I didn't go anywhere. Other than moving apartments and working my *** off after the holiday. Haven't had much time for fiddling around with electronics.
The first priority on top of the list is listening to Richards Phi Dac that he send me for a trial.
I still need to hook up my amanero board to it and mount it in the case. (SORRY RICHARD)
After that I'll do a few more mods on the DX3 Pro that I've been considering for a while. I'll update on that later. Life is suddenly not so spacious anymore when spring festival is over haha.
Sorry guys
The first priority on top of the list is listening to Richards Phi Dac that he send me for a trial.
I still need to hook up my amanero board to it and mount it in the case. (SORRY RICHARD)
After that I'll do a few more mods on the DX3 Pro that I've been considering for a while. I'll update on that later. Life is suddenly not so spacious anymore when spring festival is over haha.
Sorry guys
As for ASR...
It's a good idea to measure equipment for flaws or look for certain improvements.. but I kept asking over there if anyone could explain to me how these measurements reflect in listening experience.. which constantly got ignored. Instead there are a few individuals constantly tracking every threat to see if they can comment about that things have to be measured first to be real... it's tiring..
I think measurements are very important in a design or upgrade process of audio electronics and I wish I had the equipment here to do those measurements but there is a balance in between. Measurements and listening experience can go hand in hand..
One example of that relying on measurements alone is just madness is the Khadas Tone board and the DX3 Pro measured over there.. Measurement wise they are not far apart from each other.. They should perform pretty similar... but hooking them up and actually listening to both results in a TOTALLY different listening experience... with both it's own unique characteristic sound.. which doesn't really reflect in the measurements...
It's a good idea to measure equipment for flaws or look for certain improvements.. but I kept asking over there if anyone could explain to me how these measurements reflect in listening experience.. which constantly got ignored. Instead there are a few individuals constantly tracking every threat to see if they can comment about that things have to be measured first to be real... it's tiring..
I think measurements are very important in a design or upgrade process of audio electronics and I wish I had the equipment here to do those measurements but there is a balance in between. Measurements and listening experience can go hand in hand..
One example of that relying on measurements alone is just madness is the Khadas Tone board and the DX3 Pro measured over there.. Measurement wise they are not far apart from each other.. They should perform pretty similar... but hooking them up and actually listening to both results in a TOTALLY different listening experience... with both it's own unique characteristic sound.. which doesn't really reflect in the measurements...
Good so see you back Cidious. I was following your progress and all of a sudden you were gone. I'll look forward to hearing more about the DX3 Pro.
I will buy one if I can understand the mods well enough to do them.
I agree that measurements don't tell the whole story. I have moved a bit into tube amplifiers. I haven't done any measurements but I definitely like the listening experience.
I will buy one if I can understand the mods well enough to do them.
I agree that measurements don't tell the whole story. I have moved a bit into tube amplifiers. I haven't done any measurements but I definitely like the listening experience.
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Not at all... Once you get used to SMT soldering.. which isn't rocket science either once you get the hang of it.. A good magnifying glass for desk is recommended!
At the age of 73 I have done quite a bit of SMD work which was challenging but I ended up doing quite well.
I would suggest a good (<$90) soldering station, a good work setup where arms and hands can be supported (socks full of rice), magnification, and good light.....also use of a flux pen is helpful. I purchased an SMD rework station off e-bay for $29 and it has been very helpful.
Exactly. Good point about measurements and the often lack of correlation with clearly audible sound quality characteristics, not just barely audible tiny differences.
Even though I said measurements are very important I still rely on my own hearing for if a mod is succesful or not. In the end I should like what I'm listening to.
A while ago I achieved this with the DX3 Pro. My foot started tapping and I was forgetting about which music was playing in the playlist and forgot I was listening to music but actually enjoying the music.... That's where things start to get interesting for me haha. And OBVIOUSLY this is a very personal thing.. everyone hears differently.
A while ago I achieved this with the DX3 Pro. My foot started tapping and I was forgetting about which music was playing in the playlist and forgot I was listening to music but actually enjoying the music.... That's where things start to get interesting for me haha. And OBVIOUSLY this is a very personal thing.. everyone hears differently.
Yes I do. It's a nifty little board. Performing really well for it's size and price. But doesn't have the refinement that the modified dx3 has with its 'velvet sound's signature. The khadas is more analytical and in your face sounding. The dx3 just sounds more musical and harmonical. It's a preference of taste. I found the khadas performing very well with my mad dogs headphones. Brought them to life. Where the dx3 pairs really well with my active near field monitors makes them sound really musical. Pairing is just as important. The dx3 makes my headphones sound a bit flat where the khadas is too analytical on my monitors for my taste
OT of course, but well... IMHO, there is very tight correlation of measurements with clearly audible sound quality characteristics. just both ESS and AKM DACs will sound very different. Both either good or bad, depending how they measure, but different. which one you like is not a relevant question, it falls in the same category which wine is better - red or white 🙂 most importantly both should be good ... unless one fancy vinegar.
btw. I own both Khadas and DX3pro as well
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Uhm not sure about the hype. But for it's money I think it's a really decent DAC. If I compare it to my tuned class A I/V ES9018.. then it's really close and in some areas a little better. I'd say the ES9038 is an upgrade to the ES9018. But I can hear the implementation is a bit more limited than a full blown case with proper PSU and output stage..
