Dummies Guide to Pi2AES! Throw away your PC or laptop.

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, Jan 29, 2020.

  1. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    Did ropieee auto update? Some possibly traumatic changes this Dec. as we're moving to Linux 5.4... piCore 7 is going through betas with this also.

    If you didn't already, try going back 2 versions: ropieee 2.595

    and... reseat the card... jiggle it on the GPIO pins, MHz signals going over those--
    and... POWER OFF for 20secs, the i2s/SPDIF chip on the Pi2AES gets config'd by the driver... with a problem or blip this can stick around corrupted between reboots until a power off
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2020
  2. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I got Volumio up and running and same issue with garbled output from Pi2AES SPDIF and AES
     
  3. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    @Michael Kelly
     
  4. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    So also maybe the dac or cable, using an adapter for bnc? Try optical? USB from hat? Hard boot the dac?
     
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Sorry to hear about this Please send an email to [email protected]. We may ask you to try some other stuff first. But if it continues we will dispatch a replacement unit ASAP.
     
  6. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Latest RopieeeXL 3.015 just installed on Pi 4B+Pi2AES, AES to Yggdrasil, working well as it has from the start.
     
  7. farbinator

    farbinator Facebook Friend

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  8. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    You are not the first to ask for this so we will purchase them when we run out of the existing ones. Not the greatest expense, but what am I going to do with the straight ones!
     
  9. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    The mystery continues. @Michael Kelly is super helpful (as always) and sent me some 1kHz (44.1 and 48 kHz sampling rates) test tones to try.

    So to update and clarify:
    Michael asked me to let him know everything I tried and this is what I wrote him:

    I am using Roon and connecting via ethernet into Pi3 with Pi2AES. I have tried SPDIF Coax and Optical and AES BNC outputs into two different Schiit Bifrost 2 DACs. I tried Ropieee, RopieeeXL and Volumio (all freshly flashed). I've tried switching to Wifi, no change. I've tried plugging directly into the router and not using a switch, no change. I've tried changing the outlet for the PS for Pi2AES/RPI, no change. I've tried using Apple Airplay with Qobuz, no change. Your test tones sound fine and if I change Ropiee to output to USB on RPi it works fine with the DAC.

    The setup didn't change and it worked flawlessly before. Roon --> ethernet to Pi2AES/Rpi --> SPDIF Coax Bifrost2.

    Any help solving this problem is greatly appreciated.
    Thanks.
     
  10. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    Check for long solder legs under the digital outputs that might be shorting out? It seem you've narrowed it down to the hat.
     
  11. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Good catch. I forgot that a few went out the door without being clipped.
     
  12. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    Great idea! I clipped them down and made sure there wasn't any contact being made. I still have garbled output. :(

    Edit: Also tried out JRiver via DLNA and still the same garbled output.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2020
  13. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    A new unit will ship out tomorrow.
     
  14. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    This is the followup for the PA820 spdif splitter to the previous post which measured the PA830 AES splitter.
    I measured Inferred Jitter for the PA820 spdif splitter inserted between dScope digital generator output and digital measurement input.

    PA820: inserted between 1 foot LV-61S to input and 1 foot Canare LV-61S to output:
    20201214 Inferred Jitter FFT - spdif loopback 1ft + PA820 + 1ft Canare LV-61S 44KHz.png
    Again I don't see any difference between the two measurements down to -200 dBFS. First loopback measurement is in the post quoted above.

    A microscopic view of one bit transition in the time domain on the oscilloscope for spdif input and output from a transformer.
    Blue: input to transformer
    Red: output from the transformer
    20201214 spdif 44KHz XFMR input blu - output red.png
    Data rates for 44 KHz in spdif is 2.8 MHz. Transformer used in splitter has a passband of 10 KHz to 50 MHz. Input to output The signals look substantially similar.
     
  15. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    thanks for doing this @atomicbob !!
     
