Wow! I have not looked at this site in several years and the first thing I see is a question about the very Old TDA1541 Philips Dac chips that I liked so much.
Those look real to me and I also have a large bunch of the non-Crown Select parts which those are. They came from the Magnavox CD Players we used to modify and the first thing we did was take out the normal chips and replace them with the Crown Select TDA1541S1 Crown chips.
Those non-Crown TDA1541 chips are still good parts especially if a few changes are made to the analog output circuits and the power supplies that feed them. With the proper changes the CD Players that use the TDA1541 chips can have a very pleasant sound playing 16/44.1kHz CD disks. However non of my children even own CD's now. They download all there music which is why I built them all 24/192 D to A preamps and LME power amps.
In fact people still contact me directly to fix their old MSBrasfield or MSB CD players after having enjoyed them for 25+ years. In fact I will be getting one in very soon to fix. I still have most of the parts but the lasers are now getting hard to find and those are usually what fails.
By the way, if you want to make the normal DAC chips sound more like the crown select chips you can try paralleling them, i.e. solder one on top of the other. Some people even did 4 chips that way but I found that had diminishing returns. Two usually helped enough. Replacing the entire analog stage after the DAC chip however was key to making those players sound good and I have updated quite a few of those old cd players with the new LME analog parts we created at the late National Semiconductor which is now TI and TI shut down the Fab that made the LME parts on a very special process. Putting in better clock chips also helped.
Hope you enjoy playing with those TDA1541 parts.
Best Audio Regards,
Audioman54/Mark
Those look real to me and I also have a large bunch of the non-Crown Select parts which those are. They came from the Magnavox CD Players we used to modify and the first thing we did was take out the normal chips and replace them with the Crown Select TDA1541S1 Crown chips.
Those non-Crown TDA1541 chips are still good parts especially if a few changes are made to the analog output circuits and the power supplies that feed them. With the proper changes the CD Players that use the TDA1541 chips can have a very pleasant sound playing 16/44.1kHz CD disks. However non of my children even own CD's now. They download all there music which is why I built them all 24/192 D to A preamps and LME power amps.
In fact people still contact me directly to fix their old MSBrasfield or MSB CD players after having enjoyed them for 25+ years. In fact I will be getting one in very soon to fix. I still have most of the parts but the lasers are now getting hard to find and those are usually what fails.
By the way, if you want to make the normal DAC chips sound more like the crown select chips you can try paralleling them, i.e. solder one on top of the other. Some people even did 4 chips that way but I found that had diminishing returns. Two usually helped enough. Replacing the entire analog stage after the DAC chip however was key to making those players sound good and I have updated quite a few of those old cd players with the new LME analog parts we created at the late National Semiconductor which is now TI and TI shut down the Fab that made the LME parts on a very special process. Putting in better clock chips also helped.
Hope you enjoy playing with those TDA1541 parts.
Best Audio Regards,
Audioman54/Mark
I liked them as well... I will never forget the beautiful, completely analog-like sound I had from Audiomeca Mephisto transport and TDA1541-based DAC. That was pure poetry. Infinitely better than anything I was trying during that period... and that was with an inferior amplifier, compared to what I have now. They (TDA1541's) were indeed something special.
Seeing as they are really expensive now and fakes are a problem, are these something that will drop right in?
HIFI 4 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A
HIFI 4 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A | eBay
HIFI 8 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A
HIFI 8 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A | eBay
Just found this thread researching the TDA1541A as it might be faulty in an old Ensoniq ASR-10 I have. Can load in a sound / instrument, but no audio output at all. I get a digital signal waveform at pin 3 of the 1541, which seems to follow the note when I press a key, but no audio output at the 1541. Power supply voltage at the chip seem okay. Admittedly I'm not very experienced with the digital side of audio nor DAC's in general. Just seen those cheaper substitutes and thought I'd ask those experienced here. Not even ready to replace it yet, but thought I'd see if those are perhaps something to try if I decide to. I also do not like buying parts off of ebay, though might if it comes to that.
Thanks for any info.
HIFI 4 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A
HIFI 4 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A | eBay
HIFI 8 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A
HIFI 8 parallel TDA1387 direct substitution TDA1541, TDA1541A | eBay
Just found this thread researching the TDA1541A as it might be faulty in an old Ensoniq ASR-10 I have. Can load in a sound / instrument, but no audio output at all. I get a digital signal waveform at pin 3 of the 1541, which seems to follow the note when I press a key, but no audio output at the 1541. Power supply voltage at the chip seem okay. Admittedly I'm not very experienced with the digital side of audio nor DAC's in general. Just seen those cheaper substitutes and thought I'd ask those experienced here. Not even ready to replace it yet, but thought I'd see if those are perhaps something to try if I decide to. I also do not like buying parts off of ebay, though might if it comes to that.
Thanks for any info.
Being a fan of the Philips chip is now very questionable. The latest generation of DACs are now at a level that is beyond any hearing threshold. Even the most expensive audio analyzers reach their limits. Some things can no longer be measured. The Philips chip certainly doesn't sound bad. From the measured values, it is inferior to any modern DAC.
What a soulless statement. Often found among people who don't really listen to music but rather have barricaded themselves in a world of plug and play technology and measurement protocols. Useless to want to explain something that does not want to and can not be understood.
look at Pedja Rogic AYA5 project instead, and there is an option for a pcb + dac chip for whom having not a tda1541A. This a well know audio compagny, parts are genuine. AYA 5 - Audial
cause a dac chip alone is not all.
Hmmm that AYA5 PCB, fully assembled and the power transformer is close to 650 euros. It is unclear if that includes the USB input or not...I also believe that 650 euros does not include the TDA1541.
Anyhow, even if you get the USB input and the TDA1541A IC, that's a brand new D90 (with MQA support) territory... I know AYA5 is DIY and is using 1541 and all that.... but still, very steep pricing indeed. Of course, you'd still have a bare PCB to which you'll need to attach the connectors... not to mention the costs involved with trying to put all that mess into a box of some sort. Bit crazy...
Anyhow, even if you get the USB input and the TDA1541A IC, that's a brand new D90 (with MQA support) territory... I know AYA5 is DIY and is using 1541 and all that.... but still, very steep pricing indeed. Of course, you'd still have a bare PCB to which you'll need to attach the connectors... not to mention the costs involved with trying to put all that mess into a box of some sort. Bit crazy...
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But it sounds better imo...at least my Aya from 2012 sounds better than all the ESS and AK that came at home. I do not thin 16/44 recordings are enhanced by newer chips...but maybe people are sensible to the numerous FIR outputs. But to my ears all what i heard till 5k euros was below my dac with a iancanada front end.
I m not stupborn...If I find better that this dedign at same price then my ears will be the happy judge.
I m not stupborn...If I find better that this dedign at same price then my ears will be the happy judge.
Is Huo Guang store a good source this genuine TDA1541A dac chip?Ive today ordered exactly the same chip from huo guang Store on AliEx. I will report results when its arrive. The seller sent me also another pic of the chip:
commstech,
Here is what a 30 year old TDA1541A looks like...
I have 12 of these that I removed from original Magnavox/Philips CD Players and replaced with the crown select parts.
If anyone wants these let me know.
Best Audio Regards,
Audioman54/Mark
PS-I also have a lot of Philips digital filter chips that mated up to these Dacs.
Here is what a 30 year old TDA1541A looks like...
I have 12 of these that I removed from original Magnavox/Philips CD Players and replaced with the crown select parts.
If anyone wants these let me know.
Best Audio Regards,
Audioman54/Mark
PS-I also have a lot of Philips digital filter chips that mated up to these Dacs.
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