[vman71]

Custom DIY tube DAC, non-OS using a single 6DJ8 or 6922 tube.  It's an exceptional tube DAC with a very clear, detailed sound blended with tube warmth.  It uses the CS8414 DAC chip, which has low jitter and on-chip clock recovery.  The build is not your average job, with a nice selection of parts, design/layout, and a very cool auto on/off feature.

 
Parts are better than run-of-the-mill, like the use of Sprague Orange Drop, Dale resistor, silver wiring from the PCB to the RCA outputs.  Design/layout includes many areas where caps are bypassed, tweaks to the digital input and RCA outputs using (I think) caps/resistors, and a stout PC that is internally hardwired in.  The auto on/off feature is very cool and the DAC automatically turns "on" when a source is present and automatically turns "off" when the source is gone; a pretty neat feature and one that is not seen very often.  The case is a black metal case with a front face plate that allows for rack mounting.  Underneath are three rubberized feet in a triangle and provide for excellent horizontal stability and vibration control.

I will let this go for $250 shipped to the lower 48.

Thanks,
Mike (for refernce I'm "vman71" on A'gon)
mvansloten@gmail.com

[srb]

It uses the CS8414 DAC chip.....

I thought the Crystal CS8414 was only an S/PDIF (and AES/EBU) input receiver chip that would be used in conjunction with an actual DAC chip.  No?
 
Steve

[vman71]

Steve, I'm not sure. I think that I always fed it with a digital coax and then L/R out to my preamp/amp.

[srb]

Steve, I'm not sure. I think that I always fed it with a digital coax and then L/R out to my preamp/amp.

Right, the digital coax is an S/PDIF input to the CS8414 receiver.  Just curious what the actual DAC chip was, e.g. a Philips TDA-1543, Burr Brown PCM1704, etc.
 
Steve

[vman71]

I can look inside tonight to see if it's the 1543 or 1704 - I just know it sounded damn good.