On 2006-07-08, Andy Evans wrote:

Serge Auckland wrote:
At the time, the AKM D-A chips had a better spec than the equivalent
Crystal D-As

Did you try the Wolfson chips?

The Wolfson WM8740 (which is now a few years old and getting on a bit
for a DAC) is technically a great looking device although I have only
ever listened to it as a part of several Arcam CD payers. See the Wolfson
DAC list at http://www.wolfson.co.uk/products/digital_audio/dacs/.

A 24-bit capable device it seems to get about 18 to 19 bits of real
performance which is more than enough for a "perfect" CD-DA DAC.

I can echo the advice to get hold of an evaluation board for DIY DAC
experiments. That saves a great deal of effort getting the PCB layout
right for a 117 dB SNR.

--
John Phillips