DIY intruder

[Lampie519]

Greetings from Holland !
My name is Frank and live close to Amsterdam (not too close to get effected).
Usually i design stuff as i think companies are not giving us "the best" as legal restrictions prevent them in doing so and not because they do not want to.
As i am not commercial, i do not have these restrictions.
As i am also an audiophile i look for the best available equipment that can partner up with my own contraptions.
Occasional i do help musicians with their recordings (i own and collect some vintage recording equipment) and keep their instrument and amps in good shape.
I do this now for more then 35 years, started with repairing audio and video equipment (specilized in CRT projectors in these days).
Later i worked for Luxman here in the Netherlands for a short time and became interested in SPICE simulation and PCB layout software design. Became senior application engineer at National Instruments but after 8 years it was time to return to the AV world and joined up with Extron (Pro AV specialist).
Now i am a part time consultant in all the fields i have worked in (mainly helping AV integrators).
Here you have it... long story (maybe i have been effected already without knowing it).

 

[Folsom]

Legally?

 

[Lampie519]

Patents

If i design something i can use existing (even copy) parts from others, not because i am lazy but because i think that is a good idea.

Now as a company wanting to distinguish themself from others that is just not done even when that idea was brilliant. (reminding me of the Goldmund CD player using a Pioneer DV-300)

I remember long time ago, i was servicing cassette players and found that Revox had the best transport but the electronics and design of the Nakamichi top models were just better. So, if the companies really wanted to create "The Best" then why not work together to do so? (That is how i thought about it 30 years ago)

So changes MUST be made and given a fancy name or state to be superior even when it is not (why do companies need to have such huge marketing and legal devisions).

High End audio is a niche market so it works a bit different but not by that much.

 

[Folsom]

Meh, patents are almost worthless in audio. Small changes basically void any infringement.

 

[Lampie519]

Yes, and then give this a fancy name like "Super Deluxe Tripple Class A" or "Golden Shimmering Sky Double Happiness Circuit"

 

[Lampie519]

Some projects i have done in the past (for who is interested), mainly (pre)amplifiers and experiments with Zotl and OTL amps etc.

Plus restoring some Hammond tonewheel organs (other hobby of mine).

 

[Lampie519]

Zotl mania...

Headphone amps and experiments... work in progress... etc.

 

[Lampie519]

My persuit of the ultimate DAC:

What is so "ultimate" about it?

It has no (subjective) signature, it just does what it was promised us 35 years ago, namely the best possible reproduction of "canned" music. You do not need to trust me on my blue eyes but who knows, time will maybe tell...

I will add images of the progress and thoughts...

 

[Folsom]

What chip?

 

[Lampie519]

TDA1387 but as all converter chips have "issues" i had to come up with an idea to remidy these. I will not go into details how i did this as i have not yet established a name for myself and others could "run away" with this...

I hope you understand.

The choice for this chip is simple, it is small, cheap and available. So it was a perfect contender for experimentation, other chips could be used but the results are already very promising, maybe this is a "sleeper" ...

 

[Folsom]

I enjoy looking at everything but don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

 

[Lampie519]

but don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

I trust what you say ! .... until..... someone or something opens your eyes (ears in this case)... and i know that has happend before otherwise you would have kept your first audio "toy" and never upgraded to something else...

I do not want to boast or anything like this as this does not help anyone and will stop any discussion.
It is just that i am convinced that i am "on to something" and that exites me...

 

[Folsom]

My issue is I don't hear things better than I can make.

 

[Lampie519]

My issue is I don't hear things better than I can make.

Please explain (my language limitation)...

Johan Cruijff (Dutch football legend) once said to an interviewer who could not keep up with him :

“If I would have wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it in a better way.”

 

[Folsom]

I make electronics, amps and things.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I do not want to boast or anything like this as this does not help anyone and will stop any discussion.
It is just that i am convinced that i am "on to something" and that exites me...

That is apparent. However, based purely on your assertions, I cannot respond with any enthusiasm. Can you offer any details, measurements or 2nd (or 3rd) party observations?

 

[Lampie519]

My issue is I don't hear things better than I can make.

Now i do understand !
So your creations will "satisfy your ears the most", i think i have something similar here but ones in a while, mostly by chance, surprises can happen. This was the case when i bought the Chord Blu transport (came with the DAC). I had no idea the the transport was "making the music" not the DAC .... LOL.
As i do not (yet) know how to build my own digital filter i will just leave it as it for now.
The Hugo M Scaler is on my wishlist to play with next.
I also have a hard time building ESL planars, so here too i use commercial available units (Acoustat).
So what is left then to build?
The D/A converters and amplifiers (especially some fancy power supplies for those).

 

[Lampie519]

Can you offer any details, measurements or 2nd (or 3rd) party observations?

I guess you will have to ask them yourself as i do not speak for others (i try to avoid this if possible).
All i can say that anyone who has audioned my creations is a "believer"... this by itself has also no value as you have no idea what their level of expectations are...

 

[Lampie519]

About 6 years ago i had a discussion with a distributor of nice turntables and Italian Tube gear, about the production of records at that time. He said that these were actually digital files converted and then pressed on vinyl and it still sounded better then any digital device he had heard.
So we came to the conclusion that the manufacturer of these LP's must have a better D/A converter etc.
This was the "drive" for me to do something about this. At that time i already had some cool D/A converters with TDA1541 Silver Crown etc. bla bla, with dark backgounds (black background is a sensitive matter if you look at some threads here on WBF... LOL ).
After 2 years experimenting with different converters and timing logic i found that all consumer D/A convertes were flawed (as suspected). Naturally others DIY'ers were also doing something interesting but they do not go "all the way"
My first proto's were then demonstrated at "my" distributors place ( he had provided a nice transport and speakers for this) and found that the D/A converter indeed could be compared with any analog source and not only with other digital stuff. So he was very impressed indeed.
Now we have not seen each other for some years because of the pandemic but my developments did not stop then.
The dac has now "matured" and is in the final stage as i still need to solve some some minor issues (not in the audio part as this is fine as is).
BTW there is no amplification of any kind in this DAC, so it is kind of modular (any preamp tube or SS can be used)
This way there is no sonic "signature" other then the dac chips themselves.

 

[Mikem53]

Enjoyed reading about your projects ! keep us updated.. It all looks interesting.. Good luck on your endeavors!