with all respect and I know you understand me that way that I do not want to tap on anybody's feet (if so, I excuse in advance), I admire everybody's ideas, contributions, skills, and results... and joy...
but I have mine as well (results)...
there are obviously five main columns which define the sound in everybody's (DD)DAC-system, each varying considerably:
1. the input (WAVEIO, Raspberry pi... and its different programs)
2. the (DD)DAC (with different amount of chips/stacks)
3. the power supply (battery or others...)
4. the output (capacitor or transformer) and
5. the "new" shunt regulators (with all its different kinds and different kinds of implementation and all other different kind of tweaks)
well, to every topic there are different "opinions", of course, personally one cannot have everything, and nobody has experienced everything regarding every single specific topic, and so within this context and the development of all these different kinds of (DD)DAC-constellations everybody has come to his own results and conclusions, and I enjoy reading these very much...
...so, when talking about "results" they on one hand differ (see for example shunts) and on the other hand have become generally agreed (see for example transformers)... the latter results are that decidedly posted, that strong, that it reminds me of the proverb of how good or bad a Grateful Dead-show was judged when telling somebody who missed it: "100.000 Deadheads can't go wrong".... so it has to be like that... and nobody may "dare" to say anything against it...
but I do... "against" transformers... against the transformers that we had here (of course we had not all, but three different versions from TriodeDick (which were quite impressive) and the ones from Doede (which were impressive as well)...
yes, impressive they were, but more or less detracting from the pure signal...
does it "sound" to you ? Does it sound to anybody else ? Or do you still get as a response that what they are generally claimed with as "anemic", "steril", "artifical", "digital".... when final "results" are judged...
?
well, to be honest - to me - exactly this must not be... it is the transformers and the (insufficient) power supply...
(you might want to read in addition my report from last year regarding that topic here):
http://twogoodears.blogspot.de/2013/09/reinhards-new-essay-about-iso-usb-and.html...and both in combination... which have such an influence on the sound that it is exactly no longer "analogue" and - I have to agree - with transformers (the ones that I know of) this way inevitably leads to such descriptions...
I know that I am nearly alone with my opinion, as is with "perfect squares", but - be aware - I am talking about results not theory... and yes, it's my own experiences (and Klaus's, and not only about the DDDACs but other DACs as well...) and one must not be an engineer to drive a car or an oenologist to taste a wine or an acoustic or electronic engineer... to be "qualified" to talk about results...
so, I will not focus on the DDDAC here, there is enough said, neither will I focus on the different kinds of power supplies, I talked already a lot about power supplies here and there... see for example post 225 here and on "ADC/DAC losses" post 29... (regarding power supply at the moment Stefan seems to be "leading" the field getting goose bumps while listening to his own - I have yet to hear this) nor on the shunt regulation, which is another "100.000 Deadheads can't go wrong"-phenomenon, but obviously has not yet checked out "scientifically" enough - but they are working on it, and I am waiting for the results...
no, I will focus on the output... there are different ways to approach of course and there are different results, quite naturally. I will just talk about my own results, and Klaus's, we tested together, for six weeks, at the beginning of the year. We kept our results so far away from the public in order not to tap on anyone's feet... we know that there has flown in a lot of know-how and time and work and skills to bring things to the point, and we have deepest respect for that.... so we kept quiet, so far...
...but time has come now to possibly help the one or other out of this "trap" in which some might have fallen (regarding that "clinical", "steril", "anemic" effect), let me tell you (again) about our results. We have tested the following in all kinds of combinations (not only side by side, but combined with everything possible (we even used only parts of Doede's own Sowter-monster-DDDAC in order to be able to experience in detail the effect(s) just from every single exchange), and we did it again and again, and with all time needed to really verify the results for ourselves:
1. DDDAC 1543 with 60 and 120 chips
2. DDDAC1794 with one and four decks, and Doede's personal eight deck DDDAC (standard version) with Sowter transformers and caps
3. normal car battery with some ten kg, heavy lorry batteries with some 40 kg
4. normal uncontrolled power supply, Bernd's controlled power supply, Mundorf controlled power supply, and Doede's own 5 and 12 Volt power supplies
and the quintessence of the results was: one 1794 DDDAC-deck with Bernd's controlled power supply was that much better than Doede's eight deck DAC with Sowters and his own power supplies and everything else switchable on it (or later on Jean's own PSU or the Mundorf PSU and others for that matter), that it must be heard to be believed. It is here where there is "no way back". Why ? Because you get digital that analogue that you hardly any longer care for the source...
... and this result is permanently valid not only to my ears but Klaus's as well, to get that what you are "looking" for, an "analogue" sounding DAC, according to what we have found out you have to get rid of the transformers... probably our caps are ultimately not the best, but for this comparison in this specific case it is not necessary, but it already on this level reveals much more "natural" sound not only that way that the human brain is not only less affected and that you want to hear more and longer but revealing exactly that what is needed for natural (analogue) results... the differences between an original and a reproduction indeed become rather neglectable... and you know we do not have the worst platforms to check this all out...
not to belittle anyone else's performance(s), no, just the contrary, I encourage you to move on with your skills, but personally I definitely do not want to listen to the "sound" of those transformers that I know of... perhaps it is the imperfection of its squares causing pollution, keeping the origianl signal away from sublime purity...
you are the DIYers, "D" it further...