Pi2 Design Idiot-Proof Ready-To-Go RPi/AES Streamer

Just ordered the idpi sdcard so I can try out jriver on the mercury in addition to volumio and hqplayer

 

I plan on testing Volumio and Jriver MC as well. Cannot wait for the Mercury...

 

For a card going into a rPi, phone, tablet, etc... you may want to consider looking at the random read/write speeds vs sequential (which is more useful for cameras).

The new A1/A2 ratings for sd cards capture this:

• A1
  • Random Read: 1500 IOPS
  • Random Write: 500 IOPS
  • Sustained Sequential Write: 10 megabytes per second
• A2
  • Random Read: 4000 IOPS
  • Random Write: 2000 IOPS
  • Sustained Sequential Write: 10 megabytes per second

Of course, if your using the card in a phone/tablet as simply storage for the camera in the phone, or to hold music files), then the speed ratings may be more useful. The A1/A2 are really geared towards devices that extend the OS or applications onto the card.

----edit----
lol, meant this to be a reply in another thread - not sure if it applies to the Mercury...

 

OR Just run out of RAM instead of from the card....

 

HI Michael
wondered if you have gotten feedback on the Mercury, Im a noob and am looking for ease of use and set up, how is it going with the test units? Hope to get one in March if I can handle it.
best,
Josh

 

Beta units go out this week, so we'll see.

 

Hi Michael,

will this new streamer have I2S connection that I have with Pi2AES for Metrum/Sonnet DAC using Ethernet cable

 

If you are speaking of the buffered, parallel I2S signals, then unfortunately the answer is no. We do not make those signals available in a convenient way with mercury.

 

Hum... from the manual on your site:

BUFFERED I2S OUTPUT – Parallel Buffered I2S is available for direct short distance connection to off-board D/A. Perfect for DIY use! I2C for control is also provided as well as 5V Regulated and Input Voltage Rails.
DIFFERENTIAL I2S OUTPUT – An LVDS Differential Transmitters is used to drive the I2S Bus over a standard HDMI Connector. The Pinout conforms to the PS Audio Standard. ​

 

Nope, it is fixed in the manual, but you may need to refresh the page and then download again.
Also note that I said "convenient". It is available on an internal flex connector.

 

Michael, can the I2S pinout be changed (by SW or FW) or is it hard-wired?
Currently, I do not use I2S, but my next DAC is likely to have I2S input (the candidates I am considering have I2S).

 

It is fixed.

 

Are there any other beta units available? I have pretty extensive Linux experience and I am really interested in a device like that that could potentially run various Linux distros and MPD.

Edited because somehow most of that message didn't come through.

 

Sorry. We have 6 tested units now that are all spoken for. I am hoping to get 2-3 more running today, but those would also be spoken for.

The good news is that I have contracted with an outside assembly house to build us 200 units. Estimated delivery to us is middle of March. Once we have a firmer date sometime next week, we will enable pre-ordering. The only potential issue is the the metal shop messed up the back panels for the case. They are re-doing, but say it will be 6 weeks.

Folks talk a lot about chip shortages, but in my experience, almost everything has been gummed up by the pandemic. But hey, as long as we are safe we

 

Exciting news, not the back panels, but the rest is really exciting. My Ferrum Hypsos awaits!

 

should I order an m.2 screw mounting kit if I want to use the m.2 ssd slot?

like this one? https://www.newegg.com/p/0PS-00H6-09YG3?IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

or is the laptop screw kit better? https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=m.2+screw

 

The post is soldered into the board, so you only need the screw.

Also, while we have tested the functionality with Raspbian, we do not know how to enable the SSD in the various players.

 

Michael, can you kindly include a screw (I assume we only need 1) with every Mercury shipped?

 

that was the plan. But this last post just made me realize we forgot to order the screws. I have ordered a bunch from Amazon and they will be here tomorrow, which may delay getting the beta units out until Tuesday. But long term there will be a screw in the post even if there is no SSD module installed.

 

Received the mercury beta today. Mine came with an SD card with volumio installed.

Spoiler:. It sounds so much better than my Intel nuc as a source that I don't think a subjective comparison would be useful. Also really great that it's fanless so the noise floor of my listening room is less.

Volumio setup was kind of funky.. in the end I plugged in an Ethernet cable, then set up wifi.

I'm using the rca coax output to an smsl su-9 dac. It's sounding really great in every way. Making me a believer in digital transport quality causing big subjective differences
I'll try jriver idpi tomorrow.. shouldn't be too hard to configure it for hifiberry digi+ output in alsa or whatever