The Best DAC is no DAC

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#1,801
FdW said:
The first 'update'/'upgrade' will be available about 2 days (or less) after the purchase. New options to be installed after 2 weeks, the first 'new' devices to be connected will be there after 2 months, the first incompatible items that must be used will be pushed upon you after 2 quarters, and you are looking at replacing at the end of the first 2 years that you own it. Better hurry and go sit in front of the shop, you can be the first one ...
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which shop sells dedicated DSD servers and noDACs and such things? btw, if it cost a few thousands it doesnt count 🙂

but yes in general the industry is releasing updates in small pieces. for instance, when it already was possible to mass produce CPUs clocked at 1ghz they would rather sell you those clocked at 500mhz first, then 533mhz and step by step all the way up to 1000
 
#1,802
FdW said:
The first 'update'/'upgrade' will be available about 2 days (or less) after the purchase. New options to be installed after 2 weeks, the first 'new' devices to be connected will be there after 2 months, the first incompatible items that must be used will be pushed upon you after 2 quarters, and you are looking at replacing at the end of the first 2 years that you own it. Better hurry and go sit in front of the shop, you can be the first one ...
Click to expand...
Suggest that you take this conversation over to Presley's new thread.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
#1,804
ok, i finally got around to assemble my board.. and i have a few questions.

first, i now see that i got 2n5550 and not 5551 😕 the guy at the store i bought the parts from swore that they are the right ones, but now that i saw them i realize he might have been wrong.. should i replace them?

second, the board has a two holes marked with the letter Sw.. im not sure what should go there. What am i missing?

Third, the two mute jumpers, im not sure how to use those 😕

Fourth, the guy at the store made another mistake.. he gave me a 200k trip pot and not 250K 😱 would 200k be enough or should i go and get another on, with the right value this time?

and last, i went for a 40khz LPF at first, with a 10k resistor and 470npf cap, would that be ok? i didnt completry understand how the LPF should be calculated, but im pretty sure i got it right.

Im apologize if my questions are those of a novice.. but i am a novice after all 🙄

Thank you all.
Tank out.
 
#1,805
FdW said:
No I'm not going to do that 🙂 I was just reacting to this



Seemed to me that 'never' is not going to happen.
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Hello colleagues,
I'm new to this thread but been reading it from the first pages from begining. I have a question:
Is it possible to decode PCM format with the no dac?
I have allot of music in PCM format and it will take me a couple of days to convert to DSD, offline of course (my pc is weaker than yours and dont plan an update too soon)..
Thanks
Sergiu
 
#1,808
Tankpopper said:
first, i now see that i got 2n5550 and not 5551... should i replace them?
Click to expand...

Check the datasheet to see if they're similar.

Tankpopper said:
second, the board has a two holes marked with the letter Sw.. im not sure what should go there. What am i missing?
Click to expand...

That gives you the option of having an offboard manual mute switch. Omit if you don't need one, otherwise connect a suitable switch across the pads.

Tankpopper said:
Third, the two mute jumpers, im not sure how to use those 😕
Click to expand...

They're not jumpers, they're the pads to connect your preferred mute arrangement, for example hook one pad to the signal pin at your output RCA connector and the other pad to the ground pin. Or you could put wire links on the PCB to the +/- pads at the LP filter output; I included extra pads for that purpose. Two for stereo of course.

Tankpopper said:
Fourth, the guy at the store made another mistake.. he gave me a 200k trip pot and not 250K 😱 would 200k be enough or should i go and get another on, with the right value this time?
Click to expand...

Possibly. It sets the mute delay (if you use that optional feature).

Tankpopper said:
and last, i went for a 40khz LPF at first, with a 10k resistor and 470npf cap, would that be ok? i didnt completry understand how the LPF should be calculated, but im pretty sure i got it right.
Click to expand...

Do you mean nF or pF? Assuming the latter, a 10K/47pF filter will give you a -3dB point at around 33.8KHz according to my Glassware filter calculator. I suggest starting with the tried and tested 3k3/1nF LP filter, which will give you a -3dB point at about 48KHz.

All this information is in the thread BTW.

