DAC's (again!!) - Advice Needed

Isaac Sibson said:
:confused:

The superDAC has 3 inputs...
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None of my sources have balanced outputs. So AES/EBU can't be used. CDP goes into the only RCA input and the DVD into optical. Nowhere for my FreeView Box with an electrical only digital output.

Is it okay to use a Y adaptor?
 
Will said:
even my cheap (now broken) Marantz CD4000 had a variable volume control that worked in the digital domain as well as analogue...
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As in it changes the signal going to a digital output? Is it straightforward to implement that?
 
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Volume controls in the digital domain are even worse, particularly at lower volumes as they dramatically reduce the resolution.

Andrew, why do you want a DAC? No offence, but you seem to be doing a bit of a headless chicken impersonation, checking out absolutely any DAC within your price range and they'll all sound different. Some may well not improve on the sound of your CDP.

Michael.
 
I'm looking for one mainly because I want to see what sort of difference it will make to the CD-Player, thats why I am looking at many options, I have no idea what to expect from any of them.

Hopefully I'll find one which I can always sell on fairly easily if I don't like it.

Its more to experiment than anything and hopefully I will like the new sound, I prefer my hifi to sound better at vocals than bass if that makes any sense

Andrew
 
andrew1810 said:
I'm looking for one mainly because I want to see what sort of difference it will make to the CD-Player, thats why I am looking at many options, I have no idea what to expect from any of them.

Hopefully I'll find one which I can always sell on fairly easily if I don't like it.

Its more to experiment than anything and hopefully I will like the new sound, I prefer my hifi to sound better at vocals than bass if that makes any sense

Andrew
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I also got interested in DACs for similar reasons. Did not have any pre-conceptions on what to expect. But got interested by views such as:-
"Electrically, the inside of a CDP/PC is very problematic when it comes to audio production. By using external digital converters, interference and noise created by the rest of the circuitry are eliminated."

Now it seems to me that that reduced noise digital conversion can be achieved by taking the conversion out of the CD Player or PC.
 
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Its not just me then :D

This is all really an experiment, thats why I'm not spending much!! If I like the changes, all the better, if not then I can sell it on and get (most of) my money back and I will have learnt something new.

Hopefully I'll find something suitable soon, the flying cow was tempting purely because it was so cheap but I am looking into others as well

Any suggestions welcome ;)

Andrew
 
michaelab said:
Volume controls in the digital domain are even worse, particularly at lower volumes as they dramatically reduce the resolution.
Michael.
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Humm.... yes its so terrible I've had the urge to buy a dac64 :D , depends how they are implemented.
I can listen at '0' on the vol, doesn't seems to be missing any more to than the spectral dc30 I occitional use at the matched vol level?
Micheal, your tarring every digi vol control with the Mike B leftie absolution brush tut tut :D
Some indeed do work rather well sir :) (not all I'll grant you)
 
The Marantz vol control is digital and any attenuation will result in loss of data bits resulting in poorer quality sound. Every notch you turn the digital volume down from max setting makes the sound worse because it reduces the digital resolution available. So best to keep the Marantz vol control at max setting.

From what I have heard CDPs such as Quad do not have this problem.
 
WM - the digital volume control in a mid range Marantz is hardly comparable to that used in a Wadia ;) . Some do indeed work better than others.

Michael.
 
Hi,

andrew1810 said:
I've just thought, if I get a DAC, will the CDP still have its own volume control, or would I need a DAC with a variable output?

As the Rotel doesn't have a remote and I am very lazy, I find it very useful that both the CD and minidisc have a variable output
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Quite frankly, if you use the digital domain volume control in the CD6000 (it is particulary bad, even the best Digital Domain Volume controls [eg Wadia] loose loads compared to good analog domain controls, but the one in the CD6000 and lower is positively evil) it would seem sound quality is of no concern to you anyway, so don't bother with a DAC, buy more music.

Ciao T
 
:eek:

Looks like I had better stop using the volume on the marantz then (not that I do a great deal anyway)

Better still, I'll get one of these:
5128028SPA62UC95926M.jpg

Only £21, bargain!!

Andrew
 
Hi,

andrew1810 said:
Looks like I had better stop using the volume on the marantz then (not that I do a great deal anyway)
Click to expand...

Well, good choice.

If you do want a DAC that makes a serious QUALITATIVE difference rather than quantitative, go for one of the Non-Oversampling DAC's (with TDA1543 or TDA1545). I originally build the one published by Kusonoki in MJ 1997 around 1998 and it well walked all over my heavily modded Marantz CD-67. Not bad for £ 10 worth of chips and otherwise parts from the Junkbox.

I would still suggest doing it DIY ground up, with a SLA Battery as powersource.

You can get the DAC chip's at www.reichelt.de with a single TDA1543 for 75 Cent (Euro) or from www.cricklewoodelectronics.com. The CS8412 is also still available at sensible cost. Both are fairly chunky chips (do you want salt & vingar with that?) and you can use generic stripboard to wire the lot up. A nice schematic for the job is attached.

Ciao T
 
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