Vinshine Audio DAC R2R-REF w/ soekris

[uncola]

That was my first thought, but they mailed me two of them and I tried the second and no sound either

 

[uncola]

woot, 0 and 10db settings work!  about to test 18 and 20db again
 
these are the gain settings for anyone curious
 
  0 dB = Down|Down = Off|Off = "00" binary = "zero" decimal
10 dB =     Up|Down = On|Off = "10" binary = "two" decimal
18 dB = Down|Up     = Off|On = "01" binary = "one" decimal
20 dB =     Up|Up     = On|On = "11" binary = "three" decimal
 
update:  0db, 10db work.  18db and 20db do not work!  I have no idea why.
Good news, 10db is definitely loud enough even with my 300ohm Sennheiser HD800.  1PM on the volume knob is normal listening level.  Even classical music with wide dynamic range and low relative volume is loud enough at 2PM on the volume knob.  Listening to Camille Saint-Saens. ''Danse macabre'' (poeme symphonique d'apres Henri Cazalis) is awesome.  The general sound quality seems improved in all respects a decent amount.  
 

edit:  might be caused by negative feedback capacitor MHz oscillation in the gain dip switch.  I pulled this answer out of my butt

 

[rigo]

I am eventually moving my R2R downstairs to a 2 channel system but I want to utilize it for occasionall headphone listening as well. Interested in improving the amp so that I don’t have to spend money on a separate one right now. Any other input regarding the Burson opamps with the Vinshine? Seems like a pretty good low cost upgrade.

 

[Greg121986]

  That was my first thought, but they mailed me two of them and I tried the second and no sound either

 
Can you confirm that the Burson v5i opamp is now working? I am about to order one for myself. 

 

[uncola]

Greg let me double check again before you order.. been testing a dac/pre this week so its temporarily unplugged

 

[uncola]

Hey greg so you motivated me to open up my Hattor preamp and take out my Burson V5 fully discrete opamp to try in the Dac-R2R ref.. instead of the hybrid v5i..  good news it fits easily.  Also it works at 20db gain which seems to give it a little lower noise floor than the v5i on 10db gain.. which is the max gain the v5i will do in the dac-r2r ref for some reason..  both sound signatures are close to identical and are an across the board improvement from the stock 2134pa.  but the V5 at 20db gain seems to have a slightly lower noise floor than the v5i at 10db gain so I'd get that one.  Otherwise the v5i is good, too.  I use an hd800 so I was at about 1 or 2 oclock on the volume knob 
 
one line summary:  yes v5i works and is good, 10db max gain.  v5 sounds the same, 20db max gain, tiny bit lower noise floor??  both fit and are a nice upgrade vs stock opa 2134pa opamp
 
pic of size difference in my hattor preamp, pic of v5 in dac-r2r-ref also you can see the gain dip switch, it's blue to the left of the v5 opamp, very easy to set.  I put the settings in this post http://www.head-fi.org/t/822033/vinshine-audio-dac-r2r-ref-w-soekris/90#post_13301065
 

 

 

[Greg121986]

Thanks, uncola. I will just order both. I have HD700 and they sound kind of thin to me. I'm looking to give a fuller sound. I expect to replace the HD700 with Focal Elear at some point, but I want to play around with the opamps first. 

 

[uncola]

Using the singxer su-1 kitsune tuned edition with sparkos discrete regulators etc with aes into the dac-r2r-ref... and trying out digital attenuation instead of using a preamp with my speaker setup.. sounds great.  also I'm back to the quasiNOS filter again.  sounds even better this way
 
much smaller stack these days.. trying the life-changing magic of tidying up
 

 

[uncola]

made a video showing how to change filters on the vinshine audio dac r2r ref..  please ignore my awkwardness.  I just took the video on my phone.  I thought people would be less scared to try it if they saw a video of the physical steps.  changing the filter using a serial console is not hard, you just have to know what to do
 
here's the usb to serial cable I use, driver is autoinstalled in windows 10  http://www.ebay.com/itm/5Ft-USB-2-0-to-Serial-RS232-Converter-Adapter-w-FTDI-Chipset-for-Win-Mac-Linux-/322235306862
 
guide to change the filters http://randytsuch-audio.blogspot.com/2015/11/soekris-r2r-dam-dac.html
guide to update firmware/upload new filters  http://www.dimdim.gr/2015/02/soekris-r-2r-firmware-upgrade/
 
 

 

[rigo]

Big thanks to Alvin at Vinshine for taking the time to help me install F6 quasinos filter! Sounding great. Much appreciated.

 

[alvin1118]

You're most welcome sir. Sound better with NOS filter ?

 

[Monsterzero]

made a video showing how to change filters on the vinshine audio dac r2r ref.. please ignore my awkwardness. I just took the video on my phone. I thought people would be less scared to try it if they saw a video of the physical steps. changing the filter using a serial console is not hard, you just have to know what to do

here's the usb to serial cable I use, driver is autoinstalled in windows 10 http://www.ebay.com/itm/5Ft-USB-2-0...-FTDI-Chipset-for-Win-Mac-Linux-/322235306862

guide to change the filters http://randytsuch-audio.blogspot.com/2015/11/soekris-r2r-dam-dac.html
guide to update firmware/upload new filters http://www.dimdim.gr/2015/02/soekris-r-2r-firmware-upgrade/

Can someone explain the filter process. The video that uncola did is no longer working.

