[DACLadder]

In your opinion - is there an interactive effect between the clock or board changes with the firmwares, or in general do the preferences / sonic characters of the firmware hold true between the clocks? In short, should I try to find my favorite firmware before or after installing the new boards and clocks? My original order was to install all the new hardware and then update the firmware and review.

In general the sound character of the DSP mode or filter come through with all the changes. However, with less grain/glare I can tolerate more/better highs provided by the Accurate firmware (Asy). The highs are smooth and detaIled OS 8x. Prior (6 wks ago) I think I was running V3S for the past few months before trying TDA Asy. Accurate use to always be on the edge for me. It took a lot of cable swaps to get It to sound decent in my system before upgrading.

There’s no right or wrong choosing firmware or mode. We all have different tastes and equipment. Kingwa is shipping TDA Asy on all systems currently. Pick the version that works best for you. Enjoy your mods and let us know what you think about the changes.

 

[anroj]

Then maybe you can ask to not include the Amanero board at all to save some money, if that is an option? But u may still want the USB as backup

I think I would like to keep the USB as a backup - just in case.

 

[UsoppNoKami]

Hola folks - can anyone share the Quartus 12.1 installer that Kingwa refers to in his upgrade guide?

http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8/R8updateEN.htm

"Quartus download link https://www.altera.com/downloads/download-center.html, select download the 12.1 Web Edition and install in your computer."

The Altera link sends me to Intel now, following the steps tor register an account always leads to failure at the end. I asked Kingwa if he has the file archived online, but he doesn't.

Any help appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

Hola folks - can anyone share the Quartus 12.1 installer that Kingwa refers to in his upgrade guide?

http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8/R8updateEN.htm

"Quartus download link https://www.altera.com/downloads/download-center.html, select download the 12.1 Web Edition and install in your computer."

The Altera link sends me to Intel now, following the steps tor register an account always leads to failure at the end. I asked Kingwa if he has the file archived online, but he doesn't.

Any help appreciated, thanks in advance

Registration with Intel should be fairly straight forward. I can't assist with that. Once you are registered successfully, this link may help (or similar). It is for the US/English page, but I believe it is not region blocked. It's a 3.8 GB download. Below is for the Windows Version.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...s/thank-you.html?swcode=WWW-SWD-QII-WE-121-PC

 

[UsoppNoKami]

thanks - i think the intel sign-up page has some bug with registration as an individual... I finally succeeded after many attempts over a few days by registering as a business user.

 

[DACLadder]

Try the link below for Altera Quartus II 16.0 programmer only tools.

There are two files - installs for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows operating systems. Does not require license or online registration (I think but really can't remember). I use the 64-bit version with my Windows 10 PC.

The instructions won't exactly match since they were written for version 12. But we can certainly help get you going.

Use the link below. Navigate to the "Altera 16.0 Programming SW" directory and choose the 64 or 32 bit versions. The file sizes are large (350MB).
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=636DC4E8060D66A1!172&cid=636DC4E8060D66A1

 

[DACLadder]

Audio GD is offering better clocks for the Amanero USB board. Why not?... Looks like order before May 15 and get the upgrade for only $5 US.

 

[UsoppNoKami]

Try the link below for Altera Quartus II 16.0 programmer only tools.

There are two files - installs for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows operating systems. Does not require license or online registration (I think but really can't remember). I use the 64-bit version with my Windows 10 PC.

The instructions won't exactly match since they were written for version 12. But we can certainly help get you going.

Use the link below. Navigate to the "Altera 16.0 Programming SW" directory and choose the 64 or 32 bit versions. The file sizes are large (350MB).
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=636DC4E8060D66A1!172&cid=636DC4E8060D66A1

thanks, got it running and flashed successfully.

i don't know what was wrong with the individual registration, but signing up with my business details worked. Then i couldn't download the vanilla 12.1 web edition, only the 12.1 SP1 could be downloaded so I went with that from intel's website.

the actual reflash was so much easier than getting intel's website to play ball lol.

 

[lvc10000]

Audio GD is offering better clocks for the Amanero USB board. Why not?... Looks like order before May 15 and get the upgrade for only $5 US.

Interesting!

How difficult do you guys think this mod would be?

 

[DACLadder]

Interesting!

How difficult do you guys think this mod would be?

Take a look at the oscillators on the Amanero board and see if you can focus on the four pads that get soldered to the PCB. If so then you may be able to solder them. The oscillators are surface mount (no leads) and many times smaller than the Accusilicon DIP14 package that has been shown recently.

I would need visual aid for soldering these tiny parts. And would consider "advanced intermediate" skills, correct tools, and similar experience needed before tackling.

 

[Toni-Mang]

The Clocks are in the R8, i had to lift the Board so that i could use a desoldering gun. The old Clocks had sockets, i soldered the new Clocks directly on the MB with 3mm space to the Board.
First Impression with asyTDA, the soundstage and Imaging are better, even not burned in. I had some issues with I2S feeded from the PS Audio PWT...on off, and i got sound with sync on (OS and NOS).
funny experience...

 

[DACLadder]

@Toni-Mang Good job! Looks like you have some nice desoldering equipment available to you. Let the burn-in roll on!

I’ve had weird issues with I2S not working after making changes. Check cables, power cycle, and works forever. Can’t explain.

 

[FredA]

The Clocks are in the R8, i had to lift the Board so that i could use a desoldering gun. The old Clocks had sockets, i soldered the new Clocks directly on the MB with 3mm space to the Board.
First Impression with asyTDA, the soundstage and Imaging are better, even not burned in. I had some issues with I2S feeded from the PS Audio PWT...on off, and i got sound with sync on (OS and NOS).
funny experience...

Nice job!

 

[DACLadder]

the SU-6 capacitor is a massive battery reserve that powers the board. after unplugging the power, it still stays on for another 1-2 minutes. IMHO don't need an LPS

The Singxer SU-6 arrives today and planning ahead... What jumper switches are you using for AGD DACs if using HDMI I2S output?

Sw 1-4 set the pins where DSD Enable appear on the HDMI connector. Does not apply in my case.
Sw 5 is MCLK or WCK on I2S so set to MCLK (Off).
Sw 6 sets the frequency of MCLK 22M/24M (Off) and 45M/49M (On). It think 22M/24M is correct for AGD DACs so Off.
Sw 7 "can separately set the left and right channels in DSD mode of the I2S signals". Does this apply in my case using native DSD? Or is Off normal DSD L/R for our DACs?
Sw 8 sets clock phase of I2S BCLK where default Off has HDMI connector pin4 BCLK+, pin6 BCLK-. Default looks correct for PSA HDMI I2S.
Sw 9 sets phase of LRCLK where default Off has HDMI I2S connector pin7 LRCLK+, pin9 LRCLK-. This is opposite PSA method so set to On for pin7 LRCLK-, pin9 LRCLK+
Sw 10 sets phase of DATA where default Off has HDMI I2S connector pin1 DATA+, pin3 DATA-. This is opposite PSA method so set to On for pin1 DATA-, pin3 DATA+.

Looks like set Sw 9 and 10 On for PSA HDMI I2S standard. Leave others off. Not sure what to do with Sw 7 which may not even apply. Thanks!

 

[DACLadder]

On the Gustard U16 loaded 1.61 firmware today. Been using 1.4 PSA for the past 6 months. I still have the odd operational issues but 1.61 sounds really good! Amazing highs!

The SU-6 is going to have to be awesome to beat out the U16 soundwise.