hi guys
my first post here. i'm a little confused as to what to order.
all i want is rca in and rca out for 2 channel stereo but the buffalo 111 looks
very hard to understand.
any thoughts on this

thank you but i don't get why 4/6/8 channels and no mention of 2channel stereo .
also why the other dac kits?
also the buffalo 111 sat tridents what are they?

I read the manual but it's a lot of info to absorb. I need a DAC that can be used with balanced and unbalanced headphone amps. Which one out of the BIII, BIIISE and Opus would fit the bill? What about sound quality differences among them? I see the BIII/SE is obviously the most upgradeable. All I want is something to listen to sound files on my PC either through S/PDIF (coming out of an Asus Xonar STX card) or USB. Any help in making a buying decision would be much appreciated. Thanks.

It's a lot of information because it's meant to be the place to look for information, instead of having to wade through hunderds of threads on the support forum.

With the IVY3 and Legato I/V stages you have both balanced and single ended output, provided you limit yourself to a stereo setup. For dual mono you need to add balanced to SE converters (fi. Ventus EZ). Opus, BIII and BIIISE all fit the bill, but I think the BIIISE would be your best choice. It's a fairly recent and if I might say well documented module, with quite some people working on it so questions you might have are likely to be answered.

I started with a single BIII two channel stereo build and went dual mono. IMO you don't get double the SQ by doubling the cost, but the improvements I did get was well worth it to me. I have ESL speakers which are very revealing of changes.

I had tried both the IVY III and Legato (both sound very good) and preferred the Legato. I also tried it with Twisted Pear linear and the shunting power supplies. IMO you get the best SQ from the hot running shunting power supplies. If you go that route, in the BOM at rear of manual, you will find part numbers for the larger heat sinks for the Placid HD power supply. While TP says 80C is a max temp for the sinks, I prefer 60-70C max. You also need a well ventilated enclosure with the shunting power supplies. If the chassis is of substantial thickness, you can use it as a heat sink. If you go with the linear power supplies they run much cooler.

There is plenty of help available if you want to sound out your build and have questions about it. For a single build you'll need a PS for the DAC (5v) and one for the I/V board (12-15v). The I/V board needs a bipolar PS for the - voltage. You'll need a 15va (9v) and 30va (15v) transformers.

The integration guide will explain input options. The boards are supplied with screw terminal blocks. If you wish to use headers/connectors instead, some suggestions are also listed in the BOM at rear of manual.

I like and used Neutrik connectors for inputs/outputs.

Edited by user Sunday, January 27, 2013 9:15:02 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Ok, thanks. I think I'm still a bit confused on the single and dual BIIISE boards. A single BIIISE board can be used with say a single IVYIII board and can give both single ended and balanced signals to drive outboard headphone amps, correct?

I have to start small for now and add to it at a later date. Dual mono would run over $1200 which is nothing to sneeze at.

I think I'll stick with the IVYIII for the sake of simplicity and closer matched output levels in balanced and single ended. I did see that earlier. I'll come back to look at the Legato when I can cough up another several hundred dollars maybe when I get next year's tax returns. I still have to buy the parts to build a fourth AMB Labs Beta 22 board to complete a balanced headphone amp and buy a new cable for HD-600/650 headphones.

I still use my Rega P5 turntable into a Graham Slee Reflex M phono stage from time to time. It's rare I have the energy to get up and flip records after work. Sucks getting old.

Thanks for all your help. One last dumb question. Should the transformers be housed in a separate enclosure or can everything fit in one chassis without adding hum?

Very nice. Who makes that chassis and what size is it? Looks like this is going to be bigger than I thought.