I am new to the DIY audio world and am excited to build this great product but unfortunately dont know really where to start and was wondering if someone would have the time to make a quick down and dirty walkthrough on a basic build of a Buffalo DAC. I am pretty adept at electronics and understanding stuff but just a little overwhelemed for this project going at it by myself and reading through the boards it seems like everyone here knows considerably more than myself, as I am not an electrical Engineer :) ...


I have dabbled in mods to CD players and such / decent at soldering / make my own cables thats about my skill level...

I planned on just purchasing the kit/torroids/(still looking for a chassis)/ for a basic SPDIF / Unbalanced setup. M-Audio Audiophile 192 SPDIF Out --> DAC -->Unbalanced Analog RCA Out to my Amps.

I just finished building the Buffalo/IVY combo with the two power supplies suggested by TwistedPear. I took my time and the unit worked perfectly from the beginning.
I built the PS's first and made sure they worked and were stable. Just populate the boards with the smallest parts first. Use a magnifying glass to make sure that you do not create any solder bridges. There is not reason to rush it. This is a great unit, but it will be very difficult to remove parts that were installed improperly.
There are plenty of pictures posted on this forum that helped me. The boards are small but labeled very clearly and the parts are bagged and labeled also. You could easily put diodes and electrolytics in the wrong way if you do not look at the PCB's carefully. Take the time to read all the posts before you start. I printed them all out with the pics and had them handy.

there is also more information than you would ever want to know over at DIYAUDIO forum. Brian and Russ have a Buffalo thread there