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MDAC First Listen (part 00101100)

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John

Can I make a plea for you to use really good quality robust connectors for the rear of the FDAC

Whilst I love the sound I get from various sources via my basic MDAC I shudder at the thought of making any connections or disconnections from the rear combined phono / toslink sockets.

I never use locking phonos but I invariably get the socket surrounds coming off with a disconnected phono and at least one of the little toslink flaps that help retain the toslink plug is AWOL

Add to this a number of bulging capacitors and a few leaking ones internally and quality wise it has to be the worst box I have ever bought.

Now that the FDAC is a stand alone box I will have to seriously consider getting my soldering iron out. Do you think replacing caps and I/o sockets on the MDAC board is doable by a reasonably competent bodger with just flux paste, solder and a temp controlled Antex iron.

Eddie
 
John

Can I make a plea for you to use really good quality robust connectors for the rear of the FDAC

Whilst I love the sound I get from various sources via my basic MDAC I shudder at the thought of making any connections or disconnections from the rear combined phono / toslink sockets.

I never use locking phonos but I invariably get the socket surrounds coming off with a disconnected phono and at least one of the little toslink flaps that help retain the toslink plug is AWOL

The FDAC uses BNC connectors for the Digital I/O - adaptors can be provided for RCA.

There is no such thing as higher quality Toslinks - only those with removable caps - but these are a pain as owners inevitably misplace the dust caps and this is a worst situation then a few missing flaps (not seen it myself).

Add to this a number of bulging capacitors and a few leaking ones internally and quality wise it has to be the worst box I have ever bought.

Now that the FDAC is a stand alone box I will have to seriously consider getting my soldering iron out. Do you think replacing caps and I/o sockets on the MDAC board is doable by a reasonably competent bodger with just flux paste, solder and a temp controlled Antex iron.

Eddie

I REALLY doubt you can work on the PCB with an Antex iron - you need a Metcal / OKI / Thermaltronics induction soldering stations to work on the heavy ground plane 4 layer PCB - I use a Metcal Iron to heat one side of the PCB, with a Metcal desoldering station on the other side to suck out the solder from the plated thru holes.

I can replace your caps for cost if you cover the shipping costs.
 
I REALLY doubt you can work on the PCB with an Antex iron - you need a Metcal / OKI / Thermaltronics induction soldering stations to work on the heavy ground plane 4 layer PCB - I use a Metcal Iron to heat one side of the PCB, with a Metcal desoldering station on the other side to suck out the solder from the plated thru holes.

I can replace your caps for cost if you cover the shipping costs.

Hi John, Presumably the same will apply to the FDAC in case of any capacitor issues a few years down the line?

Without knowing much about it, is this kind of thing always going to be a back-to-base scenario, or could a decent local hi-fi repairer pick this up (I'm thinking Bartletts, for example)?

And a belated Happy New Year!
 
Tim,

I'll use a quality brand of Caps for the FDAC - and a "Decent" HiFi repairer will be able to change caps if the worst where to happen.

The FDAC will come with a return to base Lifetime warranty - for as long as replacement components are available.
 
Welcome!

Here is a link to the latest feature list: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86116171/FDAC Versions 01.jpg

Note that the phone pre and milled chassis options are still missing.

Just out of curiosity, how many pages did you read?

Michael
Sorry a bit lazy only read a few pages.
From reading the list of features it looks like it will have a cd spinner
Not sure where I got the idea from but I thought it might have a DAB tuner too.
Still not quite sure if it will have analogue inputs in the pre amp stage as I still have an FM tuner
 
John

That's a real kind offer but I don't want to distract you from the FDAC design at least for now.

I will try and see what Audiolab in the UK can do for me. Their Quad repair guys have been more than helpful in the past

If I get no joy I may take you up on this later in the year.

Best wishes and a belated Happy New Year

Eddie
 
Sorry a bit lazy only read a few pages.
From reading the list of features it looks like it will have a cd spinner
Not sure where I got the idea from but I thought it might have a DAB tuner too.
Still not quite sure if it will have analogue inputs in the pre amp stage as I still have an FM tuner

Since the preamp is digital only, you'll need a FDAC L3 with ADC to be able to connect analogue sources. The basic (non-phono-pre) L3 will provide two sets of XLR inputs for line sources.

