Yes, but not on this DAC kit.
Basically you have to try them for yourself as its difficult to pick a winner, its system dependent.
If you want a very generally summary. IMO schottky has less grain, but can sound less dynamic. However there are many schottkies to choose from, the higher current versions tend to have better dynamics.
Regular 1N4007 are pretty good.
Fairchild stealth diodes didn't do it for me. IMO sounded worse than 1N4007.
But really I think its a personal thing. When it comes to diodes I really think you have to try them for yourself to know what works in your system.
Basically you have to try them for yourself as its difficult to pick a winner, its system dependent.
If you want a very generally summary. IMO schottky has less grain, but can sound less dynamic. However there are many schottkies to choose from, the higher current versions tend to have better dynamics.
Regular 1N4007 are pretty good.
Fairchild stealth diodes didn't do it for me. IMO sounded worse than 1N4007.
But really I think its a personal thing. When it comes to diodes I really think you have to try them for yourself to know what works in your system.
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Mine came from here - no complaints.
AK4396 DAC Kit 2496 CS8416 24BIT 192K DAC + Transformer | eBay
AK4396 DAC Kit 2496 CS8416 24BIT 192K DAC + Transformer | eBay
Hi in my post above I tried to describe a problem with my DAC. Since then Hello,
I have compared some measurements from a functioning CS8412 chip against the CS9416 chip in this DAC.
I know I am not comparing apples to apples, but as far as I can tell, the following pins are the same function on each chip:
CS8142 pin 12 (SCK) – 2.4VDC versus CS8146 pin 24 – 1.1mV (& 0.01V AC)
CS8142 pin 26 (SDATA) – 1.2VDC versus CS8146 pin 26 – 0mV (& 0.02V AC)
This does not look correct to me. What do others think?
(I also measured the other two data lines between CS8416 and AK4396: pin 27 – 0.47VDC 1.22VAC) and pin 28 – 0.67VDC (1.22VAC).
I have ordered a couple of new CS8416 as backup and plan to insert a new one when they arrive.
Any suggestions for anything else to check? I don't have a scope and only a multimeter.
However I do plan to buy an oscilloscope. What would be considered the minimum bandwidth to buy for work on a DAC?
Any help on this would be appreciated.
The prices for assembeled or not???
Just wondering if im reading this right i'm looking on e-bay and the diy kit is $43 us, and the assembeled version is $48 ? is this correct do others see it like this ? if so is there an advantage to the diy version ? because i would take the assembled one if it means that i don't have a chance to fry anything. Also this thing sounds good enough stock or is the opamp bad ? i've heard lots of different ideas on setups. I'm sure it will beat the crap i'm using now anyway. Just let me know if the prices are right thanks ?
RockON!
Just wondering if im reading this right i'm looking on e-bay and the diy kit is $43 us, and the assembeled version is $48 ? is this correct do others see it like this ? if so is there an advantage to the diy version ? because i would take the assembled one if it means that i don't have a chance to fry anything. Also this thing sounds good enough stock or is the opamp bad ? i've heard lots of different ideas on setups. I'm sure it will beat the crap i'm using now anyway. Just let me know if the prices are right thanks ?
RockON!
Excellent thread!
I am probably going to use THIS DAC (suggested above) in a project I am brainstorming for. Basically, I have a wireless audio receiver that uses a WM8728 DAC (in software control mode). Well, I would like to improve the DAC subsystem and then feed a LM3886 kit from it.
So, can anyone foresee any issues if I was to grab the I2S lines that originally went to the WM8728 and fed them to this DAC (bypassing the CS8416 chip)? I assume that I would need to put some thought into controlling the MUTE line to avoid silly pops and other noises. Input would be appreciated.
If someone came up with a I2S-input version of this board, that would be really neat! Until then, I am happy to try to hack something together.
I am probably going to use THIS DAC (suggested above) in a project I am brainstorming for. Basically, I have a wireless audio receiver that uses a WM8728 DAC (in software control mode). Well, I would like to improve the DAC subsystem and then feed a LM3886 kit from it.
So, can anyone foresee any issues if I was to grab the I2S lines that originally went to the WM8728 and fed them to this DAC (bypassing the CS8416 chip)? I assume that I would need to put some thought into controlling the MUTE line to avoid silly pops and other noises. Input would be appreciated.
If someone came up with a I2S-input version of this board, that would be really neat! Until then, I am happy to try to hack something together.
