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Reference DAC Module - Discrete R-2R Sign Magnitude 24 bit 384 KHz

The ceramic cap was the first thing I kicked out, reminded me of these same terrible ceramic disc caps at the output of countless CD players to filter some frequencies in bat regions.
I put some good Siemens film caps now directly at the output, not sure if it does any good or bad now.
Played maybe around hundred hours or so, probably still breaking in.
I had the idea to try some Elna Silmic at Vref, they are available at 6.3 V/1000µF. They have the characteristics the Dam is lacking, but maybe they are too "slow".
 
Could we still need to reduce the 0.1R series resistor to 0.01R?

Mods | moreDAMfilters

Note especially simulations on bambadoo's implementation of factory mod + 4000uF (per rail). Could we still be getting 0.4mV at 100Hz and a simple 0.01R 0603 replacement would lower that by a factor of 10? Higher frequencies seem unaffected.


Would be great if someone more experienced could help clear up this issue :)
 
Current 8 mA.
515666d1448063823-reference-dac-module-discrete-2r-sign-magnitude-24-bit-384-khz-1200-jpg

For the experts
 
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Soren, have you had a chance to measure other shift registers? The voltage ripple potentially caused by LVC595A internal resistance seems to overwhelm any subtle distinction in resistor tolerance.

4V for 16bits: LSB=61uV

0.3R 2.7mA in the LVC: 810uV ripple

I hope TotalDac used better shift registers otherwise I would feel really sorry for their customers... even if the sound is great
 
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And this is the reason i have never believed resistor tolerance between 0.01% and 0.05% makes any difference. Not that it matters anymore.

Don't see how this relates to TotalDac: a good sounding resistor is a good sounding resistor all else being equal. Having compared a lot of resistors i consider the z-foils to be at the pinnacle. Too bad power dissipation is low and the price is unfriendly, or i'd be using them everywhere :)
 
And this is the reason i have never believed resistor tolerance between 0.01% and 0.05% makes any difference. Not that it matters anymore.

Don't see how this relates to TotalDac: a good sounding resistor is a good sounding resistor all else being equal. Having compared a lot of resistors i consider the z-foils to be at the pinnacle. Too bad power dissipation is low and the price is unfriendly, or i'd be using them everywhere :)

Sure resistors can still make a difference. Perhaps it's a different distortion coming from ripple vs non-linearity.


Or perhaps we should all be thankful that 10bits is perhaps all humans can enjoy? Maybe a better(-hearing) species would appreciate delta-sigma a lot more

Imagine the artistic possibilities...
 
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A picture of an early TotalDac shows Ti 74HC594

That's no specialty shift register... I doubt TI had in mind TotalDac when they made the chips


Still I think we deserve an answer from Soren. Even if he believes his responsibilities end when music is produced, there is the question of whether our recent mods are beneficial. They certainly sound a lot different and should measure better in ripple. Shall we draw the conclusion that rev.3/4/5, dam1121, etc. are still flawed and need modding to sound right?
 
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TNT

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
So, you need confirmation from the original designer because you cant judge if your mods was "good" or not? You seem torn between tech and audiophilia?

You found the old discussions - I think it is there that you will find your answers to your questions rather then Sören.

One benefit, and the reason I got a 1121, is that the payload is re-clocked after the fpga - a big mistake in the 1021. Still, I would love to know the buffer/PLL algo.

//
 
Soren, have you had a chance to measure other shift registers? The voltage ripple potentially caused by LVC595A internal resistance seems to overwhelm any subtle distinction in resistor tolerance.

4V for 16bits: LSB=61uV

0.3R 2.7mA in the LVC: 810uV ripple

I hope TotalDac used better shift registers otherwise I would feel really sorry for their customers... even if the sound is great

No, the LVC595 is the best fit. Other parts will have the same issues with the bonding wires.