Moto Z and Moto Z Force - perfect candidates for a high end DAC/AMP
Feb 14, 2017 at 4:26 PM Post #16 of 54
pyramidofsound said:
 

Moto Mod Updates - Techy Stuffs

Moto Z is turning out to be an awesome platform, No More Rubberbands! No More Adapters!
 
I've finished the power supply design! Doesn't sound super exciting, but it is!
I have clean +/- 5 Volt rails. I am working on selecting DACs from a pool. I have it narrowed to two, for two separate models I am making.
One will be used for the simplicity and cost - PCM5142
The other will be used when I get more time to  really look into high bitrates/depths - AKM4490EQ
 
The I2S audio is being provided by the development kits that Motorola put together, claims to be up to 192kHz/24Bits. The PCM5142 version will be running 96kHz and 16bits. I think that will be more than adequate for mobile listening and honestly my design skills would be hard pressed to get better than 12.5ENOB at any bitrate. In the future, this thing will be update-able, as all good amps are these days. (even the firmware is OTA update-able).
 

Updates - Background and Stuffs

All the above is very exciting but let me lay something on here for clarity; Indiegogo.
 
Indiegogo and Motorola partnered up to do this https://enterprise.indiegogo.com/motomods/
It is a really great opportunity because it unleashes the power of the Motorola Design peeps onto the world of specificity like headphone amps, glucose meters and other cool things. I won this challenge by submitting my design of the headphone amplifier, they sent me a bunch of cool hardware to get going and here we are. In return, I will use Indiegogo to help start up the project.
I am SUPER excited, and largely terrified because even though I have some (limited) background in EE and CS, it won't prepare me to actually make a product. This will be something that will unfold with time.
 
There is a common feeling that crowd funding is not a great idea. I have to agree for various reasons.
  • I feel that crowd funding puts the word out too soon. This puts pressure on me to get this thing in a box and to your door... pressure is not a good thing.
  • I feel that crowd funding creates a false mask of crowd-designing. This is not the case here. While I will be reaching out on forums like this one, the design and all aspects of it are my own and not reallllly open for funders to push me into a box.
There are others but nevertheless I will raise money starting on Indiegogo; it is a great way to spread the word. I would like to sell to forum-ers because I can get some rapid feedback. 
I don't intend on making a USB Headphone amp, that space is all jammed up.
 
I will update this thread when I switch on the Indiegogo campaign (after I get the prototype working). Should be before the end of February!
 
Click to expand...

 
I'm glad things are moving along, thanks for the update
 
Feb 14, 2017 at 6:39 PM Post #17 of 54
Hello everybody,
It is great to see other kindred spirits that are eager to get HiFi audio while on the go.
I am also working for some time on a DAC/ADC HiFi Audio with the good and old headphone jack and capable of delivering DSD64 content without downsampling.
My campaign at Indiegogo is going to get launched in a couple of days and I appreciate your comments.
Best
 
Feb 15, 2017 at 12:08 AM Post #18 of 54
oriontech said:
  Hello everybody,
It is great to see other kindred spirits that are eager to get HiFi audio while on the go.
I am also working for some time on a DAC/ADC HiFi Audio with the good and old headphone jack and capable of delivering DSD64 content without downsampling.
My campaign at Indiegogo is going to get launched in a couple of days and I appreciate your comments.
Best
Click to expand...

DSD sounds exciting! I still have not tried DSD, I hear it's a bit of a niche market.
 
Feb 15, 2017 at 4:35 AM Post #19 of 54
The market of direct DSD64 encoded content providers is still growing: http://dsd-guide.com/where-can-you-find-dsd-music-downloads
But you can easily get DSD64 content from the great catalog of SACDs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SACD_artists) using Super Audio CD Decoder (https://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/) for foobar2000 or other similar software. Something I strongly recommend a try, if not done so.
 
Feb 24, 2017 at 3:16 PM Post #23 of 54
oriontech said:
  Hello everybody,
What do you think about including active noise control (ANC)/cancelation/reduction out of the box?
Please spread the news to your network.
Best
Click to expand...

 
Interesting feature if there's a possibility to deactivate it. Having always on Active Noise Cancelling can be bothersome for some.
 
Feb 28, 2017 at 9:41 PM Post #25 of 54
The issue with ANC is that the location of the microphone is deeply rooted in the equations for accurately timing the noise-cancellation signals.
If that were standardized somehow, then ANC could be built in at the amplifier.
Also, we would have to change the connector to support feeding R&L mic data to the amp to perform ANC.
 
Unfortunately there are too many variables to take that out of the designers of the headphones themselves.
 
