Aphrodite is the version of the Reference Tube DAC built on the Philips TDA1547, often called DAC7. Unlike the other four, it is not a multibit chip but a 1-bit bitstream converter, which is why this version is listed as a vintage-chip DAC rather than a multibit NOS one. Dmitriy Gubchenko voices it as dark, velvety and melodic.
The Philips TDA1547
Philips introduced the TDA1547 in the early 1990s, after its CD players had moved from multibit converters to bitstream. It is a 1-bit delta-sigma design: instead of one weighted element per bit, it switches at a very high rate and pushes the resulting noise above the audio band, so its accuracy comes from timing rather than from matched parts.
It was designed to receive that high-rate, noise-shaped signal from a companion processor such as the SAA7350, so oversampling is part of how it works. Each chip carries two channels.
Two architectures, not two generations
A comparison of the TDA1541 and the TDA1547 is a comparison of two architectures, not two generations of one idea. The multibit chips resolve each sample at once and depend on the accuracy of their current sources or ladders; the TDA1547 builds the waveform from a fast stream of single bits. Owners of the 1990s players built on it describe a smooth, dark and refined presentation.
Our guide to NOS multibit DACs sets the two families side by side.
Old stock
The TDA1547 has long been out of production. Every chip in use today is old stock, and each one is checked before it is fitted.
Aphrodite among the five
Aphrodite is the dark, velvety and melodic voice of the five. Katerina on the Burr-Brown PCM1704 sits at the other end, with strong bass, detail and attack; Calliope on the TDA1540 is natural and organic. The input is the same in every version: 16-bit / 44.1 kHz PCM over coaxial S/PDIF. All five share the chassis, output options and price; the stock output stage is solid-state, and a tube stage on 6Zh4, EF14, EL8, AL4 or ML6 with a 5Ts4M rectifier is optional. Each unit ships with its own measurement report.