 

[alvin1118]

Can someone explain the filter process. The video that uncola did is no longer working.

Hi @Monsterzero ,

Vinshine Audio DAC-R2R-REF uses Soekris dam1021 board.
The Soekris board' firmware/filter is field upgradable with some tools and computer knowledge, i.e. RS233 and Terminal Application.

There is a RS-232 port at the rear panel of the DAC for firmware update/filter selection. You'd need:

1. Windows PC
2. USB to RS-232 adapter (Modern computer doesn't come with RS-232 port anymore), an external USB to RS-232 adapter works fine.
3. ExtraPutty Terminal Application Software
4. Download the firmware / filters from http://www.soekris.dk/download.html

Steps To Update Firmware:

1. Plug in the USB-RS232 adapter to the PC, it shall be detected as a "ComPort", you may find it under the Device Manager. Configure the comport parameters as Baud Rate: 115200, Data Bits: 8, Stop Bits: 1, Parity: None, Flow Control: None.
2. Launch ExtraPutty application, enter the correct COM#, and set the speed to 115200, press Open button to initiate the Terminal Session

3. Turn on the DAC. You should see a black Terminal screen with DAC information. This would mean DAC' uManager is connected to the PC via RS-232 successfully

4. Type "+++" and follow by Enter to call up the uManager menu

5. To update the firmware, type "download", and Enter. The uManager is now waiting to receive the firmware file with 'CCC...' running to count down a 30 sec timeout timer.

6. To send the firmware file, click File Transfer -> Xmodem 1K -> Send (Navigate to the right firmware file you've downloaded previously, open, and download it to the DAC)

7. Once the download is completed, the screen display as follows

8. Type "update" to update the uC with the new firmware
9. Once it's updated, type "exit" to exit the uManager. Power cycle the DAC.
10. Repeat Steps 2-4, you should see the firmware version has been successfully updated.


Steps To Select Filters:
1. Repeat Steps 1-4 above
2. Type "?", uManager commands will be shown

3. Type "filters all". All filters available in the uC will be displayed

4. Type "set filter = linear" to select linear filter. There are few selections as shown in Step 3, i.e. linear, mixed, minimum, soft. A correspond feedback of F4, F5, F6, F7 will be prompted as you Enter the set filter command.


That's about it. Have fun!

Many thanks.

Rgds,
Alvin @ Vinshine Audio


Credit:
http://www.soekris.dk
http://www.dimdim.gr/2015/02/soekris-r-2r-firmware-upgrade/
https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/soekris-dam-1021-r-2r-dac-users-guide/

​

 

[Monsterzero]

Which of those filters is the NOS,or do I need to search for that elsewhere?

Thanks

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Hi @Monsterzero ,

Vinshine Audio DAC-R2R-REF uses Soekris dam1021 board.
The Soekris board' firmware/filter is field upgradable with some tools and computer knowledge, i.e. RS233 and Terminal Application.

There is a RS-232 port at the rear panel of the DAC for firmware update/filter selection. You'd need:

1. Windows PC
2. USB to RS-232 adapter (Modern computer doesn't come with RS-232 port anymore), an external USB to RS-232 adapter works fine.
3. ExtraPutty Terminal Application Software
4. Download the firmware / filters from http://www.soekris.dk/download.html

Steps To Update Firmware:

1. Plug in the USB-RS232 adapter to the PC, it shall be detected as a "ComPort", you may find it under the Device Manager. Configure the comport parameters as Baud Rate: 115200, Data Bits: 8, Stop Bits: 1, Parity: None, Flow Control: None.
2. Launch ExtraPutty application, enter the correct COM#, and set the speed to 115200, press Open button to initiate the Terminal Session

3. Turn on the DAC. You should see a black Terminal screen with DAC information. This would mean DAC' uManager is connected to the PC via RS-232 successfully

4. Type "+++" and follow by Enter to call up the uManager menu

5. To update the firmware, type "download", and Enter. The uManager is now waiting to receive the firmware file with 'CCC...' running to count down a 30 sec timeout timer.

6. To send the firmware file, click File Transfer -> Xmodem 1K -> Send (Navigate to the right firmware file you've downloaded previously, open, and download it to the DAC)


7. Once the download is completed, the screen display as follows

8. Type "update" to update the uC with the new firmware
9. Once it's updated, type "exit" to exit the uManager. Power cycle the DAC.
10. Repeat Steps 2-4, you should see the firmware version has been successfully updated.


Steps To Select Filters:
1. Repeat Steps 1-4 above
2. Type "?", uManager commands will be shown

3. Type "filters all". All filters available in the uC will be displayed

4. Type "set filter = linear" to select linear filter. There are few selections as shown in Step 3, i.e. linear, mixed, minimum, soft. A correspond feedback of F4, F5, F6, F7 will be prompted as you Enter the set filter command.


That's about it. Have fun!

Many thanks.

Rgds,
Alvin @ Vinshine Audio


Credit:
http://www.soekris.dk
http://www.dimdim.gr/2015/02/soekris-r-2r-firmware-upgrade/
https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/soekris-dam-1021-r-2r-dac-users-guide/

​

Will these filters alstroemerias work with the R2R Referance DAC?