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

currently Running a RP4 + Pi2AES 2.0 via i2s with RopieeeXL.

Ive always used Ropieee since it is free and I exclusively use Roon and Airplay. No complaints currently, but you never know until you try....

Assuming all the usual caveats...for sound quality purposes alone, what are peoples thoughts on Ropieee vs. Volume or Moode?

 

Gentooplayer is mine favourite for sound quality purposes.

Many options great sound

 

A couple of months ago, I'd asked about using a ribbon cable to connect the pi2aes2 to the raspberry pi4 and mounting them side by side. My primary motivation was to reduce the height of the case, but it occurred to me that it might also reduce any EMI coupling.

I'm not sure of the protocol for sharing photos, but I've posted some photos here:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0186eiCSJET0CFmDmKdC7OMZw
https://share.icloud.com/photos/08e7W6NJjEk_Xi3I2geREgdzg
https://share.icloud.com/photos/091bOG61_Wrxl0p1XlOuJswFA

The pi4 and pi2aes2 have separate AMB sigma-11 5v supplies. The pi4 is housed in a geekworm N300 passive cooling case and is running ropieee as a roon endpoint over Ethernet. My DAC is a Chord Qutest powered by an Sbooster with ultra mk11 upgrade.

Initially I'd been using an a sigma-11 to power the pi2aes2 and an IFI ipower2 to feed the pi4. Building the second sigma-11 for the pi4 was almost an afterthought because I didn't expect it would make much of a difference. Well I was wrong - the improvement was immediately apparent. Bottom line is that I'm very happy with the end result, but maybe there's more to be had - I'd welcome comments or suggestions.

 

Are the pi2aes "lite" components supposed to be the same quality as what's in the regular? I just need AES Coax, but I would go with the more expensive pi2aes board if it's different or a higher-quality board in general.

 

it uses the exact same circuitry as the PI2AES 2.0. it is only the number of interfaces that are different.

 

I'm trying to add an LPS to my new PI2AES, however the Allo store has been "down for maintenance" ever since I started looking into this (about a week now). Can anyone suggest an alternative?

 

While maybe not exactly what you are looking for, this, (Jameco AC/DC adapter) has been recommended by a few members and has made a difference in my system.

 

Thanks! for $19 I'll definitely give this a shot.

 

Well now I feel like a sucker for using a $400 SBooster with mine

 

So, is Allo out of business?

Alternatively, I'm looking at this: Fully Regulated Linear Power Supply for All Digione Signature - MCRU which I assume will work just fine with a PI2AES

 

That's only 5v... depending on the version of Pi2AES, you may need a lot more. I think mine is a 24v supply and the Mercury I have is 12v IIRC

 

Yeah, really sorry about that guys. The original PI2AES was supposed to be 12 V, but the power supply chip we used had to be substituted which meant we had to switch to 24 V. Although it will run at somewhere north of 12 and south of 19!

Going forward the hats will always be 5 V while the enclosed units will be 12 V.

 

I apologize for being a dummy here, but now I'm confused. I thought the 24v chip would run at 5v but would negate the protection circuitry. If this is not the case, then as I'm shopping for a linear PS should I be seeking a 24v for the hat and a 5v for the Pi?

like THIS for example: 50W R Core Transformer Dual Output Low Noise DC Regulated Linear Power Supply 5V 9V 12V 15V 21V 24V HiFi PSU (aliexpress.us)

or am I overthinking this.. and should I just grab a couple iFi units for $70ea

 

The Pi2AES hat can power the rpi, or you can power them separately by removing one of the jumpers (you'll have to look at the manual to see which jumper).

Or you can bypass the protection circuitry and send 5v power to the internal pi2aes pins (I'm pretty sure there is a post in the previous 131 pgs that outlines the process... and I think its also on Goldensound's website).

I have 4{?!!?) pi2aes based systems. I run one of my pi2aes's on a 24v ebay LPS, another on a 24v ifi power elite, a third on a 5v ifi power x that bypasses the protection (purchased used with the 5v power solution already hooked up), and a 4th with the power supply Michael sells. While they are all on different systems and I can no longer a/b any of them side by side, I have to be honest and say that I don't remember hearing a huge/significant difference between the 3 "above stock" power solutions.

FWIW, I noticed a more obvious improvement with @ColtMrFire 's fiber network solution, than from any of the 3 power supplies (discounting the stock unit on the low end system). So unless you have a really outstanding synergistic system (or magic ears), I would personally choose the least expensive approach to power (LPS or one of the various ifi units).

 

This was EXACTLY what I was looking for, THANK YOU!

 

I'm having a hard time getting sound out of my Pi2AES feeding my new Gustard R26 through IIS. The Gustard can see the correct sampling rate, but nothing else.

My Pi2AES is REV P3 and should be compatible. Unfortunately, I don't have any other devices to test with this, so unless there's something obvious I'm missing, I'm kinda screwed. I was really looking forward to trying upsampling with HQPlayer... on that note, does anyone know how high the Pi4 will go? I know it should do 4x without a problem, but what about 8x or 16x (705.6/768 kHz)?

 

Send an email to [email protected] and we can see about swapping your unit for a 2.0 which has the jumper for PS-Audio and Gustard support.

As for frame rate, the interface between the PI CPU and the hat is limited to 192Khz max. Only USB can go above that in which case you don't need the hat, though sound quality can be a bit worse. Not sure about the Gustard R26 USB interface quality.

 

I see, so the Pi2AES is limited to 192kHz even with IIS? Interesting. The Gustard R26 supports up to 768 kHz via IIS so I was hoping I could convince the Pi4 under the Pi2AES into doing some heavy upsampling and run the DAC in NOS mode.

 

I would suggest that 192 kHz no over sampling will sound pretty damn good as well but, they are your ears, and only you can decide. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to get you to that high frequency.

 

In that case I may just opt to use AES, as several reports on Head-fi say that AES on the Gustard is superior to IIS anyway. I can DIY a pure silver AES cable with Aeco connectors for about $80 that should best most off-the-shelf cables. Another option is just to use the Gustard's internal streamer, but I recall the Pi2AES giving me better micro-detail through coax.

It would be nice to know why IIS doesn't work as I'm concerned it's a flaw with my R26. My Pi2AES should be compatible with the Gustard pin-out, right? REV P3.

edit for clarification