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Mr White's "Opus", designing a simple balanced DAC

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#1,761
Russ White said:
Nice work Luke!

I bet that combo sounds great.
Click to expand...

I bought them from a member on the forum who has bought a buffalo II. It didn't come with a psu but this was all parts I had on hand and it only took a couple of hours to put together, its inspired by the LCDPS.
Its just in my study for PC music while I build stuff🙂 Going to a friends place today to listen and compare it to his spdif --> Opus version. We are wondering wether usb matches spdif via squeezebox. PC is a very noisy enviroment so its going to be interesting.
Thanks Brian and Russ, these are phenomenal value. Im pleased to have built my first TP product.

BTW I havent put a scope on my rails yet, but would a single rectifier be as quiet as a bridge, or would you expect more ripple? I didnt have 8 fast switching diodes so I just used one per rail. I think I measured about 50mV per rail of AC, but I dont trust my Meter, hows that for denial🙂
 
#1,762
Hah, you have a good sense of humor, and I admire that. You will indeed get somewhat less ripple using two rectifier's for the PSRR at the ripple frequency is most likely excellent(I am not sure of your exact PS circuit, but my experience says so), so I would not lose any sleep over it. 🙂

I also am generally not averse to using SPDIF. And the Squeezebox is a perfectly fine transport. 🙂

And thank you for you kind words.

Cheers!
Russ
 
#1,763
We compared my PC--->TP USB--->Opsu WM8740 to my friends Squeezebox --->TP SPDIF --->Opus WM8740. His Power supply is a LCDPS and mine is a CLC lm317 copy of the LCDPS.
Well we both expected the Squeeze box opus to beat the usb Opus combo , but it was impossible to tell the difference. They both sounded the same which is interesting as there is alot of talk about noisy polluted PCs.
The other thing thats impressive about the Opus is how quiet it is with the volume up full. You cant hear any hiss even with HPs.
I'm having a rethink about my main system now, I may need a buffalo II🙂
 
#1,764
Nice comparison Luke. Not surprised there's no audible difference. USB gets away from most of the PC noise (if it's even an issue to begin with) The only real issue with USB can be jitter. But in my experience, that's not much of an issue in "normal" circumstances. (decent PC, not otherwise too busy)

I finally finished my Opus. (WM8741) It sounds fantastic. Squeezebox (flac) -> TP 8804 SPDIF -> Opus -> Ballsie. (using LCDPS & Placid BP) After a little more break-in I'll try to compare a bit more to my Lavry DAC...

The Opus direct into my headphone amp sounded pretty darn good. What took a while was finally hooking up ballsie and debugging the placid BP. (scheduled around/between time with my 3 yr old daughter) Placid might be overkill for ballsie, but it sounds nice. I originally had planned to power something else with the placid 😉

I'm also tempted by the Buffalo II, but my next project is some phono stuff. (if only there were money & time for everything :sad: )
Maybe there will be a Buffalo III if I wait long enough 😀
 
#1,765
eclectic2k said:
Nice comparison Luke. Not surprised there's no audible difference. USB gets away from most of the PC noise (if it's even an issue to begin with) The only real issue with USB can be jitter. But in my experience, that's not much of an issue in "normal" circumstances. (decent PC, not otherwise too busy)

I finally finished my Opus. (WM8741) It sounds fantastic. Squeezebox (flac) -> TP 8804 SPDIF -> Opus -> Ballsie. (using LCDPS & Placid BP) After a little more break-in I'll try to compare a bit more to my Lavry DAC...

The Opus direct into my headphone amp sounded pretty darn good. What took a while was finally hooking up ballsie and debugging the placid BP. (scheduled around/between time with my 3 yr old daughter) Placid might be overkill for ballsie, but it sounds nice. I originally had planned to power something else with the placid 😉

I'm also tempted by the Buffalo II, but my next project is some phono stuff. (if only there were money & time for everything :sad: )
Maybe there will be a Buffalo III if I wait long enough 😀
Click to expand...

Hi Eclectic2k,

If Jitter is a probleem with usb then the Metronome may help you perhaps.

Id be curious to hear how it compares to your Lavry.

I would have thought that the Placid is best placed near the output analog stage like you have done.

I kinda wonder if I ever get my act together before TP release the Buffalo III🙂
 
#1,766
Luke said:
Hi Eclectic2k,
If Jitter is a problem with usb then the Metronome may help you perhaps.
Click to expand...

I have a TP USB module, but I won't be connecting it to my Opus. I just use it standalone with a cheap opamp buffer as a little desktop headphone box.

I have a metronome, but the Opus sounds fine without it. I planned to see if I could hear anything better or worse with the ASRC, but for now I'm too lazy to connect it. The 8804 + 8471 is pretty good at handling jitter. (unless you have a really bad source ??)

Luke said:
Id be curious to hear how it compares to your Lavry.
Click to expand...
Me too 😉
I'm listening again to the Lavry now. The Opus does sound very good in comparison. I'll need to do some unscientific A/B comparisons to see if there's anything that stands out. 😀 I also hope to play with the filter settings on the 8741.
 
#1,771
No Sound from Opus

Hi
I'm trying to make my Opus singing, but no sound... 🙁
VD is 5.0v for OPUS
VA is 6.5v for OPUS & SPDIF
SPDIF cable connected to SPDIF input from a CDPlayer Output
All 4 Green Led On when SPDIF cable connected from CDPlayer to SPDIF

DIP Switch on SPDIF Module
AIF -> Right
TXSRC -> Center
AIFCONF1 -> Center
AIFCONF0 -> Right

Wiring
Opus -> SPDIF
BCK -> BCK
SCK -> SCK
LRCK -> LRCK
DIN -> DOUT
G -> G

Where am I wrong ? Din -> Dout ?
Thanks 😎
 
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