Looks like Bruno Putzey of Hypex Class D amp fame has gone to designing a discrete Multibit dac (called the Mola Mola) that uses 32 x 1 Bit dacs per channel, that is capable of doing dsd as well as Redbook. Production board http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LNvVXCqEtEU/hqdefault.jpg I think this was the prototype http://puremusicgroup.com/cart/images/uploads/Moladac_proto-web.jpg Cheers George |
Thanks for the link George...I read through it, and aside from the fact that the main crux of his analysis is to ultimately sell you one of his products, the real issue I have is that he, like so many before him, absolutely cannot get his point across without resorting to banal hyperbole. For example, someone, anyone, please tell me the name of the Delta-Sigma dac you listened to that made cymbals sound like someone crinkling a piece of paper. And while you're at it, tell us the amp and speakers used, and whether you were sitting in a normal room or buried 10 feet underground in a wooden box with Uncle Ben's rice stuffed in your ears, when you heard a D-S dac make a cymbal sound like crinkling paper. I mean, come on... |
"cymbal sound like crinkling paper" Yes his description of the highs is a bit out there, but I think know were he's coming from. I too on Redbook find DS has a lack of "jump factor" and midrange body to the sound and the bass of Multibit always impresses me over DS, and cymbals on DS either on rock or orchestral don't hit hard and clean, they are either too laid back and sweet or in your face and harsh depending on the filtering used. Delta Sigma has massive noise that need to be got rid of a bit like Class D amps with it's switching noise. (Teac gives may different filter combos for the user to play with their DS dacs) It all comes down to the filter/s that have to get rid of it. I read a while back one of the digital gurus on DIYHI.org where all the big boys play like Thorsten Loesch (AMR), Charles Hansen (Ayre), Pedja Rojic (Audial) and a bunch of others used this analogy. (hope I got it right from memory) In Class D the switching noise can be filtered two ways either very high and out of the audio band, which leaves some noise in the audio band, or low which has phase effects and HF roll-off's with in the audio band, or half way a bit of both. One sound hard "like crinkled paper" the other sound soft (opaque) or a combo of both. Cheers George |
Just to complicate matters there is also the Bifrost 4490 upgrade @ $100, which states... This DAC/Analog upgrade card betters the sonic and measured performance of all previous Bifrosts, including Uber. It incorporates the AKM AK4490 Verita® D/A converter, followed by a sophisticated fully discrete summing and gain stage with no capacitors in the signal path. Is this an even better upgrade than multibit? Where I am having the problem is... 1. the Multibit works with the Uber Upgrade 2. the 4490 upgrade sounds better than the Uber - (but is that with the Multibit?) 3. seems the Multi-bit and 4490 are mutually exclusive? So which option sounds better? Is anyone else confused like me? |
