Sabre32 Reference 32-bit 8ch DAC ES9018

[Osku]

I'm still doing some finetuning which I'll update later, I presume you've seen this http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1152
The info for the regs etc is on there

The costs can be as much as your willing to spend, starting off with the basics and then just tweaking until your happy with the results, some may be perfectly happy with the standard kit which does sound good BTW, I like to take things further

I still need a case, as mentioned above its one of the things which causes me problems, the electronics is no problem, its usually the metal work I'm stumped with

I had seen that some time ago and read partially and forgotten where I did read it... thanks for redirecting me. Now that I have read some more, it seems that your Paul Hynes discrete regs mod has been a success. I do not see point in such a DIY unless it has something special to offer. And since those are not easily available (I assume Paul does not stock those since I understood those were left overs...), similar results you are getting are hard to duplicate. But I will continue reading, perhaps I will in the end get a new Buffalo kit and start the project.

For the case, I would be tempted to use thick raw (brushed) aluminum plate and simplistic design (or possibly a more complex design with front panel ordered from http://www.schaeffer-ag.de/index.php?id=97&L=1). Just wondering if I should first get a TC-7520 or DACmagic (or a 740c) and later start experimenting... but for me the DIY would have to be because I could make something that is worth having and not available (at all or because of cost) as a factory made product.

Have you tested a VALAB NOS DAC (preferably 2009 version) with 8 TDA1543 chips? Completely different approach, and I have not yet even had the time to seek/read what are the differences between TDA1543 and TDA1541 chips. What kind of TDA1541 based DAC is the one you have as the reference DAC?

[leo]

Paul can supply any of those regs, the ES9018 is pin compatible with the ES9008 , those regs should be suitable for the newer Buffalo too, infact they are a suitable for a number of dacs and come highly recommended, they are not on his site yet, he should be updating it as soon as he gets the time.
BTW I think he's working on a more compact version of those heatsinked versions.

I've not tried the actual Valab dac but have tried things using the same implementation , NOS, 8 x TDA1543 in parallel using passive I/V, I also tried 16 in parallel.
It sounds pretty good on the cheap, you do still get some HF roll off due to the NOS and basic output stage
Its all down to personal taste, some say they sound more analogue than most newer designs lacking the usual digital edge, others find them lacking dynamics

TDA1541A is much harder and expensive to implement than the TDA1543, it requires more supplies and a decent active output stage to get the best out of it


The TDA1541A dac I have is based on this http://diy.audialonline.com/ayaII/ mine does not have USB input, all supplies are separate

Lots of choices available , being into diy I try as many variables as possible, for those not into diy theres plenty of cheap ready made alternatives, I tend not to comment too much on a lot of the commercial stuff, until I find something I consider better than what I use I'll stick with diy

[Mr. C]

I believe they will be 3 commercial products using the Sabre dac out shortly.
There is a new version of the chip due in the not too distant future I believe.

[Osku]

Leo,

I will contact Paul if I end up with the Buffalo DIY project. I presume that the dynamics would count more for me, but have not listened to a TDA1541 DAC, so what do I know. So I think that with DIY the Buffalo is the way to go, or be happy with a commercial solution (most likely TC-7520 or DACmagic) for some time.

The post that Russ W. wrote a few weeks ago at diyaudio.com forums sounded so promising that it must be really something - especially if you already are happy with your modified ES9008 Buffalo. (Btw, have you asked Russ if you could replace the chip on your Buffalo and leave all else intact? He stated that the board has to be changed but I assume your situation is different since you have already upgraded your Buffalo that much).

The problem with those ready made DACs is that I would probably end up changing 50-80% of the parts in 3-24 months... unless I would be happy enough with the default tone. But I see no point buying a cheap ready made that has in real life too close the same sound quality as the DAC of my my ES-series Sony amp has. There has to be obvious gain to make it worth all the trouble. (And how soon would I want to upgrade the amp that I just upgraded?)

It seems to be wiser to first buy a TC-7520 or DACmagic and then if that was a big leap decide what to do next or just be happy. After market prices for those should be near enough to the purchase price, so not much of a loss there if the result is too close in comparison to what I already have got.

[Osku]

I believe they will be 3 commercial products using the Sabre dac out shortly.
There is a new version of the chip due in the not too distant future I believe.

I think you meant the one in title, the new/coming 32-bit version? It is still stated to be "CONFIDENTIAL ADVANCE INFORMATION":

8ch and 2ch variants:
http://www.esstech.com/PDF/Sabre32%2...F%20081217.pdf

Interesting to see the price points of those commercial products. (I would like e.g. Cambridge Audio to make a BluRay/SACD/CD/DVD player with a ES9018 with similar DAC like D/A to external devices that the 740c has).

[purite audio]

I believe they will be 3 commercial products using the Sabre dac out shortly.
There is a new version of the chip due in the not too distant future I believe.

Give us a clue Mr C!

[leo]

I believe they will be 3 commercial products using the Sabre dac out shortly.
There is a new version of the chip due in the not too distant future I believe.

ES9018 8 channel and ES9012 2 channel is the newest ones, I don't think they have even been properly released yet, ESS have the chip and evaluation boards, I don't think you can get these anywhere else just yet

Theres a dvd player which uses the much cheaper ES9006 which isn't as good as the ES9008 or ES9018

The Mcintosh MCD500 uses the ES9008

I don't know of anything else commercial using these chips

[leo]

Leo,

I will contact Paul if I end up with the Buffalo DIY project. I presume that the dynamics would count more for me, but have not listened to a TDA1541 DAC, so what do I know. So I think that with DIY the Buffalo is the way to go, or be happy with a commercial solution (most likely TC-7520 or DACmagic) for some time.

The post that Russ W. wrote a few weeks ago at diyaudio.com forums sounded so promising that it must be really something - especially if you already are happy with your modified ES9008 Buffalo. (Btw, have you asked Russ if you could replace the chip on your Buffalo and leave all else intact? He stated that the board has to be changed but I assume your situation is different since you have already upgraded your Buffalo that much).

The problem with those ready made DACs is that I would probably end up changing 50-80% of the parts in 3-24 months... unless I would be happy enough with the default tone. But I see no point buying a cheap ready made that has in real life too close the same sound quality as the DAC of my my ES-series Sony amp has. There has to be obvious gain to make it worth all the trouble. (And how soon would I want to upgrade the amp that I just upgraded?)

It seems to be wiser to first buy a TC-7520 or DACmagic and then if that was a big leap decide what to do next or just be happy. After market prices for those should be near enough to the purchase price, so not much of a loss there if the result is too close in comparison to what I already have got.

Maybe, diy isn't something you can just jump into expecting to get top performance on the cheap, the reason I do it is because I can build and alter things to suit my needs, its probably best just to buy a ready made unit, you can think about building something later, I wouldn't expect to see the Sabre chips used in budget gear tbh, we'll have to wait and see

[Osku]

Maybe, diy isn't something you can just jump into expecting to get top performance on the cheap, the reason I do it is because I can build and alter things to suit my needs, its probably best just to buy a ready made unit, you can think about building something later, I wouldn't expect to see the Sabre chips used in budget gear tbh, we'll have to wait and see

If I am not completely mistaken the Sabre chip would also need more expensive supporting components to be really helpful, so real budget products might be not doable with those. But a 1000-1500 eur BRD/DVD/SACD/CD combo player would most likely be doable with it, and might also sell reasonably well.

But the ES9018 is expensive, cheapest 2-core CPUs from Intel are likely already cheaper than what it will cost. OTOH with computers, you can often have a CPU that costs 20-30% of the total (street) cost in many notebooks. Those do have high volumes and pretty lame margins.

[loreliv]

Hi
me to read the critique of Lukasz of the new sabre32 today... very beautiful

http://www.lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/...uffaloDAC.html

regards