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RE: The DDDAC MK2 DAC is among the best for redbook listening. (nt)

Posted by Ryelands (A) on February 29, 2012 at 07:32:19

In Reply to: RE: The DDDAC MK2 DAC is among the best for redbook listening. (nt) posted by phofman on February 29, 2012 at 06:32:51:

It is true my cooling setup may not have been optimal

Thanks for an interesting reply. I didn't say that stacked TDA1543s could never have cooling issues, only that the DDDAC does not (though I'm familiar with the Mk 2 only).

My argument was actually that neither cooling ("stacking 8 together generates enough heat to 'boil' water) nor the price of the pesky things was relevant to the OP's point, the thread in general or, come to that, very much at all. They're among fmak's many idées fixe.

But you raise a fair point. Like any electronic device, the TDA1543 generates heat that has to be dissipated. If several are mounted on a PCB in the normal way, the copper traces and convection suffice. Obviously, if the chips are stacked, they don't. Adequate cooling is an essential part of any successful design here though, as you found out, not always easy to realise. (John Swenson did suggest a while ago that one reason for the design's attractive sound is that the chips run hot.)

If your prototype was running so hot that it was altering the value of the I/V resistor and distorting the O/P waveform, I'd argue that it was perhaps too flawed to provide reliable data. My build, which uses 12-chip towers with small heatsinks on top, can safely be left on 24/7.

I can't comment on your point about reconstruction filters - the NOS debate has been thoroughly aired by better minds than mine. What I can say is that I prefer the sound of the by-now-heavily-modified design to other devices I've heard (not many) and can't afford to change it in any case. (I like it so much that I might one day even make a box to put it in.)

If and when affordable and worthwhile hi-res albums become commonplace, I'll perhaps have another think.

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