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Showing 1 of 177 conversations about:
SMSL Q5 Pro DAC/Amp
Elsid
697
Apr 26, 2017
Can anyone tell me what the Dac chip is? Thanks
Gugliermo
1317
May 9, 2017
ElsidYes, please, can anyone tell us which DAC chip is used in this machine? The ad makes no mention of it.
cyberibe
9
May 11, 2017
ElsidUSB Receiver chip - Savi Bravo SA9023 up to 96kHz sample rate
S/PDIF Interface receiver - Cirrus Logic CS8422 24-bit/192kHz sample rate
PWM/Ampfier Circuit - Texas Instruments TAS5508 PWM Processor/TAS5342 Mosfet Power Stage
Subwoofer active filter OpAmp NE5532
Gugliermo
1317
May 11, 2017
cyberibeThank you Cyberibe. I guess I'm a little confused. No DAC chip. Else where on line someone mentioned there are no DAC chips, all digital. My old analog brain though that if you hook up speakers to it, it is sending an analog signal to those speaker terminals, so somewhere the digital signal has been converted to analog.... [-=
cyberibe
9
May 12, 2017
GugliermoThat is correct. No DAC chip in terms of digital to pure analog conversion. In the simplest of terms, the TI 5508 provides the DAC function by converting the bitstream into a waveform. But it is not categorized as a "DAC" since it's PWM output is still a digital representation of an analog sine wave and it needs it's sister chip (TAS5342) to complete the job. But the 5508 also does much more. Paired with the amplification stage IC, it is the entire audio system. It has integrated functions of digital audio processing, mixing, separation of the digital audio stream into 8 individual PWM stream to pass on to the amplification stage. 8 channel individual volume control, dynamic range compression modes, loudness compensation. It's really a 5.1 processor and SMSL (in this implementation) used only R/L/Sub. The T5508 can't work alone and it can't be matched to just any amplification stage. The TI chipset works together since the PWM output of the 5508 is not something you can listen to... It needs to be smoothed out and amplified. The amplifier chip implementation in this Q5 could also be considered "de-tuned" for reliability and robustness since the specs go all the way to 100W/ch @4ohms with a higher supply voltage. Not that you could just plug in a massive brick to this and get higher output since other circuitry relies on the 19v source. A good search reference is TI Purepath audio. Their concept was to and mix and match devices in a 2 chip system to satisfy 5.1, 2.1 and 2 ch applications at multiple power levels by separating the amplification stage. Also note this chipset was introduced in 2007 and is currently not recommended by TI in new designs. Nevertheless, it still remains as a rock solid system and audiophile worthy at this price point.
Hope this helps clarify the 'no DAC' dilemma.
Gugliermo
1317
May 12, 2017
cyberibeThank you very much. That is very enlightening, much appreciated. This little unit is amazing in that it supplies clean hi quality sound, well beyond expectations. I have it hooked up to a small extra computer powering some very nice Infinity SL bookshelves and my Hi-Fi friends always grin when they hear it.
I was not aware of TI purepath audio. Thanks for that. I'm a child of the '50's and have been sound conscious since my older brother had an awesome mono rig before Stereo was around yet...(-;
Best Regards.
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