[SET Man]

Hey!

   I just finished a fun project

   I found this on eBay of which is turned out to be from a guy of hifidiy.net So I did some googling on this cheap Phillips TDA1543 chip. Seem like a pretty popular chip among DIYer and according to Stereophile magazine, the Wavelength Audio use this chip in thier "Brick" DAC.

    It got me thinking. Hmmm... only $40 (+$4.05 shipping I think) I guess I could try this to improve the sound of my cheap DVDR and with this I could finally run my iTune off my Apple PowerBook to my main system. And see if this little thing could beat my Sony SCD-CE2000ES SACD/CD changer.

    So, I got it... well it would be fun anyway. And now here is my little project...



It came on last Friday. Pretty fast shipping from LA.



Time to get out the soldering iron and tools.



Soldering this reciever chip with all those tiny legs is a bit annoying. Good thing I didn't burn it up.



Testing time. Using my Apple PowerBook G4. Musics came off iTune encoded with "Apple Lossless Compression" feeding M-Audio "M-Groove"(same as Transit) with the M-Audio optical out feeding the DAC. The coaxial input is tested with my old Rotel CDP and Cable box. The DAC is powered via a cheap 1.5 amp multi-voltage adapter. The JVC F10 reciever driving my own Pipedram speaker



Time to dress up the naked DAC. Since it ment to be a fun little project I chose clear acrylic to make the case because it is pretty



A dry run before drilling holes and gluing. Well, cutting was't that bad. But when I was gluing it together I screwed up a bit by spilling the acrylic glue of which run like water! On to some of the parts and this cause the clear acrylic to get fuzzy... memo to myself... better to careful next time!





Well, now all dressed up.



The back. The Kit doesn't come with any RCAs or the toggle switch. Those RCAs are left over from my other upgrad project and the toggle is from Radio Shack. With the toggle it is much easier to switch between optical and coaxial than reinsert the jumper on the board. Notice I there is a hole in the front of the case... well I was planning to put the toggle there but at the end I realized that I drilled the hole too low and now there is not enough room... well here is another



From the top. Well, it was fun. I was thinking of make the case a bit bigger incase I want to upgrade those output caps to a better one of which will be much bigger. But if I made the case bigger than it won't look this cute right? BTW I changed green LED that came with the kit to the blue one that I got from Radio Shack. Ooooh it look very pretty in the a darken room... I have to work on another photo to show what it look like in a darken room... pretty!

   Okay, so I'm sure you are all wonder how is the sound of this little DAC right? After about 48 hour of break in with second TV system using cable box feeding it.  Well, it is now in my main system using my Sony feeding it via the coaxial input.
   
But as of right now I could say that the Sony got an edge over this little DAC in my system.
Well, overall a fun project and so far not dissapointed at all. And now I could run my iTune in to my system. Very smooth sounding little DAC. Surprisingly very enjoyable!

   So, I think it is still early to tell for sure. I think I will give it a few more hours than I will update you guys on the sound.

Take care,
Buddy

PS

There are a few more pictures of this project in my gallery. Just click the gallery link below.

[JDUBS]

Nice job, Buddy!  You did a great job on that DAC!!

Jim   

[amplifierguru]

Nice work SETman!

Did you say it came from LA?

Cheers,
Greg

[SET Man]

Nice job, Buddy!  You did a great job on that DAC!!

Jim   

Nice work SETman!

Did you say it came from LA?

Cheers,
Greg

Hey!

Thanks guys It was fun but still not as good as it could be. I wish I had more of better tools.... like a CNC machine would be nice

Greg, sorry is not form LA. I was ment to write CA.... well, it came from a town called Walnut, CA. 

Anyway, last night was a good start for this little DAC. I will do some more listening tomorrow night, to give it some more time and see if I like the sound. But so far it did a great job last night.... pretty surprising.

Now I'm thinking about getting a better PSU for it.... maybe a simple tranny with Hexfed rectifiers. Or I could go with SLA batts... with 10watts solar panals to charge it over a few days would be nice.

Take care,
Buddy

PS
This is just for fun and I'm still lusting after the Audio Note DAC 2.1 kit fully loaded one!  Well, maybe someday

[JoshK]

Very creative.  I like what you did with the casing. 

I sure there are a million mods you could do with it, but PSU would be my first choice too.  There is a really neat circuit and blog on tubecad.com (/2006/07/blog0072.html iirc) that has about the best circuit for i/v & analog output you can make for this dac.  It might be worth trying out since you like tubes and have worked with them before.  Not much to loose. (hint: a grounded grid is a transimpedance amp, which is precisely the best possible circuit to use for I/V for a current output dac such as the TDA 1543).

