Bottlehead Forum

Bottlehead Finished Products => Legacy Products => Bottlehead DAC => Topic started by: debk on April 22, 2017, 12:56:35 PM

Title: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: debk on April 22, 2017, 12:56:35 PM: I stopped using this DAC when I couldn't get it working with my computer. Since Windows incorporated a USB 2.0 audio driver I put t back into my system and it works flawlessly. I had been using a Cambridge Audio DACmagic in the interim.

Well the difference is night and day, It is much more detailed and richer sounding with a considerably more immersive sound stage. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the AMB labs gamma 3 DAC I am building

Deb
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: ToolGuyFred on May 09, 2017, 02:03:58 AM: What PSU are you using? The Bottlehead DAC sounded much better in my system when I went from mains to batteries.
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: debk on May 09, 2017, 07:31:13 AM: I think the BH sounds better than the gamma 3 DAC.

I never got the bottlebat and don't think it is available anymore. I am building a regulated power supply for it using the AMB labs sigma 11. Should have that up and running this weekend.

Debra
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: Johnnycopy on May 20, 2017, 06:02:51 AM: John swenson has a pnother option. He is at the computer audiophile site, original from me, response from mr swenson.

John, interested in hearing your thoughts on this power supply driving your bottlehead dac. I own your very fine BH and want to know what differences you hear.

thanks

I definitely use the LPS-1 with the BH DAC. Since I just have one LPS-1 I run a microRendu and the BHDAC off a Y cable from one LPS-1, it is probably not the best configuration but it is what I can do. Well right NOW I'm in the small apartment so the BHDAC is packed up in a POD, so I can't do anything with it right now.

As to how the LPS-1 improves things? Well the music just sound much more REAL, subtleties of intonation are much more readily apparent, the emotional content of some one playing or singing comes through much better. There is a change in how a lead singer relates to the rest of the musicians. Without the LPS-1 the lead singer stands out clearly and everybody else kind of seems blended together in the background. With the LPS-1 the background musicians don't blend together in the same way. You can clearly hear the individual musicians, it's not that they "stick out" but they are not artificially blended together.

The upshot is that I rarely listen to the sound, I just get caught up in the music.

John S.
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: Doc B. on May 20, 2017, 06:19:35 AM: John is indeed very happy with that power supply. We talked about it when he visited a few months ago. I haven't heard it but the reasoning behind it seems sound (pun intended). We don't have any Bottlebatts left, but another option is just to get a 6V SLA battery like we used in the Bottlebatt and figure out your own power cable and battery charger.
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: Mike B on May 15, 2018, 03:17:23 PM: I forgot too. Tested it when it arrived (first run) and haven't run it again until today. Major system rework with new preamp, got my turntable going again, patched in the TV (stereo only) and let the tunes run.

Last night I reveled in the sound of vinyl and today I reveled in the sound of the BH DAC. It was like the best vinyl sound w/o the pops and clicks. Very nice and very smooth. Glad I picked one up when I could - :)
Title: Re: I forgot how good this DAC sounds
Post by: mcandmar on May 16, 2018, 11:20:47 AM: I've been using mine daily in my speaker setup since i got it, nothing else i own comes close. ....wish i had another one for my headphone setup!