Mar 1, 2017 at 5:44 AM Post #26 of 54
There seems to be some information lacking from your campaign page:
1. Could you describe the differences between the pine and birch amps?
2. You called them Amps, but in this thread you indicated they were simply DACs. Do they also have an Amp? If so, what amplifier are you planning on using? Or are you not sure yet?
3. I think you should provide some pictures of your working prototype from the contest.
4. If you took a video of the prototype working (drive some cheapo speakers? or even just headphones), that would be cool.
5. Maybe some pictures/renders of your case prototype would be nice.
 
Thanks!
 
Mar 1, 2017 at 11:35 AM Post #27 of 54
maniacdc said:
  There seems to be some information lacking from your campaign page:
1. Could you describe the differences between the pine and birch amps?
2. You called them Amps, but in this thread you indicated they were simply DACs. Do they also have an Amp? If so, what amplifier are you planning on using? Or are you not sure yet?
3. I think you should provide some pictures of your working prototype from the contest.
4. If you took a video of the prototype working (drive some cheapo speakers? or even just headphones), that would be cool.
5. Maybe some pictures/renders of your case prototype would be nice.
 
Thanks!
Click to expand...

1.
  1. Pine uses +/-5 VDC rails, a PCM5142 DAC (frequency and bitrate TBD) and the amplifier section has work TBD as well. It will certainly be a Class AB with voltage feedback but the list of candidate components are still rolling through my test bench.
  2. Birch uses +/-9~12VDC rails, an AKM4490 DAC and again, amplifiers TBD. Most likely the same class, focused on higher quality feedback components, fewer in-path components and much better attention to layout.
2.
  1. Sort of answered above. I have less experience in the analog side and I am working right now on DAC/Power Supply so I can go heads-down on the amp section later. (Headaches foreseen)
3.
  1. Wrapping up 3-5. I will be posting videos on youtube/indiegogo of this prototype driving the line-in of my Yamaha receiver later. The case renders are on their way too. If you can imagine, this is a lot to do myself. I have a few people lined up to help me out and if the campaign starts to roll I will certainly be drafting them (paid in beer, for now) to help out and get the best product I can to you guys (and myself, honestly I am super excited to see how this turns out).
 
Mar 1, 2017 at 11:41 AM Post #28 of 54
pyramidofsound said:
  1.
  1. Pine uses +/-5 VDC rails, a PCM5142 DAC (frequency and bitrate TBD) and the amplifier section has work TBD as well. It will certainly be a Class AB with voltage feedback but the list of candidate components are still rolling through my test bench.
  2. Birch uses +/-9~12VDC rails, an AKM4490 DAC and again, amplifiers TBD. Most likely the same class, focused on higher quality feedback components, fewer in-path components and much better attention to layout.
2.
  1. Sort of answered above. I have less experience in the analog side and I am working right now on DAC/Power Supply so I can go heads-down on the amp section later. (Headaches foreseen)
3.
  1. Wrapping up 3-5. I will be posting videos on youtube/indiegogo of this prototype driving the line-in of my Yamaha receiver later. The case renders are on their way too. If you can imagine, this is a lot to do myself. I have a few people lined up to help me out and if the campaign starts to roll I will certainly be drafting them (paid in beer, for now) to help out and get the best product I can to you guys (and myself, honestly I am super excited to see how this turns out).
Click to expand...

 
Glad to see you're using the AKM4490 DAC for the Birch. Can't wait to see how this evolves. :)
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 8:49 AM Post #29 of 54
pyramidofsound said:
  1.
  1. Pine uses +/-5 VDC rails, a PCM5142 DAC (frequency and bitrate TBD) and the amplifier section has work TBD as well. It will certainly be a Class AB with voltage feedback but the list of candidate components are still rolling through my test bench.
  2. Birch uses +/-9~12VDC rails, an AKM4490 DAC and again, amplifiers TBD. Most likely the same class, focused on higher quality feedback components, fewer in-path components and much better attention to layout.
2.
  1. Sort of answered above. I have less experience in the analog side and I am working right now on DAC/Power Supply so I can go heads-down on the amp section later. (Headaches foreseen)
3.
  1. Wrapping up 3-5. I will be posting videos on youtube/indiegogo of this prototype driving the line-in of my Yamaha receiver later. The case renders are on their way too. If you can imagine, this is a lot to do myself. I have a few people lined up to help me out and if the campaign starts to roll I will certainly be drafting them (paid in beer, for now) to help out and get the best product I can to you guys (and myself, honestly I am super excited to see how this turns out).
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll be checking in on the campaign page every once in a while to see how things are going.
 
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