How to Fix ESS Hump on SGD1 and LA-QXD1

[Bamboszek]

@Ben1987
Maybe a strange question, but what EDA software are you using?
Those rounded tracks are pretty!

 

[Ben1987]

What will be the best way to get your DACs in Europe? Thanks

I think it is amazon at present, but our official online shop is under construction. I believe that will be the best and fastest in the future.

 

[JohnYang1997]

@Ben1987
Maybe a strange question, but what EDA software are you using?
Those rounded tracks are pretty!

I don't think that's limited to EDA, is it? I guess Altium?

 

[Ben1987]

@Ben1987
Maybe a strange question, but what EDA software are you using?
Those rounded tracks are pretty!

Most EDA software can achieve the function of the arc line above but I used to use Cadence allegro PCB editor.

 

[Zoide]

I think it is amazon at present, but our official online shop is under construction. I believe that will be the best and fastest in the future.

When do you expect your online shop to be ready? Thanks

 

[exaudio]

@Ben1987 and @solderdude , thanks for confirming. It's clear from looking under the hood that the SONCOZ SGD1 is superbly well engineered. I'm very pleased with it so far. It will be replacing my Topping D50 which has been a long time favorite. I took some time to measure and plot the IMD versus level of the D50 which has the ESS hump and the SGD1 which doesn't.

I used REW to generate the SMPTE test tone at various levels and to calculate the corresponding IMD. I used the ADC on my MiniDSP SHD to make the measurements and I manually recorded the level and the corresponding IMD value. Then I plotted the results.

In the fat part of the hump the Topping D50's IMD level is close to 20dB worse than the SGD1. I never found the hump to be audible, but it's nice to know it's not there.

 

[Veri]

@Ben1987 and @solderdude , thanks for confirming. It's clear from looking under the hood that the SONCOZ SGD1 is superbly well engineered. I'm very pleased with it so far. It will be replacing my Topping D50 which has been a long time favorite. I took some time to measure and plot the IMD versus level of the D50 which has the ESS hump and the SGD1 which doesn't.

I used REW to generate the SMPTE test tone at various levels and to calculate the corresponding IMD. I used the ADC on my MiniDSP SHD to make the measurements and I manually recorded the level and the corresponding IMD value. Then I plotted the results.

View attachment 45092

In the fat part of the hump the Topping D50's IMD level is close to 20dB worse than the SGD1. I never found the hump to be audible, but it's nice to know it's not there.

Very interesting

Is that output stage saturation at the end there?

 

[exaudio]

Is that output stage saturation at the end there?

@Veri , I wondered that too. I don't know what's going there. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in my numbers past the point where the level goes above -12dBFS. I was pleased to see that, up to that point, my numbers for the SUNCOZ SGD-1 were nearly spot on with @Ben1987's numbers from his AP. I'm sure that whatever is going on in my IMD numbers there is because I'm at the edge of what I can measure with the MiniDSP SHD's ADC. I hope @amirm will be able to test the MiniDSP SHD's ADC at some point.

 

[johan]

Hi Ben

How did THD+N changed at 1Khz 0dbfs with the "hump" solved..I see 1-2 db increase in THD +N in your graph

 

[Ben1987]

How did THD+N changed at 1Khz 0dbfs with the "hump" solved..I see 1-2 db increase in THD +N in your graph

I am sure that this is a problem caused by repairing the hump by hand, and it will be consistent in mass production.

 

[WHO23]

Yes, It is the latest version of the fix.The best way to tell is to look at the capacitance, 2200 nF/220nF. Enjoy.

I ordered my Soncoz SGD1 on 25th December 2019 through Aliexpress. I opened it up and sure enough my unit has the new wima caps to fix the IMD hump. Great!

 

[SpyB]

There are also signs of hand welding.

So are theses DAC's assembled by hand welding or are the boards done in a factory under a automated process

There are also signs of hand welding.

"There are also signs of hand welding."

Hi Ben,
So are these Dac's all hand welded (soldered) or are the pcb's wave soldered like this

 

[amirm]

So are theses DAC's assembled by hand welding or are the boards done in a factory under a automated process

The modifications are done by hand. Original assembly is done automatically. He likely had a production run that he did not want to throw away if they could be fixed with minor changes after the fact.

 

[amirm]

Hi Ben,
So are these Dac's all hand welded (soldered) or are the pcb's wave soldered like this

Wave soldering is the older method and is only used for "through-hole" assembly. This is when components have long leads that go through the board. Common method today is to use SMD (surface-mount) parts that are just placed on top of the PCB and hot air or similar method melts the solder right at the pads.

 

[SpyB]

Wave soldering is the older method and is only used for "through-hole" assembly. This is when components have long leads that go through the board. Common method today is to use SMD (surface-mount) parts that are just placed on top of the PCB and hot air or similar method melts the solder right at the pads.

Thank you

 

[Ben1987]

So are these Dac's all hand welded (soldered) or are the pcb's wave soldered like this

Batch production is automatic production, manual part of the test work.

 

[SpyB]

Batch production is automatic production, manual part of the test work.

Thanks Ben,

So if I purchase a black SGD1 at the end of February,it will have no manual soldering on the PCB is that correct

 

[bequietjk]

I noticed there is no option for choosing either grey or black model. Should we indicate color choice via message when placing order or will the option be available at a later time?

This is through Amazon.

 

[SpyB]

I noticed there is no option for choosing either grey or black model. Should we indicate color choice via message when placing order or will the option be available at a later time?

This is through Amazon.

I think at the end of February when the Black an Grey are available there will be a choice to select the color.

And the Soncoz shop may be shipping direct by then

 

[Azeia]

This is pretty cool, as others have said, I also really appreciate the spirit of openness here, as most other vendors have been keeping their ESS hump solutions secret; this might be the endgame DAC I've been looking for.

Will it eventually be available on Amazon's Canadian (amazon.ca) store as well?