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MDAC First Listen (part 00111001)

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I am still optimistic that we will see a LakeWest DAC. Too much time has been invested for John not to make something and there is a Lab (non-fictional) with equipment in it now to produce hardware.

With no insult intended, have a little more faith as all good things come to those who wait (this cliche’ may ring true soon) :)
 
ti33er said:
I am still optimistic that we will see a LakeWest DAC. Too much time has been invested for John not to make something and there is a Lab (non-fictional) with equipment in it now to produce hardware.

With no insult intended, have a little more faith as all good things come to those who wait (this cliche’ may ring true soon) :)
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No insult taken Ti33er. Product is always coming soon :). That's the issue.
 
"The 20 Pcs. VFET amps will be made at a specialist CNC vendor and at a crazy price..."

care to elaborate [VFET cost increase or decrease ?], I gave up following this thread regularly a while ago, from what I see in last 2 pages you at least reference VFET but have not clarified anything

frankly I'm disgusted at the lack of info to someone who has bankrolled you to the tune of nearly £3k [full spec Fdac, 2x Detox and pair of VFETS] and received SFA

don't even get me started on what I think, seeing all your current efforts apparently being spend on products I have zero interest in.
 
ti33er said:
I am still optimistic that we will see a LakeWest DAC. Too much time has been invested for John not to make something and there is a Lab (non-fictional) with equipment in it now to produce hardware.

With no insult intended, have a little more faith as all good things come to those who wait (this cliche’ may ring true soon) :)
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I wish your inexhaustible optimism could be put to more productive use, like a daily Radio 4 "Cheer up, Brexit's Going Brilliantly!" broadcast.
 
I really like the bit where John says "he likes to bring the fun back into hifi".

As a fascinated onlooker I've had hours of what might be called 'fun'. But it can't be much fun for all of the people who have invested in these projects both emotionally and financially.

No matter how much optimism (or pessimism) about promised products, no matter how many false dawns or missed deadlines, regular observers of this thread must surely now realise that no matter what happens the only certainties here is there will be problems, delays and excuses. No matter what, John will never run out of excuses.
 
StephenB said:
"The 20 Pcs. VFET amps will be made at a specialist CNC vendor and at a crazy price..."

care to elaborate [VFET cost increase or decrease ?], I gave up following this thread regularly a while ago, from what I see in last 2 pages you at least reference VFET but have not clarified anything

frankly I'm disgusted at the lack of info to someone who has bankrolled you to the tune of nearly £3k [full spec Fdac, 2x Detox and pair of VFETS] and received SFA

don't even get me started on what I think, seeing all your current efforts apparently being spend on products I have zero interest in.
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Stephen, you've invested £3k? Really? I'm genuinely shocked and saddened for you.

There was a guy who posted a couple of weeks ago who is in dire financial straits after having to bail his son out of money difficulties. That tale was pretty much ignored by people who post here but I had a lump in my throat.

I just hope your financial situation is such that you can write of £3k b cause the chance of you seeing anything in return look doubtful.
 
Hello John. To what extent is the Pro-ject box suitable for driving hifi 'phones, particularly Audeze LCD3 and Sennheiser HD800S? How much better / worse will the Pro-ject box be, compared with the MDAC?

You have previously said that the Pro-ject is a better DAC than the MDAC, but is it a better/adequate headphone amplifier also???

(I need something to tide me over until you turn your attention back to the MDAC2.)

Regards, Mark.
 
 
Sibbers said:
What’s the deal with the MDAC2 then?

Would like to hear about the FDAC too.
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Mnistreamer / DevDAC & Detox get the ball rolling with MDAC DD2A being the first version. Ministreamer and DevDAC should be released within the next month (MiniStreamer in the next 2 weeks) - Jareks sitting opposite completing the Ministreamer firmware.

The MDAC DD2A will be the highest sonic performance MDAC2 version using ESS DAC's with the following variants using a Discrete DAC Array - ultimately the ESS DAC are the limiting factor WRT sound quality.
 
