Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

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

  1. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    @Michael Kelly great!

    I'll wait for the screen case for the AES so I only have to pay intercontinental shipping once :)
     
  2. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    We are just waiting on the HW bits and pieces to show up and then it goes into the store. Next Monday at the latest.

    Michael
     
  3. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I have an update on the AKM DAC add-on for the PI2AES. We have to respin the board to take care of a part that we are finding difficult to get. I had hoped to have everything ready to go to production at this point, but this is going to delay us until the end of June. It would normally be a little quicker to turn around a new version, but with COVID-19 shipping from overseas has slowed things down.
     
  4. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    If I may ask, which AKM DAC chip will likely be the one you'll end up using?
     
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Staying with the AK4493.

    Michael
     
  6. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    Just out of curiosity, do you still plan on having the screen case in the store this week?
     
  7. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Yes. Just waiting on the metal brackets we’re using to hold the screen. Due here tomorrow. Then we can prep a handful of cases and hardware to put into the store.

    Michael
     
  8. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    Screen Shot 2020-04-17 at 12.16.28 PM.png IMG_0119.jpg

    @Michael Kelly I caught talk about turning off the LED's. Just an fyi the HifiBerry DAC+ Pro driver (so: pi2AES)* added control for its LED, more specifically the driver (through i2c) sets the PCM5122 chips's pin14 to 3.3V on/off. It's not done through the pi GPIO.

    piCore has it now, and Moode/others should get it soon as they update their linux's.

    Might be an elegant way to go if you spin new boards.
     
  9. lehmanhill

    lehmanhill Almost "Made"

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    In the New Year, I bought a used Pavane and hooked it up to the Pi2AES through AES. The Onyx went into my office system and, because I hadn't gotten around to buying another Pi2AES, I just fed the Onyx with coax out of the 502 DAC. It sounded fine, so I didn't rush to get another Pi2AES. Finally, I got around to hooking up the Onyx with the Pi2AES and i2s again, but now in the office system.

    I am always surprised the difference a digital input can make. Part of me says, digits are just digits, but experience says otherwise. What a difference coax to i2s has made in my office system. Sound stage is much deeper. Music is more dynamic with loud sections seeming louder but clear and the micro dynamics and low level details much clearer yet just part of the music. I also have the impression that the bass has improved in clarity and depth.

    I have become an i2s fanboy, even though I can't explain why it works. It just does.
     
  10. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Unfortunately our board uses the WM8804 as the main controller. Thus we do not have access to anything other than the pi GPIO. Also they are simple on/off, not controlled through any sort of PWM.

    Michael
     
  11. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    Ah, thought there was still a 5122 tucked in there-- so you must use the digi+Pro driver. Oh well.
     
  12. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    Just set mine up today using DietPi + Roon bridge, can't get it working via I2S properly (for some reason the stereo mix is backwards), but it sounds great out of the coax output.
     
  13. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    It may be that the polarity is swapped on one or more of the differential signals.
     
  14. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Do you have an Audio-gd DAC?
    Way back when, my Master-7 DAC would randomly switch the L&R channels when using I2S with the Off-ramp 4.
    As in, the L&R assignment would be random when first plugging I2S in, but would otherwise stay put until I turn it off and back on again.
     
  15. HAL9000

    HAL9000 Almost "Made"

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    Thanks to @earnmyturns relentless pursuit of audio nirvana, I obtained a 502DAC. I thought it would be perfect for my BF2 as the BF2's fanciest input is SPDIF. Being a Lazy Man, I ended up installing Volumio to create an Airplay bridge. I have been using it for the past month. It is a great addition to my setup. I can stream my hi-res files from Audirvana on my Mac or use Tidal from my idevices. I cannot discern any difference in AQ between hardwired or the 502DAC bridge. Thanks for the labor of love @Michael Kelly!
     
  16. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    Rockna Wavedream, which would you restart, the streamer or the DAC?
     
  17. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    @Michael Kelly. I have been pondering if there is any measurable difference between using LAN or WLAN on the raspberry pi 3 with the PI2AES?
     
  18. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    None that we have seen. At least not with the PI 3B+ or the 4. We have not tested with the Zero-W or older PI's with an attached dongle. Note that any testing we did was very basic, just using the WiFi to stream audio. No other activity. Your experience might well be different.
     
  19. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    I understand. I have not really noticed any difference either, but thought some measurements will show which one is "noisier". General knowledge has always been that LAN beats WLAN, because of the radios or something.
     
  20. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    It shouldn't really matter unless you want to use the pi as a server with moode - usb3 annihilates 2.4GHz WiFi, so if you want to do that you'll have to use a USB network card with an extender cable, and that's a practical consideration rather than sound quality.

    If you want to go feel insano feel free - I once ended up on a page where an echo chamber was circlejerking about how optane for NUC storage makes the music sound better - but I'd be very surprised if the difference was audible.
     

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