Zen I/V Converter — Nelson Pass / 2010

Thirteen years ago Pass Labs launched the D1, a dedicated Digital to Analog converter for high end audio. It was based on balanced PCM63 DAC chips with a current source output, which requires a separate current-to-voltage converter (known as an I/V) to turn its output into the voltage to drive other line level audio equipment. We didn't care much for the op-amp based solutions seen in the manufacturer's application notes and decided to approach this part of the circuit much differently. The PCM63, like other current output DACs, favors driving a very low impedance, preferably ground. You can easily create… More...

The Legend of EL PIPE-O — Kent English / 2002

Most woofers just don’t quite do the lowest octave. You read the specs that say “usable response: 20 Hz – 20 KHz” and you know that the 20 Hz part of it is wildly optimistic. Achieving very low frequencies at reasonable power levels is not an easy job; the acoustic impedance experienced by a speaker cone declines as the inverse of the square of the frequency. As a practical matter, woofers and their enclosures need to be very large to properly reproduce the lowest octave. Even when you compensate with frequency equalization and more amplifier power, the performance suffers as… More...