Good luck

Ray
 
#1,810
sergiu2009 said:
Hello colleagues,
I'm new to this thread but been reading it from the first pages from begining. I have a question:
Is it possible to decode PCM format with the no dac?
I have allot of music in PCM format and it will take me a couple of days to convert to DSD, offline of course (my pc is weaker than yours and dont plan an update too soon)..
Thanks
Sergiu
Click to expand...

abraxalito said:
If you want to build a PCM input noDAC, you have a choice of several commercial chips that take in PCM and stick out PWM. PWM is ideally suited to being fed to a noDAC.
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Hi, I am not aware of these chips - have you got any links?

I will keep an open mind and read up on them, but a few thoughts -
- are these chips as flexible as HQPlayer - do they have multitple filter options and ability to upsample to DSD512?
- do these chips have a bypass function? What happens if DSD is fed into them? ie are they able to accept both PCM and DSD outputs?


Sergiu - don't know how old your PC is, have you tried using Foobar? It can be set up to output DSD, and your computer may be able to handle this load. And, have you even tried HQPlayer? I now have an up to date PC, but I was using HQP successfully on a 5 yr old machine with AMD Phenom CPU.
Oh, JRiver can also output DSD (as DoP). Another software option.

Regards,
 
#1,811
Examples of PCM to PWM conversion chips are TAS5548 from TI, STA309A from ST. They're 8 channel devices. OnSemi had a stereo one a while back which I just looked for on their site but couldn't find. There are other manufacturers (like for example D2 Audio) but those tend not to be available individually for DIY use. However they can be acquired in finished goods - like the Popu Mercury amp (which uses the D2-41051).

Are they as flexible as HQPlayer - I suspect not, they are PWM not PDM devices so have no DSD capability. Filtering options are fairly limited - these are hardware, not software. What happens if DSD is fed to them? It can't be fed to them, they accept PCM only.

<edit> Found the OnSemi part number - LV4904 : http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/product.do?id=LV4904V
 
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#1,816
And what about Holo Audio Spring implementation? It is a discrete R2R, but there is also a separate special network of resistors for DSD. It seems that DSD is not converted to PCM, but it is not clear what is the method used.

I am using it these days and the sound is wonderful also in DSD with I2S input.
 
#1,817
hazard500 said:
Hi, I am not aware of these chips - have you got any links?

I will keep an open mind and read up on them, but a few thoughts -
- are these chips as flexible as HQPlayer - do they have multitple filter options and ability to upsample to DSD512?
- do these chips have a bypass function? What happens if DSD is fed into them? ie are they able to accept both PCM and DSD outputs?


Sergiu - don't know how old your PC is, have you tried using Foobar? It can be set up to output DSD, and your computer may be able to handle this load. And, have you even tried HQPlayer? I now have an up to date PC, but I was using HQP successfully on a 5 yr old machine with AMD Phenom CPU.
Oh, JRiver can also output DSD (as DoP). Another software option.

Regards,
Click to expand...

Hi Hazard,
Sorry for the late repply. I have a weak pc for decoding on the fly. Its an e8400 oc'd at 4ghz buyed when it just appeared, 8gb ram ddr3, an 60gb ssd, and two 256gb hdd's in raid0 and an old video card.. This config was very good 9years ago when i bought it brand new, but not now.
I dont want to update soon because i want to buy a i3 new generation nuc and put a big ssd or sshdd and 16gb ram at 1600mhz as my multimedia pc. I want to go slim and silent for my audio sistem, that's why i asked.
It would be nice to do something to go with pcm as no dac. I like to keep things simple and the signall path as short as possible...
I now have foobar on my phone and i'm pleased with it.

Abraxalito, your ideea is very interesting. I didnt heard such a thing till now.
I'm not an expert into this field, so i'll stay in my seat , take my hat off for the excelent work you guys done here, and wait for a miracle to come.. But if you guys figure out a way to do this i will be happy to test it out. I think next month i will place an order for the nodac trafos and the rest. Till then i have to finish my speakers.

Thanks again for the info.
I dont know why i didnt receive a notification yet because i subscribed to this thread...
 
#1,818
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