Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Michael Kelly, Apr 30, 2016.

  1. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    If powering them separately resolved the problem temporarily then consider the power supply as a point of failure as well. Look in /var/log/kern.log to see if it’s complaining about under voltage or low power.
     
  2. AukePauke

    AukePauke Acquaintance

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    It seems i found the problem and can reproduce it. I really don't understand why the problem did act up, because i used the settings a long time without any problems. I use PicorePlayer with great tweaks from https://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com/?m=1

    I replied to that site, but no reaction until now.

    I have a rPi 3B± a Pi2aes HAT and use wifi. If i use CPU isolation 3. My rpi gets unstable loses connections with the server. Also the pCP WEB-UI is gone. Sometimes it comes back after some time, but mostly i have to restart.

    So i turn off the cpu isolation and uptil now,
    Its stable again.
     
  3. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    I'm wondering how much power, in watts, that the Pi2AES draws when the Pi itself is independently powered? I was originally planning on building a 24V AMB simga11 power supply, and asked about the power draw. I was told that the power draw was "less than 100 mA at 24V"... but now I'm wondering if I could get away with a much cheaper and simpler sigma25. The sigma25 output power is limited to 1.5W continuous, would this be enough? If the power draw is 100 mA, that comes out to 2.4W which is too high, but since you said "less than" I'm just wondering if I could get away with the smaller, simpler version of the power supply.
     
  4. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I would not recommend that small a supply. Even if the steady state draw was under 1.5W, the power up draw is much higher.
     
  5. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    This doesn't sound right. The S25 is just a 79xx regulator that should be able to supply up to an amp of current. What you need to manage is heat dissipation from the regulator at below 1.5W, by keeping input and output voltages in check.
     
  6. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Right, sigma25 is capable of higher output currents if you go with a better heatsink, but casework and the like are my Achilles heel so I was hoping to stick with the stock recommended heatsink. I already have a case an old 5V sigma25 (that I've disassembled and neglected to reassemble) with a square hole for an IEC+fuse (I hate cutting these friggin things but this one was CNC'd by a friend) so I thought I might save some money and time by re-appropriating that case.

    In terms of power draw, I thought it might have been a long shot but was worth asking anyway... and besides, the guy whose cubicle is in front of mine has a small CNC at home so I'm just going to ask him if he can CNC the IEC inlet hole for me.

    Related, I'm currently using an iFi iPower X which delivers 3A @ 5V to the Pi, and running the AES board on the stock SMPS... I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement separately powering both.
     
  7. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Our next build off 100 units is fully underway. We have re-enabled ordering. Lead time is 3-4 weeks.
     
  8. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    PI2AES Production Update - 07/07/21

    The 100 unit build is nearing completion. Surface mount assembly is complete and through hole is next. That's the good news. The bad(ish) news is that the 40-Pin GPIO Headers have still not arrived. The vendor has assured us they will go out this week, but lets face it, nothing is working quite right these days! But, as soon as they arrive we can start shipping within a day or two. We will update here as soon as they arrive.

    Many thanks for your continued patience from the Pi 2 Design team, and stay safe!
     
  9. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    I've seen one thread on SBAF where there was some discussion about whether the Pi 3B+ sounded better than the 4B: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/raspberry-pi-streamer-nervosa-thread.8891/. And by some discussion, I mean a link to a Hans Beekhuyzen video where he opined that the 3B+ sounds better than the 4B. Namely that the 4B sounds slightly less open, has slightly less sibilance control, and a narrower stereo image, but with better-defined low end when using Volumio.

    Any truth to that in your experience when using your two units? I understand the 4B is much better in other respects, especially with respect to dedicated gigabit ethernet, but curious whether there's any difference in sound quality.

    Apologies if this was addressed later in the thread, but I was unable to find any answers given the short length of the search terms. Has anyone seen any further information about this issue? Just ordered my Pi2AES and plan to order my Pi shortly. I note @purr1n's guide recommends the Pi 4B 2GB version. Is it worth just getting the 4GB or 8GB version instead given the modest increase in price, or is there zero point given the use for dedicated audio streaming instead of more intensive computing tasks?

    Also looks like Pi prices have risen on Amazon. Anybody have any experience with any of the authorized Pi resellers like PiShop.us? My MicroCenter is sold out otherwise I’d just go there.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2021
  10. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I've not noticed any differences. Both units are on Ethernet, with Pi2AES, running RopieeeXL (mostly for Roon but occasionally for Airplay for podcasts or videos). I've heard of differences for Pi USB audio output between different Pi boards, but I've never used them that way.
     
  11. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    The thing is mostly that there's no reason to buy a 4 for Roon unless you need the WiFi, as the power on the 3 is already ample and it runs cooler.

    And an even better solution for WiFi is to buy a non-WiFi 4 and stick a USB solution on it, like the one Allo sells.

    Depends entirely on your network infrastructure and processing power needs, and if you want to use the USB output I suggest the allo usbridge instead.
     
  12. ofilippov

    ofilippov Acquaintance

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    I wanted to check it out as well, but unfortunately, my rPi 3B+ died. And I bought usbridge sig as a platform for pi2aes instead. Waiting for it to arrive. But there's also other reviewer, claiming that rPi 3B+ sounds better over Allo HAT. But rPi 4 sounded better via plain USB output. Probably because of separated USB and Network.

