somwhere I also have a PCB for the PCM1704.
But as I said I'm more interested on the phase noise measurement of the LRCK.
Along the last years I have experimented a lot with oscillators and the measurements have always confirmed the sonic impressions, the better the close in phase noise of the clock the better the sound.
lol. Don't forget the Galactic Clocks from MSB.
What about electrolytic capacitors? I thought they have a limited lifespan of maybe a few years on continuous use. Maybe I shouldn't leave the DAC on all the time?
I wonder if it's psychologically possible to introduce a significant new component into the system, measured by price tag or some other imagined value, and NOT hear a difference for better or worse.
Yes, those get directly worn over time, but you can get long life, high current, high temperature types, those last very long as long as you don't stress them.... Actually most parts don't like higher operating temperatures....
In general, their lifetime doubles for each 10 deg lower operating temperature.... So if everything the same, 105 deg types last four times as long as 85 deg types, why I always use 105 deg spec'ed types and running them at as low temperature as possible....
I have meet pretty crappy capacitors, once used a cheap tiny chinese wall switcher that kept dying, especially running at 230V.... So I took a couple apart and found crappy chinese capacitors spec'ed at 1000 hours at 85 deg, not good when getting hot encased in that small plastic case, the worst capacitors I have every seen, didn't know you could get that low spec.... So I switched power supply vendor.
There seems to be a coupling between how much money or resources you you spend on something and how much improvement you want to hear, the key is doing ABX listening test.... As an engineer I like to design for cost, choosing lowest cost parts that fit the need, without over designing. It would be easy (and stupid) to just choose the best and most expensive parts....
MSB clocks are really Galactic, they have very low phase noise, in the region of the best oscillator on the market like Wenzel and Oscilloquartz (and my new oscillators).
Then one can argue if 19000 USD is the right price.