Pairing Google’s Chromecast with a DAC During development of the JDS Labs OL & EL DACs, we went a little optical crazy around the office. You can see the results of some of these experiments in this post from last year. We received an email late last year from Erik, who mentioned that he uses […]
EL DAC Measurements – Optical vs Coaxial vs USB
A number of requests for EL DAC benchmarks have popped up lately. Below you’ll find our usual set of tests, conducted in each digital input mode. Test Setup EL DAC v1.01, no DIP switches (filters: SD High, SLOW Low, SSLOW Low) JDS Labs 16VAC, 1000mA US transformer 3ft USB cable with TDK ZCAT2035-0930 ferrite, connected […]
How to Connect a Headphone Amplifier to an Audio Interface
We often hear from musicians and recording engineers who need to boost listening volume of their headphones. I recently tried a set of Sennheiser HD-650s using the headphone output of a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface and completely agree. Volume on the interface can be turned to 100% without threatening my ears. A headphone amplifier is the answer. […]
Welcome Subjective3: A Three-Band EQ
Normally this is where I explain our design ethos and motivation for an announcement. Not today. Don’t get me wrong–Jude and I are certainly excited about Subjective3. But this is an oddball release. A False Start It all began two years ago, when our mechanical engineer, Nick, needed an equalizer for a side project. Our […]
More Custom Engravings – 2018
Custom engravings have been a free option with any new JDS Labs amp/DAC/preamp purchase for years, and we have had a fantastic time seeing customer submissions. We first demonstrated the engraving process almost four years ago. Little in our process has changed, while the JDS Labs amplifier and DAC lineup has evolved, so some of […]
Announcing OL DAC – USB Edition
With the growing success of OL DAC, JDS Labs presents OL DAC – USB Edition: As we doubled the size of our most recent OL DAC production run, we acknowledged that only some of you add TOSLINK cables to your cart. Most only want USB input and never touch the optical jack. So, we removed the unnecessary […]
DACs: External Power vs USB Power
This question originally appeared on reddit/headphones. I’m re-posting a longer response below, as the discussion commonly arises. “Is an external power supply . . . an inherently easier design?” Designing a sufficiently low noise supply from a USB +5V rail is economical and easy. Most manufacturers build entry-level DACs with this approach, relying on 3.3V […]
How to Connect a DAC to Powered Speakers, Xbox One, or PS4
Your DAC came with a basic setup guide and manual, but we regularly hear from owners with uncertainty. So we decided to sit down and play “Will it connect?” with some of our gear and share practical examples. For help connecting a DAC to your phone or tablet, please see How to Connect Android, iPad, or […]
Element vs Objective2
Recent discussions reminded me that misconceptions also surround Element, such as: ‘Element is an O2+ODAC in a nicer box / Element has an ODAC inside’ False: While both are designed for transparency, performance and features differ: 1.5W vs 0.6W output power is substantial. ‘Element clips’ False: Of course not! Like any good design, gain is […]
ODAC vs OL DAC
“Hey, I was just wondering what the major differences were between the ODAC and the OL DAC.” This fine question continues to pop up in emails, on the phone, on reddit, on Head-Fi, etc. I was excited to push OL DAC into the wild last November for a number of reasons. I’ve always placed great […]