Author Topic: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192  (Read 416653 times)

Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #280 on: September 09, 2014, 08:00:25 PM »
I posted more of this on diy, and if you do not mind I share with you here too?


All up..., Worths every minute spent and the associate effort/funding! ;)

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #281 on: September 09, 2014, 09:19:16 PM »
Chanh,

congratulations to all your work and especially results from the bottom of my heart...

let me quote you from here:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-283.html#post4052378

# 2830

: "...I swear to my Soul this is freaking amazing!!!! All hardworks, friction against the Mrs, criticisms, and time invested, all are worth it!!!

I say no more here, needless to say anyway. It is simply what I am looking for, an analog vinyl alike experience, and here I have it!"...

and

"..Eva Cassidy -SongBird had never sounded so real and alive!"...

well, you are a lucky man now... and the next 200 hours burning in will bring you even more fullfilment... and the reproduction of higher resolutions will additionally round up your fantastic results...

but from my experiences "the aim" is not only to create an "analog vinyl alike experience"... it is much more, that much more that you enter a completely "new" level in reproduction which - to my ears - and I had for some ten years EMI 927 with TSD15 and many others - with vinyl simply is not capable, if... yes, if you are able to bring your new 500 horse powers on to the road...

to understand what I mean you should perhaps try to connect to Tuyen's Goto drivers - at least regarding the bass you will be overwhelmed what a revelation that is....

please, keep us all informed here with all your experiences and pictures...

vey, very, very well done.... my congratulations again...




« Last Edit: September 10, 2014, 01:09:41 AM by rhlauranna »

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #282 on: September 09, 2014, 09:31:38 PM »
Using a transformer on the OP is a great idea, but optimizing the transformer to suit the particular DAC is the trick.
I'm starting to think I should have pursued the transformer upgrade (you recommended) to my 1794 player,  that must have been what 3 years ago we were talking about it?   Sometimes it takes me awhile to cotton on.   ;D  8)     Bigger fish to fry now.
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline Jehuty

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #283 on: September 09, 2014, 10:48:02 PM »
I posted more of this on diy, and if you do not mind I share with you here too?


All up..., Worths every minute spent and the associate effort/funding! ;)

Amazing looking DAC! It looks like a twin tower. Thanks for sharing  :)

Edit: What's the transformer next to the DAC under the IC plugs? It looks like a vintage Marconi/Partridge transformer with double C core construction.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2014, 10:50:44 PM by Jehuty »
Not all that matters can be measured, not all that can be measured matters.

Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #284 on: September 09, 2014, 11:47:26 PM »
Yap, it is 15V dual outputs vintage transformer hand made from UK with pure Virgin copper core. I compare this to typical toroidal, this has the fluidity and more naturalness sounding. Pity, I now need 18V.  Hopefully the owner of this tranny has a spare 300-500Va 18V?

Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #285 on: September 10, 2014, 05:55:29 PM »
Any of you Gent here could direct me to source a good 500VA single 18V output EI or R-Core for this DAC please?

Offline stevenvalve

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #286 on: September 10, 2014, 06:53:07 PM »
If you what a good modern one, Jim makes great sounding transformers and as a bonus his transformers are cheap, he is the man I use. Alkay tranformers, phone 91507489, Sydney

Offline Jehuty

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #287 on: September 10, 2014, 08:05:07 PM »
If you what a good modern one, Jim makes great sounding transformers and as a bonus his transformers are cheap, he is the man I use. Alkay tranformers, phone 91507489, Sydney

If you can tell us what wire to use and some other tips to build great sounding Alkay transformers like yours that would be great Steve.
Not all that matters can be measured, not all that can be measured matters.

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #288 on: September 10, 2014, 08:06:27 PM »
If you can tell us what wire to use and some other tips to build great sounding Alkay transformers like yours that would be great Steve.
Can you make me a couple too.   ;D
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #289 on: November 04, 2014, 10:23:27 PM »
well, from what I read this might perhaps be of generel interest, that means might possibly (?) be used in other DACs as well... the newest results from James, whose DDDAC I had the pleasure to listen to already in April this year, but not yet with these ameliorations...

