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RAKK Dac: What CD transport are you using?

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I am nearing the completion of my RAKK DAC/Combo linestage and wondered what everybody is using as transport with their RAKK DAC's. Do I remember correctly that Dave or Kevin said a fancy transport is not needed because the RAKK jitter reduction makes it relatively imune to transport effects? Are you using a fancy transport anyway? What would be a cost effective transport/CD/DVD player to use with the RAKK DAC?
Thanks,
Francois

Follow Ups:

Re: RAKK Dac: What CD transport are you using? - Guido Tent 05:33:30 08/06/05 (0)
Hi
Thought the Rakk DAC is quite imune (especially we the additional PLL), it is my experience that the quality of the transport still ripples through........
All can be explained by tghe jitter level at the SPDIF output. Parameters affecting this are CD player power supply, architecture and layoutm, and the master clock jitter, together with the electrical / jitter properties of the actual SPDIF output
I myself use a heavilly modified TEAC VRDS10, but many other drives are out there.......
If you want non-plus-ultra, consider the use of TentLink, as described by Gary Dahl in this forum.
all the best,
- http://www.TentLabs.com (Open in New Window)
Why not this? - rwalton 06:04:13 05/10/05 (23)
http://www.daisy-laser.nl/homeoptics/index.html
Kevin has seen one locally that was constructed using a power supply he designed. You can check with him about it. I am building one too using Kevin's design, but it's not finished yet, so I can't comment about the sound. Good luck!
Rick
- Economics - hoped to get away with cheaper transport - Francois G 08:15:12 05/10/05 (19)
  I have been looking at and drooling over the Philips CD-PROM VAU1254 based transport-kit at Homeoptics - but with all the goodies, clocks and shipping cost this will work out about $600 for the bare bones parts without power supply for a DIY assembly of a transport. I have also looked at the everything-provided kit being sold by Digital & Analogue Audio Logic for $799 (+ $45 shipping) in a nicely made, heavy weight enclosure. Looks very nice
  Because I hope to "get away" with investing less than $800 in a transport, I would like to know your opinions of a reasonable minimum cost transport to use with the RAKK DAC.
  - Digital & Analogue Audio Logic (Open in New Window)
  - Re: Economics - hoped to get away with cheaper transport - AnandR 12:41:49 05/11/05 (17)
    Hi,
    That Digital and Analogue Audio Logic transport looks way cool. I think its worth the money too. Add a Super Clock to it and your done!
    Something for me to think about, hmm.....
    Anand.
    - I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! - AnandR 07:04:30 05/15/05 (13)
      Hi guys,
      My check to Ken Shih of Digital and Analogue Audio Logic is in the mail. It looks like an awesome kit, and Ken is an absolute gentleman. He answers e-mails as fast as Kevin C. does which is a true complement! With the transport, I should have a real nice setup with my RAKK dac. BTW, Kevin, I am planning on ordering the Tent labs XO DAC clock from you soon. Do you recommend a separate power supply for the Tent labs clock or not? If so, I can use my existing power supply for the Tent Labs clock and then purchase a de facto RAKK dac power supply from you.
      Best,
      Anad.
      - Re: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! - divo 07:17:29 08/16/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! posted by AnandR on May 15, 2005 at 07:04:30:
        
        I have built the same kit and it is superb, both as a stand-alone CDP or even better as a transport into my tube based RAKK DAC.
      - Re: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! - KevinC 08:28:45 05/15/05 (11)
        
        In Reply to: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! posted by AnandR on May 15, 2005 at 07:04:30:
        
        You can use a separate supply or not. The XO-DAC has its own very carefully designed low noise PS regulation, so there is very little interaction.
        
        Kevin Carter
        K&K Audio
        www.kandkaudio.com
        
        Re: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! - AnandR 11:31:24 05/15/05 (10)
        
        In Reply to: Re: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! posted by KevinC on May 15, 2005 at 08:28:45:
        
        Ok...so I'll upgrade slowly. I'll get some Jensen 4 pole electrolytics and Rubycon ZA/ZL caps (or Sanyo Os-Cons) for my stock power supply I have in the RAKK dac to clean things up a bit so that it can supply both the RAKK dac and the XO-DAC clock. My stock power transformer should be able to handle the extra current since its only about 30mA more for the XO-DAC clock. So the total current draw is 130mA including the RAKK dac. With 100mA draw my ps puts out about 12.7V. With the extra 30mA it should drop to a perfect 12V.
        And in a couple months...I'll add your power supply and have TRUE separation!
        Thanks for the honest advice,
        Anand.
        
