Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

Regarding those of us who placed an order that includes acrylic case and haven’t shipped yet.

The new Pi4 case will also be included in the order without emailing you to ask about it explicitly, right?

 

Correct, from this point on all cases shipped will have the two extra panels for the PI 4.

Michael

 

@Michael Kelly when were you thinking that the latest batch of AES hats would be shipping out?

 

We just finished building 25 units today. I will be testing tomorrow and shipping Wednesday. Unfortunately we have 31 units on back order, so those who ordered in the last week will have to wait another week for the next batch of 25.

Regards,
Michael

 

FYI quick update. Testing was delayed until today, but is complete. 24 units will ship tomorrow. I decided to keep one for long term testing.

Michael

 

New update. Anyone who has an order in place that did not ship yesterday, will be shipping in about one week or so. We are finishing up another small batch of 15. After this we will have to go out and buy parts for the next batch.

Michael

 

Can we use Uptoneaudo UltraCap LPS 1.2 to power Pi2AES.
LPS 1.2 can have 12v out with 1.1A

 

As long as you power the pi separately, you should be fine with that amount of current. The PI2AES draws very little current at 12 V, a maximum of 100 ma.

Michael

 

I'm using an LPS 1.2 to power PI2AES, with a separate linear supply for Pi. It's working very well.

 

Got my Pi2AES a few days ago and would like to provide some feedback.

But first, a story.

When I received it, I figured I would set it up on the same Pi system that the 502DAC was on previously (and not used for months). The system comprised a Pi 2b+ and Ian Canada's Isolator Pi (rev 1).
The Pi would be powered by an iPhone charger (known to be the better kind of charger, in terms of noise to the device and out to the mains) and the Pi2AES would be powered by a Jameco 12V/1A power supply.

When I played the first tunes on the Metrum Jade via AES-3 I quickly noticed something was wrong. There was sound, but everything sounded higher pitched and slightly faster than normal. I though "oh boy, they swapped the 44.1 and 48 base clocks, I'll need to return it!". The sound quality was actually really good, besides making everything sound so "juvenile"

Since the Jade does not show sample rates, I switched over to the Yggdrasil A2. The 44.1 LED was on, but the 48 was blinking very fast next to it . I didn't actually connect the Yggdrasil to my speakers, so I don't know if it did output anything.

I'm quite amazed the Jade produced any sound at all, let alone with such quality!

I brought the setup to work and tried with the Soekris DAC1321. It was a no-go. It wouldn't lock.

A quick research showed what the issue was: the Isolator Pi I have does not support the WM8804 based HATs in master mode!
Ian made a new revision, called "IsolatorPi II", that fixes the issue. I will order one soon.

In the meantime, I removed the isolator board and, sure enough, everything works fine!
I am powering the whole thing (Pi + HAT) with a single Jameco 12V/1A power supply. I recommend these, they are super cheap (like $10~15) and come in many voltages (I have 2 or 3 5V/1A and this 12V/1A). They actually now have 1.5A versions, too (they used to top at 1A)!

As for the sound, it is really good! I actually just recently set it up properly at work (on the "audio" dedicated, transformer isolated, power outlets) with the DAC1321, but it's already showing a lot of promise!

Once I get the new IsolatorPi II board, I'll put it against the Metrum Ambre I recently acquired (which is phenomenal).
Fun times

 

So I put it all together and installed Ropieee. I can see it on the network but for some reason I can't actually set it up. I feel like I'm doing the exact same thing I did to the DigiOne...even same version....any suggestions?

 

are you able to access the setup screen?
If not then use below link
http://ropieee.local/
If you are setting up first time then it will take few mins to launch.
If you are in setup screen Then select HifiBerry Digi + Pro in Audio HAT

 

For the DigiOne I could not access that page so I had to scan my network to get my IP, and get set it up that way.

I took the DigiOne off the network and put the AES pi on...found its IP but it just times out and I can't get to the setup screen...

Can I setup via USB?

 

Can you try Moode or Volumio to verify the HW is working?

Michael

 

It takes forever. Essentially, it's as if you are setting it up for the first time. ropiee is using the internet to update and may reboot several times. Eventually you will be able to access it and pick the right hat...
https://codexwilkes.com/downloads/ropieee-guide-for-beginners.pdf

 

I will add, this is a startling change from my Roon/HQplayer,Matrix SPDIF2(iis),Matrix Xsabre pro setup.
The 502dac was meh using AES...very good with BNC.

As I understand it, there may be a break in period. Right now it is very bold and clear using ethernet to the pi and AES to the DAC, loudness difference is likely due to -3db in use with HQPlayer for DSD purposes (I upsample everything to DSD with the first chain).
With the 502aes it is all native with DSD downsampled by roon.

So far, an upgrade over the 502dac, jury still out comparing to my regular upsampling chain. All I can say is,
I like quite a lot, full evaluation will take some time.

 

Alright, we are in business! I just swapped micro SD cards from DigiOne -> Pi2AES and AES is working.

Now I suspect the SD card may have been corrupted or something. I'll try reformatting it and seeing what I can do. Can only one Ropiee device be active on the network as well?

 

I don't think there will be limitation on number of Ropieee devices in a network. I currently have Digione and Pi2 enabled in same network.
But I guess my Digione has DietPi

 

I currently am running 3 Ropiee endpoints with no issues. 2 DigiOnes and a Hifiberry. They work really well.

 

@Michael

bilboda is another 502 user who is lukewarm to the balanced AES on the 502. I would say that most of us who have compared balanced vs single ended on the 502 preferred the single ended.

I remember that you were looking for an improved balanced driver for the Pi2AES. Obviously, the balanced and single ended AES are both very good on the Pi2AES. Would you be willing to walk us through the difference in balanced AES between the 502 and the Pi2AES? It would be interesting learn what changed. Thanks

Jac