DDC - Digital USB interfaces - Xmos or Amanero Combo384 based - Raspberry Pi - HifiBerry DAC+ Pro - reviews, comparison, modifications and USB-Audio in general

[abartels]

@rootscript
 
Thanks for all the information, very useful! (except the red text at TCXO's has to be switched between both TCXO's,
that's what I came across when replacing the XpressO TCXO's with NDK NZ2520SD's)
 
 
Hans Beekhuyzen could be very right in his comparison, BUT, I don't use the dac's analog stage, I only use it for I2S output to feed my (external) DAC
AudioPhonics pcb doesn't have I2S output.
 
Btw, Bryston uses the HifiBerry Digi+. It only has Digital output in SPDIF format, NO I2S, and further, it only has ONE crystal, probably for 44.1 / 88.2 / 176.4 kHz.
The other frequencies will be derived from RPI's clock, which is very jittery.
 
Further, the Hifiberry Digi+ has a simple Crystal on board, it's not a Crystal Oscillator.........
 
Not sure what they are planning to do with it,,,,,,,,, 

 

 

[hgpsemaj]

Durio Sound PRO US$75.00
 
For your information:

 

 

 

[hgpsemaj]

This Lucid Labs Raspberry Pi DAC lets you turn your $35.00 Raspberry Pi 2 Model B into an Audiophile Quality music player using I2s audio over the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins

1. Texas Instruments PCM5102A 32bit/384KHZ DAC Chip
2. TPS7A4700 Ultra Low Noise Linear Regulator for extremely clean power supply
3. High quality components and connectors throughout
4. Made in America

US$29.99 each

 

[abartels]

  Durio Sound PRO US$75.00
 
For your information:

 

 

 
No audio clocks on board, thus NO master clock available, AND very jittery LRCK - BCLK - DATA

 

[abartels]

  This Lucid Labs Raspberry Pi DAC lets you turn your $35.00 Raspberry Pi 2 Model B into an Audiophile Quality music player using I2s audio over the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins

1. Texas Instruments PCM5102A 32bit/384KHZ DAC Chip
2. TPS7A4700 Ultra Low Noise Linear Regulator for extremely clean power supply
3. High quality components and connectors throughout
4. Made in America

US$29.99 each

 
And again, no audio clocks on board, uses I2S from RPI GPIO pins, thus NO master clock available, AND very jittery LRCK - BCLK - DATA

 

[hgpsemaj]

Thanks for the information.

 

[rootscript]

@abartels - let's see if this one is any closer (i'm hoping it is), looks like 3 clocks.
" three clocks: 27Mhz digi+ clone, plus dual 24.5476/22.5792"
 This one is 'coming soon', so maybe there is a chance to influence its design.
 


 
"
Someone asked about making a Pi hat with I2S to SPDIF. Sounds like a Digi+ right? But they wanted a couple of items done differently. First it had to have transformer coupled coax. Second was the ability to supply 3.3V and 5V from an external linear supply, thus decoupling from the Pi supply. Third, high quality clocks were mentioned. Finally someone else mentioned it would be great to run the digi+ software "out of the box".

This (Pi2media 503SPDI) hat that has the following features:

1) WM8804 with GPIO selectable 24.5476Mhz/22.5792Mhz Clock input
2) Clock are very low noise using NDK2520SD series. Not as low as Crytek's best, but not $20 each either!
3) WM8804 runs in Master Mode, Pi in Slave mode so BCLK and LRCLK are very low jitter
4) Transformer coupled Coax and Optical SPDIF output
5) LT3042 Ultra-Low Noise, High PSRR LDO for SPDIF PLL and Crystal supply
6) Jumper to isolate PI 5V from Hat 5V with 2.5mm barrel jack for external 5V input
7) 4-Layer PCB with filtered ground from Pi

That's all the good stuff. I don't provide for external 3V since I have the LT3042 there. The one downside is that in order to switch the clock input between the two frequencies, we need to add SW to the various audio platforms. It's actually easy to do, but it means we'll have to provide the modified platforms to our users until it can be integrated into the next releases. We could make version that has a single 27Mhz clock so the Digi+ code could run without change. The main issue with that is the increased jitter from using the WM8804 internal PLL to create the proper frequencies.
Any input would be great.
"
 
Here is a link to the schematics: http://www.pi2design.com/uploads/4/8/5/3/48531975/503spd1_sch_p1.pdf

 

[abartels]

  @abartels - let's see if this one is any closer (i'm hoping it is), looks like 3 clocks.
" three clocks: 27Mhz digi+ clone, plus dual 24.5476/22.5792"
 This one is 'coming soon', so maybe there is a chance to influence its design.
 


 
"
Someone asked about making a Pi hat with I2S to SPDIF. Sounds like a Digi+ right? But they wanted a couple of items done differently. First it had to have transformer coupled coax. Second was the ability to supply 3.3V and 5V from an external linear supply, thus decoupling from the Pi supply. Third, high quality clocks were mentioned. Finally someone else mentioned it would be great to run the digi+ software "out of the box".

