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OT: DIY DACs or CDPs?

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Folks:
This will probably come to nothing, but is there a DIY or kit DAC or CD player designed for the novice? I cannot read a schematic but can follow directions (hence my love for Doc's manuals). The CD player currently running into my Foreplay is starting to die and I figure "What the hell, I bet I could build a CD player or DAC, too!"
Can anyone help me prove myself right?
If there ain't such a beast, can anyone recommend a CD player that is ripe for modding and a website where those mods are described in painful detail?
Thanks,
Scott

Follow Ups:

Of course you're right ! - Ian L 23:26:30 09/26/02 (1)
Scott , There are a few DAC kits around . The Audio Note is higher priced , and there are a few lower priced ones .
BUT what I really think is " Why would you go out and buy a brand new player thinking of modding it when you've got an old one that's just begging for it ?" If it's starting to die anyway , it can only mostly get better, and it's one you can make a few mistakes on without it making you feel too bad
.... There are lots of tweaks you can do very simply . Stuff like damping, better wiring , improving the power supply , adding output or input transformers , better clocks , upgrading chips etc .It's all either stuff that comes with directions or mods that the guys on the boards will be happy to help you with .

there are lots of pages ...it would probably help if you post what kind of player you've got and ask if anyone's got suggestions for working on it . I've never spent time over on the digital Asylum but I'd bet you could get some help over there too.

...........On the other hand , Scott Nixon's DacAttack looks interesting . That together with a raw transport on a home built power supply could be cool ...
...he even talks about dropping the DAC right into a Foreplay .
- DacAttack page
- ditto. - chiggy 08:16:56 09/27/02 (0)
  its so cheap you might as well try it.
  from my experience, use panasonic fc lytics all around or hunt down some sanyo oscons. the "sound" can easily be changed to your liking with parts swapping and even output filters to get rid of that nasty spike post 20k. use a 2-7 aH 12v sla batteries and pick up a cheap charger from batterymart.com. switch between charge and on with a well built dpdt..fuse the sla, consider filtering with a small choke or some capacitors if you'd like before the board.
  i wouldn't incorporate it into the fp as the currents and voltages flowing around the dac may face interference. also, the sound is very unlike typical bitstream dacs - more forward, less bass, but the mids are crystal clear and the sheer rhythm is quite nice.
  best,
  chiggy
Sheldon Stokes's tube DAC - funkwrench 13:50:19 09/26/02 (2)
nt
- Tube DAC
- Re: Sheldon Stokes's tube DAC - KGW 17:29:15 09/26/02 (1)
  Most of the chips are close to impossible to get nowadays. He said that he's designing a new one though
  
  KGW
  
  My DIY Page
  - Re: Sheldon Stokes's tube DAC - dougigs 12:58:27 09/30/02 (0)
    I built the Stokes tube DAC earlier this year (chips were hard to find; Sheldon Stokes helped me get a couple by bulk-ordering them -- might be worth asking).
    Well worth the effort. An enormous, not subtle but very dramatic audio difference over my mid-fi, op-amp DACs (I have an AMC that is quite nice but nothing like this). The Crystal Semi chips provide much more resolution and separation than conventional DAC chips; Sheldon's SRPP output/current-to-voltage converter is a solid, minimalist circuit with an excellent PSRR, perfect for driving an amp directly (with a nice pot/attenuator in between).
    Well worth studying his design closely. Sheldon Stokes is a master of power-supply design, and this is the greatest strength of his design. It contains eight separate, regulated supplies, separate transformers for the digital and analog sections, and a very elegant regulated V+ circuit for the tubes. It's a nice testbed for 6922 tubes, by the way: Very audible differences between lesser and greater tubes.
    Keep your eyes on his site -- he offers a great way in to very high end tube-based CD audio, and a DAC like this will bring your CD very close to top-end phono sound.
Re: OT: DIY DACs or CDPs? - TPM 13:09:03 09/26/02 (0)
The ART DI/O is a fun DAC to mod, can be a pretty good little DAC, and is only $130 to boot. The attached link will take you to that forum, and although there isn't instructions on par with Doc's you shouldn't have too much difficulty figuring it out. For simplicity I have done the "transformer" mod route rather than the "bias op amps to class A" route. (details in the files or links section of the DI/O mods group home page)
T
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DIOmods/
Re: OT: DIY DACs or CDPs? - notop 11:47:45 09/26/02 (0)
You could check out dyicable.com. They sell LC audio upgrades for various CD players. I modified my Rotel with good results. The LC audio site had excellent pictures & instructions.
Mods include high quality clock, op amps and caps.
Bill.
Re: OT: DIY DACs or CDPs? - dcole 11:36:03 09/26/02 (0)
check out www.diyaudio.com there is a digital forum with lots of good info. There is a diy kit for a CD player available ( I don't remember the name off hand) and it is discussed in detail on the site, but I'm not sure it is really a beginners kit, it is pretty involved, but I'm sure you could do it, there is plenty of info at diyaudio.
Doug

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