Satie

SAC Thailand As an example of where the filter would end up.

Sorry to have missed this, the idea is definitely to use only a transformer's internal saturation instead of an RC filter. Many transformers give you a high slope LP filter functionality with elbow freq at about 40-50khz. An example is SAC Thailand's TVC transformer that you can use also as a volume control.

Have you tried using a transformer output like the SAC thailand output transformer or a Lundhal? Using their built in rolloff for the filter? Definitely the direction I was thinking of. Thanks

It is an issue of what "glossy" means to him. I suspect it is the same combo of smoothness and top octave detail that are part of what I find attractive in files converted to DSD . It is not quite the same as other PCM playback in that the Rega DAC has its own very particular dark and rich sound signature. Tonally it does not sound like a PCM DAC just like the Apollo and Saturn players don't sound like CD players. The Audio Note speakers are not ESLs or ribbon speakers so would lack the last bit of resolution, to the point of him supplementing the speaker with a super tweeter add on. So I am not sure how bad the PCM "edge" would be for him. For my ribbon based system it is an issue and a significant one.

I understand the Arduino boards are processor control systems that allow you to control other chips like an Amanero USB receiver or a DAC chip. So you are saying that the Arduino board itself can be used to output a DSD/PWM stream off a PC?

Is there any way to send the bitstream to one of the commonly available PC output connectors, say hijack a RS232 port or the HDMI port or is whatever the PC produces going to be grungy and jittery and have to be reclocked externally or via an internall card?

How optimized is your Win PC? I get noticeably better results as I take out more useless activity and prevent things from coming up at startup. Fidelizer helps with ordering priorities. I also do everything in text - no cover art etc. Still there are still things that pop up and have exactly that slowww effect, but not very often anymore..

Looks like it covers the bases, but parts quality is going to be an issue, everything in it is cheap. And there is not enough regulation on the power supply. All of that can be fixed with better components, added choke and RC filters, so perhaps it would be fine to start. I should point out that the little Quickie is supposed to have beaten out the once popular Foreplay.

Well, the design uses an electrolytic cap to block DC, I think the implementation should be done in foil caps, and don't expect to want the sound of a tube stage that rolls off too early. A well done high nickel core transformer will maintain FR and have minimal phase an octave beyond the audible range yet brick wall the output at 30-40khz to prevent HF noise from destabilizing your amplification chain. That said, I looked for the simplest tube gain stage available in a commercial design and found this Quickie 1.1 Battery Powered Directly Heated Tube Preamplifier Kit Specs | Bottlehead What do you think of that for an output stage/filter.

I suggest you take the DBT debate elsewhere. I design my own wires and know with certainty that there are differences between them. I also know that DBT is a cognitive shroud on your perceptive capacities and it is foolish to expect anything other than "no difference" but for the most obvious colorations or differences. So go listen to your lead diaphragm speakers, 20 gauge speaker cable and rusted bolt connectors and 128 bit MP3s and stop casting aspersions as to our sanity, and reviewer's honesty. DBT is not applicable to the subjective testing where one is actively attempting to characterize the aspects of system sound arising from a particular component. It makes the task impossible. One MUST be able to associate what is heard with a label and NEVER have them substituted for the evaluation to be useful. The reviewer learns the characteristics of the item reviewed over time and by comparison to others of its kind. The instantaneous gestalt reactions the DBT protocols demand are meaningless. If a publication ran a review that had "its different" as the result of a review I would not even visit their free website anymore.

The DSD passive filter unit is the same on all the DSD models including the Amber. Input receiver+ mystery chip for PCM are different as are output stages and their power supplies. Wasn't it you who pointed that out for me?

So I would be better off putting in an I2S jack and taking the output off the jack pins inside my noDAC box? So I have a ground and a +R-R and +L -L? 5 pins - do you know a good pin map URL for I2S cables/Jacks when doing DSD?

Thanks for the StereoMojo link I missed that one. There are a few other Chinese (Yulong, Gustard, LKS) and Taiwanese (Audio GD) that seem to use a similar construction, some taking it farther in parts selection and oversized power supplies. I am not too surprised that they ended up only finding small differences between the EE and Lampi. I think that their speaker, the JBL/Infinity Compositions is a limiting factor in the test. It does not have a high resolution midrange and tweeter (ESL or ribbon/thin diaphragm planar would be more resolving).

I very much like this concept and think it can be very successful and is perfectly what I was looking for. So I am seriously looking into building this, but I do have quite a few questions on practical implementation. 1. Need for transformer(s) in the signal path. Do you think it is necessary to have the tube amp transformer output section doing its high freq roll-off as part of the filter? I was thinking of doing this into a preamp - tube or solid state. But while that can provide gain, it would not do the extra filtering function. So perusing the transformers in the SAC lineup I saw that they have input transformers. Those roll off at 35khz for the most part - somewhat more or the same rolloff than many tube amps. That raises the question of what impedance the DSD output from the Amanero board "wants to see". Your implementation would have a steep rolloff from the gain transformer at 35khz - just like a brick wall filter. and would inject some phase into the top octave and even the second octave. So rather than use an expensive multitap transformer I was thinking of just that input transformer - say 1:2.2. Any thoughts on that? 2. Software. I am running a windows 7 pc for music and am not going to learn Linux for it. Any reason this would be a problem? I see that that you are using digital FIR filters in the player software. I am using Foobar and was hoping not to need to learn how to use another player package. Are the FIR filters necessary or can I skip them or do you know whether there is a useful FIR plug in for Foobar2000? 3. Hardware. Is there a simple way to use the DSD on I2S output of a packaged digital USB converter like the Gustard U10/U12 ? The plus is that the drivers and power supply and isolation are all worked out already and sit in a nice box. Or does it still need something to take the signal and produce the final PWM stream (I am asking since the I2S also sends the clock signal.) What Amanero card do you need to use? Going through your Italian forum posting (they don't let google translate work the site so I had to copy the text into it) You speak there of a noise when switching into DSD - is that like a big thud? would using something like the packaged USB/I2S (and SPDIF) converter prevent some/all of that? So it should be possible to just take the I2S (HDMI) cable and cut it to have a convenient set of wires to attach to the noDAC section if I use a packaged USB/I2S converter? and then proceed with using the wires from ground pin and pins 3 and 5? (I am aware that the Gustard interface uses an XMOS chip.) Thank you so much for sharing this.

Thanks for the comparison. We actually still have not done real native DSD recordings on the PW DSD. We only did PCM. I hope that the Lampis come that much closer to vinyl. I am looking to find someone who owns one in central OH so I can listen to it. I know you were limited to headphones, but could you elaborate further about your observations? What material did you listen to?