Digital Guru's -- Please suggest a DAC

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roundel325

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Joined 2004
#1
I've spent some time reading about various DACs and am pretty overwhelmed. So many chips and interfaces, and it seems new stuff comes out every day. I am just looking for a good sounding, well-thought-out unit.

My system:
Mac Mini music server
Homebuilt SET tube amp
Fostex full range speakers
I listen to mostly acoustic folk and classical music.

My constraints are:
Budget: <$250
Must accept TOSlink and/or USB input
Must output line level (~2Vp-p)
Transformer, tube, I/V, or JFET output would be cool, but I'm not a total op-amp hater.

I enjoy some DIY, so I am not adverse to mods or chassis building, but I would like to stay away from soldering/de-soldering SMT components. Possibilities i've come across are:

Twisted Pear Buffalo
DAC TDA1543*4+WM8805 NOS USB, Optical, Coaxial input - eBay (item 220622700283 end time Jun-25-10 08:26:56 PDT)
*w/ output cap upgrade.
NEW TDA1543 NOS 8.0 DIR9001 tube 6DJ8 6922 DAC - eBay (item 140411531801 end time Jun-26-10 18:48:36 PDT)
*not sure if this one is any good?


What others do you suggest?

Thanks!
 
#3
but he doesnt list a dac at all, surely getting a dac in a system with none has more improvement than new speakers where there is some, IMO getting new speakers will only serve to expose the flaws in the mac mini as dac
 
#4
Yes, I'm currently running the audio into the amp via the mini's headphone output jack and would like to see what kind of improvement I can achieve with an external DAC. Better impedance matching would also be achievable (my amp is 50k input impedance), which I think might bring sonic gains. I'd hope to steer this thread away from the advantages and disadvantages of full-range speakers. I'm happy with their for performance for the types of music I listen to.

Jared
 
#6
qusp said:
but he doesnt list a dac at all, surely getting a dac in a system with none has more improvement than new speakers where there is some, IMO getting new speakers will only serve to expose the flaws in the mac mini as dac
Click to expand...

Sure, but the difference between the best and worst digital source is really small compared to the range of sound quality in speakers. After messing in audio for nearly three decades, I head for the speakers first because they are the low hanging fruit.

Once you get your speaker house in order, then I used to head to the turntable because that was the next thing, but digital has wiped that out for most of us. Next, I'd head to the preamp, then the power amp and finally to the digital sources. But that's just the way I roll, not necessarily the "right" way.

Sheldon
 
#8
Try Creative EMU-0404 USB, some said it's async.
You may disappointed in its analog output quality, but once you supply the DAC AK4396 & crystal oscillator with a clear power( battery is the best choice), and replace the 4 coupling caps with high quality one (such as Wima MKP10 10uF), it could beat US$5000 CD player!
 
#12
lazycatken said:
Try Creative EMU-0404 USB, some said it's async.
You may disappointed in its analog output quality, but once you supply the DAC AK4396 & crystal oscillator with a clear power( battery is the best choice), and replace the 4 coupling caps with high quality one (such as Wima MKP10 10uF), it could beat US$5000 CD player!
Click to expand...

The 0404USB is horrible if you only intend to use it as a digital source. The stock Musiland 01US beats stock 0404USB in terms of playback quality, for just a fraction of the cost.
 
#13
chipzahoy said:
The 0404USB is horrible if you only intend to use it as a digital source. The stock Musiland 01US beats stock 0404USB in terms of playback quality, for just a fraction of the cost.
Click to expand...
Well, I never had a chance to listen Musiland 01 US, but,
be more precisely, please...
I agree that EMU-0404 USB analog output is not good, if without any modification.
What I suggested is, a modified EMU-0404 USB...
 
#15
jrenkin said:
Ok, but why and look to what?
Click to expand...
Because NOS DAC's have either a slow roll-off filter, that cuts the audio band at about 18kHz (or lower), OR a sharp cut-off filter that have horrid phase characteristics and rings, OR they don't have any filters and you will hear a bunch of horrible image artifacts (that some people tend to consider sounding "better" - not me).
Also TDA1543 is "famous" just because it is cheap and easy to work with by an average DIY guy. IMO it sounds worse than older TDA1541 and paralleling a bunch of them alleviates the problems - but not completelly.
 
#17
SoNic_real_one said:
Because NOS DAC's have either a slow roll-off filter, that cuts the audio band at about 18kHz (or lower), OR a sharp cut-off filter that have horrid phase characteristics and rings, OR they don't have any filters and you will hear a bunch of horrible image artifacts (that some people tend to consider sounding "better" - not me).
Also TDA1543 is "famous" just because it is cheap and easy to work with by an average DIY guy. IMO it sounds worse than older TDA1541 and paralleling a bunch of them alleviates the problems - but not completelly.
Click to expand...

So what might you recommend, given the original poster's request? I am also looking for something like this. There is a lot on this site about the TDA1543 and NOS, seems like many like it, but I am no purist🙄
I am interested in the Buffalo II, for example. Thanks.
 
#18
I've been doing a lot more reading over the past few days. No shortage of opinions on this stuff. I'm drawn to the simplicity of the transformer-coupled CS4398 as outlined in the massive Gigawork mod thread, and built so elegantly by Sheldon here:

Sheldon’s World Blog Archive Another Audio Digital-to-Analog (DAC) is Born

This would fit into the mantra of my current diy system -- minimize the number of components in the signal path, and make them high quality. I'm not equipped for a scratch build, so right now I'm thinking of buying and modding the Gigawork.

The there any others along these lines that I should consider? There is a pretty comprehensive list of possibilities here:

List of DACs Under $450 - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Cheers,

Jared
 
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