Can the Art DI/O have the tube put into the DtoA signal path

warnerwh · « **on:** 28 Aug 2003, 05:35 am »

Been doing some research and this little dac seems to have received alot of praise from people here. When I first kept seeing it brought up and looked at the price I wrote it off but there's too much praise for it. I just read though that the tube is in the A to D part of the circuit. Seems like having a dac with adjustable tube warmth would be a great idea IMHO. Thanks

JohnR · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 05:56 am »

Hm... it looks like the simplest way to do this would be to take an extra output from the input to the A/D convertor. Then the signal goes from digital in -> DAC -> output filters -> input buffer -> tube "warmth" stage -> extra output jacks.

doug s. · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 02:26 pm »

you can do as johnr suggests, but to feed a signal to the a-to-d input of the di/o means ya have to use the d-to-a conwerter of yer cdp. seems to defeat the purpose of having an outboard dac, imo...

doug s.

doug s. · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 02:31 pm »

johnr, i re-read yer post - i do not see how you can feed one signal from the di/o's analog out to its analog in, at the same time feeding from the analog out to a preamp, via a y-adapter. i'd think the pre will either see the unprocessed (no a-to-d) analog out, or the unit will be damaged. anyone wanting to try this, i'd suggest asking art's tecnicians first...

doug s.

Hantra · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 02:36 pm »

Quote

anyone wanting to try this, i'd suggest asking art's tecnicians first...

Anyone wanting to try this, I suggest you try a good non-oversampling, non-fltering DAC first. .

doug s. · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 03:11 pm »

yup, i'm w/ya hantra.

i wanna try the ack! dack. some folk prefer the modded di/o, some prefer the ack! (or the scott nixon non-oversampling dac). i'd also wanna try the s-n dac, if there was an in-home no-risk trial, like w/the ack!

doug s.

byteme · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 07:56 pm »

Quote from: doug s.

yup, i'm w/ya hantra.

i wanna try the ack! dack. some folk prefer the modded di/o, some prefer the ack! (or the scott nixon non-oversampling dac). i'd also wanna try the s-n dac, if there was an in-home no-risk trial, like w/the ack!

doug s.

Last I checked I do believe that Scott offers a 30 day return policy so for the cost of shipping you do get an in home. Check with Scott to be sure of the terms, however. He's very knowledgeable and wants to help you enjoy music!

doug s. · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 08:22 pm »

thanks, byteme. i may have to inwestigate.

a relative recently got the ec ecd-1 dac that he's all ga-ga about - sez it's actually better than my di/o!

he's gonna bring it over for a comparo. i'd like to get a bit less spendy improvement, tho, if it's possible...

doug s.

JohnR · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Aug 2003, 11:23 pm »

Quote from: doug s.

johnr, i re-read yer post - i do not see how you can feed one signal from the di/o's analog out to its analog in, at the same time feeding from the analog out to a preamp, via a y-adapter.

I said take an *extra* output.

Quote

anyone wanting to try this, i'd suggest asking art's tecnicians first...

Or, you could just learn to read a circuit diagram...

I wouldn't do it, but he did ask if it could be done...

doug s. · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 11:28 am »

john r, if ya don't use a y-adapter, then where does the extra output come from? the di/o has only one analog output. if yure taking the analog output from the cdp, then my 1st post applies...

doug s.

JohnR · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 12:21 pm »

Heh. OK, if there's nothing plugged into the analog inputs, then the analog outputs are connected to the analog inputs at the I/O board (assuming you haven't ditched the 1/4 inch jacks).

So, if you then solder a wire from the opamp driving the A/D convertor chip, you will get the signal from the D/A convertor, modified by passing it through the "tube warmth" stage. On the other end of these two wires, solder another set of RCA jacks....

It's not like a neato job or anything... I forget that not everyone has my innate sense of style

-->

doug s. · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Aug 2003, 12:45 pm »

jeez, is that a preamp?!?

ok, if yure talking about going inside the di/o & doing mods, then that's a different story. this was discussed a while back on the yahoo di/o mods forum, but i don't tink anyone ever bothered to try...

doug s.

JohnR · « **Reply #12 on:** 30 Aug 2003, 08:52 am »

Yes it is, altho it's not working right now...

Yep, a small mod would be needed. A bit of mucking about and you could rescue the analog ins and use them as the extra outs.

Malcolm Fear · « **Reply #13 on:** 30 Aug 2003, 09:31 am »

Hi John
Are they Eichmann aligator clips in the picture?

JohnR · « **Reply #14 on:** 30 Aug 2003, 11:40 am »

No, but I have a patent pending on them. By using a sharp point, you get less contact area and hence more contact pressure, leading to higher fidelity signal transmission...

It's twoo, it's twoo