        I got me the true power supply as well... - Bas Horneman 13:00:25 05/15/05 (9)
        
        In Reply to: Re: I ordered the CD-Pro2M full kit! posted by AnandR on May 15, 2005 at 11:31:24:
        
        and it beats mine handsomly. Even though I used the same IC's (or virtually the same) ..I used different caps etc... the MR RAKK dac psu is worth every penny!
        I am actually very suprised at the improvement. Must be the final BG...
        I went from battery to my own MR psu..to the official one..each step was an improvement. (Don't ask me why anything would beat a battery)
        It is actually so good that Raleigh Audio and K&K should REFUSE to sell their DAC without it. It just does not make sense for people to buy their stuff and not get the best from it...blaming the DAC rather than their own PSU.
        Regards,
        Bas
        
        To infinity and beyond!!!
        
        Re: I got me the true power supply as well... - AnandR 06:50:01 05/16/05 (8)
        
        In Reply to: I got me the true power supply as well... posted by Bas Horneman on May 15, 2005 at 13:00:25:
        
        Bas,
        I agree with you wholeheartedly. I looked into this matter myself. The K&K audio power supply will easily supply the current needed for the RAKK dac (100mA) and exact voltage at 12V. My supply actually is 12.7V at 100mA current draw. If I use it just for the Tent Labs clock which requires only 30mA, the output voltage will increase, but the Tent Labs clock can get an input anywhere from 10V to 25V which is cool. I can have my cake and eat it too. When I am ready to upgrade, I'll just use my existing ps for the Tent Labs clock and use K&K Audio's power supply for the RAKK dac. In the meantime, I'll upgrade my power supply with Jensen 4 pole electrolytics an Rubycon ZA/ZL caps.
        Best of both worlds,
        Anand.
        
        The RAKK PSU has actually been calculated - Bas Horneman 10:14:52 05/16/05 (7)
        
        In Reply to: Re: I got me the true power supply as well... posted by AnandR on May 16, 2005 at 06:50:01:
        
        with the Tent Clock in mind...in other words it has extra current...in fact I soldered an extra load in because I don't have the Tent clock yet. And I did not want the 431 to have to shunt to much to ground.
        But ofcourse ..the choice is yours...you can feed the tent clock with it's own psu.
        I'm very curious to hear what you think of your new transport AND what you think of the TENT clock..
        Regards,
        Bas
        To infinity and beyond!!!
        
        Re: The RAKK PSU has actually been calculated - AnandR 14:32:26 05/16/05 (6)
        
        In Reply to: The RAKK PSU has actually been calculated posted by Bas Horneman on May 16, 2005 at 10:14:52:
        
        Bas,
        I'm interested to hear what the Tent Clock does in my RAKK dac as well! I spoke with Ken, the distributor of the Philips transport and he said they will have their own dejitter module out by late June for the transport itself. But...you can add a Tent Clock to this transport on your own, its all detailed on the Daisy laser site (http://www.daisy-laser.nl/homeoptics/), however its somewhat of a hack job on the transport circuitry and if you screw up a little bit...
        Best,
        Anand.
        
        What did the Bybee's do for your sound? - Bas Horneman 07:15:48 05/17/05 (5)
        
        In Reply to: Re: The RAKK PSU has actually been calculated posted by AnandR on May 16, 2005 at 14:32:26:
        
        Regards,
        Bas
        To infinity and beyond!!!
        
        Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? - AnandR 10:57:28 05/17/05 (4)
        
        In Reply to: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? posted by Bas Horneman on May 17, 2005 at 07:15:48:
        
        Bas,
        Cleans it up. Blacker silence, more decay, smoother overall. Probably even more effective on the digital input in the RAKK dac, but I haven't experimented with it yet.
        Expensive tweak though. So really, if you want to just add some frosting to the cake, otherwise...
        Anand.
        
        Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? - Dave Davenport 15:25:25 05/17/05 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? posted by AnandR on May 17, 2005 at 10:57:28:
        
        Hi Anand,
        Interesting. So wha did you do with the Bybee and what was the result?
        Dave
        
        Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? - AnandR 17:13:45 05/17/05 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? posted by Dave Davenport on May 17, 2005 at 15:25:25:
        
        Dave,
        You'll see on my RAKK dac on your webpage that I have hooked it up to AC neutral and AC hot. This is usually the first place they recommend you hook up the Bybees in electronics. You can also use them on the analogue outputs and digital inputs. And you can use them on hot side of speaker leads (right at the terminals of the driver). However, the explanation that I read from Jack Bybee's website sounds like *flooby dust*, and the Bybees aren't cheap at $75 each (lowest prices are at Parts Connexion, VH Audio and Mpercy I believe). Its still for experimenters. Again, blacker silence, smoother overall and a little bit more musical. Just icing on the cake, but not some grand slam wack you in the head difference. This might be the type of tweak that is cumulative, but then again...you wonder where your money is going. Not to dissuade you from trying it :-) You might want to contact Jack Bybee and get a pair (at a discount) just for experimenting since you are a manufacturer (I know Kevin isn't into these types of tweaks but he is more than happy to hear about them and more than happy to have his customers give them a try as long as they are safe...).
        On that note...I think Guido's Tent Clock will be a much greater upgrade...and hence is offered as a product by K&K audio.
        YMMV, IMHO, etc...
        Anand.
        
