Close

Making it a little cheaper

A project log for TOSLINK DAC

Instead of a $10 box from Amazon, go above and beyond

nick-sayerNick Sayer 08/22/2021 at 23:170 Comments

The TORX1355s are super expensive. Turns out that there is a much cheaper alternative. The PLR237/T10BK‎ is more like $1.50 at Q:10. They also have 25 MHz of bandwidth (overkill for the CS4334 DAC and the STA120, which can only do up to 96 kHz audio - even at 64 bits per sample that's only 6 MHz). It works at both 3.3 and 5 volts, but they suggest adding output capacitance at 5 volts, so running it at 3.3v saves us a part. I've also taken a shine to USB C of late, so swapping out the barrel connector for USB C isn't a bad idea. Since we only want 5 volts at way less than 5 watts we can just use 5.1 kΩ CCx pull-down resistors.

Lastly, it may not be a bad idea to add an LED for the VERF pin and a light pipe to aim it out the front.

Discussions