[SET Man]

Very creative.  I like what you did with the casing. 

I sure there are a million mods you could do with it, but PSU would be my first choice too.  There is a really neat circuit and blog on tubecad.com (/2006/07/blog0072.html iirc) that has about the best circuit for i/v & analog output you can make for this dac.  It might be worth trying out since you like tubes and have worked with them before.  Not much to loose. (hint: a grounded grid is a transimpedance amp, which is precisely the best possible circuit to use for I/V for a current output dac such as the TDA 1543).

Hey!

   Josh, thanks for the info link The tube output is very tempting, especially it looks pretty simple. But I guess I have to make a bigger case for it than

    Okay guys. Here is the sound report....

     I'm listening to it right now in my system and so far I like what I'm hearing. Compared to my Sony SCD-CE2000ES. Fist thing notice is that the Sony output is higher than the little DAC. The Sony seem to have a bit better dynamic overall, and high seem to extend better than the kit DAC. The down side... the Sony got that edginess in the upper-mid to lower-high, the mid is not as full as the little DAC. More of what I call digisoudn to it.

     But! yes.... there is a but. This little simple TDA1543 kit seems to have a fuller mid without that edginess in the mid to upper high. Very smooth. The bass is full and extended but dones't seem to be as dynamic as the Sony. As for the detail... both seem to have geat detail. But the little DAC seems to flush out more of the inner detail of the sound.... like the sound of intrument body. And the most impressive thing about this little DAC is that overall I get a better sense of flow with the sound.

    Okay I hate to use these words but here's go.... I feel that this little cheap TDA1543 DAC kit sound more analog to me than the Sony! Reminded me more of the sound coming from my all tubed single TT set up. I feel very relaxed listen to my CD through this little DAC. There  I said it! This crazy.... but I think this "Pretty Little DAC" is staying in my system now

    Well, maybe when I could afford my dream DAC of which is the Audio Note DAC 2.1 kit fully loaded.  Or maybe take this "Pretty Little DAC" up a notch by bulding a tube output as JoshK suggested.... maybe I think I better try to make a better PSU for it now... maybe it will help with the dynamic a bit.

   The other thing that really got me is that I love the simplicity of this TDA1543 DAC. You could peek inside and see that there is only a handful of parts in it!

   Oh! btw here is the picture of it in my darken room... pretty much approximated of how your eyes will see it in my room while I'm listening....





   Well, if you think your 16bit CD sounds too digitized on your system maybe you could give this TDA1543 DAC a try. There are many variations of this DACs kit and some well know brands out that that use this chip, I think my is likely the cheapest one... but you have to make a case for it yourself.

   Wow! here is another of my so called "fun project" that turned out to be a keeper... just like my Single Driver speaker project

Take care,
Buddy

[SET Man]

Hey!

  A little update.

  Well, first I think I will call my DAC kit the "Little Buddy" Yes, I'm talking about my DAC here.

  The DAC still have less than 100hrs on it. But the sound so far is more open now.

   Anyway, the biggest change I've done is the power supply. Since it was finished I have been using a cheap wall adapter as PSU. So, I was thinking of building a PSU for it. I've been looking for a transformer, hexfed rectifiers and caps. But at the end I scarped the whole idea and when for another option of which is much simpler, likely to be cheaper and sound better.



   Battery! Yes, this is a much simpler solution. So, I got two 7Ah 12V SLA batteries  for $27.50 and charger for $24 both off eBay. The sound is definitely better than the cheap wall adapter. Also, I use the a 10,000uf 16V that I found in my parts box in paralle across the line and this improved the sound quiet a bit. I will have to do some soldering job with the connector soon.

   So far I really like the sound of this little simple DAC kit. BTW... the picture was taken at our monthly NY Rave gathering. This month November this time it was at JoshK And it got lots of good feedbacks. And performed well among other DACs there. This is good and it confirmed that it wasn't just my imagination

   Well, since my exprience with the service and quality had been great and the sound is great.  I'm very happy with this simple kit. Also I love the simplicity of the DAC. So, I guess that the maker and seller of this kit deserved some exposure here for us DIYer here.

HifiDiy.net (US)

http://us.hifidiy.net/index.asp

Also, on eBay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-TDA1543-DAC-DIY-Kit_W0QQitemZ160049846400QQihZ006QQcategoryZ14978QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


   BTW... he already posted this thread there in the "Mini TDA1543" section.