        Bybee Quantum Purifier (Open in New Window)
        
        Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? - Dave Davenport 20:29:48 05/17/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? posted by AnandR on May 17, 2005 at 17:13:45:
        
        Hi Anand,
        Thanks for the explanation. I have heard about the Bybee products but have not yet had a chance to audition them. They are pricey and there are already a lot of things on my list of things to try.
        Dave
        
        Yeah out of my price range...thanks for the response. - Bas Horneman 12:55:34 05/17/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: What did the Bybee's do for your sound? posted by AnandR on May 17, 2005 at 10:57:28:
        
        Cheers,
        Bas
        To infinity and beyond!!!
    - Is there a link to the - rwalton 19:48:16 05/11/05 (2)
      Digital and Analogue Audio Logic transport? I googled but came up empty. (Probably too tired to see it.) Thanks!
      Rick
      - The link is in Francois's post. nt - Bas Horneman 01:33:59 05/12/05 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Is there a link to the posted by rwalton on May 11, 2005 at 19:48:16:
        
        nt
        To infinity and beyond!!!
        
        Thanks Bas! - rwalton 18:46:20 05/12/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: The link is in Francois's post. nt posted by Bas Horneman on May 12, 2005 at 01:33:59:
        
        I guess I really was too tired to see it!
        Rick
  - Re: Economics - hoped to get away with cheaper transport - rwalton 09:05:20 05/10/05 (0)
    "I would like to know your opinions of a reasonable minimum cost transport to use with the RAKK DAC."
    I certainly wish I was knowledgeable enough to make a suggestion. I have so little experience in this area, I don't even have an opinion of my own! You are right though about the Homeoptics Phillips transport - it is not cheap (and it has gotten more expensive in the US due to the weakness of the US $ vs. the Euro). Although it isn't as complicated as building an amp from scratch, it still requires a significant body of work too!
- Re: Why not this? - divo 07:16:36 05/10/05 (2)
  Thanks for the tip! Do let us know how it sounds!
  - How it sounds - KevinC 04:25:15 05/12/05 (1)
    I designed an over-the-top PS for the Philips CDMPro2M transport for one of the guys (Fernando) here (referred to in Rick's post). He put a RAKK dac and his own active output stage similar to the Raleigh Audio kit with it in two chassis (the PS consumed one chassis). If you want to see it, it is shown on the Daisylaser website at the link below. Sonically it is slightly better sounding to my ears than my own Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 plus RAKK dac Passive Output Stage implementation. It is smoother and more "analog-like". Neither of us is currently using an XO-DAC, so there is room for more improvement, yet. Fernando also chose to use the S/PDIF output on the CD-Pro2M for simplicity's sake. If you want to "hack" the RAKK dac you could use the !2S output and perhaps have better sound that way, too.
    If you have the cash and the time, this is a nice project.
    
    Kevin Carter
    K&K Audio
    www.kandkaudio.com
    - http://www.daisy-laser.nl/homeoptics/photogallery/page_01.htm (Open in New Window)
    - Re: How it sounds - divo 06:21:26 05/16/05 (0)
      Kevin,
      what are the properties of the I2S interface which might produce better performance over the the SPDIF or AES/EBU?
      Where can I read more about I2S?
      -james
Re: RAKK Dac: What CD transport are you using? - AnandR 19:34:49 05/09/05 (0)
Hi,
I'm using a Philips 963SA that has been extensively modified in the power supply (Black Gates, Schottky diodes, ACME outlet, etc...) and the digital section has been modified by using a different digital input transformer from Lundahl, along with Homegrown Audio wire and Canare digital output RCA. I will be adding either a Superclock 3 or Guido Tent's new Clock for the 963SA (Guido are you out there, can you chime in?) very soon. The transport has also been extensively damped on the inside with sorbothane, and RFI absorbing sheets. The power cord is a DIY VH Audio Flavor 1.
To make it short, I believe the RAKK dac has enough resolution to tell you the difference between different transports. My absolute dream would be a CEC TL51 or CEC TL2 extensively modified with a new clock, power supply additions, etc...and of course anything else that Steve Nugent at Empirical Audio can squeeze in there. However...he likes the Sony DVP S7700.
Best,
Anand.
I'm using a cheap dvd player... - Bas Horneman 15:24:23 05/09/05 (0)
but was not really satisfied. But now I know that was because I was using my own PSU for the RAKK DAC.
I ordered the "official" RAKK dac PSU and I've just about run it in....and am happy about the sound now.....so I guess I can truly say that a cheap DVD player can make the RAKK show it prowess. But would shoot for something that is better than a bargain bin cd player. Because is evident I think from my little adventure...a small improvement can sometimes make a big difference.
I could not advise what would be a decent transport unfortunately...see if you can try a few out..that would be the best way I think.
Cheers,
Bas

To infinity and beyond!!!

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