[Deutschefach]

Only if the designers activate this feature
on the chips

The designer doesn't activate it on the chip. It is activated in the firmware. Have you heard on other forums if other manufacturers using AKK chips process DSD directly and enable it for that purpose? Is it the same as Gustard has done here? I am interested in how many amps a Linear Power Supply should have for an AH90. What do think might be best for a 12V....2ampers is the minimum or the AH90 will not function. Any suggestions?

 

[camrector]

The designer doesn't activate it on the chip. It is activated in the firmware. Have you heard on other forums if other manufacturers using AKK chips process DSD directly and enable it for that purpose? Is it the same as Gustard has done here? I am interested in how many amps a Linear Power Supply should have for an AH90. What do think might be best for a 12V....2ampers is the minimum or the AH90 will not function. Any suggestions?

Yes that’s what the firmware does. It enables the ability that’s built on the chip to bypass the all other DSP functions.

Only other I can think of is RME pro. None of the other designers like Smsl or topping have it enabled.

At least 2.5-3a is what Gustard told me.
That was mainly the reason I didn’t end up purchasing the AH90. A high quality LPS like ifi elite is going to be $300. An A26 or R26 on the used market would only be a couple hundred more.

 

[Lucus]

...and yet some are saying that the Audalytic w/o LPS is offering 90% of the A26 performance...If I add the LPS (which I already own) we may be at 95% for a 1/3 of the price, which make it very interesting ! The idea to put a separate connexion for LPS was great !

 

[M43T7N]

Towards High-End with the AH90 - notes on linear power supplies
I use the AH90 with a linear power supply (LPS) since two months now and wanted to make that post for a while but haven’t had the time. Now here you go:

(1) Stock power supply:
As can easily be seen on one of the official product pictures, the AH90 is powered by a Hi-Link HLK-20M12 switched mode power supply. This is a cheap 3€ component. Find attached the datasheet (english). Relevant technical specs are:

No-load rated output voltage 12.0±0.1 Vdc
Full-load rated output voltage 12.0±0.2 Vdc
Short time maximum output current ≥1700 mA
Long time maximum output current 1600 mA
Voltage regulation ±0.2 %
Load regulation ±0.5 %
Output ripple and noise ≤150 (mVp-p)

Of course there are (what I believe) filtering components on the AH90’s pcb, so the actual ripple/noise is likely lower. I am not sure whether the 12v dc input is also passed through that filtering stage or not, but for simplicity, this is the spec to beat when choosing a LPS for the AH90.

The manufacturer gustard mentioned multiple times in this thread that the input voltage can be 12-15V and a minimum of 2.5A are recommended for a LPS. Assuming that a higher voltage increases components thermal losses and potentially reduces longevity, I decided that I want to power my AH90 with 12v. Note that many options below are available in a 15v version.

(2) List of compatible options I considered:
[EU price excl. vat and taxes; consider 1.00€=1.07$].
- DIY option
- [sub 100€] cheap generic AliExpress LPS link
- [100€] LHY AUDIO LPS25VA
- [150€] Fiio PL50 (2023)
- [150€] LHY AUDIO LPS50VA
- [220€] pd-creative SUPER LOW-NOISE PSU – 12V DC (EU-only)
- [240€] ATL Audio L-50
- [250€] ifi iPower Elite
- [265€] LHY AUDIO LPS80VA
- [290€] SBOOSTER BOTW P&P MKII
- [300€] ATL Audio L-50-v.2

When it comes to these options, I wanted to maximize technical performance at a threshold price that still makes sense relative to the AH90s price. For me, this threshold price is 200€ net so that the whole package would be 700€ net on a DAC, headphone amp and streamer with a linear power supply. The next best option that has all those features in one box is (to my knowledge) the hifiman serenade r2r dac, for 1100€ net. So 700€ net would still be an excellent value.

