How hard can it be?

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Tony Moore
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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by Tony Moore »

CycleCoach wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 5:30 pm Really interesting stuff. Do you have more pix of the building?
Was that to me or to Latteman?

If it was to me than yes, how bored do you want to be? Lol. :grin: :epopc:
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CycleCoach (Thu May 13, 2021 10:24 pm)

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Latteman
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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by Latteman »

Love to see the build photos too
Analogue Source -
Denon DP47f- Ortofon mc20 supreme
Ifi Zen Phono
Doug Self balanced Pre amp
Akai 4000DS mk2 R2R
Digital Sources- IfI stream, Ifi Neo idsd Dac; Tidal / Radio Paradise
Amplification Nva 30vdc mono blocks
Speakers Lii Audio F-15 in Open Baffle; Ls6
Weiduka AC8.8- for digital sources
Mini BMU for analog sources

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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by CycleCoach »

Tony Moore wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 5:46 pm
CycleCoach wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 5:30 pm Really interesting stuff. Do you have more pix of the building?
Was that to me or to Latteman?

If it was to me than yes, how bored do you want to be? Lol. :grin: :epopc:
Both of you to be fair!
:epopc:
I think I might be in the HiFi trade.
I am not currently seeking treatment for this.
Current System: Linn LP12 Lingo Ekos Troika, NVA PHONO2 with BBPSU, NVA AP20 (White), Quad ESL 57s &/or NVA Cube3s (White)

Tony Moore
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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by Tony Moore »

I'm conscious of intruding on Latteman's thread and don't want to hog the attention but it's been a long time since I saw a post from someone who's traveled a similar path so I got a bit carried away! :geek:

Anyway, I was asked so here are some more pics from the build. The CDPro2M build was in 2005 and started as a pile of bits on the desk to prototype and test the modules:

Image

I went a bit overboard on power supplies but they always say that separating the analogue and digital is a very good idea. So then I went with the idea of a spaceship and originally I wanted it to be round but that was too difficult so I went with the Schaeffer panel making place in Germany to create the parts for a cube-like version that would fly like a brick. :oops: The top and bottom sections are separated by a hunking 3 layers of ali, which I'd hoped would shield the mech in the top section from RF from the controller board.

Image

The CDPro2M is a jukebox mech, built like a brick ****house. Only problem is, being made for a juke all you get is a magnetic hub and a puck to clamp the CD on. Plus the laser points upwards and could be looked at when no CD is on there so for safety I have a microswitch operated by a pin on the lid so the laser is disabled until the lid is shut and even if no CD is in the laser will be shielded by the black aluminium on the lid.

Image

When I built the CD transport I was using a Hawk Audio MP-DAC:

https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/hawkmpdac_e.html

In the never ending quest for "the next thing" I got to talking to a very knowledgeable guy who goes by the label "multibit" who got me into the old TDA1541A DAC chip and specifically designs from Pedja Rogic. I bought a pcb from Pedja and built his DAC, together with the buffer amp section from the Hawk DAC. This proved to be a very nice combination.

Image

Again, totally over the top power supplies but I didn't want to have to have a special transformer made for all the power rails that the DAC board required. The case design was meant to try to complement the CD transport.

That lasted a couple of years and then I went over to the dark side and started using Squeezeboxes. Initially I used an SB3 board, ripped out of the box and tied into the I2S points on the pcb. The only issue here was that the SB3 format for the I2S wasn't a match for the TDA1541A so I had to use the CPLD board to do some re-arranging of the bits! Many thanks to Nick Gorham for his help there on the coding!

Image

In the case there also is a super-regulator to power the SB3, Xilinx and reclocker.

It worked fine but then later along came the Squeezebox Duet and as it turns out they had changed the I2S format back to what the TDA1541A could accept with no messing about so I ripped out the Xilinx and SB3 and replace it with SB Duet board. Since then I've also replaced the Tent Labs reclocker with one that I can't remember the name of but it will also handle more than just 44.1Khz. That is how it has stayed for the last few years but I don't have a current photo.

There! Sorry you asked now?! :grin:
These users thanked the author Tony Moore for the post (total 4):
CycleCoach (Fri May 14, 2021 12:45 pm) • Grumpytim (Fri May 14, 2021 12:48 pm) • Latteman (Fri May 14, 2021 12:55 pm) • Wonfor14 (Wed Jun 30, 2021 9:43 pm)

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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

I'm loving the build and it was well worth it and very nice. Is it any better sounding?

The difference between a 160va power supply and a 500va power supply on my phono stage as to be heard to be believed. Did you get the same experience

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Re: How hard can it be?

Unread post by Tony Moore »

I now realize that I didn't actually mention the sound at any point, lol, I would make a lousy audio reviewer and should probably be forceably ejected from a subjectivitst forum! :oops:
Daniel Quinn wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 12:08 pm Is it any better sounding?
Actually, it is one of the most natural sounding DACs I've heard, there is a certain "something" that you get with the ladder based DACs that in my experience I haven't found with more modern delta-sigma designs. That's not to say that I don't also like modern DACs, they do things differently, that's all. Sometimes you hear stuff in a modern DAC that you probably wouldn't get in the ladder but for some types of music it really shines. I've lived with it in my home office now, working from home for 20 years and it is playing streaming music from SomaFM all day long. Sometimes the hairs on my neck stand up and I just have to stop working when the music is "just right". 8-)

I played around with the DAC way back when we were all meeting up for Eggfests, Owstons, etc and I remember putting in a mod called the DEM relocker (it was so long ago I can't remember exactly what the mod was, or how it worked but it was simple) and I took the DAC/CD transport to one of the forum guy's house for a meetup with a bunch of the guys and at one point it was connected in and tried out and I just remember seeing two settees worth of blokes grinning and vigorously tapping their feet and that made it all worthwhile! Somehow the confirmation that you're onto something and not imagining it is so useful. I removed the DEM reclock mod afterwards though as it was a very exciting sound but was doing other things that weren't so nice to the sound.

I do miss the meetups/bakeoffs. :cry:
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Wonfor14 (Wed Jun 30, 2021 9:44 pm)

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