Taking orders :)

[saildoctor]

My 1984 CD player is starting to rattle louder!  My fingers are itching to order a Bottlehead DAC!

I think I will try buying a Raspberry Pi to use with it - looks like they have a lot of possibilities like adding a remote, touch screen or differrent kinds of displays, etc.

[Acclaim]

Subscribed!

[Natural Sound]

My 1984 CD player is starting to rattle louder!  My fingers are itching to order a Bottlehead DAC!

I think I will try buying a Raspberry Pi to use with it - looks like they have a lot of possibilities like adding a remote, touch screen or differrent kinds of displays, etc.

I love the Raspberry Pi. I have 5 of them. But they are not the best choice for streaming HiRes files to a USB DAC. Have a look here for a better small computer option. http://www.bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,5124.0.html

[BNAL]

There is another option for the Pi coming from HiFiBerry called the Digi which is a SPID/F that supports 24/192 out. I'm thinking this maybe a better option for using the Pi.

[SammyJ]

There is another option for the Pi coming from HiFiBerry called the Digi which is a SPID/F that supports 24/192 out. I'm thinking this maybe a better option for using the Pi.

I actually ordered a Hifiberry DAC.  I have a Raspberry Pi running Volumio.  Definitely needs work, but the project is almost brand new, so that's OK.  Pretty simple to get up and running and supports Airplay out of box.

[Mordicai]

I have 10 days left to return my Emotiva Dac, but it could still be a long wait for Docs Dac! I don't think I can go back to my Fiio E07 while waiting.

[Natural Sound]

I have 10 days left to return my Emotiva Dac, but it could still be a long wait for Docs Dac! I don't think I can go back to my Fiio E07 while waiting.

Well you definately need something to listen to while you are waiting. I've been waiting a couple of years now. Doc B won't release anything until its just right, as it should be. I hate it when companies release a product when it isnt exactly "ready for prime time." Bottlehead hasnt let me down yet.

A friend of mine loaned me his Emotiva Dac when he bought his Schiit Bitfrost. I wasn't overly impressed with the Emotiva. Don't get me wrong it had some good qualities but it didn't have much to offer over and above an old VA Labs DAC I was using at the time. I wound up with the MyDAC as my interim DAC while waiting for the bottlehead DAC to be released. Some people dont like the plastic case on the MyDAC but it doesn't matter to me. Its what's inside that counts and it sounds real good in my system.

[Acclaim]

Honestly, I hate to be the one to ask this as the answer surely relies on many decisions yet to be made but... Ballpark cost tier? Is this DAC catered to a Crack, S.E.X. or Mainline consumer?

EDIT: Sifted through the post and managed to find the answer I was looking for.

For those stumbling on this post recently without going through it thoroughly:

Due to the level of circuit sophistication the pre stuffed boards for this DAC are complex and quite expensive. I'm wrestling a bit with the pricing now that we have the project fairly well developed and I think the price will be under $1000. Probably not much under but we're squeezing it as hard as we can, short of hurting the sound.

[Doc B.]

The price is still a moving target, partly because we are still refining the battery supply size and charging circuit components. But it is definitely more of a trying to keep it under $1000 endeavor than a $250 kit. The DAC board itself is very expensive to have manufactured.

[Acclaim]

The price is still a moving target, partly because we are still refining the battery supply size and charging circuit components. But it is definitely more of a trying to keep it under $1000 endeavor than a $250 kit. The DAC board itself is very expensive to have manufactured.

Understood. Thank you for the prompt reply Doc.

[John Swenson]

I want people to remember that this is not a "cheap DAC", this is the best I know how to make right now. There is no skimping on anything to a price point. Fortunately I know how to get exceptionally good sound without having to spend thousands of dollars on a single part!

For example this DAC has 6 ultra low noise regulators, they are not cheap (about $7 a piece), but far less than other "top of the line" DACs that use $75 regulators that don't perform any better.  Or less expensive DACs that will use 2 $1.20 ones. It gives performance way better than the cheaper ones without the exorbitant prices of the other "statement" DACs.

Oh and Doc, I have a new filter that is significantly better than what you have now. I threw the one in your DAC together in an hour to have something you could hear. A couple weeks ago I spent some time with a friend and we tweaked the filter parameters to significantly improve the sound. By the time we were done it was the best he had ever heard. (and he has a special custom DAC that WAS state of the art)

John S.

[Doc B.]

Woo hoo! Can't wait to hear something even better than what I have now!

[Gerry E.]

I already have a pretty good CD/SACD player, a Marantz SA-11S3.  I'm thinking of running the analog outputs into the BeePre (just as I'm doing now), the digital output into the BH DAC and the output of that into a second input of the BeePre.  The point of this is to improve standard CD playback.  Questions:
 
1.  Is there any reason why this wouldn't work?

2.  Is it a correct assumption that the BH DAC will most likely sound better than the built-in DAC of the player?  John has already indicated that the SPDIF input will sound equally as good as the USB input.

Thanks.

Gerry         

[marantzfan]

Good lord, I am really starting to itch.  Please bring this to market soon!   

[pdxgrampa]

 
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