Anyway. It's bang for buck for sure. I paid 650 RMB for it and the case was just 25 RMB in total. Using the included USB cable... And for it's size, price and USB power supply... I think it's a killer for sure. I'm going to combine it with my Khadas VIM1 Pro and in a month or 2 the VIM3 as home theatre and Since it's nice in your face sounding and sparkly and thick tight bass, it will probably perform superb for movies and series on a couple of active speakers in the bedroom.
For the Desktop setup I'll use my modified DX3 Pro since it's less fatiguing and more musical and still does very well in games so far. (Modified has much better bass presentation than the original) For my headphones I'll maybe modify the headphone amp inside the DX3 a bit further to see if I can ditch the Lehman or not.
As for if you should buy it or not? If you're into that sparkly typical bass heavy ess sound (I know i'm going to **** people off by saying a chip has a certain sound, but all ess chips have a similar sound signature to me, even the ES9018 k2m in my laptop fits that profile) and looking for a standalone small form DAC that can be fed with just a single USB cable.. Then by all means nothing holding you back. Bang for buck. Definitely worth every penny. But we shouldn't get all carried away and think this is beating the Benchmark 3 now or some of the other High-end dacs with the same chip... It's just a very attractive device. And I'd recommend it heartily to anyone with a smaller budget looking for a standalone DAC.
If you want more features. at twice the price the DX3 Pro would be my go to for sure. The featureset alone is already killer. Performance is even for the standard unit very decent.
If you have high-end speakers and amps and cables made by elves in moonlight.. then.. look for something appropriate fitting in that range.. Other than that these devices are both bang for buck and I have no complaints about them price and feature wise.
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Just got new post notification.. have been super busy with the job hence haven't had time to answer any posts on the audio science forum. Instead, thought it is a good idea to share my mod work here.
Now compared to ESS chips, 4493 has fuller bass and more weight on the bottom. My other dual ES9038 Pro based DAC has tighter bass, a bit more dynamics; however, it is a bit rough on top. 4493 is especially good with vocals.
The modded DX3 Pro has been running solid rock for 2 weeks straight.
Regarding to OPA1612's phase shift problem, I think someone has been confused with the differences among settling time, slew rate and phase shift.
As for those measurement believers on the ASR forum. The problem is not whether measurement numbers have a direct correlation to sound quality or not. The problem is most people do not know how to interpret the measurement numbers correctly. Not even mention the measurements done have been limited. For instance, most judgments are made based on the 1KHz FFT chart. The fact is that 100Hz, 400Hz, and 10KHz FFT are also critical. 1KHz FFT only tells you part of the story.
Now compared to ESS chips, 4493 has fuller bass and more weight on the bottom. My other dual ES9038 Pro based DAC has tighter bass, a bit more dynamics; however, it is a bit rough on top. 4493 is especially good with vocals.
The modded DX3 Pro has been running solid rock for 2 weeks straight.
Regarding to OPA1612's phase shift problem, I think someone has been confused with the differences among settling time, slew rate and phase shift.
As for those measurement believers on the ASR forum. The problem is not whether measurement numbers have a direct correlation to sound quality or not. The problem is most people do not know how to interpret the measurement numbers correctly. Not even mention the measurements done have been limited. For instance, most judgments are made based on the 1KHz FFT chart. The fact is that 100Hz, 400Hz, and 10KHz FFT are also critical. 1KHz FFT only tells you part of the story.
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The muses 8920 is the mass production version of the Muses01 right? I'm using the Muses02. I can give the Muses01 a run too.
As I can see in your photo's you're not using any output caps on the 4493s ?
As I can see in your photo's you're not using any output caps on the 4493s ?
Where can I find the specially 2mm x 160mm Hex key ?
I find nothing with this length in Germany.
I am not satisfied with the original dx3 pro .
I find nothing with this length in Germany.
I am not satisfied with the original dx3 pro .
Yes, I found JFET OP seemed to be a better match with 4493.
The less input current the OP takes, the better 4493 will sound.
MUSES OPs are all about better manufacturing practices. MUSES01, as a DIP package, needs special attention on connecting the wires from the silicon die to the external pins hence the higher production cost. 8920 with SOIC package is less demanding here. MUSES01 has better dies, too.
One down side with MUSES is they lack the ultimate clarity of OPA1612.
Those coupling caps will have to be removed otherwise you will not know how good 4993's bass is. Now I will take 4497/4993 any time over those ESS chips.
The differential SCF outputs of 4493 have different DC biases on the positive and negative outputs hence the unmatched resister/capacitor values I used.
4497/4493 has the full/warm bass of AD1955, and has better micro-details.
Their vocals are as smooth as PCM1794 yet more realistic, more 3D.
When running at DSD512 or PCM768, the modded DX3 Pro can dance around most DACs around $1k to $2K.
Regarding to the stability issue, I will have to run a power analyzer on DX3 to figure out what's going. Since my DX3 is OK now, I will have to get another stock DX3 for the test.
I doubt Topping has a power analyzer in house so most likely it will take them a while to do a fix.
The OPA1612 datasheet tells you all you need to know, including closed loop plots vs frequency. You can keep dreaming about your imagined phase shift problem.
JFET I've found is a better match with all CMOS opamp output stage DACs. This isn't primarily because the JFETs take less current but because the JFET allows the resistors around it to be higher value without substantial noise penalties. Less current from the DAC is IME correlated with improved SQ.