I'm looking to DIY a DAC, preferably using one of the high performing recent DACs like AK449x.
This is what I can find of the Internet:
1. This one looks good but no PCB:
GitHub - NiHaoMike/OpenDAC-HD: An open source HD audio DAC
2. This one uses an older chip:
DDDAC 1794 NOS DAC - Non Oversampling DAC with PCM1794 - no digital filter - modular design DIY DAC for high resolution audio 192/24 192kHz 24bit
but is quite interesting.
3. This one uses a 20 bit obsolete DAC (AD1862):
DAC AD1862: Almost THT, I2S input, NOS, R-2R
SMD soldering is no problem for me (even BGAs), I actually prefer it to THT soldering.
Any other projects I should look at ?
This is what I can find of the Internet:
1. This one looks good but no PCB:
GitHub - NiHaoMike/OpenDAC-HD: An open source HD audio DAC
2. This one uses an older chip:
DDDAC 1794 NOS DAC - Non Oversampling DAC with PCM1794 - no digital filter - modular design DIY DAC for high resolution audio 192/24 192kHz 24bit
but is quite interesting.
3. This one uses a 20 bit obsolete DAC (AD1862):
DAC AD1862: Almost THT, I2S input, NOS, R-2R
SMD soldering is no problem for me (even BGAs), I actually prefer it to THT soldering.
Any other projects I should look at ?
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If you've no objection to projects based on older DACs, then how about mine?
lingDAC - cost effective RBCD multibit DAC design
lingDAC - cost effective RBCD multibit DAC design
what you can do :
- buy a complete kit and you connect supply,cable,connector,chassis etc. there are other several websites for your reference :
https://m.au.dhgate.com/dac-kit-australia.html#$seo=pc$
DAC/USB DAC_Analog Metric - DIY Audio Kit Developer
DIY Kits & Boards - Audiophonics
- buy blank pcb project : you can participate on Group Buy section
but first you need to research some articles/opinion about:
- NOS vs OS implementation
- R2R vs DeltaSigma chip
- output stage : opamp, discrete or tube
because this will lead you to the implementation, even on 1 website they can sell different dac kit
- buy a complete kit and you connect supply,cable,connector,chassis etc. there are other several websites for your reference :
https://m.au.dhgate.com/dac-kit-australia.html#$seo=pc$
DAC/USB DAC_Analog Metric - DIY Audio Kit Developer
DIY Kits & Boards - Audiophonics
- buy blank pcb project : you can participate on Group Buy section
but first you need to research some articles/opinion about:
- NOS vs OS implementation
- R2R vs DeltaSigma chip
- output stage : opamp, discrete or tube
because this will lead you to the implementation, even on 1 website they can sell different dac kit
What about
Products - I2S over USB Audio
it is a dac who totally work correct....nice oled display remote and so on
and the sound with the right output, is really good (i use it my self )
Products - I2S over USB Audio
it is a dac who totally work correct....nice oled display remote and so on
and the sound with the right output, is really good (i use it my self )
Thanks for the links.
It seems they offer fully assembled boards. I'm mostly looking to solder the components myself, but could also get an assembled one if it has a good quality and price.
Hi folks,
Informations about drivers within I2SoverUSB, shown on product page
Regards
Attachments
I'm looking to build a DAC with a USB input.
As far as I understand this needs a converter from USB to the DAC interface (I2S, SPDIF, etc.).
Recording is not required but would be nice to have, so that a full audio interface can be built.
If you are looking at fully built one, this looks like a good candidate.
Revolution DAC - Digital input USB (uUSB) - Analog output RCA 2.25Vrms
Thanks
Balaji
Revolution DAC - Digital input USB (uUSB) - Analog output RCA 2.25Vrms
Thanks
Balaji
JL Sounds that makes on of the dacs you were looking at also makes a good USB board called: I2SoverUSB. It outputs I2S and also has some ability to do SPDIF out. The clocks on the USB board can be very important to dac sound quality, particularly so with AK499x dacs since they typically don't have a master clock or clocks on the dac board. I2SoverUSB uses NDK SDA audio clocks (two of them, one each for the 44/48 digital audio sample rate families). The stock SDA clocks are very good, but not the best. Recently some new USB boards started appearing on ebay and aliexpress that include Accusilicon clocks, which are very good, probably better than un-binned NDK SDA clocks.
That's Allo's latest ES9038Q2M dac made, they say, for a wider user audience that just the diy crowd. For that reason they do not allow user power supplies to be substituted for the SMPS on the dac board. While I have been following Allo's work for a long time and wish them the best, I don't know if I would go for another ESS dac at this time. Allo says they have fixed the 'ESS sound' that some people don't like for PCM reproduction (DSD is better). I hope the fix nails it, but haven't heard the final version yet. For that reason I would probably be inclined to wait until some listening reviews start coming in before deciding.
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@fireworks
I would recommend you to take a look here Dimdim's Blog | DIY Audio, Arduino, Computers, Music
I would recommend you to take a look here Dimdim's Blog | DIY Audio, Arduino, Computers, Music
My preference is for a DIY project where I solder the components on the PCB.
Buying a fully built unit is easy and there are hundreds of them.
It's an interesting project indeed.
Unlike others, it seems that the DAC PCB is not disclosed. Moreover, it uses a custom XMOS board which is not disclosed either.
To build it would require designing a PCB for the DAC schematics and testing it with a commercial XMOS board.
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