AK4499EQ - Best DAC ever

yeah, I just dont like it at all, because it alludes to quality that it simply doesnt have, while introducing parts that are not accessible to DIY with. So some titles will only be available in MQA and they are not just not better, they are worse quality than standard uncompressed 44.1/48K of the same track. So the library shrinks for those who dont wish to use it and at the same time, there is no benefit to using it, other than being able to play content that is nolonger available any other way. Doesn't matter to me much though, I use multichannel dacs for digital XO and that benefit is tangible and real, so 2 channel hardware locked decoding is of no interest or benefit to me.

Anyway, are you sure you posted in the right thread? because this is OT for an AK4499 thread.
 
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Sorry Mate, it is my first post, I might have put into a wrong thread. Sorry.
While you are talking about digital cross Over, i am using a Mini DSP for a 4 ways active. It is 24bit 192K rather than Behringer or DBX Venue 96K. I also modified it so I can use any outboard ADC and DAC. The Mini DSP is really only doing processing.
Maybe I should search the thread and discuss there.
 
Hi Bean,

Great effort of yours, congratulations!

Well, some sections of this forum are more "appropriate" than others depending on the topic and attendees, but that shouldn't hopefully put you off posting - especialy as you did already quite a lot re DIY and tweaks, probably far more than many other posters including myself at least as far as I2S is concerned...

So well done again, welcome for your first posts, and keep sharing if you feel like it, in whatever thread :)

Enjoy music very much

Claude
 
Sorry Mate, it is my first post, I might have put into a wrong thread. Sorry.
While you are talking about digital cross Over, i am using a Mini DSP for a 4 ways active. It is 24bit 192K rather than Behringer or DBX Venue 96K. I also modified it so I can use any outboard ADC and DAC. The Mini DSP is really only doing processing.
Maybe I should search the thread and discuss there.

Wow, so youve been a lurker for 15 years? props!! ;) all good and yes, welcome :cool: yes, all good, but probably the right section would be digital source, rather than line level and its a unique enough mod that it deserves its own thread; as here, if you werent so 'new' it could be seen as thread-jacking.

If you are talking about a minidsp 2x4HD? then you will find that the processing in the DSP happens internally at 96k, not 192, even if the output is 192khz. I also have a minidsp 2x4HD and using its header for i2s output in one system, but i'm working on a design for xmos and multichannel ESS dacs, driven by a raspberry pi4 compute module and camilladsp, rather than individual dacs for each band, but there is a ways to go. 24bit/96khz (or 88.2khz) pcm is for me the sweet spot; anything above that is just wasting resources IMO. I was working on an AK4499 and an AK4468 design before the AKM fire and will revisit that when new parts become available, leaving the rest of the system unchanged.
 
Hi Claude and InspectorGadget, good chating with you guys.
When you mention OT for AK4499, did you mean output transformer forAK4499?
I have used some output transformer for AK4393 or AK4396 as output rather than opamps...Trans I used was Lundahl LL1540 and Jensen JT123S. AK4393 were the DAC used in Beghinger DCX2496. AK4396 was the upgraded DAC chip I replaced the AK4393 in DCX2496.

The MiniDSP I used is C-DSP 8x12 (V1.0). Now they have V2.0. Here is the link
C-DSP 8x12 - 12 channels High Performance Automotive Processor

It is the only MiniDSP with the processor set in 192KHz processing rate. I have confirmed with MiniDSP manufacturer. Can you lead me to the appropriate thread so I can give more details. I can also post some pictures on how to make use of the MiniDSP 8x12 to become a processing unit only but you can bring your own ADC and DAC so you can have a super high end 24/192k processor.
I have so far built two of them. One I kept and one for a mate of mine.
My mate is using a LUCID studio 8 channel AD/DA for input and output.
The MiniDSP 8x12 can give you 6 ways stereo setup.

I should leave this thread , please let me know which thread is more appropriate to talk about i2S, DAC, and DSP.
Talk soon everyone.
 
Yes, your model does appear to run internally at 192khz. With the 2x4HD (and other models in that range) The hardware is 192khz capable, the plugins are 48 and 96khz (you may choose) and I would not want to set it to 192khz if it was an option, as I would run out of resources fairly quickly. I dont personally see the point and I would personally prefer more resources for multiple DSP processes and higher tap count.
See the specification for samplerate in the datasheet for the 2x4HD plugin so yes, you can set the hardware to 192khz perhaps, but you gain nothing IMO. there are more important things than sample rate above a certain level.

*As a base samplerate, I think it's sufficiently over-kill, but I suppose if the horsepower is there, like with leveraging modern CPUs running CamillaDSP or similar and your whole chain just sits at 192, which appears to be a defacto hires streaming standard for now, then no harm, no foul.
 