(3) What I decided to do:
Unfortunately, I found that most of these products provide only very limited information on their technical performance. Most relevant for audio is ripple and noise performance which is often provided in different units that are hard to compare and sometimes not specified at all. The pd-creative is noteworthy as each unit ships with a measurement report. The AliExpress options seemed to be best value for money at first, but customers often report poor quality and randomly changing components such as capacitors. I also question whether they are CE certified and if it’s a good idea to keep them running in absence.

What I then did is look for DIY options. There are many LPS boards that just need plugging a transformer. See examples on Audiophonics. What I ended up with is a product called LinearPi Mk II Dual (see datasheet here). This is a dual output LPS board that is build around a LT3042 linear voltage regulator. The LT3042 is considered exceptionally quiet and ideal for sensitive systems (see specs here and technical article here).
To power that, I use a Block RTE100/12x2 100VA toroidal transformer. This solution should provide excellent technical performance. I use the second output for my network switch right now but I plan to power a phono stage with it at some point. Also at some point I’ll put everything in a steel case with en emi-filtered IEC inlet, but right now I just appreciate the open look.

(4) Does it improve sound?
Yes. The difference is actually quite noticeable to my ears which surprised me. I would not go so far and say 'day and night difference', but worth spending 200€ (also considering the DIY fun and second output). Describing the exact differences in sound would be super subjective, so I won't.

Note that the manufacturer of the LinearPi IanCanada is launching a LinearPi Pro at some point with a higher power rating. The normal LinearPi is running quite hot and if I were in the market for a LPS right now I would probably wait for that or consider spending more for a higher power option.

Hope you find this helpful!

 

[rfgdelion]

Am I correctly assuming that all involves a usb-cable between your computer and the AH90?

I am not trying to achieve any connection of this type, but purely 'cast to AH90' on the native Tidal/Spotify app.

Still stuck at the 'LAN WAITING...'
> Any suggestions on how to work around this that would be fantastic

As some of you might know, I had a lot of struggles to connect my AH90 to my network and use Tidal/Spotify Connect, upnp and even Airplay. The device wasn't even showing up in my router device list.

However, I got it working!

How?

My T-Mobile (rebranded to Odido in the Netherlands) Zyxel T-56 router had apparently gotten a firmware ‘update’ several months ago.

The result is that I have found pages and pages of people complaining that their devices (i.e. Wiim’s, Nest, etc) weren’t working. They left everyone hanging and only the ones who complained on a specific forum post got a manual update. As I also had the 'updated' firmware, I 'hoped' that would be my issue as well.

Last night my router got updated as well and guess what: it bloody works! Just wanted to update everyone as there might be someone out there with router firmware (not settings!) that could be the bottleneck. The AH90 is now also (as it should) visible in my device list on the router.

Everything works great now, however, only Tidal Connect via the Tidal iOS app still doesn't play nice. My Tidal iOS app finds the Gustarender v1.43 (not s) to 'cast' to, I can press play but the music is stuck at 00:00 and doesn't play. When I use the Tidal app on my Macbook it works perfectly fine. Also when I 'cast' using Tidal via upnp no issues.

> Any suggestions for the (iOS) app that doesn't work still?

Thanks all for your help thus far. Finally gonna be able to make use of this device.
Almost 100% there.

Ps. Restarted my phone + AH90 + force closed the iOS app several times

 

[GiFi]

Towards High-End with the AH90 - notes on linear power supplies
I use the AH90 with a linear power supply (LPS) since two months now and wanted to make that post for a while but haven’t had the time. Now here you go:

(1) Stock power supply:
As can easily be seen on one of the official product pictures, the AH90 is powered by a Hi-Link HLK-20M12 switched mode power supply. This is a cheap 3€ component. Find attached the datasheet (english). Relevant technical specs are:

No-load rated output voltage 12.0±0.1 Vdc
Full-load rated output voltage 12.0±0.2 Vdc
Short time maximum output current ≥1700 mA
Long time maximum output current 1600 mA
Voltage regulation ±0.2 %
Load regulation ±0.5 %
Output ripple and noise ≤150 (mVp-p)

Of course there are (what I believe) filtering components on the AH90’s pcb, so the actual ripple/noise is likely lower. I am not sure whether the 12v dc input is also passed through that filtering stage or not, but for simplicity, this is the spec to beat when choosing a LPS for the AH90.