This (Pi2media 503SPDI) hat that has the following features:

1) WM8804 with GPIO selectable 24.5476Mhz/22.5792Mhz Clock input
2) Clock are very low noise using NDK2520SD series. Not as low as Crytek's best, but not $20 each either!
3) WM8804 runs in Master Mode, Pi in Slave mode so BCLK and LRCLK are very low jitter
4) Transformer coupled Coax and Optical SPDIF output
5) LT3042 Ultra-Low Noise, High PSRR LDO for SPDIF PLL and Crystal supply
6) Jumper to isolate PI 5V from Hat 5V with 2.5mm barrel jack for external 5V input
7) 4-Layer PCB with filtered ground from Pi

That's all the good stuff. I don't provide for external 3V since I have the LT3042 there. The one downside is that in order to switch the clock input between the two frequencies, we need to add SW to the various audio platforms. It's actually easy to do, but it means we'll have to provide the modified platforms to our users until it can be integrated into the next releases. We could make version that has a single 27Mhz clock so the Digi+ code could run without change. The main issue with that is the increased jitter from using the WM8804 internal PLL to create the proper frequencies.
Any input would be great.
"
 
Here is a link to the schematics: http://www.pi2design.com/uploads/4/8/5/3/48531975/503spd1_sch_p1.pdf

 
Thanks for this VERY interesting project link!
 
I commented on their page, sadly it doesn't have I2S output. Without I2S there's no need for me to try it.
 
Further, they use NDK NZ2520SD's, which I was very fond of in the past, but, I modified one DAC+Pro with NZ2520SD's and it sounded less open, less blackness than with XpressO TCXO's

 

[abartels]

Strange, there was a post from @motberg in this thread which I received in mail but did not show up in the thread:
 
DDC - Digital USB interfaces - Xmos or Amanero Combo384 based - Raspberry Pi - HifiBerry DAC+ Pro - reviews, comparison, modifications and USB-Audio in general

motberg replied to this thread on May 13, 6:07 pm

Thanks - Nice find, especially since they are discussing UP board compatibility....  I hope @abartels can comment..

 

[motberg]

  Strange, there was a post from @motberg in this thread which I received in mail but did not show up in the thread:
 
DDC - Digital USB interfaces - Xmos or Amanero Combo384 based - Raspberry Pi - HifiBerry DAC+ Pro - reviews, comparison, modifications and USB-Audio in general

motberg replied to this thread on May 13, 6:07 pm

Thanks - Nice find, especially since they are discussing UP board compatibility....  I hope @abartels can comment..

yeah I noticed that post went missing.... wierd....
too bad no i2S on that latest cool find by rootscript, seems the designer is on a good path... I will keep an eye on that... love the UP board idea also! I hope they sell a ton....

 

[prot]

http://archimago.blogspot.de/2016/05/measurements-odroid-c2-with-volumio-2.html
Looks like everyone is into 'rpi stuff' lately

 

[hgpsemaj]

Yes, it's quite interesting,
 

Review: ODROID-C2, compared to Raspberry Pi 3 and Orange Pi Plus

 

 
 
http://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2016/review-odroid-c2-compared-raspberry-pi-3-and-orange-pi-plus
 
http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/03/01/raspberry-pi-3-odroid-c2-and-pine-a64-development-boards-comparison/

 

[abartels]

  Yes, it's quite interesting,
 

Review: ODROID-C2, compared to Raspberry Pi 3 and Orange Pi Plus

 

 
 
http://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2016/review-odroid-c2-compared-raspberry-pi-3-and-orange-pi-plus
 
http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/03/01/raspberry-pi-3-odroid-c2-and-pine-a64-development-boards-comparison/

 
Thanks for sharing this with us! Odroid indeed seems to be very nice too!!! Nicest thing is, they are same size, just like up-board and rpi, so very easy to try them within existing enclosure!
 
I did built-in my rpi-dac+pro into my MonsterDac, used spare backpanel of enclosure to accomplish this. Have to fix some minor issues this evening and will post listening impression later this evening!
 

 
Regards,
 
Alex

 

[prot]

Looks like ess is quite serious about the new 9038 chip. Some call it revolutionary, maybe I should sell my 9018 asap
And they did release some extra support components too. E.g. this looks like an interesting regulator
http://www.esstech.com/files/3414/5193/1543/ES9311_product_brief_121715.pdf
IIUC, that may save a lot of space in your MonsterDac abartels

P.S.
There is also a new 4497 from akm. A good year for dac chips

 

[abartels]

Looks like ess is quite serious about the new 9038 chip. Some call it revolutionary, maybe I should sell my 9018 asap

And they did release some extra support components too. E.g. this looks like an interesting regulator
http://www.esstech.com/files/3414/5193/1543/ES9311_product_brief_121715.pdf
IIUC, that may save a lot of space in your MonsterDac @abartels

P.S.
There is also a new 4497 from akm. A good year for dac chips

 
Yup, I know, but I'll rather go for the AKM4497 which sampled already in Q4 2015, still waiting for a new diyinhk pcb.
 
I prefer the "no nonsense" philosophy  from AKM, keeping a DAC chip a DAC chip, no less no more.
Also like the idea of the bigger the bubble in their graphs the better the SQ. You can see clearly the AK4490 has better specs than AK4495 but the latter has a much bigger bubble, thus better SQ.
 
AK4497 is best og both worlds, and more....
 
But, 9038pro looks nice indeed, on paper.
 
Lots of soldering work ahead