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-340.html

No. 3398

"Tonight I finally got my Acko s03 reclocker board working in between the rPi and the DDDAC. Wow.... I thought this sounded good before, but it's just stepped it up another level. This sounds so real and captivating now. I love it!"



and nige2000 added:

"just shows up the imperfections in the Pi i2s..."

as always, devil is in all details...


Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #290 on: November 11, 2014, 02:02:33 AM »
well, from what I read this might perhaps be of generel interest, that means might possibly (?) be used in other DACs as well... the newest results from James, whose DDDAC I had the pleasure to listen to already in April this year, but not yet with these ameliorations...

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-340.html

No. 3398

"Tonight I finally got my Acko s03 reclocker board working in between the rPi and the DDDAC. Wow.... I thought this sounded good before, but it's just stepped it up another level. This sounds so real and captivating now. I love it!"



and nige2000 added:

"just shows up the imperfections in the Pi i2s..."

as always, devil is in all details...
Hi R,

For your information, Pi is only partly optimal! I have BBB setup with Acko S03 in re locking fully sync mode rather async with the Pi. My setup is dual pc setup where it is derived from JPlay dual PC. Will post the photos if interest but here is what make up the system;
JRemote on iPad navigate JRiver on my optimised Laptop as Server/Controller. Laptop is directly LAN connecting to BBB, BBB is using Meiro Botic driver where it is I2S downstream to Acko isolator, re locking with full Sync to DDDAC I2S via UFL. Now I have all the flexibility/user interface of a pc guy while retained the SQ of embedded player! ;)

I have also done my journey with the Pi and found BBB is a level above all together.

Chanh

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #291 on: November 11, 2014, 02:36:17 AM »
Chanh,

thank you very much for your informations... they are always very much appreciated...

and yes, please, post all the pixes that you have with precise (for non-DIYers like me) explanations...

I think time has come and need grown for a real scientific and of course listening test of all those different approaches side by side...





Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #292 on: November 11, 2014, 03:46:23 PM »
Hi R,

I post this on diy, but seems the quality of the video is overly compressed. I will try again later today via YouTube channel. ;)
https://vimeo.com/111493055

Chanh

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #293 on: December 12, 2014, 12:16:07 AM »
...well, in my HiFi-life I always read and have read about tweakings and ameliorations - and it always appeared to me like a never ever ending story - so I hardly read something like this...

"... I very am over joyed with my current setup..."[...] "Currently, I have no desire for further tweaking because the current SQ is simply too engaging, loving it!!!"

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-360.html

no 3595

and:

"This works perfect for me..." and "...I think that my music source is than kind of finished.."

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-361.html

no 3601

for those who might be interested let me propose you reading especially about the results from those two guys, Chanh and Supersurfer (the latter's DDDAC I had the great pleasure to listen to in April this year in comparison to dwjames's and all our stuff here - all side by side) - and whose details might as well be of interest within other DAC-combinations and -constellations...

I was convinced about (both) DDDACs deep down to the bottom of my heart and soul from the very first day and still am, and I am very glad that others find their way too and meanwhile qualitywise are far ahead of me...

my congratulations...


here are two pixes from the actual dwjames DDDAC1794:




« Last Edit: December 12, 2014, 06:27:17 AM by rhlauranna »

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #294 on: December 14, 2014, 01:04:44 AM »
...it appears to me that the true criterions of achievement regarding the DDDAC1794 are now spreading more around within DIY-circles...

let me quote some guys from Austria:

"The sound really is unbelievable most of the times, of course depending on the input-file, you can't enhance a bad sound-production/mastering.
But when the input is good the output is awesome, mostly equal or beating the vinyl (of course there also remains the question of origin/production), but this leads to constant discussions between us, one favoring vinyl, the other digital. Let's take the best of both worlds..."...

..."DDDAC vs. Vinyl: this was the most interesting challenge for sure with the additional difficulty in finding similar or identical productions (on the issue: http://dr.loudness-war.info/ ).

So here are some examples we compared, ranging from 16bit/44,1kHz to 24bit/192kHz.

1) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours vs 24bit/88,2kHz: digital is ahead, much clearer, more dynamic, vinyl sounds dull in comparison. (I must say the vinyl seems to be worn out and played too often, I got it from a friend).

2) Michael Jackson – Thriller: we had different CDs (16bit/44,1kHz) ripped and played with DDDAC, at first vinyl was ahead, then we found a mastering which beat the vinyl clearly in every department.

