Can anyone report / review their experience with the Lavry10 or accuphase and other AD1955 based Dacs and also how it sounds compaired to the tda1541 best dacs ?
there is this seller raindrop hui selling both dacs, a hard decision !!
So far I only heard the tda based dacs. My sellers in my city dont have the AD1955 dacs ...
DAC AD1955+AD1896 24BIT/96KHz Balance Output HDAM - eBay (item 220554797912 end time Feb-20-10 16:35:35 PST)
there is this seller raindrop hui selling both dacs, a hard decision !!
So far I only heard the tda based dacs. My sellers in my city dont have the AD1955 dacs ...
DAC AD1955+AD1896 24BIT/96KHz Balance Output HDAM - eBay (item 220554797912 end time Feb-20-10 16:35:35 PST)
Yep, I agree. That design of raindrop_hui's appears to use LF351 opamps in the I/V stage. Hard to think of any technical reason for the choice - they're really an old design, very low GBW of 4MHz and the PSRR on the negative rail is a disaster (40dB @ 20kHz). Perhaps they're chosen for their sound though? Good news is they're socketed so something a bit more appropriate can be substituted.
Not likely at all. I find it a wise choice giving the customer the option to use their favourite opamps at a minimum additional cost. Something like the interconnect cables which come bundled with cd players
Regarding the 1955/1541 question i think people have a serious bias one way or the other and asking for an objective comparison is a waste of time.
Not likely at all. I find it a wise choice giving the customer the option to use their favourite opamps at a minimum additional cost. Something like the interconnect cables which come bundled with cd players
Regarding the 1955/1541 question i think people have a serious bias one way or the other and asking for an objective comparison is a waste of time.
Aha, got ya. So they're just cheap place holders.
On the 1955/1541 question, technically the 1955 is way better on all counts, whether such technical superiority translates into audio nirvana I'm not qualified to say. But I very much doubt that people actually hear the DAC, what they hear is the DAC + implementation + the rest of the system + environment. So yeah, being totally subjective, objective comparisons don't exist in audio. Agreed that most people's minds are made up well before the kit is listened to...
what opamp is not what is most important, important are in what scheme (and PCB implementation) they are working, and it is VERY important for DS DACs with here out of band noise and glitch (if it is current output continious time DS). In standart designs current output parralel dacs (such as 1541) will sounding better than current output DS dacs
Opamps and implementation
Opamp choice is most definitely part of the implementation. Just as an example, I'm currently playing with a cheap Chinese-designed AD1955 DAC just as a learning exercise. It came with OP275s. There was another aspect of the implementation which was sub-optimal, this meant that when I substituted faster opamps (HA-5222) for the supplied OP275s, the sound got considerably worse. Only when the sub-optimal filtering was fixed did the Harris opamps shine. Now, I can use both OP275 and HA-5222, but if I dare substitute an NE5532 or NJM2114 there's a low-level (but distinctly audible) tone in the output. Haven't figured out why yet...
Opamp choice is most definitely part of the implementation. Just as an example, I'm currently playing with a cheap Chinese-designed AD1955 DAC just as a learning exercise. It came with OP275s. There was another aspect of the implementation which was sub-optimal, this meant that when I substituted faster opamps (HA-5222) for the supplied OP275s, the sound got considerably worse. Only when the sub-optimal filtering was fixed did the Harris opamps shine. Now, I can use both OP275 and HA-5222, but if I dare substitute an NE5532 or NJM2114 there's a low-level (but distinctly audible) tone in the output. Haven't figured out why yet...
I'd agree but here's my 2 pence! The newer dac chips alway look good on paper.However, personally I love the sounds of the TDA. If worked correctly with decent PSU's and a simple output stage, I'd take a TDA over anything I've heard thus far. My CDP has an S2 and nothing at all left std from the CDM1 to the output. The TDA will be the most analogue sounding chip IMHO. The 1955 will sound sterile and uninvolving by comparison.
Guess which way I'm biased!!!
AD1955 uninvolving?
Curious to know which implmentations of the AD1955 you've listened to? IMHO, some do have serious problems from a technical point of view - one of the AD suggested output circuits seems to break the rules for example.
Curious to know which implmentations of the AD1955 you've listened to? IMHO, some do have serious problems from a technical point of view - one of the AD suggested output circuits seems to break the rules for example.
It was in a cambridge Audio CDP. I forget the model. To be fair, I have several TDA based Players and a (Green) DAC that I built all of which are in a 'higher state if tune'. I made a point of admitting that I would of course be biased towards the TDA
Hard to believe, but this I have heard often.
Unfortunately one fact was overlooked in most cases: that one about post #7 from abraxalito
AD1955 implementation
A very quick bit of research suggests it was the Azur 840C, the other Richer Sounds models seem to have a penchant for Wolfson 8740s. This looks to use some special sauce from Anagram Technologies (whose website is not responding - have they gone out of business?). The Anagram tech blurb looks to be marketing- (as opposed to engineering-) heavy, so perhaps the sterile sound is as a direct result of this. Pure speculation of course...
A very quick bit of research suggests it was the Azur 840C, the other Richer Sounds models seem to have a penchant for Wolfson 8740s. This looks to use some special sauce from Anagram Technologies (whose website is not responding - have they gone out of business?). The Anagram tech blurb looks to be marketing- (as opposed to engineering-) heavy, so perhaps the sterile sound is as a direct result of this. Pure speculation of course...
Indeed! I have already conceeded that the TDA set ups I have will be much more refined and therefore an unfair comparrison. However, in days gone by, I have owned std Marantz cd65 and cd50. Both of these players showed the warmth I'd expect from a TDA. They were much less detailed than I expect/required these days but they were very beleivable and analogue esque. Most modern DAC's tend not to show this warmth straight off and as such, my use of the word sterile. Like all things, the better the implimentation, the better the sound. Again I hold my hands up to the fact that I much prefer the TDA
It was pioneering back then, now IC's also became much better since (compared to old ASRC ic-s), now ESS and the TI chip are sorta DSP alikes . Anagram are doing something akin to Wadia, latter throws much more on everything .
Hi UV and Hi all, sorry for thinking no one heard the dac, now that I remember I heard the same cd player and find exactly the same conclusions...
The cd player is very musical and delicate. There is no doubt <audiophiles< obsessed with sound will like the dac articulation. BUT!!! It is a world apart from tda 1541 which is not only musical but also is not delicate and just sounds like the real thing... I think the cirus logic dac is also one of the best; it is used by audio research and bryston. I got to hear those new dacs, even if it is very hifi $$, and I don’t feel comfortable luring for such high price products.
The cd player is very musical and delicate. There is no doubt <audiophiles< obsessed with sound will like the dac articulation. BUT!!! It is a world apart from tda 1541 which is not only musical but also is not delicate and just sounds like the real thing... I think the cirus logic dac is also one of the best; it is used by audio research and bryston. I got to hear those new dacs, even if it is very hifi $$, and I don’t feel comfortable luring for such high price products.
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