Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 5, 2021 14:25:37 GMT
When i bought the Soekris DAC, it was always my intention to remove the SMPS. I have a strong dislike for all things SMPS. In my quite colourful Audiophile journey the same mods have always brought about "improvements", but the biggest one and probably most important IMHO is the removal of SMPS. I know there is hundreds of white papers that investigate this subject, and i know the manufacturers all swear that SMPS has no detrimental effect on the performance of their gear. But i couldn't disagree more. Do i have irrefutable proof? ...........No What i do have, is a lot of history for reporting the same findings when this surgery has taken place. The biggest one to date being the change of power supply in the Neurochrome 686. So, if i had this aversion to SMPS, why not buy a Denafrips? Highly rated, much adored, similar price (£850 for the S#oekris) and built with the same principles that i would have looked for.....here's why: The Soekris first came to my attention when i found a review for the Lessloss Echo's End DAC. Their top spec model is like £10k or something ridiculous, so this was a none starter, but what DID appeal was that it uses Soekris OEM PCBs. The review was RAVING about the performance, which i know isn't uncommon, but i read it and felt it was genuine enthusiasm as opposed to sales bollocks. It was then that i noticed the DAC PCBs.....Soekris.  I hopped over to DIYaudio and found that this PCB the "DAM" was also being raved about there too. I find the majority of DIY members to be quite measured. This tipped me over into being very interested. Reading the available material online, i found out that the very early ones (first 50 i think) were made with 0.01% resistors rather than the 0.02% ones they adopted later. However, i must state that this is anecdotal and i have no proof that this is the case. I found one online and asked for the serial number. #33.....that'll do. Since then, i have been nothing short of amazed by it's performance. It's definitely here for the long term. With that in mind, it was time to tap up the serices of Mr Firebottle. More to follow |
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Post by sq225917 on Feb 5, 2021 17:46:39 GMT
There's loafs of well noted psu mods for the soerkis boards. It's somewhat under regged and missing local psu capacitance in its early versions.
A shame, as you point out these were the best specced in terms of resistors.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 5, 2021 18:17:36 GMT
There's loafs of well noted psu mods for the soerkis boards. It's somewhat under regged and missing local psu capacitance in its early versions. A shame, as you point out these were the best specced in terms of resistors. Oh, ok. So I'd better go and do some ready on DIY? Feel free to drop a link to anything of interest |
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Post by rexton on Feb 5, 2021 18:52:15 GMT
Looking forward to read this over the coming days/weeks.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 5, 2021 19:31:33 GMT
Looking forward to read this over the coming days/weeks. The plan is to get this up and running with a LPSU and then evaluate whether it's worth going bonkers on a proper LPSU. Obviously I need to do some thorough research into what sort of regulation would be best. |
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Post by rexton on Feb 5, 2021 20:04:30 GMT
I will at some point jump onto the DAC band wagon but I just can't see the point at the moment with so many good DAC's on the market at the moment. I'm happy to bide my time and wait for a decent 2nd hand unit to arrive on the market before I dip my toes on a new unit. In the mean time I can see how all these experiments pan out.
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Post by sq225917 on Feb 5, 2021 20:46:18 GMT
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Post by jimbo on Feb 5, 2021 21:12:46 GMT
I will at some point jump onto the DAC band wagon but I just can't see the point at the moment with so many good DAC's on the market at the moment. I'm happy to bide my time and wait for a decent 2nd hand unit to arrive on the market before I dip my toes on a new unit. In the mean time I can see how all these experiments pan out. I jump on and off it all the time. More off than on!  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 5, 2021 22:37:21 GMT
I will at some point jump onto the DAC band wagon but I just can't see the point at the moment with so many good DAC's on the market at the moment. I'm happy to bide my time and wait for a decent 2nd hand unit to arrive on the market before I dip my toes on a new unit. In the mean time I can see how all these experiments pan out. I jump on and off it all the time. More off than on! Haha |
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Post by brian2957 on Feb 5, 2021 23:10:00 GMT
It's not a DAC you need James , it's a parachute  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 5, 2021 23:51:24 GMT
The plan for this part of the journey is to check the performance with a rather "rough around the edges" version of a LPSU. Whilst its a bit rough, it's fundamental performance is more than adequate for the job. We are using a Walt Jung Super Regulator PCB from China for the +&- 12v, however it appears that it has a faulty chip on it as the voltage was all over the place. This is why I am very lucky to have firebottle to call upon to help facilitate my ideas. He found the issue and I have ordered a replacement chip. This is a job I can do, so in the short term I can contribute a wee bit lol. The other voltage is 5V @3amps.....I'll need to find something decent for that job IF the test leads to a long term conversion. I will just point out that all of the work Alan has done is entirely reversible......but I don't think it's gonna be needed 😉 A pic of the temporary lash up. Can't try it until I change the chip and reinstall the reg.   |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2021 15:22:56 GMT
We're up and running  |
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Post by jimbo on Feb 9, 2021 15:52:37 GMT
Popcorn
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Post by brian2957 on Feb 9, 2021 16:40:36 GMT
+1 |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2021 18:08:17 GMT
jimbo brian2957First impressions have taken me back to the first time i heard Vinyl create a life-like 3D image. The fluidity is scrambling my mind. I have never heard a DAC do this in my system. It's like sitting in a pool of audio. Its engulfing and consuming. I feel very connected to the emotion of the vocalists too. Listening to "Hans Theessink - Mother Earth" as i write this and the guitars are full of tone and texture. What really stick out as 'NEW' is the noises that accompany the note...the actual physical playing of the instruments. Listening to them play and you can hear and distinguish the different levels of force or pressure on the stings. The foot taps move the air in the room. It's whats been missing from Digital playback. Physicality. I always felt with vinyl that the physical act of dragging a rock through grooves and generating actual energy, was what made it so realistic, palpable and tactile. I have that now with Digital. Dynamic, Energetic and very physical. I am totally smitten.
