Any dac ic good for measurements and listening?
Akm burned.
Ess has IMD hump issue.
Cirrus is over priced.
R2R from analog do not support 24bit.
Ti dacs poor specifications except obsolite ones.
What do you think about this?
Is there any dac chip out there both good for measurements and listening?
Akm burned.
Ess has IMD hump issue.
Cirrus is over priced.
R2R from analog do not support 24bit.
Ti dacs poor specifications except obsolite ones.
What do you think about this?
Is there any dac chip out there both good for measurements and listening?
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"Is there any dac chip out there both good for measurements and listening?"
Good question. I am also interested in this question.
But your choice of headline isn't good - there are not many viewers therefore.
Send Jon Lord a PM - he can tell you several types of interesting vintage and new ICs.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/members/jon-lord.html
Good question. I am also interested in this question.
But your choice of headline isn't good - there are not many viewers therefore.
Send Jon Lord a PM - he can tell you several types of interesting vintage and new ICs.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/members/jon-lord.html
TDA1541A has the best measurements of any 16bit DAC I've seen. Also sounds good judging by reports I've read. But it is just 16bits which seems a bit dated these days.
1794A supports 24bit resolution and 192kHz sampling (it is not a true R-2R design, though...). In addition, its current out level is sufficient enough to completely avoid any need for additional amplification, i.e. the voltage can be taken from the I/V resistor straight to the output amplifier.
The above could also sound really nice.
... also, check the new Gustard X 16. Amazing what $500 US can buy these days.
The above could also sound really nice.
... also, check the new Gustard X 16. Amazing what $500 US can buy these days.
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It's a pity that ROHM is still not on the public market with the BD34301..
Maybe now, that there is some gap in the concurrency?!
BD34301EKV High-Performance Audio-DAC - ROHM | Mouser
ROHM - Search Results
Maybe now, that there is some gap in the concurrency?!
BD34301EKV High-Performance Audio-DAC - ROHM | Mouser
ROHM - Search Results
ES9038Q2M paired with something like the board at: Simple DSD SRC for BeagleBone would probably sound pretty good.
IMHO, ESS dac chips sound better with DSD256 or DSD512 than they do with PCM. John Westlake has said more or less the same thing. Probably others would agree too.
Regarding 'the hump,' not sure if its an issue in DSD mode? If it is, the fix involves more work. It can be fixed by measurement and experimentation. Measurement can be done in the time domain and or the frequency domain.
IMHO, ESS dac chips sound better with DSD256 or DSD512 than they do with PCM. John Westlake has said more or less the same thing. Probably others would agree too.
Regarding 'the hump,' not sure if its an issue in DSD mode? If it is, the fix involves more work. It can be fixed by measurement and experimentation. Measurement can be done in the time domain and or the frequency domain.
AK4137 is no longer obtainable. Thats why Pavel work on CT7302PL board instead of AK4137. The issue is my player do not support DSD. So i am only interested PCM.
We might have to wait awhile then. John Westlake seemed to think that AK4137 could be produced at another foundry since it does not appear to be a mixed signal device. In other words, that part may become available before some of the other parts.
If only PCM matters, maybe Cirrus parts would work. I personally don't see a way to make a cheap SD dac that sounds really exceptionally good. The support circuitry has to be more involved and better quality components have to be used in places. If "cheap and pretty good but not great" is the goal then Cirrus might be fine. Their chips are a lot cheaper than AK4499 was.
Regarding CT7302PL, there is a thread on it. I tried it and could not get to sound good no matter what I tried and despite talking with the manufacturer about possible fixes.
If only PCM matters, maybe Cirrus parts would work. I personally don't see a way to make a cheap SD dac that sounds really exceptionally good. The support circuitry has to be more involved and better quality components have to be used in places. If "cheap and pretty good but not great" is the goal then Cirrus might be fine. Their chips are a lot cheaper than AK4499 was.
Regarding CT7302PL, there is a thread on it. I tried it and could not get to sound good no matter what I tried and despite talking with the manufacturer about possible fixes.
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1794 can go to 384k SR with DF disabled. 1792 can go double that with modulator running at double speed.
The OP has compliance to swing significant voltage but it will increase the distortion by quite a bit. You are still better off running virtual ground I-V, IMO that is.
AFAIK, Rohm DAC is still in development, maybe they are trying to squeeze some more performance out of it.
TCD
You are right re: sampling; the DAC boards I use will go to 384kHz because I use DAC IC's with all the relevant pins connected to Vdd.
The compliance voltage swing can be controlled by the use of higher than 5V DC voltages at Vcc pins, and careful choice of I/R resistor value.
The compliance voltage swing can be controlled by the use of higher than 5V DC voltages at Vcc pins, and careful choice of I/R resistor value.
Ah yes, I forgot the 8V 'boosted' power supply. I'm amazed these DACs have held up to this. Has anyone performed any proper measurements on the 1794
with higher analog supplies? Same for boosted OP current (I Ref).
Are you running DDDAC?
TCD
Yes. The basic set of measurements can be found on Doede's website. The original design could do with few modifications.... mostly around the power supply, voltage regulation, clock/digital words' signal distribution, ground uniformity... the end result is very analog-like sounding, very enjoyable. It's kind of important to refrain from taking any measurements, in particular, if fed with I2S at high sampling rates... 🙂 It is a NOS DAC indeed - a purest of form. And 1974 gives me the ability to drive my Aleph J straight of the I/V resistor. So, a simplistic DAC approach, driving the output amp with only 2 gain stages. But, no taking of any measurements, please!
Do you filter the resistor with a cap for the lowest sampling rate ?
I am curious to know the Z value needed if the ic is powered at its max for a 1V or a littme less.
For instance working with 1k ohms or a little less is enough for a not tubed tda1541a I/V...
Is the output impedance low enough with the pcm1792/4 curent output ?
I am curious to know the Z value needed if the ic is powered at its max for a 1V or a littme less.
For instance working with 1k ohms or a little less is enough for a not tubed tda1541a I/V...
Is the output impedance low enough with the pcm1792/4 curent output ?
Wait for "9038ap" model from E1DA. It is going to be their first desktop dac with dual ES9038q2m. According to first measurements that @IVX shared on their Discord channel, it is going to be one of the best measured dacs based on ES9038Q2M, if not the best.