  16. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Officially a member of team Pi2AES! Big thanks to @loadexfa for making it for me, putting electrical tape over the LEDs and walking my dumbass through the setup process. MoOde was complicated. The Volumio app does it all for you it’s super easy. I kind of prefer the MoOde vibe but oh well

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

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    First I want to thank Michael Kelly for his service and trust. The Meanwell PSU that shipped to me squeals noticably and he refunded it to me. Yes, that should be expected but since I live far away in Germany it's also a matter of trust as I can't send it back without the whole process costing too much. So thank you Michael for quickly taking care of me and always replying to my mails. When I wanted to make a change for the case for the 7" edition he promised to send me the display case for free. Of course I will not let that happen, the free part that is. Ha!

    Unfortunately the replacement Meanwell I ordered now does not arrive to my place because DPD can't find the address where I live since 2015. Good Lord.

    Thus currently a friend of mine is building me a LPS for it and once it arrives I will be posting impressions and pictures of it.I'll continue to use the squealer in the meanwhile but not always on as you never know what might happen.

    Why did I buy the Pi2AES?

    I used to have a ALLO Digione and used it for a good while until I went over to the Lynx card and basically did everything through a computer. Rarely used the Digione then and sold it. The Lynx was less round and felt less "antialiased" but that could also be a slight rougness. lol

    Now over a year later I miss having the opportunity to not be dependant on my computer for streaming and I wanted to listen more to my speakers. Thus the idea to built a RPI again came alive. Originally I wanted to go for the Digione Signature as the safe and fast option but reading the PI2AES thread made me very curious so I imported mine.

    Here is what the PI2AES brought into my system vs. the Linx AES which I prefer to UNISON.
    The Lynx AES with a Redco built Mogami W3173 seemed more direct, more incisive than the softer Unison to me. I'm mentioning the cable so you guys who still use a Lynx with the CBL-AES1604 etc have an option to avoid the thousand-headed snake.

    I tried a dedicated USB card for UNISON with 1 dedicated controller per USB port, together with a USB cable that splits data and power. Even hooked up a WYRD for fun. You know, all that nervosa stuff.

    In the end the Lynx still won so pushing Unison aside what did PI2AES do the Lynx?

    It basically relegated it to PC only tasks. It's not unlistenable at all, that would be hyperbole but the PI2AES is just above and beyond it and all other solutions I so far listened to. It pushes me to getting a tablet for browsing Tidal/Qobuz so not to drain the battery of my smartphone.

    I was kinda struck how easily noticable the changes were, I didn't expect it to be THIS good. Just listening and not trying to go Zen Buddha sitting on my chair for endless hours. That's how good the PI2AES is. It takes your nervosa and goes IP MAN on it.


    The PI2AES is:

    cleaner, clearer, better blackground
    even more incisive yet at the same time more refined. Stuff is easier to pick out and enjoy, yet is not distracting.
    grabs details out of the dark and yet is not flinging unnecessary shit (greyness) around just to have "more"
    that cliché of hearing stuff in the background better than before couldn't be any more truthful, it was striking making me not hesitate using that cliché

    space, staging, imaging is more solid, refined, room reflections, decay bleed out very fine and gradual. The whole "picture"
    opens up.

    Basically AN ABSOLUTE STUNNER.

    Thanks Michael Kelly and the PI2DESIGN Team for such an affordable upgrade, thanks purrin for helping such a great product to get a bigger audience which it absolutely deserves and thanks everyone else for your impressions and may your SCHLONG always be this incisive and ballsy.
     
  18. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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  19. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    The other option is to attenuate on the output side with iFi Ear Buddy or iEMatch. I haven't used them personally but they have been discussed on SBAF.
     
  20. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    @rhythmdevils Not sure if you are using Volumio, but you can enable "software" volume control with the setting at the top:
    Screen Shot 2020-12-16 at 2.00.56 PM.png
    This allows me to send system sound and volume control through the Pi to my DAC when needed (streaming video, Tidal, or even Volumio streaming of hard drive content).
     

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