If you have i2s these are super cheap NEW ES9023 Decode Board I2S Input Interface Support 192kHz ZJ | eBay
😀 Like those chalenges ! Wow ! 30 euros is few money !
For a little more (less than 150 euros populated with spidf : I vote for the Subbu V3)
For less !
:HifiMeDIY store ! Or a seocnd second hand Philips CD304 with just a swap due to the 30 bucks targett : an opa 2604 for the buffer !
Really hard challenge without involving mass markett... which the goal is not yours.... but... some HK store (above ?)
For a little more (less than 150 euros populated with spidf : I vote for the Subbu V3)
For less !
:HifiMeDIY store ! Or a seocnd second hand Philips CD304 with just a swap due to the 30 bucks targett : an opa 2604 for the buffer !Really hard challenge without involving mass markett... which the goal is not yours.... but... some HK store (above ?)
Well, I do have an S/PDIF DAC, and a USB DAC, but I don't use them, because if you put on the Dog Whisperer, or My Cat From Hell, there'll be uproar in the room, and if it's good enough to fool my cats and dogs, it's good enough for me.
The DAC we're talking about here :
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...-check-its-design-mod-not-play-music-not.html
I doubt can be beaten for bang-for-the-buck. Its not ultimate SQ in stock form but can be moved much further in that direction with patient modification.
Its sales link is here : L1387DAC 8X eight TDA1387 Hifi won the TDA1541 parallel decoder works!
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...-check-its-design-mod-not-play-music-not.html
I doubt can be beaten for bang-for-the-buck. Its not ultimate SQ in stock form but can be moved much further in that direction with patient modification.
Its sales link is here : L1387DAC 8X eight TDA1387 Hifi won the TDA1541 parallel decoder works!
Very nice! I read some of the mod thread. I think I can handle much of that.
One question; is it suitable for 120vac mains voltage? I cannot tell from the cart100 page. I find it very odd that the AC power inputs directly to the PCB.
I really cannot believe that such a DAC (in a case) is selling for $23.85 USD + $20USD shipping. Unreal.
EDIT: I just looked at a close-up of the PCB and I see the AC input is labelled "J220V". Hmmm... I guess I would be looking at sourcing some transformers (looks like 2 of them on the board).
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No, the lower price is for an unboxed PCB - if you look there are 'colour' options. The higher priced one (about $84 when I last looked) is for a boxed up unit.
Good point about the mains voltage - I had overlooked that detail. The trafos in my unit are indeed only single primary for 230V. I need to investigate further!
Another caveat - although a USB socket is shown there, there's no interface PCB present. That's an optional extra. It comes with optical and wired S/PDIF.
Good point about the mains voltage - I had overlooked that detail. The trafos in my unit are indeed only single primary for 230V. I need to investigate further!
Another caveat - although a USB socket is shown there, there's no interface PCB present. That's an optional extra. It comes with optical and wired S/PDIF.
By "unboxed PCB", you mean "with components soldered" - just no box? If so, I would choose that option. I will not pay $60 for a box. 😀
Where there's a will, there's a way. I can always rip those trafos off and get power to the board some other way...
No big deal.
I went to the Taobao page and used Google to translate what they were offering there. The lower price doesn't include transformers, case or mains switch apparently. And its a kit of parts, not already soldered. The trafos aren't the ones you really want, so their omission has to be a plus right?. Not sure if you're up to soldering the SMT parts though, the S/PDIF receiver's rather small pitch.
Here's where they're offering it on Taobao if you'd like to do your own translation - L1387DAC 8X °Ë²¢ÁªTDA1387 Hifi½âÂëÆ÷ Îʶ¦TDA1541Ö®Á¦×÷£¡-ÌÔ±¦Íø
Here's where they're offering it on Taobao if you'd like to do your own translation - L1387DAC 8X °Ë²¢ÁªTDA1387 Hifi½âÂëÆ÷ Îʶ¦TDA1541Ö®Á¦×÷£¡-ÌÔ±¦Íø
This, from cart100 site:
"We will arrange the shipment in 15-44 days after we have received your order."
What??!!??
"We will arrange the shipment in 15-44 days after we have received your order."
What??!!??
I got a similar message conveyed to me via a contact I use to buy from Taobao, though the time period here was quoted as ten days. I get the impression they're building them by hand to order.
True about the trafos, but SMT would be a big challenge for me, especially that fine pitch stuff.
I bought a cheap PCM2704 board and it's a significant upgrade from my laptop audio out.
I'm considering something like that for at least one of my systems, perhaps two. There's a microUSB "dongle" with PCM2706+ES9023 for $60 on Amazon. I suspect it sounds quite good for the money and the form-factor will be perfect to hang behind a TV. Too bad it is twice my original budget.