Mark Dirac said:
Hello John. To what extent is the Pro-ject box suitable for driving hifi 'phones, particularly Audeze LCD3 and Sennheiser HD800S? How much better / worse will the Pro-ject box be, compared with the MDAC?

You have previously said that the Pro-ject is a better DAC than the MDAC, but is it a better/adequate headphone amplifier also???

(I need something to tide me over until you turn your attention back to the MDAC2.)

Regards, Mark.
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Mark,

Project S2 with Sennheiser HD800S no problem - but Audeze LCD3 require a mini power amplifier!

The Audeze LCD3 are a much better headphones then the Sennheiser HD800S, IMHO the Sennheisers are very "German" sounding - cold, sterile unmoving... but technically perfect!
 
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I am also totally open to accepting a fully functioning detox with cosmetic imperfections. In fact I'm begging for it so I can stop monitoring this labyrinth long thread.
 
JohnW said:
Mnistreamer / DevDAC & Detox get the ball rolling with MDAC DD2A being the first version. Ministreamer and DevDAC should be released within the next month (MiniStreamer in the next 2 weeks) - Jareks sitting opposite completing the Ministreamer firmware.

The MDAC DD2A will be the highest sonic performance MDAC2 version using ESS DAC's with the following variants using a Discrete DAC Array - ultimately the ESS DAC are the limiting factor WRT sound quality.
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This is good news, thanks John. When you do investigate the VFET chassis sourcing locally, it may be an idea to get an estimate for the FDAC Chassis (maybe even the DeTox) and just put it out there as an extra unanticipated cost so backers can take the option if they want to.
 
JohnW said:
Now the the electronics side of things has been taken care off by bringing in house - I need a longer term solution for the chassis. Pricing in Europe is TOTALLY nuts, but I'm sure there will be a more practical way forward. Unfortunately mechanical engineering is not my primary skill, so not something I'd entertain to invested in.

It be good to establish a partnership with someone like myself working on the mechanical side here in Europe - until then I'll have to battle forward with the Asia route and face all the expected issues.
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Has anyone out there got any suggestions for how / who we can get a bloody box for the detox? It really is barmy that this great design has been knocking around, completed, for years all for want of a bloody box.

I would like to suggest that John ships out the Detox board and PSU to customers as a DIY project to insert into their own chassis.

How about if we achieve shielding with sheets of cut steel? We could DIY solder heavy copper earth wire onto tags screwed into the sheets to achieve shielding between the steel sheets. Surely small shapes of steel would be easy to source? And then stick it in a second, nice outer box to make it look nice and to support connectors? And certainly, we all ought to be assembling the dozens of screws ourselves, rather than having the LakeWest team do this.

C'mon guys, we need some lateral thinking here to get this out before USB becomes obsolete.
 
What was wrong with the box which was sourced for the proto Detox? Do we know where the proto detox is? How many people have used it or is it lying in a drawer somewhere gathering dust?? Was there ever a write up on how it performed?
 
Lateral thinking is not required. I see plenty of DACs, amps etc from small companies and hobbyists in cases that range from 'acceptable' to 'beautiful'.

A good example is the Bruno Putzeys amps that are being sold by a number of vendors in the UK and Europe. Some lovely cases out there. One guy is even putting hardwood fascias on his with a choice of wood. His amps (which get rave reviews) are made in a wooden shed in the bottom of the garden on workbenches that are plywood rather than prime oak ;-)

The case is just another problem to be solved. Once that problem is solved, another one will appear. A pattern developed some time ago but there are too many people who refuse to see this pattern.
 
Mark Dirac said:
Has anyone out there got any suggestions for how / who we can get a bloody box for the detox?
...
C'mon guys, we need some lateral thinking here to get this out before USB becomes obsolete.
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For me amd other Roon users Detox is already obsolete.
John, perhaps your design lends itself to adapting into an Ethernet interface? Currently available examples include https://jcat.eu/featured/net-card-femto. This is only by way of example, and is not an endorsement (I have not used this product). I have noted various efforts around the internet to improve on Ethernet for audio.
 
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