matth

Maybe, but first the DSD DAC only and then the combo. Matt

A second thought: When Clays DSD DAC comes in a few months then are three Klein DACs on the market. Which one shall be combined with a preamp? Matt

Yes, absolutely! IMHO. I see no advantage to have a combined DAC/Preamp. Both the DAC and the Preamp are small and reasonably priced and the sound quality is certainly not better with a combo. Matt

Hi Bill, do you drive the BHK directly without preamp? Thanks Matt

Clay, sorry for this layman question: The prices for your outstanding products are in USD or AUD? Thanks Matt

Hi Clay, there is an ongoing discussion about the AK4490 at whatsbestforum. It seems to be one of the best - if not the best - DSD DAC chips on the market: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?18896-AKM-AK4490eq-DAC-chip Very interesting is the DSD Direct Bypass Mode. Matt

+1 Congratulations Clay, all looks superb. I love the versions with the black panels. All the best Matt

At the very beginning every recording is a transfer from analogue sources. Certainly the PCM recordings from SL are excellent, but you do not need these DSD transfers from PCM, IMO you can let HQPlayer do the conversion from PCM to higher rate DSD.Matt

Thomas, nearly all DSD files from Sound Liason are converted from PCM. Matt

Hi Clay, one suggestion: http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com Matt

Clay, now the AK4137 SRC is available and I would like to make a suggestion regarding your upcoming DSD DAC. What do you think about to design the DSD DAC with the AK4137 and without any additional chip for DA conversion? You could convert all the digital input signals to DSD256 with the AK4137 and use a (first) order LPF only for conversion to analog. I am very curious about your opinion. Matt

Hi Clay,I found it here: http://www.akm.com/akm/en/product/featured/premiumaudio/ The bubble size shows the sound quality. Besides that I found no additional information about AK4497. BTW, any news about the AK4137 SRC? Kind regards Matt

Clay,there is a top-of-the-line chip, the AK4497 in the pipeline. On the AKM homepage they rank the sound quality in descending order as follows: 4497 4495S 4495 4490 No specifications yet, but THD and S/N are the best for AK4497. IMO, if it has DSD256 support it is certainly the best one for your DSD DAC. Matt

Interesting, I did not know that. Matt

I like very much the black front / rear panels. KR Matt

Clay, what do you think about AK4495 vs. AK4490? Is the former the better one? For DSD playback the AK4490 does DSD256, the AK4495 is able to do DSD128. Which one do you want to use for your upcoming Klein DSD DAC? KR Matt

Clay,good luck and all the best, the chance is great that it will be the worlds first DAC with both AK4137 and AK4490 and most certainly without any competition at its price point and above. KR Matt

Thank you Clay for thinking about,IMO there are three benefits: You get rid of both the input switch, which somehow degrades the sound quality and the WM8804 with all the SPDIF processing. Further, you are not depending on a software player for converting the files. If an external software converter is better than the AK4137 it is possible to bypass the AK4137 anyway. KR Matt

Thinking of prototyping up a DAC using this SRC up front just for fun. probably combine it with the new AKM Verita 4490EQ DAC which I have just designed a PCB for. What do you think? Hi Clay, the idea to combine the AK4137 SRC with the AK4490 in an upcoming Klein DSD DAC is in my view most appealing. The AK4137 is able to convert all PCM and DSD content to DSD256 and the AK4490 in your DSD DAC will do an excellent job to convert DSD256 to analogue. To keep costs at a minimum I would like to propose to get rid of both SPDIF inputs and design a pure USB DAC. That would be the perfect DAC for me. KR Matt

Thank you guys for the warm welcome. I am a DSD aficionado and looking for the upcoming aussie made Gieseler Klein DAC2 with DSD support. I like the Klein DAC version with the black front panel. @betocool: yes, it is nice to have Strasbourg and Freiburg a few miles away. KR Matt

Hi to all, and greetings from Germany. I think this forum is very inspiring and I like to be a part of it. All the best matth