GIESELER KONVERTER (DAC/Preamp) Official release.

[Gieseler Audio 1,867]

Finally it is finished! Sorry for the huge delay but I have had a ton of other things happening over the last six months which caused the delay.

OK down to some details.

Inputs Digital                      USB, Coax & optical.

Inputs Analogue               2  x  RCA

Outputs                               1  x  XLR  + 2  x  RCA

DAC Chip                             Asahi Kasei Microdevices AK4497EQ

Output level is variable by remote control with a maximum of 3v RMS or 4.5v RMS depending on a PCB gain jumper setting. I find these levels work well with most power amps but I’m happy to reconfigure them to a custom output if required. The unit has full remote control of all functions except main power on/off. Settings, filter, input etc information is via a large OLED graphics display. There is a main menu with all the info & also sub menus using much larger characters eg volume so you can read it from across the room. Also a display off mode.  The muting system is very sophisticated so no pops at all during sample rate change & DSD PCM format changes. At this stage there will only be one version which uses two additional Jensen transformers for the output of the DAC chip. In comparison to the usual op-amp stage the transformer was miles ahead in terms of sound quality.

Cost  -  Unfortunately the build time is massive with three separate pcbs, inter-board wiring & lots of manual chassis & panel work + four expensive Jensen transformers so ie ended up  $4k. This may change a little when we streamline production  & have some more accurate build times.

OK that’s all for now as I just wanted to get the basic info out there ASAP. Down the track a bit I will supply more tech info & some measurements.  Feel free to ask any questions.

Oops – almost forgot – how does it sound you ask? – bloody fantastic but of course I’m biased!

[Cafad 3,122]

Nicely done Clay.  Looks a million bucks too.

 

Is the "HT Bypass" effectively a "DAC out"?

[Gieseler Audio 1,867]

Thanks Cafad,

no the HT Bypass sockets connect directly to the main output sockets when the unit is powered off. Normally you would have the HT bypass sockets connected to say the line out of a AV receiver so you could share the power amp between two system if that makes sense.

 

[thathifiguy 604]

This looks incredible Clay, brilliant job!


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[Jventer 1,592]

It is looking fantastic!
 

[woadl 109]

It looks very professional, I love the case

looking forward to hearing one

[Ancientflatulence 1,803]

                     Clayton Gieseler  ............... GENIUS!!!!                

[~Spyne~ 1,107]

Looks beautiful Clay.

My order is in, as previously discussed I miss having something (MUCH) better than the internal DAC of my SBT.

[qwerter 650]

Congratulations with another great product! Looks fabulous! 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore 10,067]

Looks great Clay.

Out of interest, can the outputs be run simultaneously (for example, the RCA outs to a power amp and the XLR to a sub)?

 

Edit: just seen there's a switch there so I'm guessing the answer is "no"

Edited February 18, 2017 by Sir Sanders Zingmore