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£60 dac anyone?

with a degree in mathematics and computing and a phd (unf.) in computer simulation and mathematical modelling, it looks brilliant! erm...can i use it with me sb touch?
 
The dac connects to a preamp in the normal way, you will need a 3.5mm minijack to RCA phono interconnect.
If you mean can it be used with a cdp or transport then the answer is no its usb only.
 
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I must admit I haven't listened to it, I've only measured it and decided it is good enough.

HD, IMD and noise and jitter are all superb.

Have you confirmed your one is working right after you changed all those caps? You might have oscillation or poor de-coupling somewhere.

Personally I'd have gone for a super-balanced output stage (see Doug Self), but apart from that the design is solid.
 
Tenson said:
If you want a high performance DAC PCB that costs very little, I can recommend one ofthese - http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=251044616074

I have 3 of them for a future project. They measure very well. You can also make it 24/192 capable just by swapping the AK4393 chip for a AK4396. The CS8416 chip has very low jitter too.
Click to expand...

If you're thinking of putting one in an active speaker à la AVI, it's a no brainer: long digital/short analog paths: can't be wrong. We've been playing with a roughly similar concept - with a slightly different take on things.
 
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Thanks Muzzer, I was thinking of using it with a Mac Mini as my first foray into computer audio... So the input to the DAC is USB and the output is 3.5 mini-jack to DIN cable (Naim pre-amp). It would connect USB-USB with the Mac Mini. That right?

I even have an empty Mac Mini Unibody case to house it in... ;)
 
Actually, it is £60... for the board only. I've just plonked down a £45 deposit. Worth taking a punt on as a first step into computer audio, I reckon. The distributor, Oliver Freeborn at Epiphany Audio, seems to be an extremely helpful individual, answering all my questions via e-mail late last night. :)

Can't wait to get my system set up again...:D (though eff knows how long that'll take).:mad:
 
Tim Danaher said:
Thanks Muzzer, I was thinking of using it with a Mac Mini as my first foray into computer audio... So the input to the DAC is USB and the output is 3.5 mini-jack to DIN cable (Naim pre-amp). It would connect USB-USB with the Mac Mini. That right?

I even have an empty Mac Mini Unibody case to house it in... ;)
Click to expand...
Hi Tim
That is correct, your usb cable needs a mini usb plug at the dac end of the usb cable.
 
Tim Danaher said:
Actually, it is £60... for the board only. I've just plonked down a £45 deposit. Worth taking a punt on as a first step into computer audio, I reckon. The distributor, Oliver Freeborn at Epiphany Audio, seems to be an extremely helpful individual, answering all my questions via e-mail late last night. :)

Can't wait to get my system set up again...:D (though eff knows how long that'll take).:mad:
Click to expand...
The original price was a bit confusing ie £60 pre order it has now been changed to £60 deposit.
Total price is £99 for fully cased item, still a decent price imo.
The populated board alone is available for £59.99
 
Tenson said:
Have you confirmed your one is working right after you changed all those caps? You might have oscillation or poor de-coupling somewhere.

Personally I'd have gone for a super-balanced output stage (see Doug Self), but apart from that the design is solid.
Click to expand...

Yes, fully 'scoped. Almost all of the decoupling is standard and most of it is reasonably well designed except for a couple of caps that are downstream of the chip they are meant to decouple. Besides that the other decoupling looks about as good as you can get with through hole components.

SM decoupling and the 3-opamp o/p stage might make it sound better. Or maybe the CMOS I-V opamp inside the DAC is the limiting factor?

If you have enogh hair to make a shirt and some spare cash you could always go for Sowter transformers and a sprinking of valves!
 
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