Development

Final W-DAC 4493 development update

by nihtila February 29, 2020

written by nihtila

Finally it seems W-DAC shows superb and most of all consistent performance across boards. I needed to have a break for a few months from all of this as I got quite frustrated after manufacturing a batch of boards and then not meeting the performance I’d seen in tests before.

February 29, 2020 5 comments

Wee DAC update 5 – almost there!

by nihtila August 19, 2019

written by nihtila

Progress has been slow due to other things in life but last few weeks have been busy on finalising everything. More measurements have been done and PCBs are finalised. First batch of boards is in production and should be available in September.

August 19, 2019 5 comments

Development Wee DAC

Wee DAC update 4 – v1.1 boards

by nihtila May 11, 2019

written by nihtila

Measurements on slightly larger v1.1 boards:

Superb performance using the best configuration, peaking at -112 dB to -114 dB THD+N
Excellent performance using cheaper components
Lots of changes on PCBs

May 11, 2019 7 comments

Development Wee DAC

Wee DAC update 3 – New LDO and AK4493 tests, and new boards designed

by nihtila April 13, 2019

written by nihtila

Follow-up on AK4490 test board measurements

Comparing cheap LDOs to superb LT3042
- LP2992 shows excellent performance
AK4493 vs. AK4490
- Even better performance
- Almost pin compatible
New v1.1 boards in production
- Slightly larger but still ‘wee’
- Supports AK4490 and AK4493, and different LDOs
- Possibly two or three assembly versions with different price and performance

April 13, 2019 16 comments

Development Wee DAC

Wee DAC update 2 – Improving AK4490 performance on test board

by nihtila February 10, 2019

written by nihtila

Measurements and experiments carried out on a more spacious AK4490 test board

Better understanding on improving AK4490 performance
Encouraging results regarding Wee DAC performance goals
- Massive boost of 10-15 dB in THD+N at low frequencies
- THD+N at 1 kHz measured beyond -110 dB on test board
- Does not mean Wee DAC will achieve these though
Modifications will increase BOM cost so need to consider the benefits and find a good compromise

February 10, 2019 7 comments

Development Wee DAC

Wee DAC update 1 – First measurements

by nihtila January 13, 2019

written by nihtila

Summary of initial Wee DAC tests:

Estimated performance:
- SNR and Dynamic Range: around 120 dBA
- THD+N: at least -105 dB @ 1 kHz, 0 dBFS
This performance is not achievable on the first/current PCB revision; re-spin required
More performance studies on AK4490 will be carried out before PCB re-spin

January 13, 2019 3 comments

Development News Wee DAC

Coming soon – Wee DAC sneak peek

by nihtila January 2, 2019

written by nihtila

Currently on test bench is a new stackable modular DAC design, Wee DAC (maybe should have called it Tower DAC!), consisting of several modules:

W-Input – S/PDIF input board with one coaxial and one Toslink input, and I2S output
W-DAC – High performance 768 kHz 32-bit DAC with I2S input and single-ended analog output
W-Output XLR – Balanced output module
Several base board options, such as W-Breakout for signal breakout and W-PSU for individual power supplies

January 2, 2019 8 comments