• Re: Tentlink mod - Dave Davenport 19:52:34 06/23/04 (6)
  In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Pooge on June 23, 2004 at 19:05:30:

  Hi Pooge,

  Am I missing something? I think that the TentLink from the DAC is the source and can drive clocks to three separate transports. All of these transports use this same clock to drive data back to the DAC.

  Now, all transports must have the TentLink, no stock units, unless there is a switch in the DAC to disable the TentLink and use vanilla S/PDIF.

  Gee, this gets complicated :-)

  Dave
  
  
  

  ---

  • Re: Tentlink mod - Pooge 20:30:36 06/23/04 (5)
    In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Dave Davenport on June 23, 2004 at 19:52:34:

    "Now, all transports must have the TentLink, no stock units, unless there is a switch in the DAC to disable the TentLink and use vanilla S/PDIF."

    
    

    That's my point. You appear to lose interconnectibility with other components. You might have several digital sources in a home theater system. It could get too expensive to "Tent" all of them.
    
    

    ---

    • Re: Tentlink mod - Dave Davenport 21:29:25 06/23/04 (4)
      In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Pooge on June 23, 2004 at 20:30:36:

      Hi Pooge,

      Well, lets think this through. We support two transports on the RAKK DAC. The costliest item is the XO-DAC with an XO module, which there is only one of in the DAC. The transports would each have a less expensive XO-3 with a VCXO module.

      I understand that this ain't cheap, but it is the ultimate sonically. If you were willing to go back one step you can have a RAKK DAC with an XO-DAC and VCXO module. This supports vanilla interfaces and is no slouch sonically. I am listening to just this setup as I type this note and I am constantly amazed at how good it sounds.

      So I think that this is a good offering:

      1. Base RAKK DAC
      2. Add XO-DAC to the RAKK DAC
      3. Add XO-3 to the transport and use TentLink

      You could start with just the base and add 2 then 3 as the budget allowed. I like that idea.

      I have been looking at the other possibilities that we have been discussing: the I2S and some other things in the links you provided. I really believe that the TentLink is a cleaner, easier solution to implement for the typical DIY. It should work with more (maybe all?) transports and doesn't rely on the transport having the I2S interface available.

      Also, as Max pointed out, the TentLink, with its low-jitter oscillator in the DAC has a strong probability of sounding better than the I2S.

      So I have discussed all this with Kevin and we agree that for the first wave our focus will be on supporting the Tent products. This does not preclude an I2S interface at some later date but for now, since we already support the XO-DAC it seems like the most reasonable strategy.

      Dave

      
      
      
      

      ---

      • Re: Tentlink mod - Pooge 22:52:53 06/23/04 (3)
        In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Dave Davenport on June 23, 2004 at 21:29:25:

        Dave, You may very well be correct on all of the above. Who's to argue with great sound? I read that I2S is limited in length, for obvious reasons. The Tent link does look a good, low bandwidth alternative. Now, if there is such a thing a universal transport that would use the same clock module as the DAC so we can swap the module from the DAC to the transport in going from step 2 to step three, that would be really peachy!

        Are you going to sell the Tent products? I didn't recognize the currency type on the Tent site, but if in Euros, they do seem pricey.
        Does your base DAC have a second clock that is removed for the Tent, or is the Tent inserted as an addition?

        
        
        

        ---

        • Re: Tentlink mod - Dave Davenport 08:55:04 06/24/04 (1)
          In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Pooge on June 23, 2004 at 22:52:53:

          Hi Pooge,

          You wrote: Now, if there is such a thing a universal transport that would use the same clock module as the DAC so we can swap the module from the DAC to the transport in going from step 2 to step three, that would be really peachy!

          I get a little confused when I read all the names of the products on the Tent site; there seems to be a lot of "X" in them. However from reading the info on the TentLink on Guido's site it appears that you can do just what you said. When going from step 2 to step 3 you move the VCXO module from the DAC to the transport. So you can go from 1 to 2 to 3 without any left over parts. Check the link below.

          You wrote: Does your base DAC have a second clock that is removed for the Tent, or is the Tent inserted as an addition?

          The way the basic Tent XO-DAC works on the RAKK DAC is as follows: The basic RAKK DAC has a clock line from the CS8416 to the PCM1794. This trace has a point where it can be opened. When you go from 1 to 2 you open this point and connect the clock from the CS8416 to the XO-DAC. The de-jittered clock from the XO-DAC goes to the PCM1794.

          The RAKK DAC is laid out such that the XO-DAC width and length and mounting holes match. The power, input and output points are positioned over each other so that you can mount the XO-DAC on the RAKK DAC and run short wires straight between them.

          Dave

          
          

          • http://www.tentlabs.com/Info/Articles/Tentlink.html   (Open in New Window)

          
          

          ---

          • Sounds good! - Pooge 11:09:10 06/24/04 (0)
            In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Dave Davenport on June 24, 2004 at 08:55:04:

            Yea, it took me a while to interpret the Tent site. Although the modules are switchable between boards, there's probably little chance you can use the same module in both the dac and a transport, to go from "2" to "3", unless the two applications happen to use the same clock frequency. (I say this with little knowledge or experience of what clocks are used in either your DAC or my transport.) Tent indicates they would take a swap if you ran into this problem, though.

            
            
            

            ---
        • Re: Tentlink mod - KevinC 03:38:35 06/24/04 (0)
          In Reply to: Re: Tentlink mod posted by Pooge on June 23, 2004 at 22:52:53:

          Yes, we are going to sell Tent Labs products and, yes, they are not cheap. However, with the addition of the XO-DAC you are configuring an already outstanding DAC for state-of-the-art-performance.

          The XO-DAC is inserted after the CS8416 and adds a second PLL. There isn't one otherwise.
          
          Kevin Carter
          K&K Audio
          www.kandkaudio.com
          
          

          ---

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Sonic Craft

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---