The manufacturer gustard mentioned multiple times in this thread that the input voltage can be 12-15V and a minimum of 2.5A are recommended for a LPS. Assuming that a higher voltage increases components thermal losses and potentially reduces longevity, I decided that I want to power my AH90 with 12v. Note that many options below are available in a 15v version.

(2) List of compatible options I considered:
[EU price excl. vat and taxes; consider 1.00€=1.07$].
- DIY option
- [sub 100€] cheap generic AliExpress LPS link
- [100€] LHY AUDIO LPS25VA
- [150€] Fiio PL50 (2023)
- [150€] LHY AUDIO LPS50VA
- [220€] pd-creative SUPER LOW-NOISE PSU – 12V DC (EU-only)
- [240€] ATL Audio L-50
- [250€] ifi iPower Elite
- [265€] LHY AUDIO LPS80VA
- [290€] SBOOSTER BOTW P&P MKII
- [300€] ATL Audio L-50-v.2

When it comes to these options, I wanted to maximize technical performance at a threshold price that still makes sense relative to the AH90s price. For me, this threshold price is 200€ net so that the whole package would be 700€ net on a DAC, headphone amp and streamer with a linear power supply. The next best option that has all those features in one box is (to my knowledge) the hifiman serenade r2r dac, for 1100€ net. So 700€ net would still be an excellent value.

(3) What I decided to do:
Unfortunately, I found that most of these products provide only very limited information on their technical performance. Most relevant for audio is ripple and noise performance which is often provided in different units that are hard to compare and sometimes not specified at all. The pd-creative is noteworthy as each unit ships with a measurement report. The AliExpress options seemed to be best value for money at first, but customers often report poor quality and randomly changing components such as capacitors. I also question whether they are CE certified and if it’s a good idea to keep them running in absence.

What I then did is look for DIY options. There are many LPS boards that just need plugging a transformer. See examples on Audiophonics. What I ended up with is a product called LinearPi Mk II Dual (see datasheet here). This is a dual output LPS board that is build around a LT3042 linear voltage regulator. The LT3042 is considered exceptionally quiet and ideal for sensitive systems (see specs here and technical article here).
To power that, I use a Block RTE100/12x2 100VA toroidal transformer. This solution should provide excellent technical performance. I use the second output for my network switch right now but I plan to power a phono stage with it at some point. Also at some point I’ll put everything in a steel case with en emi-filtered IEC inlet, but right now I just appreciate the open look.

(4) Does it improve sound?
Yes. The difference is actually quite noticeable to my ears which surprised me. I would not go so far and say 'day and night difference', but worth spending 200€ (also considering the DIY fun and second output). Describing the exact differences in sound would be super subjective, so I won't.

Note that the manufacturer of the LinearPi IanCanada is launching a LinearPi Pro at some point with a higher power rating. The normal LinearPi is running quite hot and if I were in the market for a LPS right now I would probably wait for that or consider spending more for a higher power option.

Hope you find this helpful!

Thank you very much. Very helpfull.
I noticed there is also a single version of the IAN LPS. In that case do i need a trasformer with only one output? if yes, wich model? Thanks

 

[camrector]

Thank you very much. Very helpfull.
I noticed there is also a single version of the IAN LPS. In that case do i need a trasformer with only one output? if yes, wich model? Thanks

I have a lot of experience with IAN Canada boards. I would not be using the Linear Pi’s to power the Dac. They are better suited for 5v or less.
I built this entire Dac/Streamer.
It was good but not as good as the A26.

 

[GiFi]

I have a lot of experience with IAN Canada boards. I would not be using the Linear Pi’s to power the Dac. They are better suited for 5v or less.
I built this entire Dac/Streamer.
It was good but not as good as the A26.