3) The Police – Every Breath You Take (Best-of-Compilation): this was rather astonishing....after fixing a problem with the rotation speed of the Dual 704 we listened to the record to see if it's alright. Then we were blown away by the unbelievable sound of this record, very good production obviously (I heard the vinyl for the first time this day).
Later we compared it to 24bit/88,2kHz – vinyl won. About a week later I put it on again and compared it to a different 16bit/44,1kHz mastering....and the DDDAC was ahead, I couldn't believe it, but there it was.

4) DiMeola/McLaughlin/DeLucia-Friday Night in San Francisco, live: we compared it to 176kHz, 88,2kHz, 44,1kHz....vinyl won every time. It feels more alive and vibrant, the digital is sounding a bit dry in comparison, but nevertheless perfect. Hard to explain with words.

5) Boston – Third Stage: This was close....both sounding very good. The DDDAC though has more power, more bass (as always). But also the highs are very clear and sounding similar to vinyl. But interestingly the digital sounds more open and spatial overall.

6) Chris Isaak – Wicked Game (Best-of-Compilation): for a long time this was my favorite record to impress people with, show them the quality of vinyl and Dual 704, I never thought digital could come close. But it does, 16bit/44,1kHz and it sounds better overall, more dynamic, more open, the highs are pretty much identical. Still the record sounds very very good of course.

7) ZZ Top-Eliminator: we compared it to 192kHz....vinyl record also sounding very good, DDDAC sounds better in every department, more powerful, more dynamic, better sound stage.

–-

So in the end the DDDAC beats them all (with one exception- the vinyl-live-concert)..."

contrarily to those who still passionately object digital stream they have reached another level in development and reproduction: "...mostly equal or beating the vinyl..." and "...one favoring vinyl, the other digital..."...this is presumably that what most are looking for, isn't it?

if you want to read more, go here:

http://www.runeaudio.com/forum/runeaudio-with-raspberrypi-and-dddac1794-nos-t484.html
« Last Edit: December 14, 2014, 01:34:02 AM by rhlauranna »

Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #295 on: December 20, 2014, 04:50:53 AM »
...there have been some very justified and useful hints here in the past regarding the “combination” of the output of not only the DDDAC1794 but of course other DACs as well having significant influence on the final sound quality…

well, I indicated already some time ago that Triode Dick last year came already around with some different outputs which we all tried out side by side, and within these were as well the Cinemags…

...regarding these Cinemags in particular smooth dancer from Norway over at the DIY-site just has made severe progresses within the installment of his DDDAC1794 within his system which I find that nice that I do not want to withhold it here… and from what I see his whole system is presumably not only a pleasure for the eyes…















.. it is fun to see all these things, and those regarding DIY look very cleanly executed and appear very esthetically to me, but the most significant exploration of which everybody may take advantage of within his own DIY-constellations are the testing results of smooth dancer with his cinemags:

“dddac realy rock on this speakers. Even more after disconnecting the cinemags.
Sound seems clearer and bass is more defined...“

… isn’t it this what we are all looking for?

But smooth dancer hasn’t finished yet…


Offline rhlauranna

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #296 on: December 30, 2014, 05:57:59 AM »


...you might want to read the ongoing story regarding smoothdancer's DDDAC1794 for yourself.. I like to quote. or better go here:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-368.html

#3678


"It's been 3 weeks since my DDDAC was build and I have been playing a lot theese last days. I have to say that this dac is very good. As someone maybe remember I promised a shootout against my tweaked Buffalo IIIse dual mono.

1. "Digitalis" : dddac is more analog sounding, Buffalo have a small "edge" in direct comparason. This is very important for me as I play music for several ours daily.
The dddac is fantastic here. The music flow with ease and naturalnes in a way I never heard
before from a digital product, bravo.

2. Voices: Dddac is so natural, and again, no digital edge here. Buffalo have a very clear midrange, but the sound from dddac feels more realistic. Easier to believe what you hear.

3. Bass: After replacing the stock trannies with 250va on 12v, and 200va on 5v, ddac have the same authoroty at the lower end. Definition is very close race here.

4. Resolution: dddac seems to dig even deeper into the recording than Buffalo.

5. Musicality: dddac grab my attention from the first tone and don't let go. Buffalo does the same, BUT after a while my thoughts starts to think about other things than music.

