[GETRDUN]

I'm thinking about putting a DAC kit together and was wondering what would be my best options. I stumbled upon a company in China that sells components for doing this, but not that confident in dealing with China. Here is the link if anyone is interested https://www.yuan-jing.com/dacs-decoder

Any help would be appreciated!

[wushuliu]

Soekris:
http://www.soekris.dk/dam1021.html
https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/soekris-dam-1021-r-2r-dac-users-guide/

[GETRDUN]

Soekris:
http://www.soekris.dk/dam1021.html
https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/soekris-dam-1021-r-2r-dac-users-guide/

Thanks for the info! What is your feedback on the sound produced by these dam1021 DAC modules? Also, besides a chassis to mount this module in, can you suggest what else I would need to complete the kit into a high end great sounding DAC? I'm wondering how they would compare to something like this DAC kit? http://www.ankaudiokits.com/L5-DAC5.1-R-2R-Non-Oversampling-Digital-Tubed-DAC.html

[GETRDUN]

Any other members here that has built a DAC kit? 

[SET Man]

Any other members here that has built a DAC kit? 

Hey!

   Yes! I have been using my inexpensive NOS DAC kit based on TDA1543 chip that I built since 2006 in my system.





    I don't think the company is around anymore  But this simple little NOS DAC sounds better than most higher price and higher bit and sampling I've heard over the years, and I've heard a good amount of them some in my own system.

    It is a very simple DAC, with single non-oversampling Philips TDA1543 chip, so simple that the chip also drive the output! I've been running it with 12V SLA batteries. Currently it got 10uf 50V WIMA caps on the output bypassed with Russian .1uf 400V K40Y-9 400V PIO caps. If you only play 16 bit CDs, NOS DAC sound best to me. At least from what I've heard with my own DAC and a few others.

  I also, built another TDA1543 NOS DAC I picked up from eBay after I stupidly shorted out the little DAC above. It was based on 4 chips in parallel but at the end I resurrected that little single chip DAC because I like the sound of that single TDA1543 chip power by batteries better.





  Anyway, for 16 bit CD playback this type of NOS DAC sounds more analog vinyl like to me than other type of high res DACs. And yes if I can afford it I would love to have the Audio Note Kit DAC 5.1, actually I've been eyeing the more affordable DAC 2.1. But for now I'm pretty happy with what I have and how my system sounds overall 

Take care,
Buddy

[HT cOz]

You should check out Mirand Audio. I’m working on an amp from them and it’s super nice. http://mirand-audio.dk/?post_type=product

[rollo]

   Audio Note and be very very happy.


charles

[WC]

Audio note hasn't done kits since 2014.

Regarding the Soekris DAC, there are newer versions out like the Dam1941 which has all the digital inputs on the board and is balanced out. Just need to supply power and a chassis and output buffer.

[OzarkTom]

   Audio Note and be very very happy.


charles

A used one here on AC.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=160713.0

[RBMitch]

Audio note hasn't done kits since 2014.

I have one of these and am extremely impressed with the sound quality.

http://www.ankaudiokits.com/DAC2.1-Non-Oversampling-Valve-Rectified-Tube-DAC.html

[poseidonsvoice]

Yup, plenty of Audionote kits for the enthusiast with big pockets right here:

http://www.ankaudiokits.com/ANK-Audio-Kits-Home-Page.html

And look around diyaudio, as mentioned, Mirand Audio, K&K Audio, etc...

I wouldn’t splurge too much though on a diy dac. The technology rapidly advances, so unless you invest in an upgradeable dac, you can lose a lot. That being said, THE best (commercial dacs) are still expensive as always.

Best,
Anand.

[HT cOz]

Yup, plenty of Audionote kits for the enthusiast with big pockets right here:

http://www.ankaudiokits.com/ANK-Audio-Kits-Home-Page.html

And look around diyaudio, as mentioned, Mirand Audio, K&K Audio, etc...

I wouldn’t splurge too much though on a diy dac. The technology rapidly advances, so unless you invest in an upgradeable dac, you can lose a lot. That being said, THE best (commercial dacs) are still expensive as always.

Best,
Anand.

So true, I thinks DACs are at the point where things like the choice of output stage is more important than the actual chip.

[JohnR]

Any other members here that has built a DAC kit? 

You haven't said anything about your budget or what you want to accomplish. Inexpensive DACs these days are such that saving money isn't a reason any more. With that said, I put one together based on these boards altho it's not completed... http://jlsounds.com/combos.html

The idea with that one is that you can design/build your own output stage, the board just has the differential outputs from the DAC but everything else is done for you.

In budget range there's a bunch here you could look at: https://www.diyinhk.com/shop/7-audio-kits

With that all said, if you're looking for a DIY-ish project, perhaps consider putting together a SBC-based (eg Raspberry Pi etc) streamer e.g. https://allo.com/sparky-dac.html

[poseidonsvoice]

John is right. Be careful. If on a budget, a Raspberry Pi with Orchard Audio’s ApplePi dac will get you very far! And if you want an SPDIF version, he has that too, called the Gala. Don’t forget that that the DAC DAC from Tom O’Brien (Digital Amplifier Company - they have a circle here) is just a rehash of this design, sold commercially with warranty, enclosure, etc... All are less than $500. Even the ApplePi dac with Raspberry Pi is ready to go at just under $500.

After that, I would be looking at a used Auralic Vega (1st generation), which goes for about $1.5K but is a phenomenal dac at that price imho. If your diy dac can’t beat the Vega, it’s not worth building imho. Unless you are doing it for the thrill of diy.

Just my $.02,

Anand.

[OzarkTom]

John is right. Be careful. If on a budget, a Raspberry Pi with Orchard Audio’s ApplePi dac will get you very far! And if you want an SPDIF version, he has that too, called the Gala. Don’t forget that that the DAC DAC from Tom O’Brien (Digital Amplifier Company - they have a circle here) is just a rehash of this design, sold commercially with warranty, enclosure, etc...

Just my $.02,

Anand.

Anand is right.

If I was buying, I would look seriously at this Dac Dac that is used for $375. A friend has one and loves his.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=160395.0

[Wayne1]

I have built the JLSounds 4490 DAC with a bit of an upscale power supply
DIY Modular DAC

He is now offering a newer USB board. You can also add a different clock board.

I also have the ApplePi board on a Raspberry Pi.

Both sound very,very good. You cannot go wrong with either one.

The JLSounds can be used as part of a modular system, as I show in the link. You can use a balanced tube output stage, as JohnR suggests.

It all depends on how DIY you want to get.

[WC]

Does the JL Sounds 4490 DAC require an output board? I want balanced out and am going into an active crossover.

[JohnR]

It needs an output stage, the output on the 10-pin connector is right from the DAC chip i.e. DC offset. I personally wouldn't put that right onto an XLR connector. Doesn't have to be a board, necessarily, could be an output transformer, I suppose one could argue whether filtering is needed but one way around that is to upsample in your source. At any rate, JL Sounds sell an output board if you don't want to roll your own.

[JohnR]

Oh I see you want balanced out. The JL Sounds output board (which Wayne used in his build) is single-ended out.

[OzarkTom]

That used Dac Dac for $375 has XLR outputs.