Hi Nathan, hopefully I can help a fellow Brit here!
Unfortunately there is no basic guide yet as such so the first advise is very painful but should really be done to do the research properly. Read as much of these two threads as possible regarding the Gigaworks DAC:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/137976-experience-diy-dac.html
DAC Kit - what else do I need? - pink fish media
The PFM thead (I'm LoBo on PFM) is more recent and may sometimes use language that is easier to understand. It is sometimes better to work backwards in the threads to get the most up to date info.
A very basic start for you would be to remove and link out the four output caps entirely (I know in your other thread it was advised to replace with Silmics but generally no cap is the best cap if possible) Experiment to see what you prefer.
Remove and bypass the buffer op-amp and replace the filter op-amp with better types such as
1 pair of LT1028 + Brown Dog adapter
1 pair of OPA1611 + Brown Dog adapter
1 metal can LME49720HA (or a pair of metal can LME49710HA + Brown Dog adapter)
The list of op-amps to try is endless so research and experiment. The ones above have been proved to work well.
In the future if you want to push the mods, try improving the power supply and regulator sections and if your'e feeling flush you could try output transformers from Jensen etc.
Hope this helps a little. Please feel free to join in the above threads or PM for detailed chat.
Regards
Thanks Rich, I've had a general look at these threads but they're far too long to be of any real use, especially with today's time pressures etc. A quick "bullet point" approach like yours is far better. Thanks again. (PS For other interested parties this other link also looks good, with pics etc http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=78737.0)
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"A very basic start for you would be to remove and link out the four output caps entirely (I know in your other thread it was advised to replace with Silmics but generally no cap is the best cap if possible) Experiment to see what you prefer."
Yabut, I like the sound of the Silmic II's and there seems to be a synergy going on. As you say experiment and listen for your preferences. And I'm also concerned with DC offset as my preamp is direct coupled inputs.
Yabut, I like the sound of the Silmic II's and there seems to be a synergy going on. As you say experiment and listen for your preferences. And I'm also concerned with DC offset as my preamp is direct coupled inputs.
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The best way is to jumper them, eliminates any chance of damaging the board and is easy to reverse.
Heres an nice website with some good photos to show the basic mods for this dac
DIY DAC Kits and Easy Mods
Pete.
DIY DAC Kits and Easy Mods
Pete.
Hi,
I cannot find anymore the Gigawork CS4398 DAC Kit on ebay. Can you help me?
Thank you
Renato
I cannot find anymore the Gigawork CS4398 DAC Kit on ebay. Can you help me?
Thank you
Renato
Still there, just checked the USA ebay site. Do a seller search for Gigawork. His shop has 2 pages of good stuff.
Yeah, I searched "192 Dac" and scrolled town to "International Sellers" at the bottom. Still there.
great chips the LT1028, but likely to oscillate without bandwidth limiting (20pf ceramic in the feedback loop) linking out the caps altogether, has anyone measured DC offset? I would add OPA1641, OPA827 etc and if you are up for a bit more of the same bandwidth limiting, the LT1363 is superb, but cranky
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in fact the LT1363 would be perfect for this application, if you treat it well its VERY fast and dynamic, unbelievable detail, but best here is its ability to drive capacitive loads with ease, so will drive your cables or even headphones directly without a problem.
Thank you, but it I did the same search, I found the Gigawork shop with only one product (an Aleph pcb).
It seems that in my country (Italy) I can only buy amplifiers!!!
Renato
I think I solved the puzzle. Gigawork ebay shop does not ship to Italy anymore
Renato
Hello everyone
I've only been on the site for a few weeks and was thinking about participating in building a Goldmund clone but have been warned against it due to my inexperience.
So, I thought I might start with a DAC, either in kit form, partly assembled or fully assembled but perhaps with some upgrade options.
I'm getting a bit confused by the wealth of information on the site but it seems that Gigaworks DACs might be a good starting point.
Can I ask a couple of questions please.
Firstly, on some of the threads, people are talking about a 1794a chip being the best that you can buy but this doesn't appear to feature in the gigaworks boards (one of the ones I'm looking at has the CS4398 DAC.
Should I be looking for boards with the 1794 DAC or will the latter one still be ok.
Secondly, I am wanting to use this with a Squeezebox, which will be feeding a Bryston SP1.7 pre-amp. How much of a difference will I get (with the basic DAC without any upgrades) compared with using the Squeezebox DAC, or running digitally to my Bryston (getting on a bit now but I'm guessing still using quite good circuitry)?
Or am I only really going to start noticing a big difference if I start upgrading all of the components such as Op amps.
Lots of these terms are really new to me so please treat gently.
So much to learn, so little time.
Thanks very much
Steve
I've only been on the site for a few weeks and was thinking about participating in building a Goldmund clone but have been warned against it due to my inexperience.
So, I thought I might start with a DAC, either in kit form, partly assembled or fully assembled but perhaps with some upgrade options.
I'm getting a bit confused by the wealth of information on the site but it seems that Gigaworks DACs might be a good starting point.
Can I ask a couple of questions please.
Firstly, on some of the threads, people are talking about a 1794a chip being the best that you can buy but this doesn't appear to feature in the gigaworks boards (one of the ones I'm looking at has the CS4398 DAC.
Should I be looking for boards with the 1794 DAC or will the latter one still be ok.
Secondly, I am wanting to use this with a Squeezebox, which will be feeding a Bryston SP1.7 pre-amp. How much of a difference will I get (with the basic DAC without any upgrades) compared with using the Squeezebox DAC, or running digitally to my Bryston (getting on a bit now but I'm guessing still using quite good circuitry)?
Or am I only really going to start noticing a big difference if I start upgrading all of the components such as Op amps.
Lots of these terms are really new to me so please treat gently.
So much to learn, so little time.
Thanks very much
Steve
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