Then there is no escape, we have to spend these €1500

 

[rfgdelion]

As some of you might know, I had a lot of struggles to connect my AH90 to my network and use Tidal/Spotify Connect, upnp and even Airplay. The device wasn't even showing up in my router device list.

However, I got it working!

How?

My T-Mobile (rebranded to Odido in the Netherlands) Zyxel T-56 router had apparently gotten a firmware ‘update’ several months ago.

The result is that I have found pages and pages of people complaining that their devices (i.e. Wiim’s, Nest, etc) weren’t working. They left everyone hanging and only the ones who complained on a specific forum post got a manual update. As I also had the 'updated' firmware, I 'hoped' that would be my issue as well.

Last night my router got updated as well and guess what: it bloody works! Just wanted to update everyone as there might be someone out there with router firmware (not settings!) that could be the bottleneck. The AH90 is now also (as it should) visible in my device list on the router.

Everything works great now, however, only Tidal Connect via the Tidal iOS app still doesn't play nice. My Tidal iOS app finds the Gustarender v1.43 (not s) to 'cast' to, I can press play but the music is stuck at 00:00 and doesn't play. When I use the Tidal app on my Macbook it works perfectly fine. Also when I 'cast' using Tidal via upnp no issues.

> Any suggestions for the (iOS) app that doesn't work still?

Thanks all for your help thus far. Finally gonna be able to make use of this device.
Almost 100% there.

Ps. Restarted my phone + AH90 + force closed the iOS app several times

And then Gustard comes flying through with the ‘v1.43s Tidal fix’.

That worked! Off to the races! What a head-ache.

 

[Deutschefach]

AH90 users take note of these Linear Power Supply values:
Minimum 12V 2A
Recommended 12V 3.5A otherwise 3 A
Maximum 15V 3A

Don't fry eggs. Let the music rock n roll.

 

[Lucus]

..and I suppose a LPS 12v with 6A is no problem, but I want to be sure ?

 

[camrector]

AH90 users take note of these Linear Power Supply values:
Minimum 12V 2A
Recommended 12V 3.5A otherwise 3 A
Maximum 15V 3A

Don't fry eggs. Let the music rock n roll.

Hi

It is recommended to use an external linear power supply of 2.5A and above.
12 to 15 volt，More than 15V is bad and may damage the device.

3A is ideal, 5A is even better.

With more sufficient linear power, you can hear a more stable, more energetic, and more fulfilling sound field when playing music.

We once tested the 1A power supply and the AH90 could not start.
So there is no need to try an underpowered power supply even if it is less noisy.

Gustard answered this on page 5
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aud...reamer-dac-heapphone-amp.970134/post-17823832

 

[Deutschefach]

..and I suppose a LPS 12v with 6A is no problem, but I want to be sure ?

The value suggested allow immediate decisions

Gustard answered this on page 5
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aud...reamer-dac-heapphone-amp.970134/post-17823832

The values are what he sent me three days ago.

So more amperage is not a negative but false voltage is. What do you use on your A26?

 

[Deutschefach]

..and I suppose a LPS 12v with 6A is no problem, but I

I am in for surgery today.
I suggest you send the question to Zhangshan.
Post the answer to me and the feed.

It sounds like it might be OK but he knows what will cause issues.

https://www.head-fi.org/members/zhangshan.463804/

 

[camrector]

The value suggested allow immediate decisions

The values are what he sent me three days ago.

So more amperage is not a negative but false voltage is. What do you use on your A26?

I am in for surgery today.
I suggest you send the question to Zhangshan.
Post the answer to me and the feed.

It sounds like it might be OK but he knows what will cause issues.

https://www.head-fi.org/members/zhangshan.463804/

The ah90 is only going to draw as much amps as it needs. Voltage must match but amps can exceed.
My A26 is plugged into a 20a wall outlet.
It probably only draws 3a of that 20a at most!