I consider having a DAC.
I would decide whether I buy or make it after this thread.
My budget is 500$ excluding a case.
Most existing products have too many functions that I don't need.
I have no intention to play any other source than 44.1 khz 16 bit.
I just need an USB input and one set of RCA output.
I found one good I/V stage.
NewClassD GOLD
If I connect like picture below, will it work??
http://www.newclassd.com/images/goldgraphics3.jpg
and how to connect USB on here?
This cost 400$ and now I have 100$ left. I am a totally beginner. I can make a case myself but I have no idea what kinds of things you need to make a DAC other than I/V stage.
I would like get your advices.
Thank you
I would decide whether I buy or make it after this thread.
My budget is 500$ excluding a case.
Most existing products have too many functions that I don't need.
I have no intention to play any other source than 44.1 khz 16 bit.
I just need an USB input and one set of RCA output.
I found one good I/V stage.
NewClassD GOLD
If I connect like picture below, will it work??
http://www.newclassd.com/images/goldgraphics3.jpg
and how to connect USB on here?
This cost 400$ and now I have 100$ left. I am a totally beginner. I can make a case myself but I have no idea what kinds of things you need to make a DAC other than I/V stage.
I would like get your advices.
Thank you
You can save most of your money, just order one of these $30 DACs. You can add an external I/V stage to this later which doesn't need to cost very much, certainly nowhere near $400.
HIFI L1387DAC 4X TDA1387 USB decoder-in Other Consumer Electronics from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
HIFI L1387DAC 4X TDA1387 USB decoder-in Other Consumer Electronics from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Thank you for your advice, Abraxalito
I also have a DAC whose price is aourd 50$. I much liked it when I listened to music with my Focal bookshelf and atoll inti-amp. But recently, I have changed my audio system. I have made a big pair of full-range speakers and a 300B tube amplifier.
After testing the system with the current DAC, I realized the DAC doesn't work well with my system. It boosts base which I couldn't realize with previous bookshelf speakers.
This is how I made up my mind to have another decent DAC.
First, I was really tempted to buy one of es 9018 DAC from China. But every advice from the Internet says what important is not high performance Chip but analog output stage of DAC. Also, I cannot imagine to listen music sources other than LP, CD or Tidal. So my conclusion was to have a DAC with low cost Chip and decent output stage.
I also have a DAC whose price is aourd 50$. I much liked it when I listened to music with my Focal bookshelf and atoll inti-amp. But recently, I have changed my audio system. I have made a big pair of full-range speakers and a 300B tube amplifier.
After testing the system with the current DAC, I realized the DAC doesn't work well with my system. It boosts base which I couldn't realize with previous bookshelf speakers.
This is how I made up my mind to have another decent DAC.
First, I was really tempted to buy one of es 9018 DAC from China. But every advice from the Internet says what important is not high performance Chip but analog output stage of DAC. Also, I cannot imagine to listen music sources other than LP, CD or Tidal. So my conclusion was to have a DAC with low cost Chip and decent output stage.
A bass-boost also can be the result of a cheap implementation of the DAC, resulting in a woobly bass.
Only an I/V stage and a USB input will not work. You need an analog current source (DAC-Chip) to feed an I/V. A proper DAC with powersupply will may set you back in the range of twice the price for the 400 USD I/V stage.
You can have a look at the soekris R2R dac. It will set you back around 300 USD for the DAC, 50-100 USD for a USB interface (Like WaveIO , Amanero, DIYINHK, ...), you can spend the rest on a case.
It has a clean bass, that should not sound wobbly, even in the standard implementation. You can use it as is or modify it further. It should be very beginner friendly. Help with connecting the USB interface can be found in the thread. It has RCA outputs.
If I had 500 dollars to spend and not much muse to built and modify, that would be it.
Only an I/V stage and a USB input will not work. You need an analog current source (DAC-Chip) to feed an I/V. A proper DAC with powersupply will may set you back in the range of twice the price for the 400 USD I/V stage.
You can have a look at the soekris R2R dac. It will set you back around 300 USD for the DAC, 50-100 USD for a USB interface (Like WaveIO , Amanero, DIYINHK, ...), you can spend the rest on a case.
It has a clean bass, that should not sound wobbly, even in the standard implementation. You can use it as is or modify it further. It should be very beginner friendly. Help with connecting the USB interface can be found in the thread. It has RCA outputs.
If I had 500 dollars to spend and not much muse to built and modify, that would be it.
Certainly that's not my advice and I'm on the internet
Both are important aspects of how a DAC's going to sound - flaws introduced by the DAC chip cannot be undone by the output stage.But certainly the output stage is very important, no doubt about it.
Sounds reasonable to me, in which case the TDA1387 is many dB lower cost than the ES9018 in whatever incarnation it appears in.
Well, IMHO you draw the wrong conclusion here. important for is the overall performance is the combination of powersupply, USB-source, DAC chip and output stage. If one is top-notch and the other is banana, it cannot make up for the flaws. Of course the output stage is important, but to match a 400 USD output stage, as I said, you should invest in 400 USD "peripheral" for powersupply, DAC und USB-Input. Than it would be a balanced system.
Those high spec USB inputs and DAC chips are state of the art at the moment. You can play 16bit/44.1kHz just fine. Maybe 5-10 years ago 192 kHz capabillity was something exotic, but most modern designs can do it. It is just technological progress. Of course you don´t have to use that option.
Like when you buy a new gaming PC: You don´t have to play the latest shooter at 60 frames per second and highest detail, you can also just play minesweeper.
I would like to compare this matter to a camera than a computer.
There are 10Mpix DSLR cameras, and now smartphones' camera reach 20Mpix.
But, the pictures produced by smartphone not necessarily have a better feeling than those produced by DSLR.
I would like to have a DAC whose spec is not trying to reach the top of a mountain but can produce a good feeling to me with normal music sources.
Well there is the all time favourite TDA1541 (and TDA1543)
They are in the range of 25 to 35 years old. They do what you want. 44.1kHz and 16 bit only. You can search in the forum for kits or pcbs. They had a good reputation 25 years ago.
But for them you need a good overall implementation as well. Good powersupplies, a good pcb, good components and a good output stage.
Otherwise they are a just as bad as a cheap modern DAC chip.
The PCM2706 can serve as a USB to I2S interface which is limited to 48 kHz and 16 bit. It is also very cheap.
Just to put things into perspective: Even in 1990 there have been DAC Chips for higher sampling rates and bitrates already: PCM63 and PCM1704 (and others) They also have an excellent reputation. There is nothing wrong with higher data rates.
Concluding with your DSLR comparison: Nikon released its first DSLR in the 1990s as well. Do you think that modern Nikon DSLRs are worse than the old ones?
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