Konklusion: well, no conclusion for now, and I will explain why.

Exa u2i vs, WaveIo : Buffalo use Exa, and as you know, dddac use WaveIo.

I had very hard to believe that dddac should be so much better than Buffalo. So i installed Exa in dddac and did an direct comparason against WaveIo.

Wow, I must say I am very surprised,,, whit Exa in use, dddac sounds almost as Buffalo. The digital edge and several things that was related to Buffalo's sound came back in dddac.

Switcing over to WaveIo, and everything was good again.

WaveIo is superb sounding compared to Exa. ( in my setup ) but I have seen other also have the same experience..."


well, when I read this I am very happy with the progressive results that smoothdancer has reached - and I have to admit that he now belongs to those who are - regarding the DDDAC - ahead of me (at the moment I do have no tweaks at all, just the standard)...

...and if you read him carefully you might see confirmed all the things that I told you already months and even years now ago with already "lesser" input...

and it all really shines especially with his new power supplies...

my congratulations...


« Last Edit: December 30, 2014, 06:27:28 AM by rhlauranna »

Offline kajak12

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #297 on: December 31, 2014, 12:05:10 PM »


...you might want to read the ongoing story regarding smoothdancer's DDDAC1794 for yourself.. I like to quote. or better go here:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/224108-nos-192-24-dac-pcm1794-waveio-usb-input-368.html

#3678


"It's been 3 weeks since my DDDAC was build and I have been playing a lot theese last days. I have to say that this dac is very good. As someone maybe remember I promised a shootout against my tweaked Buffalo IIIse dual mono.

1. "Digitalis" : dddac is more analog sounding, Buffalo have a small "edge" in direct comparason. This is very important for me as I play music for several ours daily.
The dddac is fantastic here. The music flow with ease and naturalnes in a way I never heard
before from a digital product, bravo.

2. Voices: Dddac is so natural, and again, no digital edge here. Buffalo have a very clear midrange, but the sound from dddac feels more realistic. Easier to believe what you hear.

3. Bass: After replacing the stock trannies with 250va on 12v, and 200va on 5v, ddac have the same authoroty at the lower end. Definition is very close race here.

4. Resolution: dddac seems to dig even deeper into the recording than Buffalo.

5. Musicality: dddac grab my attention from the first tone and don't let go. Buffalo does the same, BUT after a while my thoughts starts to think about other things than music.

Konklusion: well, no conclusion for now, and I will explain why.

Exa u2i vs, WaveIo : Buffalo use Exa, and as you know, dddac use WaveIo.

I had very hard to believe that dddac should be so much better than Buffalo. So i installed Exa in dddac and did an direct comparason against WaveIo.

Wow, I must say I am very surprised,,, whit Exa in use, dddac sounds almost as Buffalo. The digital edge and several things that was related to Buffalo's sound came back in dddac.

Switcing over to WaveIo, and everything was good again.

WaveIo is superb sounding compared to Exa. ( in my setup ) but I have seen other also have the same experience..."


well, when I read this I am very happy with the progressive results that smoothdancer has reached - and I have to admit that he now belongs to those who are - regarding the DDDAC - ahead of me (at the moment I do have no tweaks at all, just the standard)...

...and if you read him carefully you might see confirmed all the things that I told you already months and even years now ago with already "lesser" input...

and it all really shines especially with his new power supplies...

my congratulations...
You need to share more secrets with chan regarding his ddac is lacking what others are hearing something is very wrong here chans dac is very good but hey not natural
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline Chanh

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #298 on: January 02, 2015, 04:27:09 PM »
Hey Kajak12,

My DAC might not be world best, however, one thing for certain it isn't as rolled top/bottom and only midrange emphases like your preference DAC taste!

I personally have many get togethers, as it seems only you were critically provided a negative feedback w.r.t "Narturalness"! Have you wonder why All were able to hear the improvement but not YOU?!?
If naturalness defines as rolled dynamic like a normal distribution curve, am quiet happy without it! ;)


Offline ozmillsy

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Re: DDDAC 1794-NOS 24-192
« Reply #299 on: January 02, 2015, 04:33:58 PM »
What sounds natural is a subjective assessment.

Its only hifi,  what matters is what you like to listen to, nothing else. 
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.