Is this a real TDA1541A?

... put up ... or shut up!!!

Some further thoughts on my above test and this thread in general...

About the test ...
The odd-looking Taiwan TDA1541A ("HSH", 2004) seems to be legit for what it is: a TDA1541A, not select grade, and it does not pretend to be . The fact that its "odd" is the code: laser-etched, HSH for Taiwan, yellow lettering, 2004 date code. All seem to defy de reguire.
Why is this device called a "forgery" in this thread? Wouldn't a forger have gone for double crown and more profitable code?

About this thread .... 62 pages long, gossiping over a single DAC ... but barely any controlled tests (subjective) or metrics (objective, measurements). It's not hard, folks ... use a ....
Socket01-1024x682.png

.... and put up ... or shut up!!!
 
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Think it’s all in listening test Hollowman. From what I understood, S1 single & double crown were all hand selected from production line & those that met the specs were given the hand stamped single or double crown markings. When I bought my S1s moons ago I too thought they were fakes but the minute I AB between stock & S1 in my AyA dac wow every notion of being fake is put to rest. The one thing that I find it strange is all the pics in the web that I’ve seen of the double crown are all dated 1997. My double crown was the only pc that’s dated 89


Cheers
 
In the early days, Philips' modesty was refreshing ...

Based on my brief, subjective test of the odd-looking Taiwan TDA1541A ("HSH", 2004), purchased for $19USD from the Indonesian seller 11 years ago, I think I got an acceptable deal.
For that same $19, I could've (instead) upgraded some caps, diodes, opamps, regulators, etc. And I think I would've come out ahead in terms sonic performance.

I think the "hunt" or pursuit of hidden treasure is part of the appeal here.
At the end of the day, most devices in which this DAC is used are containerized. That is, you do your mod, put the cover back on, and the $$ double crown is out of sight for the majority of its useful life.

In the early days, Philips' modesty was refreshing -- no brand logo, no icon ... just a model # and code:
681871d1526834085-tda1541-s1-vs-tda1541a-tda1541-cdb473-jpg
 
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I thought I’d ask here before investing any more money.

I find myself in need of a replacement digital source as my beloved Rotel RCD 855 stoped working a few years back.

I tried sourcing another used 855 to replace it and found one on eBay, but it also appears to have some issues.

I was very happy with the sound of these tda1541a based players, but I think I need something more reliable.

My goal is to build a Shigaclone transport (I have the parts) and I’m interested in ryanj’s D3 circuit to implement the 1541A.

I could try to harvest a chip from one of the 855s, but wasn’t sure if I’d fry it in the process.

I came across a listing for a NOS 1541A in the swap meet. It cost me $45 shipped. It is in what looks like some sort of original blister packaging. The seller was from Italy. I believe he said he sourced from a local electronics supply a while back but never used it.

I’ve attached some pics.

Looking for as much confirmation as is possible that it is real before spending money ordering a D3 and etc to use it.
 

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This thread is now 63 pages long and NO ONE still has any bankable idea ...

That's because no one realizes the there are no people anywhere actually manufacturing fake chips. Transistors are easy, they have three leads and many "sort" of look like each other in a superficial way so you erase the markings and take peoples money. Complicated DAC's are different. Here you cheat people by getting low grades and re-branding them as premium or worse re-brand any 16 lead DIP, as an example, (even an empty package) and simply defraud the customer. There is no one making TDA1541 or AD1862/65 look alikes in some Asian fab, the ironic thing is with today's process technology you could probably make much better ones than the original.
 
That's because no one realizes the there are no people anywhere actually manufacturing fake chips. Transistors are easy, they have three leads and many "sort" of look like each other in a superficial way so you erase the markings and take peoples money. Complicated DAC's are different. Here you cheat people by getting low grades and re-branding them as premium or worse re-brand any 16 lead DIP, as an example, (even an empty package) and simply defraud the customer.

There is no one making TDA1541 or AD1862/65 look alikes in some Asian fab, the ironic thing is with today's process technology you could probably make much better ones than the original.

Right. Exactly, but it won`t happen. It's easy to convince people of the superiority of the cheaply and unproblematically manufactured CMOS technique.

When I found & bought a batch of S1 I too was suspicious due to the way the S1 & crown was stamped but once installed you hear the diff between stock & crown version.

It's still a TDA1541.
 
Listing for seems like a large supply of TDA1541A S1 with No Crown Stamps.

From what I've read, as a TDA1541A is graded - R1 - S1 or S2, depending on the test, if S1 or S2 they are stamped with a single or double crown rating.

No where do I see where the grading neglected to add a crown.

These have no crown stamps, kinda skeptical to me.

eBay Seller: hifi-szjxic

Are these real? Here's the listing:

1 pieces (New) TDA1541A S1 without Crown TDA1541 DAC IC Dual 16 - bit old stock | eBay


Aguaazul
 
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