I do see some extremely affordable PCM2704 stuff on ebay, though.
As a reference, this is what I am using on my main system right now:
WM8740 DIR9001 PCM2704 USB DAC Decoder Board AC 9V 12V | eBay
I'm feeding it with a CM6631 USB-to-SPDIF, and I have run all sorts of opamps through it (all of which are better than the OP275 which came installed). Currently running twin OPA627 on an adapter, but often switch them out for LME49720HA, AD8620, OPA2132... depending on my mood.
It has served me well for quite some time and I still enjoy it, but I know there are much better DACs out there. I think it may be time to take the next step. This would allow me to deploy the WM8740 on a secondary system.
WM8740 DIR9001 PCM2704 USB DAC Decoder Board AC 9V 12V | eBay
I'm feeding it with a CM6631 USB-to-SPDIF, and I have run all sorts of opamps through it (all of which are better than the OP275 which came installed). Currently running twin OPA627 on an adapter, but often switch them out for LME49720HA, AD8620, OPA2132... depending on my mood.
It has served me well for quite some time and I still enjoy it, but I know there are much better DACs out there. I think it may be time to take the next step. This would allow me to deploy the WM8740 on a secondary system.
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A related question: what do folks think the "sweet spot" for value is with DACs? With many consumer products, there's somewhat of a "you get what you pay for" curve. I assume that curve is somewhat linear up to a point, where you start spending dramatically more for incrementally small performance improvements. My interest is right at the peak of that linear trajectory.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
You mean the sweet spot for commercial or DIY DACs? In the majority of commercial DACs I'd say there's not enough attention to power supplies and too much attention to bling. Like providing more than 16bits and higher sample rates than 96kHz, and DSD in different frequency multiples. When the vast majority of recorded music is RBCD standard. Which is why I designed my DAC to do one thing (RBCD) well.
<edit> Judging by the listening reports on Head-Fi the top of the linear trajectory looks to be at the price point of the Schitt Yggy, $2300.
<edit> Judging by the listening reports on Head-Fi the top of the linear trajectory looks to be at the price point of the Schitt Yggy, $2300.
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If you're willing to do SMT work, I can send you one of my DAC boards (I've got spares), the design of which I posted a while back. It runs off any 9V+ DC or AC wallwart (which you probably have lying around at home), and the parts can be had for under $30.
It uses a WM8804 with coax SPDIF and a PCM5102A for the output.
It uses a WM8804 with coax SPDIF and a PCM5102A for the output.
That's sort of where I am going with this, Matt. I set the target pretty low at first, but that's only because I am using a $40 DAC board that is very, very listenable "to me". When I switch to my turntable, there is a noticeable difference, but that doesn't make me hate my DAC.
There's a lot of "ultimate DACs" etc. but at some point the law of diminishing returns must kick in. My DAC is "old technology" now, so I must be able to get something for $30 that is noticeably better. Maybe I'm just a spoiled geek.
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Yes. 🙂
Sorry, couldn't resist---I meant either commercial or DIY.
So you think (or maybe, your interpretation of the Head-Fi think) that the $2300 Schitt is about two times as good as a $1k DAC, and 4x better than a $500 DAC? That's too much for me! Although having just read this thread about the $43k DAC, I guess I should be able to find $2k in my couch cushions, eh? 🙂
I made a similar comment in the $43k DAC thread, but: even in the "value" territory (<$500) I've thus far exclusively played, it seems like I'm already butting up against diminishing returns. That, or DAC quality is more like a step function, and I've never gone up a step. And/or maybe the rest of my system (including my ears) is a limiting factor.
To give one example from semi-recent memory: I used a Cambridge Audio DACMagic (the original one) for many years (I think I paid about $300 for it, recently sold it for $200 IIRC). I put it up against the ES9023-based HiFiMeDIY asynchronous USB DAC, it's about $80 IIRC. The DACMagic had the edge, but it wasn't 2x better. It was just ever-so-slightly better. To my ears and system anyway. So in this particular comparison, I'd say the HiFiMeDIY was the better value because it was less than half the price, but (subjectively, very subjectively) no more than 5--10% worse.
I'll add (more for the sake of rambling commentary than any real point), if you read online reviews of DACs, particularly informal reviews from consumers on various audio forums, it's inevitable that you'll eventually come across this comment: "If you're thinking about the XYZ DAC, you owe it to yourself to try out the ABC DAC: it's only $50--100 more, but totally stomps the XYZ DAC." So then you say to yourself, if it's that much better, I guess I'll up my budget. But then you come across the same comment, but now it's the QRS DAC that blows away the ABC, for still only another $50--100. Repeat until you find your budget has increased well beyond anything sensible. 🙂
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