[talk2me]

Happy New Year everyone! Dan, I just bought the Beyerdynnamic T5p and is is simply outsatnding. It is a 32ohm can and the sound is tight, transparent and has great punch. Plus, very comfortable.

[DaveBSC]

I may offer the straight headphone amp FIRST, without DAC, as this will be cheaper of course.  I do THEN plan on offering a DAC/Headphone amp. DSD would be a must at that point of course.

Right now, I am finishing our current Elyse DAC design, our PH 150 standalone high-end phono design and the headphone amp is still in schematic stages.

Dan

Dan, you may want to think about what the guys at Berkeley did with the new Alpha Reference DAC. Their stance is basically "if you want to play DSD fine, but we're not going to compromise our DAC for it." Now that just about everything has a 24/192 capable asynchronous USB input, DSD support has become the next "gotta have it" feature, which has led to a lot of very mediocre sounding ESS9018 DACs, but hey, DSD!!! What they fail to tell you is that you'll get sound that's just as good by converting to PCM on your computer first, which is what Berkeley suggests you do.

In my experience, a properly engineered DAC built around the AD1955 or AKM4399 will still outperform the Sabre, though quite frankly they all lose to old grandpa - PCM1704. The current situation of DSD fever reminds me of the 20-bit days when everything had to have HDCD support. How'd that work out?

[modwright]

Thanks for that!  My approach with our DAC is to make it a GREAT DAC FIRST!  I don't know what DSD will become or if it will stick around.  It is a moving target and I too would rather build a great product and worry about the new technology as it is more mature.

I LIKE the sound of Burr Brown DACs.  The 1704 IS an outstanding DAC, I agree!  I chose the 1794 because of its sound and features.  It HAS to be 24/192 capable of course.  I am NOT a fan of up sampling and I prefer minimal, if any, analog filtering.  Tube and transformer coupling bring the magic that I prefer!

It is a dance sometimes, to make a GREAT product AND meet the demands of current tech.

Happy New Year guys!

Dan

[DaveBSC]

That's good to hear that it's not Sabre based. The PCM179x is not my favorite, I still prefer Analog Devices or Asahi Kasei Microdevices, but it's a decent DAC, much like the Wolfson WM8741. The amount of hype surrounding ESS and the Sabre has just gotten completely out of hand. According to several engineers, it's also by far the most difficult S-D chip to work with to date, with a spec sheet that's full of holes and misinformation.

The problem with the 1704 is mostly one of cost. If you're building a reference level DAC you really need at least eight of them, four per channel. With current prices you're talking $550+, just in DAC chips. Contrast that with the sigma delta chips which all run about $10 ea. Somebody needs to come up with a new R2R chip for the modern age. Aside from the 1704, the only other one really left standing is the Philips TDA1543, which was never very good.

MSB does offer their R2R modules as OEM, but from what I understand the cost on those things is quite dear.

[modwright]

Hi Dave and thanks.  I have not used the AKM or AD DACs you mention.  I have most experience with the BB 179x chips and I like their sound.  They are also current output which is CRITICAL to me for my designs.

Be well!

Dan

[Namazu]

I may offer the straight headphone amp FIRST, without DAC, as this will be cheaper of course.  I do THEN plan on offering a DAC/Headphone amp. DSD would be a must at that point of course.

Dan

At $1000+ I think most people would prefer a separate amp/dac in the headphone arena. For now, I think this is the deeper end of the pool, especially for the younger crowd. If you can get in below that price point it may open up more appeal for more sophisticated offerings later on.

Part-time Audiophile has a good article on head-fi that just went up
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/12/29/head-fi-versus-hi-fi-beats-by-dre-and-the-future-of-the-high-end/

[DaveBSC]

Yeah the AD and AKM chips are definitely less popular than TI and Wolfson, but they are in some absolutely phenomenal DACs. Probably the biggest proponent of AKM is Esoteric - they use 16 of them in the D-02 DAC. At the opposite end of the scale, Schiit audio uses them. Jason from Schiit said they went with the AKM4399 because of its internal switched capacitor filter which he feels makes it the most "R2R like" in terms of output noise.

The AD1955s predecessor was the AD1853 which was in some fantastic stuff like the Spectral SDR-4000 and Mark Levinson 390S. For whatever reason the 1955 hasn't been as popular, but you will find them in the Alpha DAC and Boulder's 1021.

[srb]

For whatever reason the 1955 hasn't been as popular, but you will find them in the Alpha DAC and Boulder's 1021.

The AD1955 is also used in the Emotiva XDA-2 (1X) and Stealth DC-1 (2X).

Steve

[modwright]

Hi, first of all, to reply to the comment about DAC/Heaphone amps and pricing.  I will not be producing anything under the $1K price-point.  That is a market that I am simply not interested in competing in.  We are not a high-volume company.  Our products are high-end and custom.  I know that the younger generation are likely to be purchasing in the < $1K price-point, but it doesn't make good business sense for a company of our size or structure.

I do not know what pricing will be, but I first intend to develop a headphone design by itself and see what its price needs to be.  I will then see about the headphone/DAC combo and price it according to its build cost.

I appreciate all of the feedback.  I agree that AKM DACs have sounded VERY good in products that I have heard over the years, quite often in products that are NOT expensive!  I believe that AKM is a very innovative company! In this case, the TI (Burr Brown) part simply made more sense for us as I am most familiar with its sound.

Thanks,

Dan

[DaveBSC]

Sounds good. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Elyse turns out in final form, as SS DACs out number tube DACs by probably 20 to 1 or more.

[talk2me]

I keep my fingers crossed that Dan also uses his magic to include a great headphone amp in the Elyse. HP people are growing very rapidly and need a sota hpa with a sota dac together. And ModWright is just the company to do it. Some of us have to use headphones late at night, and I don't like to go down in quality when listening then.

[modwright]

I am listning....

Thanks!

Dan

[talk2me]

I am listning....

Thanks!

Dan

So is your competition. 

[modwright]

I have no doubt...

Dan

[talk2me]

Saw pics of the newest DAC version. All I can say is awesome.

[modwright]

Thanks!  I will share pics of the new Phono production proto also…'

I have been busy!

Dan

[jriggy]

Hi Dan,

I am just starting my research for putting together a headphone rig and am thinking back to the time when I had Modwright gear in my system... The most real and jaw-dropping musical moments were with your gear.

I look forward to the release of this...

Jason

[modwright]

Thank you Jason, I really appreciate that!

Please do stay in touch!

Dan