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Post by mikeyb on Feb 9, 2021 18:14:36 GMT
Och, it'll be out of phase, again  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2021 18:29:08 GMT
Och, it'll be out of phase, again Probably 🤣🤣 |
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Post by misterc on Feb 9, 2021 19:16:43 GMT
Time to liberate some funds vinyl on the for sale site Oli
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Post by brian2957 on Feb 10, 2021 10:23:40 GMT
This sounds very much like 'next level' stuff Oli . It looks like your efforts are being repaid in spades . What's next then , build the best LPSU you can ?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2021 10:37:31 GMT
Time to liberate some funds vinyl on the for sale site Oli Sell the vinyl! No No No No....thats not going anywhere mate. There is still something magic in those grooves, although i suspect this cartridge may last 10 years due to the quality of the Soekris. I am shocked at the level of improvement. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2021 10:50:27 GMT
This sounds very much like 'next level' stuff Oli . It looks like your efforts are being repaid in spades . What's next then , build the best LPSU you can ? Absolutely right, Brian. We're talking about a level of realism and fluidity that i personally doubted could ever be gleaned from file based audio. I know there are those who suspect that fluidity and organic sound are at the expense of detail and transparency. They couldn't be more wrong. Transients: oh my lord.....they are everywhere. Appearing in the ether, completely unattached to the speaker. It's a feeling of surreal enchantment as i listen to Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher man. Sensory stimulation as the cymbals take on a increase of speed. It so clean and transparent that the cymbals take of the role of time keeper for a moment and then retract back into being part the song. The fact that there is audible cues in terms of how hard or fast that something is being played, is absolutely welcome abd is exactly what has been missing from any digital i have heard. Digital has never demonstrated this ability to me before. The recreate the phsical actions of playing. To make things sound like an actual act of playing an instrument, rather than just present the notes it makes, is something i have only ever heard in vinyl. To coin a phrase from jimbo .........."the Rubicon has been crossed" It's gripping and consuming. I have (as i have stated multiple times) once again proved (to myself at least) that SMPS has NO PLACE in HiFi. The LPSU may look a bit heath robinson, but it's actual quite a high quality one. I will be getting a couple of custom made Transformers and building a real top quality power supply for it. I'll then box it up and that will do me for Digital for the long term. |
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Post by jimbo on Feb 10, 2021 11:05:35 GMT
Good to hear it is all working out well Oli. I suspected there was always more to gain from digital from our early days experimenting with the RPi?
LPSU all the way!
PS those weird transients flying around in space are not a sign of phase issues are they? lol
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2021 11:48:33 GMT
Good to hear it is all working out well Oli. I suspected there was always more to gain from digital from our early days experimenting with the RPi? LPSU all the way! PS those weird transients flying around in space are not a sign of phase issues are they? lol Believe me Jim....I checked and them double checked again 🤣🤣 No, it's like they are appearing from nowhere. Crazy good. |
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Post by brian2957 on Feb 10, 2021 12:37:29 GMT
I think when you said you could hear how hard an instrument was being played I kinda had to reread that statement, because that's a very rare thing ( in my hifi world anyway ) I know that you play instruments and know what that sounds like . It's usually the sound you only hear at an intimate live concert. Sometimes you make me wish that I had the funds to follow in your footsteps mate . Unfortunately I don't  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2021 12:43:09 GMT
I think when you said you could hear how hard an instrument was being played I kinda had to reread that statement, because that's a very rare thing ( in my hifi world anyway ) I know that you play instruments and know what that sounds like . It's usually the sound you only hear at an intimate live concert. Sometimes you make me wish that I had the funds to follow in your footsteps mate . Unfortunately I don't Apologies Brian. I realise I'm not really as "Budget" as I once was, but my roots are still firmly fixed there. HOWEVER..... mikeyb recently found a DAC board for the pi that is R2R and could probably do 80% of what's going on here for a fraction of the cost. That's got to be worth a look. |
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Post by mikeyb on Feb 10, 2021 12:53:24 GMT
Brian,
that R2R DAC Hat I had on my Pi4 was very, very close to the Denafrips Ares II that I now own, think it was around £170 posed to the UK.
Geoff (gninnam) now owns it and he really likes it too.
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Post by macca on Feb 10, 2021 13:24:35 GMT
I think when you said you could hear how hard an instrument was being played I kinda had to reread that statement, because that's a very rare thing ( in my hifi world anyway ) I know that you play instruments and know what that sounds like . It's usually the sound you only hear at an intimate live concert. Sometimes you make me wish that I had the funds to follow in your footsteps mate . Unfortunately I don't You don't need to spend much to get that, it isn't how much you spend but what you spend it on. |
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Post by brian2957 on Feb 10, 2021 13:53:09 GMT
Link please Mike , if you have it |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2021 14:39:10 GMT
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Post by mikeyb on Feb 10, 2021 14:39:52 GMT
that one  |
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