    Here's the link to the video.

    What I can confirm from personal experience is that rpi4 sounds slightly better over USB than rpi3b+.

    Yep, WiFi on rPi totally sucks. I'd use it for non-critical audio applications only. I went even further in the network tweaks. You can see the description in my profile.

    Edit: just wanted to add, disabling USB ports on the rPi4 resulted in a bit cleaner sound over pi2aes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2021
  13. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    I haven't seen any Pi boards that come without Wi-Fi, just people disabling it through OS commands that may or may not work depending on the particular audio-focused OS you're using.

    That said, I think I'll just go with a 3B+, as it runs a bit cooler, I won't be using USB, and my local MicroCenter actually has them in stock. If there happens to be a sound quality improvement with the 3B+ over the 4B when used in conjunction with the Pi2AES as posited by the couple YouTube videos mentioned/linked above, then great!
     
  14. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    @zonto. I got most of my Pi boards at Micro Center in Cambridge MA as well. The Pi went on sale there often before the COVID and the supply chain issues. Last year when I asked about the Pi 4 8GB regarding to the on-board power supply circuit change, only the 8GB version on sale was using the newer board with some minor switcher changes (official news here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/8gb-raspberry-pi-4-on-sale-now-at-75/). I bet now most boards even with lower RAMs (2GB and 4GB) would have the new switcher circuit on board as no point to keep the older design and manufacture 2 PCB boards for the same type of Pi. By comparing the lay out of those small parts next to the USB-C, to the picture showed in the above blog webpage, one should know whether the board is using the new "higher current" circuit or not. Unfortunately, I don't have any Pi 4 with the newer power circuit thus can not report. The Pi 4 runs hot, thus I use a "Flirc aluminum case for Pi 4, very helpful and looks cool. I've seen Micro Center at Cambridge sells similar aluminum case from "Argon". The Pi3 has enough computing power to decode the music file as a streamer. I bet the subtle differences about the sound signature is related to the different power circuitry design (thus electric noises) between the Pi 3 B+ and those early version of Pi 4B, rather than the CPU speed. I had a hard time to sense any significant difference myself, between a "PI2AES / Pi 3B+" combo and a "PI2AES / Pi 4B 2GB early version combo" as streamer. I use a separate Pi 4B for the LMS server. Psychologically, I felt the Pi 3B+ sounded a bit more relaxing, but I don't think I can pass the A-B test.

    Edit: Sorry, the aluminum case is for my Pi 4B running the LMS server. It can not fit a PI2AES on top of a Pi.
     
  15. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Production Update - 07/22/21
    The 40-Pin GPIO Headers have still not arrived. The vendor shipped them via DHL and they were due here last Friday. When they did not show Monday we contacted DHL and they assured us they would be here Tuesday. They are still not here and DHL online status is unclear when they will arrive. As soon as they arrive we can start shipping within a day or two. We will update here as soon as we have them. In the mean time if anyone wishes to can cancel their order for a full refund.

    Many thanks for your continued patience from the Pi 2 Design team, and stay safe!
     
  16. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    Is there any issue with running one of the older Pi2AES boards (9V-20V version I believe?) with a Pi4? I thought I'd run it like this before but I cannot seem to get it working now.

    I've tried both the 5V hack and a 13.3V jumper off my battery PSU and I see the green light on Pi2AES lit up and the Pi has power, but I can't get any output out of Pi2AES. I've tried AES (two cables) and BNC. I have to set RoPieeeXL to "Raspberry Pi i2S" as the HAT, or neither Roon nor HQPlayer even finds the device. I've tried the two Pi2AES options, HiFi Berry Digi+ Pro, and a couple other random options. With any of those selected, everything powers up but it's not detected as a Pi2AES in any fashion.

    And when I do get it "visible" using the i2S HAT option - all I can do is have Roon use it as an endpoint and transmit USB out to my DAC. HQPlayer "plays" but there's no output. I do have the NAA stuff turned on in RoPieeeXL but I've also tried it with that off, and no change.

    Chasing my tail here, and not quite sure where I'm going wrong. The jumper on the side is in place, as is the jumper in the header for the power switch, on the AES board.
     
  17. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    Ugh. I'm a moron. Ever configure a brand new RoPieee device and forget there's already a "ropieee.local" on the network? Yea I was configuring my daughter's endpoint the whole time. At least it was simple.

    Sorry for any confusion, carry on!
     
  18. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I was all set to ask questions and possibly offer some suggestions. But instead I will simply say

    upload_2021-7-23_16-11-24.jpeg
     
  19. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    PI2AES Production Update - 07/23/21
    Finally some good news! The 40-Pin GPIO Headers have just arrived. The not so good news is they arrived at 7PM on a Friday and my guy who does the assembly work is out until next Wednesday. But at least we can now make a plan and begin shipping by the end of next week. As before, if anyone wishes to, they can cancel their order for a full refund.

    Many thanks for your continued patience from the Pi 2 Design team, and stay safe!

    View attachment 27432
     
  20. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    We just put another 40 units in the store now that the connectors are here. Lead time is still 3-4 weeks from now.
     

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