Hey Gang, I just wanted to take a minute to tell the world about this fantastic DAC. In electronics, anything that's more than 5 minutes old is considered outdated, and often, inferior. Obviously, we know this isn't always the case, as is proven by this fantastic little chip.

It's simplicity overshadows its ability, and people often overlook it. DIY types know better, and love working with it for this reason.

I came upon this DAC out of necessity. Quite simply, I couldn't afford the Grant Tube dac-09 and needed an alternative. A friend of mine has the Valab 8 x TDA 1541 NOS, and suggested the single TDA 1543 version. It was available on Ebay for $100, which was great. My first thought was that it was cheap, as in poorly put together with shoddy parts. That was my first mistake...

The 1541 and 1543 are close cousins, but I'll speak about the 1543 as that's what I own. The TDA 1543 is a dual 16 bit DAC designed by Phillips in the 80's. It's original design had "economy" in mind, small and simple in build. This turned out to be its appeal for DIY types. It requires no external components or circuitry. As a result of appearing cheap or lo-fi, it has been and continues to be overlooked by many.

I think alot of people have a hard time accepting that something in a basic package can perform at a high level. This dac proves them all wrong.

There were a number of CDP's made with the 1541/1543. Some are still legendary in audiophile circles, including the Arcam Alpha 5 and the Mission PCM 7000. I almost bought a Mission recently for this reason.

The sound that this dac produces is clear, accurate and about as warm as a digital signal can get. It's truly the chip for the analog lover, but essentially for anyone with discriminating ears.

Many look past it because it's "only" 16 bits. The fact of the matter is, particularily in NOS mode, this dac can compete with any. The NOS adds a realm of realism that almost can't be described, it must be heard. I think alot of people don't understand that even though they may be promised 24 bit, doesn't mean that they will be getting it. What they might get is a dac that can read 24-bit, but cannot output the true resolution. What a backwards process that is!!

Anyhow, lots has been written on these dac's. I wanted to write down a few things to maybe benefit anyone who hasn't heard this mighty chip. Quite simply, I can't listen to anything without it. I recently took it out of the chain and was rudely awakened to a harsh, bright disaster. Freddie Hubbard was unlistenable.

I'm happy to have found my sound.."