What do you think makes NOS sound different?

So far this thread has been about trying to figure out why some people prefer a DAC without oversampling and without an analogue reconstruction filter. .


I'd be one of those. But, these DAC's measure really poorly.

I have seen here that people are talking about minute differences in noise specifications of OP amps... used as an analog filter, but - I do not want an analog filter because every time I tried a filter (passive RCL, or active), the sound lost natural body and harmonics that, to me, are very important. The reason is very simple - every time the sound undergoes any kind of processing (in digital or analog domain), it loses something.... maybe we should talk about what that something is and how & why it is lost? I do have a theory, backed up by few facts and few assumptions; also 3-decade long experience s well...

That's why I tried to set the boundary.... let's focus on the digital section first, and then some 1000 posts down the track, we can include the analog section. This would be something, wouldn't it...:)
 
A traf is an analog filter.

//

So is the rest of my analog system (interconnects, amplifier, speaker cables, x-over.... my ears), in case of a simple resistor used in "isolation".

Some DAC's demand the use of an analog filter - like 1704's.... in this case, the Butterworth lowpass 3rd order AD811 filter (Fc=22kHz) worked the best + it did not require Cf to be used in a typical way that would cause AD811 to oscillate + it gave that DAC very low impedance... to work its 4mA magic.

So, if I like the sound of no analog filter of any kind, does that mean that I should choose DAC first, which could work with a resistor only...?
 
Last edited:
- every time the sound undergoes any kind of processing (in digital or analog domain), it loses something.... maybe we should talk about what that something is and how & why it is lost?

I doubt we'd find agreement that that 'something' exists in the first place. So any chatting won't get very far :) I disagree that its simply about 'any kind of processing' rather, in my experience the kind of processing is very important.
 
Maybe you are referring to a DAC (IC?) that needs to have some kind of analog processing?

DDDAC does not really require anything other than a 33-ohm resistor - and it sounds (in NOS and native files' sampling rates), to me, really good. 1704 in dual-differential configuration, required an analog stage....

It is all compromise.
 
Last edited:
I see.

Doede picked a DAC IC that had a good current-out capability, and then provided the option to add that current by multiplying the DAC IC's. In addition, he used an 8V supply instead of a 5 V supply - these ingredients contributed to a healthy current output that works with resistor-only really well. I personally liked that sound a lot, but I had to oversample to at least 96kHz to remove the roll-off (and quantization noise... that I could hear with 44.1kHz material). This was still a pretty good sound for a DIY DAC. It was improved over the course of 2-3 years - the ground uniformity and especially -> the voltage regulation; even the I2S isolator chip on WaveI/O card had its own very low noise voltage regulator
 
Last edited:
Yes, I also felt the drop was gone at 192kHz, but could hear it at 96kHz.

However, the most affected area was somehow the bass region - the bass was losing its natural harmonics. roundness/fulness... the soundscape was becoming more extended up-down, left-right - but flatter - more like 2D. I was routinely preferring even 44.1kHz raw material with a bit of DSP to lift high frequencies just a touch...to OS-ed sound.

I will try DDDAC as per the above (no DSP correction - just OS), but this time I'll use HQ Player which I only started using recently once I got the May DAC. The HQ Player gives me options to chose OS multiplayer (44.1 / 48 - base as well), dither and filter. However, DDDAC 1974's use that sigma/delta modulator for upper 18bits (that I can not turn off...).

I do have somewhere Pedja's true NOS, full R-2R 1541 DAC, though :)
 
Last edited:
I haven't listened to Pedja's DAC in a very long time. But, it was the most natural, analog-sounding DAC I listened to - this was a CD-only era.

I also had Audiomeca Memphisto transport that in combination with that DAC, sounded like a good analog turntable - simply, a truly stunning combination. I don't think that I ever did OS-ing.
 

Attachments

  • 1541a_rev1_1b_sch.pdf
    50.4 KB · Views: 88
Last edited:
Somehow this issue about oversampling for me is always in connection with analog styage at the output of DAC chip?
Someone have notes about different possitions of analog filter with Iout dac and Riv.
.
a) Iout - Riv - Analog filter - buffer/or gain stage
b) Iout - Riv - buffer/or gain stage - Analog filter
c) Iout - Riv - transformer - buffer/or gain stage
etc
.
Should the DAC be free from reactive load of any kind at the Iout? To be loaded as pure R component?
 
Last edited: