justin Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 I'm going to be previewing a new portable USB DAC/Amp -- no official name yet -- at the Maryland meet next weekend, in the form of a working prototype circuit board. I'll have it hooked up to a MacBook with lossless FLAC. There are several portable USB DAC/Amps available but all of them use the same DAC design -- one of the all-in-one chips from TI which has a USB receiver, 16-bit DAC, and analog/headphone output stage. This chip is really intended for use in things like cheap USB speakers, LCD monitors w/ built-in speakers, and the performance is not very good (my prototype has 10% the THD of this chip, and that's including my headphone amp stage set at a gain of 6 capable of driving all headphones). Some features of this new USB DAC/Amp, most of which have never been done before in a portable DAC/amp or even just a portable DAC: - Upsampling design! - Uses a flagship level 24-bit/192KHz digital-to-analog converter chip! - Extremely low distortion analog filter - Protects USB ports from over-current - Extreme care in keeping noise to a minimum, separate power supplies for each stage - 4-layer circuit board for optimum digital layout - Separate analog input to use as headphone amp only - Gain switch (toggle) on front panel - Alps volume control w/ built-in power switch - Lithium-polymer battery (estimated 35 hours, or 70 hours w/ extended battery option) - Built-in battery charger w/ charge status LED on front panel (2-4 hour charge time depending on battery option) - Back panel has the USB jack (Mini- and DC adapter jack Also, it is very, very small -- within 5% of the size of some amps designed for IEMs only. I'm very excited about this new design and have been spending a lot of time revisiting my FLAC library with my MacBook I got a few weeks ago. Nothing like this has ever been done before, except in home wall-powered DACs 10 to 100 times the size of this portable. I'm going to be having a beta test of 5 to 10 units after I complete the 2nd prototype, and there are probably about 2 spots still open for that. I may post some early distortion/noise/frequency response measurements this week before the meet. There will be 2 versions available (the DAC/Amp, or just the Amp), an option of the regular battery or extended battery, and several color choices.
n_maher Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 Very cool sounding design, Justin! Wish I was going to be able to attend the meet as originally planned, I would have loved to give it a listen.
postjack Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 sounds cool! i'm not a big portable guy, but I admit to having dreams of one day using my computer as source again.
postjack Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 buy an Audio Aero Capitole, and you can pretty good price on the new http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1187179990]reference, or you could pay too much for a Mk II, like mine. you mean the convenience of having all my music in one place accessed via my personal computer can be mine for only five thousand american dollars? [me=postjack]gathers up all his vinyl and smashes it in the backyard[/me] perfect sound forever motherfucker!!!
Spectator Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 Good work HeadAmp. Hopefully the choices of DAC and OPAMP are okay. I'm guessing the DAC is a delta/sigma? I think R-2R DACs are better, but I guess those are a little more complex (not too much) to implement than desired here since you will need to deal with a separate upsampler. I'm still waiting for someone to make a portable upsampling R-2R DAC. That would kick arse. Oh, I'm making assumptions again. Damn it.
justin Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Posted July 9, 2007 Here are some of the testing results.... A note on the frequency response....currently waiting for a part, so the bass roll-off is about -2dB at 20Hz until I get it. The final version will not have this roll-off. Frequency Response Noise Level Dynamic Range THD+Noise (0.0007%!) Intermodulation Distortion (0.0058%!) Stereo Crosstalk IMD (Swept Tones)
humanflyz Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 Hey Justin, are you going to be showing the upgraded modules for the Gilmore amps at the VA meet this weekend?
justin Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Posted July 9, 2007 Hey Justin, are you going to be showing the upgraded modules for the Gilmore amps at the VA meet this weekend? Toshiba recently discontinued the 2SK389 and 2SJ109, the matched dual-FETs that I use on the Gilmore modules and will use on new discrete modules since there really aren't (or weren't) anything else like them. Linear Systems has come out with a 2SK389 replacement, and is expected to have a 2SJ109 replacement this year. The modules are going to be on hold until I can get these.
Iron_Dreamer Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 Just out of curiosity, what soundcard did you use for the input of that RMAA test?
Salt Peanuts Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 This souds really interesting. I'll be looking forward to them going in production.
Dusty Chalk Posted July 9, 2007 Report Posted July 9, 2007 I'm going to be having a beta test of 5 to 10 units after I complete the 2nd prototype, and there are probably about 2 spots still open for that.Are you asking for volunteers? I'll be happy to, if there are still spots open.
Towert7 Posted July 10, 2007 Report Posted July 10, 2007 Sound very cool! Can't wait to see some pictures of it at the VA meet.
postjack Posted July 10, 2007 Report Posted July 10, 2007 Sound very cool! Can't wait to see some pictures of it at the VA meet. Welcome to head-case!
elnero Posted July 12, 2007 Report Posted July 12, 2007 Wow! Justin, that sounds like it's going to be really nice. I'm assuming the DAC is USB only? Is there any chance of it having a coax or optical input as well? To me that would make it much more versatile which would be more in keeping with your other offerings. The versatility of the AE-2 and GS-1 are part of what I love about them. I absolutely love the fact that my AE-2 has both a mini input on the front and RCA's on the back, in fact, what I'd personally really love to see would be something along a similar line as the AE-2 with all it's features but adding a USB/Coax or Optical DAC of reasonable quality.
jinp6301 Posted July 13, 2007 Report Posted July 13, 2007 is there going to be just a DAC output? cuz that'll be pretty cool
justin Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Posted July 13, 2007 No, there will be a headphone output, and an analog input that becomes the input instead of the DAC when a cable is plugged in. There's no room anywhere to add an additional switch that would be required to have a DAC-only output. However, the headphone output can be used as a variable output of the DAC. Really just a marketing difference in calling it a headphone output vs. variable output which is seen on many DACs.
justin Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Posted July 13, 2007 Wow! Justin, that sounds like it's going to be really nice. I'm assuming the DAC is USB only? Is there any chance of it having a coax or optical input as well? To me that would make it much more versatile which would be more in keeping with your other offerings. The versatility of the AE-2 and GS-1 are part of what I love about them. I absolutely love the fact that my AE-2 has both a mini input on the front and RCA's on the back, in fact, what I'd personally really love to see would be something along a similar line as the AE-2 with all it's features but adding a USB/Coax or Optical DAC of reasonable quality. It would have to be significantly larger to have a coax and/or optical input. This DAC/Amp is only 40% the size of the AE-2. Also, with a coax or optical input the DAC would have to run on battery power, and it consumes a lot of current compared to a headphone amp. This would drop the battery life to 4 hours or 8 hours with the extended battery. I don't think that is enough. A larger portable DAC/amp with a coax and optical input may come later, and would have a much larger battery. It would be about the size of the AE-2. My goals for this portable USB DAC/Amp were: - to make the best portable USB DAC/Amp available regardless of size - have features that aren't on anything else (lithium-ion battery, upsampling, 24-bit/192khz DAC chip, etc) - keep the size as small as the smallest Amp-Only portables
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