Klein DAC II

[Gieseler Audio]

Soon!

Edited March 8, 2016 by Gieseler Audio

[oldrose]

Nice!

 

What will the pricing be?

[Gieseler Audio]

$1000

delivered

[matt200sr]

I was expecting an integrated preamplifier !

Or is it?

[Gieseler Audio]

Hi Matt,

no this is just a straight DAC but we will be following it up shorty with a larger version. It will have a high quality class A buffered variable line out & probably additional digital inputs.

Perfect to connect directly to a power amp.

The original plan was going to be a DAC/Pre with analogue inputs as well but I think extra digital inputs is a better way to go.

[blybo]

The original plan was going to be a DAC/Pre with analogue inputs as well but I think extra digital inputs is a better way to go.

 

Lots of us have turntables! Lack of at least analogue input rules this out for me.

[matt200sr]

Hi Matt,

no this is just a straight DAC but we will be following it up shorty with a larger version. It will have a high quality class A buffered variable line out & probably additional digital inputs.

Perfect to connect directly to a power amp.

The original plan was going to be a DAC/Pre with analogue inputs as well but I think extra digital inputs is a better way to go.

Matt likes this

[Gieseler Audio]

The analogue inputs could be still be retained as a option when ordering if there was sufficient interest.

[~Spyne~]

So this is not the DAC/Pre? (as you know, I'm quite keen for this)

 

 

Either way, I still very much like this. How does this differ/improve from the original, Clay?

Also, any plans to move away from the very '80s on/off toggle?

 

Examples;

Edited March 8, 2016 by ~Spyne~

[Marc]

Yeah with @@~Spyne~ on the switch, the Billet buttons are great.

 

@@joz - another contender for you

[thewaves]

New AKM chippery??

[Ancientflatulence]

Vewwy Pwetty ................... well done Clay!!!!!!! ......... :)

[joz]

Hmmmm, tasty.

[Gieseler Audio]

I use the toggle switch because it is soldered directly to the PCB - so no wires

The other switches look nice but need to be fastened to the front panel & then require flying wires which is messy & a double process.

At the moment everything is on the PCB so it just slides in & then the panels go on. Good for service too so the whole thing just slides out & can be operated/tested/modded without the case.

The other option is just eliminate the switch & have remote power on/off. It would mean it would be in standby & using power even when switched off though.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Gieseler Audio

[todagt]

Remote on/off with 12v trigger out would be excellent!

Nice work Clay

[SamMac]

  looks awesome Clay, love the digital display , cant wait to see inside shots

[Gieseler Audio]

The audio circuitry is very similar to the Klein but all the digital supplies have an extra regulation stage so there is better isolation between analogue & digital supply lines. Also there is an extra filter called "super slow roll off" which is rather interesting.
Because the filters can be switched via the remote it is much easier to hear the differences. Sit it the sweet spot, crank it up a bit & flick through the filter settings. With DSD you have 64 128 & 256 - no 512 until the AK4497. Not a big deal as I've yet to find much DSD 512 content. With DSD there is also bypass mode which skirts around quite a bit of internal circuitry within in DAC chip itself. We spent a lot of time on the muting to eliminate pops/ticks but you still get the odd one say if you jump mid stream on a DSD track to a PCM track.
The good thing is it is easy to swap the chip so if we improve the software down the track I can always send out upgraded chips. Beginning to feel like Ted Smith now ha ha.
Yes I agree the toggle switch looks a bit out of place so maybe remote power on & 12v sense out - good idea todagt
The output is fixed at 2v RMS but as we have software control it would be possible to utilise the DAC's internal digital attenuator.
We may make a variable output version available with a different remote if there is enough interest. A little bit risky though as the DSD bypass mode is on the remote so you could go from low level to max with one click, anyway something to think about.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Gieseler Audio

[sleach]

Looks nice! Will it come with balanced outputs?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ozcall]

Hey ! , I like the toggle switches

[Gieseler Audio]

No balanced out on this one but we may make it an option on the bigger version.

OK I might need to get a toggle switch vote.

[StevenZ]

Looks great, Clay! I think in this case the toggle is a necessary requirement for ease of service and build. Perhaps another option for those who dont like it would be to move the toggle to the rear panel and use some sort of standby mode instead? I personally like the engaging feeling of a solid toggle. One must be careful when moving all controls to a remote especially if the user/owner happens to misplace the remote it renders the gear completely inoperable until a replacement is sourced.

[Jventer]

I have the Klein SE Dac. In the beginning looking at the the toggle switches irritated the living daylights out of me. Now I just don't look and it does not bother me. 

From a visual point of view as well as a OCD point of view I would not choose a toggle switch in the front. If it is at the back I think it would be much better.

The remote is a great idea!

[chu]

What are the specs?

Thanks

Chu

[A J]

. A little bit risky though as the DSD bypass mode is on the remote so you could go from low level to max with one click, anyway something to think about.

 

Having had this happen to me recently after one of the kids was fiddling with system - this is something worth avoiding !!

[Suopermanni]

Oh cool, a new Klein DAC!!!

 

What DAC chip does it have or is it the same as original Klein DAC?

 

Is this superseding the original Klein DAC or is it still going to be available?