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Hi the C-DSP 8x12 plug in can set to 192KHz, and internally the processor does run at 192K sampling rate. Other models from the same manufacturers are only capable of 192K, meaning the unit will down-sample the incoming signal for 96K processing. Their ADC or DACs are capable of 192Khz or above.
The Plug-in for the DSP-8x12 can also set at 192Khz.
The question then is whether 192Khz is necessary. In the market, there are not many digital xover that is processing at 192K. I have tried Behringer DCX2496, and DBX Venue they are all 96K. I was then interested to see whether 192K would sound like.
At 96Khz rate, in theory, you could get up to 48Khz audio signal, so should be good enough.
The improvement of the DSP-8x12 is the noise level and also the dynamic. When execute well, it is very quiet comparing to Behringer or the DBX.

Here is the picture of my first unit as a phototype. I just used an old plastic case as chassis. You can see the DSP 8x12, and behind it is the board for converting i2S to SPDIF boards and there are also 4 board converting i2S to HDMI for DAC that take in i2S signal via HDMI.

Those pink wires get the Data/LRclk/Bit Clk from the DSP, routing them to external board.
If you are happy with the internal DAC and ADC, you don't need to do that at all. What I have done is just to hook it up with any DAC and DAC that I like.
 
Sorry, this is not the same HDMI standard as for TV.
Here is the HDMI for digital audio and the pins are as below:
Pin 1 : SDATA -
Pin 2 : GND
Pin 3 : SDATA +
Pin 4 : SCLK +
Pin 5 : GND
Pin 6 : SCLK -
Pin 7 : LRCK -
Pin 8 : GND
Pin 9 : LRCK +
Pin 10: NC (Syn version still need the Mclk+ on this pin)
Pin 11: GND
Pin 12: NC (Syn version still need the Mclk- on this pin)
Pin 13: NC
Pin 14: NC
Pin 15: NC
Pin 16: NC
Pin 17: GND
Pin 18: NC
Pin 19: NC

You can use DS90LV047A, it is a quad line driver.
But you can buy couple of different boards on ebay. It takes in i2S signal (bit clock, LR clock, Data, Master clock) and converts it into HDMI (i2S) or SPDIF coaxial or AES....about US$35.
This board also transmit into SPDIF, Optical, AES. HDMI all in one board.

eBay item number:
312787430205

Here is another one. It has two versions (transmitting or receiving). You need i2S to HDMI which is a transmitting board....about US$20
I have not tried this board, but I think it should work too.

eBay item number:
184857410388


This save you time to make your own board.
 
How did you convert I2S to HDMI format?
With which chip? Is it under NDA and licennse, as almost all HDMI chips?

Or you just used HDMI connector and CMOS/TTL format signals, instead of the HDMI format?

This has nothing to do with HDMI, an HDMI connection is often used because it has enough cables, is available everywhere and is simple.
The I2S signal is simply converted into an LVDS signal in order to be able to transmit it via cable. LVDS is a worldwide standard (industry, IT and home entertainment) to transmit digital signals, which are intended for short distances on printed circuit boards, also over short distances externally via cables.

I was able to find the i2S signal inside the M400. I routed it out, converted it into HDMI format, and feed it into my Audio Gd Master 7...or any other non MQA licensed DAC.
The M400 already outputs the I2S signal via an HDMI connection as LVDS. Why do you have to lead it out?
 
A friend of me is looking for an used DAC like Topping D90 and Gustard A22 with AK4499 inside and USB input.
The currently available Topping D90 is now equipped with ES9038PRO which provide an other sonic character.
Maybe one of the members can make an offer of an old version.
Thanks for an advice.

unfortunately this thread is closed:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...-ak-4499eq-4499-in-use-who-have-heard.348350/
 
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Have a look at the Loxjie D50:
D50
A friend of mine got it, and likes it very much, me too. We changed the opamps to Opa1656, and some capacitors as well. Made a big difference, and it got even better.
However, the Loxije D50 only uses half an AK4499 chip, the other half is not connected at all.
So only 2 of the 4 channels are used (just like the SMSL M400).
A friend of me is looking for an used DAC like Topping D90 and Gustard A22 with AK4499 inside and USB input.
The currently available Topping D90 is now equipped with ES9038PRO which provide an other sonic character.
Maybe one of the members can make an offer of an old version.
Thanks for an advice.

unfortunately this thread is closed:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...-ak-4499eq-4499-in-use-who-have-heard.348350/
You can also look for a Gustard A18 MQA.
Here you can get a new one in silver.
https://www.hifistudio79.nl/product/gustard-dac-a18-mqa-ak4499-dac/
 
Ok, wasn't aware of the half chip used. Sounds great anyways. The Gustard is a good offer, but I had the x26pro and didn't like it at all despite all of the big power supply, discrete output and all that. Of course it has ESS chipset, but I had another Dac with same set which sounded much more natural to me. But maybe the x18 cuts the cake, who knows.