This board uses resistors in the i2s lines, so you can just remove the resistors and hook up your i2s straight into the resistor vias.
Issues would be that i2s needs very short wires or sound will not be optimal.
If your wireless audio reciever does not have spdif output I'd suggest getting a Logitech Squeezebox touch and using the spdif output on the touch. With the soundcheck mods its an excellent transport.
Issues would be that i2s needs very short wires or sound will not be optimal.
If your wireless audio reciever does not have spdif output I'd suggest getting a Logitech Squeezebox touch and using the spdif output on the touch. With the soundcheck mods its an excellent transport.
Yeah, passing a 12MHz clock over long wires sounds like a risky affair. I will have to play around with it. I may be able to work out something using header pins or something to do a board-board connection.
I will be sticking with this particular hardware because it is effectively a wireless soundcard. Whatever audio is being played on my laptop gets sent over wireless and reconstructed in the receiver. I looked at the Squeezebox initially, but a music server wasn't want I was after. Having the ability to broadcast the audio from my laptop enables all sorts of movie and music options, which didn't seem possible with the SB since it actually decodes/plays the media as a sort of master/slave device, when I really just want a slave device.
I will be sticking with this particular hardware because it is effectively a wireless soundcard. Whatever audio is being played on my laptop gets sent over wireless and reconstructed in the receiver. I looked at the Squeezebox initially, but a music server wasn't want I was after. Having the ability to broadcast the audio from my laptop enables all sorts of movie and music options, which didn't seem possible with the SB since it actually decodes/plays the media as a sort of master/slave device, when I really just want a slave device.
clock over headers is ugly as hell, better to just use short lengths of either 50ohms mini coax, or cat5 soldered directly. TPA is releasing a board called the teleporter that might be of interest; it uses LVDS, which is a balanced networking protocol that enables clock and i2s lines to be transmitted rather well over 100M. in this case you would use cat5 or cat6 with a transmitter and reciever
That seems a tad overkill! I am only grabbing the clock/data lines & running them to a board about 1" away. I will play around with it & see what happens. Unfortunately, I cannot see what is generating the clock signal since it is wrapped up under a soldered-down EMI shield in the product. If it is a crystal, then yes, I must be careful since they are super sensitive to parasitic effects. If it is a microcontroller GPIO pin, then that makes things easier. Anyway, I don't mean to hijack this thread so I'll drop the discussion of this in here.
It sounds like this DAC board is very easy to use with an I2S input, provided that the source tolerates some hacking!
I am sad
I am deeply disappointed
I have listened and listened, my wife have been listening, my son with young ears have listened. We can not tell the difference between SBT analog output vs. this DAC.
Either there is a plug in my stereo or else this DAC is a "fart in a horn lantern".
My setup:
Homebuild PreAmp with opamps
Ion Systems Obelisk 3X with XPAK
SBT with linear PS
HDD connected with linear PS
AK4396 DAC
Kimper signal and speaker cables
Canare LV77 digital cable
Speaker Royd Sapphire
When I got my preamp, I experienced a significant improvement in sound. That is, it was very audible.
The same I experienced with Kimper cables.
/ Bjarne
I am deeply disappointed
I have listened and listened, my wife have been listening, my son with young ears have listened. We can not tell the difference between SBT analog output vs. this DAC.
Either there is a plug in my stereo or else this DAC is a "fart in a horn lantern".
My setup:
Homebuild PreAmp with opamps
Ion Systems Obelisk 3X with XPAK
SBT with linear PS
HDD connected with linear PS
AK4396 DAC
Kimper signal and speaker cables
Canare LV77 digital cable
Speaker Royd Sapphire
When I got my preamp, I experienced a significant improvement in sound. That is, it was very audible.
The same I experienced with Kimper cables.
/ Bjarne
I am deeply disappointed
...
We can not tell the difference between SBT analog output vs. this DAC.
Either there is a plug in my stereo or else this DAC is a "fart in a horn lantern".
Hi Bjarne,
you're using the vanilla AK4396 DAC?
With the R-Core transformer?
BTW, what is SBT?
Yes, I meant stock, as it is sold.
The stock dac is nothing special at all, at least some mods are mandatory.
Start upgrading the LPF and regulators according to my BOM (ca 5€ with standard resistors).
If you like results than you can upgrade the rest.
I bet you'll do it....