Soekris discrete R2R DAC?

[lkong]

Still struggling with my case working. But I'm getting better.

[chiguy]

I haven't started my build yet but I've been collecting parts for it.

[astrostar59]

Hi Guys

I am curious about this DAC. But this thread seems to have died a bit. Has anyone got a fully working unit going that sounds great? I was thinking of putting this board inside an Audio Note DAC kit, so power supply and output board all ready. I am thinking the board needs a proper line stage and that may be the issue with bass fall off and impedance matching? But without some folk glowing over the sound quality, I am running out of confidence in it.

Still, it could be a nice project as a TotalDAC base model is 6K Euros.

[lkong]

I'm using it as my 2nd rig for awhile now.

Good dac, great bang for the buck, even better with power supply modifications.

Really natural organic non-GMO sound, not tiring at all. Probably not in the same tier with TotalDAC but can definitely compete with some DACs in 1k range.

 

 

[Rodeodave]

Here's my build of the Rev2 dam1021 that I finished over the holidays. A so called hotrodded DCB1 (~500mA CCS) provides power to the dam1021 via its shunt regs and also buffers the DAC's raw outputs. It further provides an output muting relay. The DCB1's input impedance is set to about 18k, roughly 30 times the dam's output impedance. Digital inputs are diyinhk Toslink and XMOS USB module, the latter and the dam's isolated i2c inputs are powered by a BIB 3.3V regulator (~200mA CCS). The transistors of all the regs are bolted to the chassis' bottom to spread the heat.

I initially ran into problems with disrupted audio when using the XMOS USB interface, which I managed to cure by ensuring that the USB-socket's housing stayed insulated from the grounded chassis when the USB cable was plugged in. Took me a while to figure out, as I first suspected a latency issue of the operating system...

The digital interconnects to the dam1021 are made from 10cm CAT5e twisted pairs. Signal interconnects are RG316/U.

The dam1021 is stock for now, but I'm planning on trying different mods soon.

It took me about three days to build and I really like what I'm hearing. To my ears there's a nice resolution in the bass region and the instruments' timbre is very nicely conveyed. It's very easy to listen to.

 

[ang728]

My Build, LCD Display and Control board is designed by Hong Kong DIYer "Kevinyip".

But I didn't use onboard reciver,RS232 and display only

Source inputs are connected from backplane which I bought from TAOBAO

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2016 by ang728

[UFN]

Nice!

 

//UFN

[kuribo]

If you are a purchaser of the rev 1, see this thread on DiyAudio:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/294351-soekris-sonics-comparisons-other-stuff-5.html#post5110663

Original purchasers of the rev 1 dac boards purchased them assuming, based on the initial sales pitch, that they were finished, tested, functions as advertised, products. Only afterwards did Soekris Engineering admit they were beta tests boards with design issues and did not live up to his initial claims. He has refused to offer any refunds, credits, etc. despite a classic bait and switch.

If you were a victim of Soekris Engineering’s dishonest business practices, contact me.

[wink]

........... shoulda got the YGGY.............  

[Rodeodave]

Class action coming up or what?

[Pars]

Not much support for your position in the diyaudio thread. I disagree with the moderator warning there, but that is the way that forum is run, so you have to abide by it.
Not sure why you posted this here, but I'd read your welcome pm if you hope to stick around...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nopants]

i think he did a google search and just ran through the different forums in order to create a case

[eslover]

I bought a v1, knowing full well it was a first release. Anyone who knows anything about product development- and that should apply to diyers - would know that perfection from the get go is not a realistic expectation. Soekris released the board to great expectations, and to his credit (and benefit) listened to the community that helped improve the product quickly. Though Soren went the commercial route, he also preserved the diy line. To me, this sounds like a win-win, and helps the industry. Soekris "crowdsourced" some of his dev costs, and anyone, including competitors, can read diyaudio and some of the lessons-learned (in particular re. Filter design).

for v1, you can get a daughter board from nordmundss that takes the performance higher (buffers), and resolve the shutdown "plop" . Finally, a couple of smd caps for the shift registers was less than $2. Ability to solder such tiny things, priceless!

[mwl168]

Running the Soekris dam1021 I just received through its course.

This one is the V4, 0.05% resistor version I am building for a friend. I got the 0.01%/0.02% version myself which I will be building for my son.

Fairly straight forward to get it up and running after reading the information on the DIYAUDIO thread and on the excellent Hifiduino site. Using +/-10VDC supply (PSU of the original Wire headphone amp, LM317/LM337 based) and simplest SPDIF connection. The 10K pot is a log pot I happen to have so it's a bit wonky when adjusting volume. Buffered balanced out to the SS Dynalo.  

Now I am kicking myself for not getting a few of Kevin's diamond buffer boards when these was a GB.  

 

[MLA]

Nice!

Have you been playing with the filters, or are they stock?

Still got quite a few buffers left from the GB, so let me know if I should send some your way.

[mwl168]

Have not played with the filters yet. Just doing some testing and getting an impression of the sound.

Have been reading up on the filters on and off. I don't have a PC with serial port any more so have to figure out how to change and load different filters too.

Thanks for the kind offer. Which version of buffer do you have - the SMT or the through-hole ones?

[MLA]

SMT only.

Yep, the serial port is a challenge. There are USB-to-serial adapters on ebay for cheap though; I've used those successfully in the past.

Edited January 8, 2018 by MLA

[ang728]

I used thruhole ver in previous build

 

and I'm sure I'm gonna use smt version next time........

[mwl168]

2 hours ago, MLA said:

SMT only.

Yep, the serial port is a challenge. There are USB-to-serial adapters on ebay for cheap though; I've used those successfully in the past.

Does this work on MacBook Pro too or only Windows PC?

[MLA]

Only tried PC myself, but Mac options exist:

 http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F5U409/

[Pars]

Maybe something like this https://plugable.com/2011/07/12/installing-a-usb-serial-adapter-on-mac-os-x/

Not sure if monoprice has anything

[mwl168]

4 hours ago, MLA said:

Only tried PC myself, but Mac options exist:

 http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F5U409/

Pardon my ignorance but what's the difference between this Belkin one and the ones on eBay that sells for a fraction of its price?

[cspirou]

8 hours ago, ang728 said:

I used thruhole ver in previous build

 

and I'm sure I'm gonna use smt version next time........

Nice to know that the ubal/bal boards are good DAC output buffers.

[MLA]

6 hours ago, mwl168 said:

Pardon my ignorance but what's the difference between this Belkin one and the ones on eBay that sells for a fraction of its price?

Most likely none. There’s a small chance that some come with non-working drivers, so if you are unlucky and get a bad one, then just order another  

[mwl168]

Finished building the first one of the DAM1021. This is the .05% resistor version. Runs on +/- 9VDC rails. Amanero USB/i2s receiver.

It's hard to beat for the money.