JohnW
pfm member
The Dawn of MDAC2
The MDAC2 project is now officially commencing. Our thanks go to all of you whose pledges and support made it possible! In the following paragraphs we introduce the projects design targets, development & production roadmap, milestones and related installment payments.
Design goals
This project aims to design a completely new DAC in the same form factor as the original MDAC. There are many benefits to this approach. We can fully concentrate our effort and resources on the part of a product that determines the performance and features, while foregoing the otherwise necessary, lengthy and expensive industrial & mechanical design. Existing MDAC owners will not need to pay for an entire new product. The MDAC2 consists of a completely new mainboard and rear panel assembly. It is easily retrofitted into an existing M-DAC in place of the original mainboard, making use of its aluminum chassis, front panel complete with all the controls, OLED and microprocessor as well as the AC adaptor and remote control.
Features
Dual ES9018 Sabre32 DACs, one dedicated chip per channel for true dual mono operation.
Brand new discrete Class A analog stage design.
Redesigned on-board power supply circuitry guaranteeing optimal performance using the stock AC adaptor.
High Speed USB 2.0 controller for asynchronous USB Audio Class 2.0 with 32 bit resolution and up to 768 kHz sampling rates. Driverless operation under MacOS X and Linux as well as Windows with UAC 1.0 fallback (up to 96 kHz). Optional open-source ASIO driver for Windows to support UAC 2.0 capabilities.
DSD 64Fs supported via USB as well as S/PDIF with DSD 128Fs and higher available via USB (DoD standard).
FPGA on board, opening the doors to limitless customization and further improvements delivered via software updates. Ability to bypass all internal processing in the Sabre32 and replace it with custom LakeWest developments down to the noise shaper.
RAM buffer for memory play without ASRC for S/PDIF sources. Asynchronous USB and transport ClockLock interface ASRC free playback or optionally S/PDIF playback with ASRC without memory buffer induced latencies.
Passive AV bypass unbalanced inputs allowing coexistence of analog preamplifier / surround processor with the DACs own digital preamplifier.
4W XLR Female on the rear panel for balanced headphone connection.
Made in EU, each unit tested and qualified personally by JW
Specifications
While we dont believe that basic audio measurements are indicative of audio quality a few do purchase their products on technical performance alone, so here are the target and worst case guaranteed performance specifications:
THD XLR 1 kHz: 0.00005% typ. (0.0001% max.)
Dynamic Range XLR 20 Hz ~ 20 kHz: 135 dBA typ. (130 dBA min.)
Channel Separation 1 kHz: >130dB
Output Impedance: ~0 Ohm (limited by contact resistance)
Driving Capacitance: stable up to 10 nF
DC Offset: +/- 10 mV max.
Project roadmap
Before presenting the planned project schedule, it is important to stress that any timeframes given are only our best estimates and cannot be relied upon completely. We are undertaking development of the very best DAC possible and that is the primary goal which necessarily takes precedence to meeting any self-inflicted deadlines. After all what good is a DAC delivered on time, but knowingly crippled? That said, lets look at the milestones and projected timeframes and the related installment payment schedule.
Stage 1 (First £100 installment)
Beginning of September 13 Official start of the project.
End of September 13 Completed circuit design and simulations of new analogue stage and power supply circuitry.
Beginning of October 13 Start of prototype PCB layout to verify the newly developed analogue and PSU circuits.
End of October 13 Prototype PCB design finished and manufacturing data issued to PCB vendor.
Stage 2 (Second £100 installment)
Middle of November 13 Prototype PCB built, tested and qualified on the bench, starting design of the MDAC2 mainboard.
End of January 14 MDAC2 mainboard design finished and manufacturing data issued to PCB vendor.
Stage 3 (Third £100 installment)
End of February 14 MDAC2 mainboard prototype built, tested and qualified
Stage 4 The final stage Production unit cost £150 ~ £200 + optional Vishay Z-foil resistors + shipping etc.
Beginning of March 14 placing orders for production quantities of material. Owners of Level 2 upgraded MDACs only get to pay the final installment that covers the production and shipping costs of the new Mainboard
End of March 14 first MDAC2 mainboards coming off the production line
To remit the opening installment of the pledged funds and reserve your MDAC2 upgrade mainboard from the initial production batch while helping to support the development, please click the link below which will redirect you to the (very crude) LakeWest MDAC2 page with a link to PayPal for payment processing:-
http://mdac2.lakewestaudio.com
