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Well, after making a rash purchase from eBay (should have bought a guaranteed good one from Bensen when I had the chance) and hoping that it’s a non-fake working chip I now realise I have no clue how to use it. I will need to put it on a board and make connections to it.
My question - I don’t see many people adding any heat-sinking. Do these chips get hot? Would cooling increase the life expectancy? Is there any point to trying to cool the package or does the heat get out via all those pins? If the heat has to be removed from the pins does that imply some design constraints? Is there even a case to be made for Peltier cooling for better performance?
My question - I don’t see many people adding any heat-sinking. Do these chips get hot? Would cooling increase the life expectancy? Is there any point to trying to cool the package or does the heat get out via all those pins? If the heat has to be removed from the pins does that imply some design constraints? Is there even a case to be made for Peltier cooling for better performance?
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That's a real one, imo. I haven't used mine yet. The circuit to get the most out of them is quite complex (just have a look at that tda1541 megathread).
I would use a heatsink. Maybe even a silent fan, like this fellow:
https://www.mvaudiolabs.com/digital/tda1541a-reference-dac/
There's a ton of information at his site. He had audible distortion with the case closed and no cooling.
Iirc, peltiers draw quite a bit of current (obviously, we have to pay for that excellent thermal performance).
I don't think you will get much of an improvement in distortion performance with the peltier, I think it's just a matter of avoiding excessive temperature, heatsink should be enough.
I would use a heatsink. Maybe even a silent fan, like this fellow:
https://www.mvaudiolabs.com/digital/tda1541a-reference-dac/
There's a ton of information at his site. He had audible distortion with the case closed and no cooling.
Iirc, peltiers draw quite a bit of current (obviously, we have to pay for that excellent thermal performance).
I don't think you will get much of an improvement in distortion performance with the peltier, I think it's just a matter of avoiding excessive temperature, heatsink should be enough.
just put it in a case that is not sealed, it gets warm but that is ok. Some use a top copper plate grease coupled for cooling and plug it on the near ground for some shielding. All the guys that lainched top dac with it never did it though.
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problem with all these heatsinks is the marking of the TDA1541A that is half its valor, lol ! If a glass worked for cooling, mine would had one from day one !
If not good coupling, I wonder if most of the heatsinks are really better than air, it is not a class A chip either !
The best non destructive way could be a flipped pcb or the TDA 1541A at the bottom of the pcb with case contact for cooling : but noise transmission could be an issue maybe (vibrations ?).
Mica could be an option, but again : is it enough coupling here in spite of direct air cooling ?
If not good coupling, I wonder if most of the heatsinks are really better than air, it is not a class A chip either !
The best non destructive way could be a flipped pcb or the TDA 1541A at the bottom of the pcb with case contact for cooling : but noise transmission could be an issue maybe (vibrations ?).
Mica could be an option, but again : is it enough coupling here in spite of direct air cooling ?
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I agree! Funny you should mention it. I have no plans to cover the top of the device if I can avoid it, I’d like to remove the heat from the underside and I have a mental picture of how that will be accomplished.
Hi Bigun
Yes it would be better to add some heatsink on the top.
One for that kind of IC package. Not big.
there is no need for fan.
.
(I used heatsink almost the same dim. as top surface, attached with 3M brownish thermal tape, and connected to ground.)
.
BUT If You have one crown 😛 or my good, 2 crowns 😀 on the top the heatsink will cover that?😵
Yes it would be better to add some heatsink on the top.
One for that kind of IC package. Not big.
there is no need for fan.
.
(I used heatsink almost the same dim. as top surface, attached with 3M brownish thermal tape, and connected to ground.)
.
BUT If You have one crown 😛 or my good, 2 crowns 😀 on the top the heatsink will cover that?😵
ahaha, what could be a crown that covers two crown ? We never saw that ! (btw an audio australian buddy has a taiwan double crown he heatsinks that way)
yup, Mica or clamping the heatsink mechanically is the best way to protect the marking. Anyway, Bigun wants to heatsink at the chip bottom, and because the two circles on the bottom of the chip, maybe thermal past maybe be wanted, dunno.
But because most of the time the ic is on a socket and the pcb below the chip is needed for a poper ground routing to the AGND pin, just a simple copper sheet is feasible imo. You let the crown breathing and just put a red carpet below the shoes !
yup, Mica or clamping the heatsink mechanically is the best way to protect the marking. Anyway, Bigun wants to heatsink at the chip bottom, and because the two circles on the bottom of the chip, maybe thermal past maybe be wanted, dunno.
But because most of the time the ic is on a socket and the pcb below the chip is needed for a poper ground routing to the AGND pin, just a simple copper sheet is feasible imo. You let the crown breathing and just put a red carpet below the shoes !
Not sure if you have done with this issue, but this is what I did. On Cambridge Audio CD2's and 3's the four vertical DAC boards are very close to each other and the cooling can be hit and miss, (sometimes the boards are actually discoloured) as though perforated on the underside, the cases are not always perforated on the top side. What I did was to cut a computer CPU heatsink (copper in this case) to fit the top surface size of the TDA, then I placed a drop of epoxy adhesive into each of the circular depressions on the chip, and thermal compound over the rest of the chips surface, keeping it a small distance from the adhesive “rivets”. Placing the heatsink onto the DAC chip with a small weight to hold it down whilst the glue set. These chips are now much cooler and the heatsinks have not fallen off or moved. I have not tried to remove a heatsink so cannot say hot strong bond is, but it has worked for a few years.
Yes everything is super cool but why use epoxy?
For that purposes we have thermal tape, already with added glue on booth surfaces. I am using some 3M tape, brown. Or other brand.
Because epoxy is hard to remove from the chip?
For that purposes we have thermal tape, already with added glue on booth surfaces. I am using some 3M tape, brown. Or other brand.
Because epoxy is hard to remove from the chip?
I suppose if one uses an both sides adhesive thermal tape that's fine, I did not have any. The small depressions on the chip are only about 7mm diameter, when filled and squashed flat there is intimate contact between the face of the heatsink and that of the chip, only a smear of compound is required. I have never had to remove the heat sink, why would you?