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The John Westlake/Lakewest MDAC/FDAC, VFET and Detox

JohnW said:
Update on the DevDAC PCB progress...

With further hardware and firmware optimisation of the design and we are now at 126.5dB dynamic ..

Chasing the technical performance is more about understanding the hardware design - we a have added many fimware "options" that can be selected by hardware jumpers on the PCB or buttons on the front panel PCB (no time to get the front panel Display going yet) - looking forward to listening session later this week to hear the effects of various options...

I hope in the next 3-4 weeks to release the A03 "production" level PCB files...

I believe first units can be shipped to a few select external Beta testers here on the forum in lessthen 2 months... Looks like I'll be carrying a few "Customer" DACs with me to the Munich meetup this year :)
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Thanks for the promising update. It seems like it was worth the wait.
Then what more can the FDAC do...
;-)
 
Well I could say there is some good news on the Facebook group. I’ll let Steven, who visited John fill you in when he has finished his travelling spree!
 
... although that is a bit cruel to leave one with bated breath on a Friday; just a snippet, they compared the DevDAC to a £1700 recently well reviewed/received DAC; To which Johns creation sounds intriguingly different and preferred without doubt
 
By next year I plan on being in the Welsh mountains living inside a stockade and permanently toting a shotgun. The good news is that I’ll have no choice but to run my hi fi off the grid . . .
 
iansr said:
By next year I plan on being in the Welsh mountains living inside a stockade and permanently toting a shotgun. The good news is that I’ll have no choice but to run my hi fi off the grid . . .
Click to expand...

that’s the only way to survive in Wales now.
 
iansr said:
By next year I plan on being in the Welsh mountains living inside a stockade and permanently toting a shotgun. The good news is that I’ll have no choice but to run my hi fi off the grid . . .
Click to expand...

Hi Ian, is there any particular reason for suggesting your removal from mainstream society...?
 
I’ve probably read too many post apocalyptic SF novels. Then again the experts do say that it’s not a question of if there will be another pandemic but rather of when. Better get a move on John . . .
 
MDAC2/DEVDAC First Listen

Last Thursday, 6pm, JohnW's lab, Czech Republic.

John basically led the way on this session and insisted on a 40 minute warm-up listen for me before comparisons began. Only he and I were present. I fully support such insistence because these tests always involve travelling before listening via an unfamiliar system in an equally unfamiliar room. In my case I'd only travelled about 12 miles/20 Km as I was staying in a neighbouring town and was brought by Renata in the car.

ABX tests often yield null results simply because listeners, perhaps deliberately, are given insufficient time to familiarise themselves with the system and room beforehand. Whilst this was a sighted test (we didn't have time to undertake and blind testing) familiarisation is still important if listeners are to stand any real chance of appreciating any sonic changes arising from equipment changes.

The music I listened to was both known and new to me and varied in terms of genre from female vocals and strings to blues/rock and some jazz. The speakers were Martin Logan hybrid electrostatics fed by an old trusty Cambridge Audio amp that John once designed, minus its casework (!), Nordost Flat Four speaker cables and balanced XLR connections. The reference DAC was the EISA award-winning €2000/£1750 Pro-ject Pre Box RS2 Digital.

As I listened to the above, I began to pick out the strengths and weaknesses of the system and room. Imaging was very precise, if a little 2-dimensional. The system seemed more analytical than engaging. The almost cube-shaped room wasn't the disaster I was expecting, far from it, but exposed brickwork and general lab clutter seemed to help break up any standing waves/flutter echoes. During busy/loud passages hardness set in of the kind you hear when valve amps go into soft clipping. Low frequencies were not as well resolved as I would have liked but the lucid midrange made up for it. I was listening intently with effort without feeling particularly engaged. It was ok. Perhaps I should have chosen music more to my mood and taste at that time.

I persevered and eventually John let me hear the new MDAC2/DevDAC (henceforth referred to as MDAC2) which was just its board perched rather precariously atop the Pro-Ject. John effected the swap by unplugging and re-plugging the XLR cables. A very approximate attempt was made to level match but this was difficult given that each DAC had its own means of attenuation. We both agreed that it wasn't really necessary anyway as we were not testing output. This was a sighted test where we were evaluating sonic changes rather than simply identifying which DAC was which.

I didn't hear a difference immediately upon hearing the same track via the MDAC2 but after a few seconds I noticed that the soundstage was wider and it had depth. More significantly, the musical timing was better, a lot better, in fact. The different strands of the music seemed more relevant to each other as well as more purposeful in their own right. The system was now engaging rather than analytical. Dynamics and instrumental textures were also subjectively improved and the hardness during busy/loud passages disappeared. The bass also had more articulation, impact and presence although John thinks that there are further gains to be made in this area.

He then got me to hear a live recording of Telegraph Road by Dire Straits on PCM and then DSD. The DSD was better but the magnitude of improvement was less than between the two DACs. There was a little more texture, notably on a Hammond organ and more ambience. Clapping and whistling sounded more organic and real. Placement of individual audience members making noise was more perceptible. I wasnt sure if this added anything to the music, though.

If the original MDAC scored a 4, the Pro-ject scored a 5, according to John. The MDAC 2 scored a 10, with DSD scoring 12, according to me. I await the arrival of the MDAC2 with pleasure, if not impatience.

We've all travelled a long way on this with only a little more to go. Yes, it has been worth waiting for when you consider the value/cost ratio. You are basically getting a £5,000 DAC for about £700.
 
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