Diy dac

[stereorules]

Anyone have any experiences with DIY DAC Kits ? Am interested in building a DAC..Basic requirement would be both a USB and SPDIF in. COAX would be good to have . Well thats after I finish building the MyRef for which there is currently a GB.

Searched the net and got some pointers :
DDDAC1543 MK3
The ?1 Modular Miniature DAC
Guido Tents DAC
b-DAC

Maybe we can even get our very own Siva, who is coordinating the GB for the MyRef, to take this up after the amp is over ?

What say guys ??

 

[GeorgeO]

Ive built mine from Audiosector (Peter Daniels). I got his premium non-oversampling kit about 3 years and have been living happily ever after! There is a long thread on diy audio, you can check it out.

 

[stereorules]

Ive built mine from Audiosector (Peter Daniels).

I did check that site but now, the DACs are not listed in the price list...have to contact them to get the prices ..Also, was looking for a single DAC for both SPDIF and USB

 

[GeorgeO]

He does not list his dac on his site, but you can find the info is here:

AudioSector-chip amp kits, dacs, chassis - Page 17 - diyAudio

I know he offers SPDIF and USB, but why not email and ask if both can be offered on a single DAC? He provides very good and prompt support, and I have no hesitation in recommending him.

 

[crisscross]

Also check out the Buffalo II DAC on twisted pear audio.

 

[iaudio]

Gvenu, a member here, had built his dac from tda1543 kit by analog metric.
thevortex,has dddac. You could seek their inputs. They have posted threads on the same too.

 

[stereorules]

Also check out the Buffalo II DAC on twisted pear audio.

I had seen that also..But its the cost thats putting me off..plus the waiting period for the kits .

Gvenu, a member here, had built his dac from tda1543 kit by analog metric.
thevortex,has dddac. You could seek their inputs. They have posted threads on the same too.

Even in these two cases, just the cost of the kits comes to 150 - 250 $$ ..
I was looking for something less expensive.. Case in point is the GB for the MyRef amp ..the kit is like 3K for a stereo pair ...+ trafo ..

 

[bnsbhat]

Have you given thought to new Gigawork DAC, $120 for assembled kit plus tax etc

 

[stereorules]

Have you given thought to new Gigawork DAC, $120 for assembled kit plus tax etc

Thanx for the info ... just checked ebay ..the price quoted is $90 for the DAC .
Are you referring to something else ? BTW, I think this will be OK .. Will read up some reviews if I can find any ..

 

[iaudio]

The gigawork dac fully built with transformer, but no chassis/enclosure is about 130$ on ebay iirc.

 

[bnsbhat]

For a start:

Ordered DIY 24/192 DAC - Audio & Video Equipment Forums

 

[stereorules]

For a start:

Ordered DIY 24/192 DAC - Audio & Video Equipment Forums

In fact, was just reading that....There are 3 kits there. One is the high end one with transformer for $ 120 + shipping ($30) .
Specs :
Digital receiver CS8416
Digital converter CS4398
Up sampling chips CS8421
USB IC - PCM2902
Digital input - 1x coaxial, 1x optical, 1xUSB
Analogue output 2x RCA
R-Core tansformer included.

The second is the same without transformer for $90 + shipping ($20).
The third is a different kit without USB . $70 + shipping ($20)
Specifications:
Digital / Analog converters: PCM1798 (24bit 192khz DAC) (Old version use CS4397)
Digital receiver : Crystal CS8416
Master clock jitter: below measurable levels
Digital input: Coaxial and Optical

I think one of these kits can be used as a good starting point. Plus they offer fully assembled ones..So just need to get a good enclosure and viola ...

 

[bnsbhat]

..viola

Murphy's law

If things can go wrong they will
If things cant go wrong they still will

 

[stereorules]

..viola

Murphy's law

If things can go wrong they will
If things cant go wrong they still will

You got me on that one ..

 

[stereorules]

So now that the specs are there, can someone comment how this would be compared to the Asus Xonar / Essence ...Or how this would be compared to DACs with Wolfson / Burr Brown chips ??

 

[keith_correa]

Viola - is a flower
Voila - is what you wanted to say - right?

That's just me being Anal and OT. hyeah: On with the show.

 

[stereorules]

OK ..now found this on ebay :
PCM1793 +OPA2134 DAC for $ 80 shipped....It needs a 12 v power supply extra...
and this
Mini PCM1793 DAC -SPDIF ( Incl Power supply) for $94 shipped
and this
HI-FI DIR9001+4X TDA1543 parallel connection NOS DAC (Incl Power supply) for $ 64 shipped

All of these take Digital / Optical in. The diff is the Philips TDA and the BurrBrown PCM1793 chips ...One of the seller mentions the differences like this :

Mini TDA1543 DAC: more music taste, sounds more tube like warm(LP taste)(Midrange is sweet ,but weakness in the high frequency reproduction),
Mini PCM1793 DAC: sound closer to the high-fidelity, high frequency is extremely fine

Any ideas guys ..

 

[keith_correa]

Try one of these:
"Reference" TDA1541A DAC with I2S-BUS architecture - diyAudio
DAC End 2 - the AD1865N-K with single ended vacuum output stage

 

[tally3tally]

All the DACs money can buy, pt. 2 - Head-Fi.org Community

 

[iaudio]

tally3tally, ah, the dac thread got your attention. Nice to see you after long. Gamma 2?