CS4398 DAC – mounting instructions
Thanks for buying this pcb or kit! Now the fun of mounting starts. Make sure you read the complete instructions before you start mounting. Complete assembly can be done by an experienced hobbyist in about two hours. More information can be found on :
List of components
The kit consists of the following components. If you bought the pcb, these components are suggested (but you can of course adapt it to your needs).
Qty | Value | Device | Parts |
1 | DSUPPLY | Con-DG300/2 | X1 |
1 | ASUPPLY | Con-DG300/3 | X2 |
8 | 100n | C-0805 | C11, C17, C18, C30, C34, C36, C38, C40 |
1 | 1n | C-0805 | C15 |
10 | 100n | C-1206 | C1, C2, C6, C8, C12, C13, C37, C41, C42, C49 |
1 | 22n | C-1206 | C14 |
4 | 100p | C-1206 | C20, C22, C23, C25 |
2 | 220n | C-1206 | C21, C24 |
4 | 1n | C-1206 | C43, C44, C45, C46 |
5 | 10n | C-1206 | C5, C7, C9, C28, C29 |
2 | 10u | C-elec-5mm | C19, C32 |
7 | 47u | C-elec-6mm | C3, C16, C26, C27, C39, C48, C50 |
3 | 100u | C-elec-6mm | C31, C33, C47 |
3 | 220u/25 | C-elec-8mm | C4, C10, C35 |
2 | CINCH_1X | Con-RCA | COAX1, COAX2 |
1 | CS4398 | CS4398 | IC5 |
1 | CS8416 | CS8416 | IC1 |
1 | OPA2134P | DIP-8+IC | IC2 |
1 | 3-pin |
Con-KK | OUT |
1 | 5-pin |
Con-KK | SW-CTRL (not included) |
1 | 6-pin |
Con-KK | HW-CTRL |
3 | 47uH | L-3225M | L1, L2, L5 |
2 | GP1FAV | Con-Opt | OPT1, OPT2 |
1 | Pinheader-1x4 | DSD (not included) | |
2 | PE-65612NL | Pulse trafo | TR1, TR2 |
1 | HW/SW | R-0805 | JP1 |
1 | M2 | R-0805 | JP2 |
1 | M3 | R-0805 | JP3 |
1 | M1 | R-0805 | JP4 |
1 | M0 | R-0805 | JP5 |
6 | 75 | R-1206 | R1, R2, R3, R4, R22, R23 |
4 | 2k7 | R-1206 | R10, R12, R17, R19 |
2 | 47 | R-1206 | R11, R18 |
2 | 1k | R-1206 | R31, R32 |
1 | 0 | R-1206 | R33 |
4 | 220 | R-1206 | R34, R35, R36, R37 (not included) |
8 | 47k | R-1206 | R5, R24, R25, R26, R27, R28, R29, R30 |
4 | 18k | R-1206 | R6, R13, R15, R20 |
1 | 3k | R-1206 | R7 |
1 | 10k | R-1206 | R8 |
4 | 36k | R-1206 | R9, R14, R16, R21 |
2 | 1117-3.3 | V-reg | IC3, IC6 |
1 | 1117-5.0 | V-reg | IC4 |
Tools
Required:
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Soldering iron, flux and solder (0.5mm)
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Multi-meter (voltage and resistance)
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Side-cutting pliers, tweezers
Recommended:
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Adjustable dual power supply
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S/pdif source
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Oscilloscope
Mounting
Note that this kit contains (small) SMD components, which might sound difficult if you haven't done this before, but they can be quite well soldered using a soldering iron with small tip, thin solder (0.5mm) and flux (important). Please check some SMD mounting tutorials on YouTube if this is the first time you solder SMD components.
The easiest way of mounting is by starting with the components with the lowest height and build up the PCB in steps, where components of the same height are fitted and soldered in each step. So, first solder the SMD components and then the through-hole components in this order: ICs, resistors, capacitors, inductors, voltage regulators, DIP8-feet, MKT capacitors, transistors, pulse transformers, connectors and the electrolytic capacitors. Do not fit the opamp yet!
Always double check all components before you solder them (especially the ones that are polarity dependent, electrolytic capacitors, etc), as it is difficult to remove them after soldering, much more time consuming and may break components or PCB.
Hints:
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Be careful not to mix the SMD capacitors as they don't have the value printed on them
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The pcb can directly be mounted to a panel using the input connectors
Operating mode
The circuit can be used in both software and hardware mode. The components in the Bill-of-Materials are primarily meant for hardware mode, but with some small modifications (JP1-5) it can be used in software mode, where the circuit can be controlled using a microcontroller. Please refer to the schematic and datasheets if you intend to use the circuit in software mode.
Using the circuit in hardware mode only requires a few external components on the HW-CTRL port:
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By using the 4 different combinations of pulling RXSEL0/1 to either +5V or GND, one of the 4 inputs can be selected (RXSEL1 (0=Opt, 1=Coax), RXSEL0 (0=in1, 1=in2)
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The NVERR output and GND can be connected (through a 1Kohm resistor) to a LED to indicate if a signal is present on the input.
Testing
Do not fit the opamp yet! Double-check all soldering connections to make sure no shorts are present.
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Connect a 5V bench supply to DSUPPLY
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Measure the output voltage of the 3.3V regulators (IC3, IC6)
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Connect a dual 8v bench supply to ASUPPLY
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Measure the output voltage of the 5V regulator (IC4)
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Measure the opamp supply relative to AGND (pin8=+8V, pin4=-8V)
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Measure the DAC output voltage relative to AGND (L+, L-, R+, R- on the pcb, should be 0V without an input signal and 2.5V with an input signal)
If all of above is ok, remove bench supply, connect the opamp and connect the final supply.
Connect your favourite input and enjoy many listening hours!
Schematic