IIRC the phono pre option will have one MM/MC and one MM/Line input.
 
Since the preamp is digital only, you'll need a FDAC L3 with ADC to be able to connect analogue sources. The basic (non-phono-pre) L3 will provide two sets of XLR inputs for line sources.

IIRC the phono pre option will have one MM/MC and one MM/Line input.
So the FDAC L3 will have analogue inputs is that what you are saying.
Dont want to seem dim but what is ADC
 
This seems very exciting a high quality DAC with (CD Player) pre amplifier and headphone socket just like my 8200CDQ but much better by the look of it and designed by one of the best audio designers in the world if not the best.
Anyone got any idea when it will be available and any rough idea of cost.
 
My Calex PSU and din cable arrived today, got it hooked up and working. I set it to maximum and it kicks out 15.8v so I left it at that. Not sure if it sounds better or not yet, will leave it running for a while then maybe do some A-B testing later.
 
Since the preamp is digital only, you'll need a FDAC L3 with ADC to be able to connect analogue sources. The basic (non-phono-pre) L3 will provide two sets of XLR inputs for line sources.

IIRC the phono pre option will have one MM/MC and one MM/Line input.

XLR inputs? No RCA? Does tuners even have XLR outputs?
 
Sorry a bit lazy only read a few pages.
From reading the list of features it looks like it will have a cd spinner
Not sure where I got the idea from but I thought it might have a DAB tuner too.
Still not quite sure if it will have analogue inputs in the pre amp stage as I still have an FM tuner

It can have a CD; that's optional, you need to specify it, but it's very inexpensive.

DAB- Ugh- Never! However there was once a possibility that the much lamented "M-DAC-2" could have had a digital FM tuner, similar to what appeared on some boxes from Creek. However, RIP M-DAC2, RIP tuner.

Keep your FM tuner, as I will do with mine, and you do not have to have the L3 version to use it. The L2 version, without the ADC, comes with an "analogue bypass", which allows switching between the FDAC analogue output and the FM tuner (or LP turntable, etc.) output, so your amplifier can see either source. However, this does mean that you need a separate volume control for whatever analogue source you are using; I have a passive preamp which I will use for this. There is some point to the L3 though, since it will convert the FM to digital, so that it can be controlled by the FDAC volume control.
 
XLR inputs? No RCA? Does tuners even have XLR outputs?

Due to the limited rear panel space, some of the FDAC's analogue connectors will be XLR only (ADC input 1&2, AV bypass in). However this does not mean that you can't connect single ended devices. You'll just need to use an adapter cable.
 
Yes, I didn't really think about the Slave Clock interface clearly - with the benefit of hindsight its obvious it should be on the Analogue PCB.

Luckily at this stage of the design its not been impossible to add the extra connectors although I've had to rearrange the DAC output section by using smaller relays to make room for the extra pair of RF connectors - the problem is we where basically at the full width of the rear panel - and we need to leave space for the IEC mains connector, so I've had to rejuggle the analogue connector positions.

Does this have any effect on the FDAC lite?
 
My Calex PSU and din cable arrived today, got it hooked up and working. I set it to maximum and it kicks out 15.8v so I left it at that. Not sure if it sounds better or not yet, will leave it running for a while then maybe do some A-B testing later.

I'm in pretty much the same position now; this is a note on progress so far. The RS lead, contrary to what I wrote earlier, does appear to have two black leads, but the shield/drain wire only has the black insulation back as far as the white outer cover. If anybody else wants to try the cheap Calex, better move quickly- there were only 9 left last time I looked. Also Calex are quite insistent in their instructions that this unit is only for mounting in a box with a switch, fuse etc.

So far I have only tried a crude lash-up, ignoring Calex's grandmotherly advice, and leaving the RS cable at the 2m length just to see how things work out. My MDAC reports the input voltage as 14.5v when a meter on the Calex says 15.3v (max on my unit), but it turns on and runs happily.

I think it's better, but too soon to be sure; the comparison is difficult because the MDAC had a warm-up improvement following a very cautious changeover. Any difference is less than my recent quite noticeable improvement from inserting an isolator (S-Booster) for the 5v USB line. More later.
 
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