It's been a busy busy month for me!

[adhoc 0]

So far this month -

 

- HagUSB

- Zhaolu D2 (CS4398, maxxed out DAC section, DY2000 & 2xOPA2107)

- Meier Audio Corda HeadFive #369

 

and special mention goes to...

 

- Marantz CD94 mkII (in near-perfect condition too!)

 

Impressions will follow shortly for everything.

 

The CD94 alone is nearly 15kg! It's transport is also made of solid metal. I've heard stories about the CDM1 transport, but - wow, this is something else in real life. Some of the older members on this forum may have a little more to add regarding the CD94.

[Mackie 0]

Some DIY tips for your CD94.

 

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/113647.html

 

One thing is certain if you ever feel the itch to add a DAC, this cdp makes a great sounding transport. How much did you pay for the machine?

Edited July 27, 2006 by Mackie

[Tetsusaiga 0]

Since we are on the topic of CDP.. anyone has any opinions on the AMC CD6b?? Anyone here using it??

[adhoc 0]

Hello Mackie, I paid just A$300 for mine. And mine's cosmetically more or less in new condition. Yes, I think I got a fantastic deal.

 

Anyway, FWIW, there have been some very very tempting offers for my CD94 already. I'm actually considering some of them as in direct A-B (corrected for volume) I might actually prefer the Zhaolu to the CD94.

 

Also, I'm building a new DAC that has 8x TDA1541A chips, so...

 

Right now my 'master plan' is more or less to move to a wholly computer based rig, with USB-to-I2S conversion with sync'ed master clocks. You should check over at diyAudio.com, there has been some very interesting progress made wrt computer-based rigs there IMO.

[Barradio 0]

with sync'ed master clocks.

 

Yes that the way to go and sooner or later you end up buy the ProTool system which all lot of the music industries using..

[adhoc 0]

with sync'ed master clocks.

 

Yes that the way to go and sooner or later you end up buy the ProTool system which all lot of the music industries using..

any recommended online reading barradio? i don't like building things without understanding the theory behind them first.

[Barradio 0]

Here the link : http://www.digidesign.com

[evil-zen 0]

adhoc, someone has more or less done it already but I doubt that has the sync'ed master clocks. I remember you can buy the usb-i2s board but I can't find it.

http://didnt.doit.wisc.edu/audio/DDDAC16/dddac16usb.html

 

Tell me when you've completed one with USB-to-I2S conversion with 8x TDA154X (either tube output or no opamps), battery operated with sync'ed master clocks.

 

Meanwhile, I'll stick with my battery operated Ack dAck with its 8610 opamp output and a incoming RME digi 96/8 PAD soundcard.

[adhoc 0]

evil-zen, fwiw, the usb-2-i2s board which you speak of can be found at http://www.dddac.de/

 

anyway, the dac is still in the final stages of prototyping over at diyaudio, so don't hold your breath for a quick completion.

[adhoc 0]

Hello all,

 

Just an update/additional details - the 8x TDA1541A DAC I will be building has the 8x DAC chips in differential mode. The USB input has been redesigned to incorporate semi-asynchronous reclocking of the I2S output.

 

The design is in the finalising stages right now over at diyaudio.com - PCB creation will follow soon.

 

The 8x TDA1541A chips were a @*&^ to get - they are quite hard to come by, and quite expensive (US10 per chip). I managed to get 9x from the same batch, and even picked up 3x S2 'double crowns' along the way. So I guess I have committed myself to the project already with my purchase of all these DAC chips.

[evil-zen 0]

output stage?

[adhoc 0]

glad you asked - it's rather unusual imo.

 

it has options for pure SS (OPA627 or your choice of opamp), pure tubed (2x ecc82, 2x ecc83) or mixed.

 

I intend to one-box it with a M^3, and have an output option for preamps/my eddie current HD-25.

Edited August 12, 2006 by adhoc