Graveyard post

Hi, guys! So, I did end up disappearing for the past few months and I'm sorry for that; the school workload had become a little too much to handle so I had to take some time off this project to make sure everything was all caught up. I do have an announcement to make.

This project is still happening!

However, I won't put any ETAs this time because I can't promise anything, what with having to balance this and my education. I'll start a trickle feed of updates again, but they probably won't appear as often as before so please bear with me. I do have a couple worth mentioning so here goes.

Transformer and $200 ($300) amplifier update

Because of the requirement to power two Soekris boards instead of one, I need a new spec for the R-core transformers and can no longer buy off taobao or ebay. Its now $65 per transformer from what I can tell (ouch) when custom-made to be:

30VA Transformer: 30/(12.5VAC + 12.5VAC + 12.5VAC + 12.5VAC + 4.5VAC) = 30W/54.5VAC = 0.55A per channel.

I then plan to use the five rails in this fashion:

+/- 12V bipolar supply (left mono channel):

• 12.5VAC to +12VDC Left Channel
• 12.5VAC to -12VDC Left Channel

+/- 12V bipolar supply (right mono channel):

• 12.5VAC to +12VDC Right Channel
• 12.5VAC to -12VDC Right Channel

3.3V digital supply:

• 4.5VAC to 3.3VDC isolated I2S rails, toslink module

Also, the amp's price will increase by $100 but this will give me the perfect excuse to call it the Spartan. Perfect!

New $200 amplifier

I also have in the top of my head a ~$200 amplifier. Planned features are:

• Swappable op-amps to modify sound based on user preference
• 0.5x, 1x and 2.5x gain to allow use with a wide range of audio gear
• RCA and 2 x 3.5mm (one in the front, one in the back) input with an input selector
• 3.5mm and 6.3mm headphone outputs
• Compact form-factor to fit on many desks

I haven't decided whether I'll use an external wall wart as a linear power supply or AC in with my own power supply inside yet; that will have to be determined later on after I design the amplification circuit.

NAMES! update

So now, we've basically got our company name: Bucket Audio, the name of a high-end brand within our company: Philosophy of Sound, and DAC name: the Soekrates, sorted out! We even have logos on the way! Now what we need to do is create a website for the our business and we're set. Thanks Joe for providing the DAC name and inspiration for our high-end brand name!

Also,

BALANCED DUAL MONO OUTPUTS SO EXCITED!!!!!!

NAMES!

Guys, I need your help for both a company name and the name of the Soekris DAC! So far I have:

• Crescendo Audio Technology
• Thunk Audio
• Bucket Audio

For my brand and...the Grumple...for the name of the DAC, which granted is hilarious but is also absolutely ridiculous! I would appreciate some help to think of some names!

Let's get this party started!

My thread on HF got deleted so for anyone interested in keeping up to date with my Soekris DAC implementation I've made this blog to post my updates on. I will also post stuff about my personal audio journey here!