  There are other interesting kits there. All look great for the price.   Also, another TDA1543 DAC kit of which are 4 chips version . I don't know I'm pretty happy with this simple DAC... can't be any simpler than this! But I might try out the other one when I have time and money.

    All in all. Hard to calculate since I used some left over parts. But if everything were new I think I've spent about $150 or less for everything including case, batteries, charger and etc. With that I still have some acrylic sheet, glue, nuts, bolts for other future project.

    You could make it even cheaper by just stick it in a metal tea/candy box

   Well, I hope you enjoyed my adventure with this "Little Buddy" DAC.

Take care,
Buddy

[Daygloworange]

SET Man,

Very cool. Nice job.

Cheers

[denjo]

Buddy

I am sure it sounds as good as it looks! I wish I was more of a DIY-er. I would have embarked on something like what you are doing. I know the satisfaction that comes from completing a project like this!

Best regards
Dennis

[SET Man]

Buddy

I am sure it sounds as good as it looks! I wish I was more of a DIY-er. I would have embarked on something like what you are doing. I know the satisfaction that comes from completing a project like this!

Best regards
Dennis

Hey!

   Dennis, it is not too late to start! Soldering is easy.... just need some practice. But I have to warn you.... once you start DIYing it is hard to stop. You will be like "Hmmm... I could build that thing myself" The other good thing about DIY is like JoshK said... you have more control over the whole process

Take care,
Buddy

[drummerwill]

 Yo SETman
    I built the Mini-DAC too. and The sound is as exactly as you described. I was surprised by the simplisity of the kit. I had to get someone else to solder the reciever, but is to do otherwise.
  Midrange as you spoke ! Amasing we heard the same thing. Not bad for $40.
  Have fun
  Willie

[SET Man]

 Yo SETman
    I built the Mini-DAC too. and The sound is as exactly as you described. I was surprised by the simplisity of the kit. I had to get someone else to solder the reciever, but is to do otherwise.
  Midrange as you spoke ! Amasing we heard the same thing. Not bad for $40.
  Have fun
  Willie

Hey!

   Cool man! Good to know that there are other with this kit here It is a very simple kit. This kit is as basic as it could get for this TDA chip. Pretty amazing if you think about it.... this little chip is doing the D to A work, and output enough V to be used without an op-amp after Doesn't get any simpler than that!

    Anyway, how do you power your kit? Would be nice to see photos of your kit if you have one.

    Right now I think my kit clocked in at little over 100hrs. And I happy to report that I still like the sound of this little thing. The only down side I see is that this kit is slightly rolled off top compare to my Sony. But other than that I think it doing a great job.  Love the sound

    Yup, it is surprisingly good for what it cost and how simple it is for sure.

Take care,
Buddy
   

[lollonais]

Hi there. I am also looking into this DAC and since you had it for a while now, I wanted to know how it was going. The price went up by 2 dollars + $5 shipping. Please let me know.
Thanks.

[SET Man]

Hi there. I am also looking into this DAC and since you had it for a while now, I wanted to know how it was going. The price went up by 2 dollars + $5 shipping. Please let me know.
Thanks.

Hey!

   First welcome to the Audio Circle.

   As for the Mini DAC. Yes, I'm happy to say that it is still in my system Not long ago I changed the out put caps to a pair of poly caps I have laying around my parts box. And it sound even better now... much more open. And I added more caps at the batts supply and total of 30,000uf... I don't know if I could hear any big different between one 10,000uf and 2 more. But I like it anyway.

   I see the price had gone up $2... still an excellent deal for a DAC kit anywhere. Just get yourself some SLA batts and if you can spend more money just try better poly caps in place of those stock output caps.

    And don't be afraid to compare it to any other DAC out there. I recently bought it over to one of member's place and compared it to other more expensive DACs. And this little DAC held up damn well compared to those DACs believe it or not.

    This little DAC actually put off my idea of buying a more expensive DAC for a long while I would say. And like I said before I like it simplicity and this fit my system pretty well too.

    Of course it is all system dependent But it is very inexpensive... wouldn't hurt to try it right? And I think you will pretty surprise by it 

Take care,
Buddy

[G.Michael]

Buddy,

A belated kudos on the DAC... but it's those PVC pipe speakers that caught my attention!    Care to share info on those audio/plumbing beauties? 

Gary