Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

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

  1. HumanFly

    HumanFly Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Netherlands
    So my BNC-cable came in and I have been listening to it for a day or 2 now.
    And I now am pretty sure I will not go back to usb. (maybe when I send in Gungnir for a MB upgrade and go to usb5 and usb5 turns out to muchMUCH better than usb2)
    I was constantly tweaking the usb-thing. But whatever I did it remained shrill(ish) and shreeky up top. Some metallic quality to the upper mids/highs that bugged me senseless.
    Not because it was really horrible, just because I am a bit of an analcunt and I am really sensitive to high pitched noises (and white noise in general pisses me off.)
    This added to the improved soundstage, better separation and the floaty voices make the 502 the best (bang-for-buck) upgrade to my system besides the Gungnir itself.

    At first with the coax I lost interest and since a day or two(on BNC) I have not googled possible upgrades to my raspberry and just listened to music.
    I take this to be very good sign. You made an excellent board indeed!
     
  2. bigbear1997

    bigbear1997 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2017
    Likes Received:
    39
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Asia
    Will the volume control be included in the pro? Thx.
     
  3. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Yes. There will be an update with picture when we get the protos back late next week.

    Cheers
    Michael
     
  4. bigbear1997

    bigbear1997 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2017
    Likes Received:
    39
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Asia
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Actually it's for the 502DAC, not the Pro. it does not have an opening for the HP. But we are working with them and will have a version for it soon. We are currently putting together the 7" touch unit and the basic unit with the 502DAC and will have photos next week.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  6. HumanFly

    HumanFly Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Netherlands
    7" touch unit?
    You are taking the fun out of this! It is supposed to be hard!
    It is cheap because it takes hard labour to get things up and running.
    You are not supposed to make things that offer quality, are easy to use AND cheap.
    It`s just not audiophile!

    Kidding aside:
    Are they adapting this for you: http://www.audiophonics.fr/en/boiti...and-touchscreen-7-kit-diy-silver-p-11251.html ?
    Because that would trigger my interest and totally make me forget making stuff out of wood.
     
  7. uncola

    uncola Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    596
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Oahu, Hawaii
    I don't understand the bnc port.. it's not spdif it's aes??? I've never seen that..
     
  8. HumanFly

    HumanFly Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Netherlands
    From the manual:

    http://www.pi2design.com/uploads/4/8/5/3/48531975/502dac_hw_ref_manual_p4_2.pdf

    BALANCED OUT –
    Isolated Balanced AES/EBU Pro-Audio is via ¼” Conn
    ector (XLR Adapter is available)

    COAX OUT -
    A BNC COAX connector provides single ended, isolate
    d S/PDIF with selectable Output levels for
    both Pro and Consumer equipment

    so:
    The AES comes from a different port all together. The one next to the BNC.
    The BNC-out doubles as a coax-out when you use the adapter and does output isolated s/pdif.
     
  9. uncola

    uncola Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    596
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Oahu, Hawaii
    oh I was going by the stuff on the indiegogo page which was confusing me
    • Transformer Isolated Single Ended AES/EBU via 75 ohm BNC (RCA Adapter included)
    • Transformer Isolated Balanced AES/EBU via 1/4" TRRS Jack (XLR Adapter included)
    • Optical TOSLINK Transmitter for S/PDIF
    anyway I only need digital out so I backed a 502dac regular version! they are identical for digital out use right?
     
  10. HumanFly

    HumanFly Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Netherlands
    As I understood it : Yes!
    But Michael is the one to ask I guess.
    I went with the regular 502 as well but I have no idea if the pro board changed in te meantime.
     
  11. Xen

    Xen Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    207
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I know someone in this thread explained the S/PDIF & AES thing, but my thread searching patience is low today. I think it was during the lead-up to the indiegogo campaign. Sorry, I could not provide the correct attribution.

    The only difference between classic S/PDIF and AES/EBU are the connectors and impedance values. The transport protocol (how the bits becomes "words") is the same. Here is a wiki link to the relevant part - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AES3#Relation_to_S.2FPDIF
     
  12. haywood

    haywood Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    763
    Trophy Points:
    93
  13. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,373
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Hi, a possible typo on the Indiegogo page? The last item is a bundle of 2 units described as:

    DAC Bundle
    502DAC & 502DAC3

    And the contents description includes what you've ended up renaming to the 502DAC PRO
     
  14. damaged-goods

    damaged-goods Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2017
    Likes Received:
    77
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Europe
    Would have loved to see this in the indigogo campaign. I've painted my acrylic case black and covered the LEDs with tape so it doesn't look to much like a christmas tree. ;)

    I've recently compared the 502DAC (seperate power with sbooster to the head and raspi psu to the raspi) to a few other options on a Corda Daccord and Corda Classic FF stack.

    Versus the Hifiberry Digi+ there is no challenge, the 502 DAC is in a different league. With the 502DAC I've notived differences between Hires and redbook for the first time. With Hires everything has more room and sounds more real. Before I got the 502DAC I've never noticed a difference. I've not done a serious comparison but I go for hires files more often these days.

    Versus Schiit Eitr from the raspi, they're very close. The 502DAC might have some more clarity but it's a close run. Or maybe the Eitr is smoother, on a higher end system the difference might be easier to hear. I'm using a standard USB cable for the Eitr so there's still room for USB-cable nervosa. They're very close on my system.
    With moode audio the Eitr needed the USB(UAC2)fix enabled. It works with standard, LL and RT kernels.

    Versus ifi spdif ipurifier, added to both units. Microdynamics, plankton and detail go slightly down. Sound is less lively and slightly darker. Sounds good but Eitr and 502DAC are the better options.
     
  15. HumanFly

    HumanFly Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    Netherlands
    Do you think its better to power the 502 and the pi seperately?
    I now power 502 and pi by LPS and use another regular PSU for the touchscreen.
    Might as well power just the 502 with the LPS and use the other one for both the pi and the screen.
    Would it really matter? Kinda busy building wineracks at the moment so I figured I just ask instead of try.
    Plus I would need to recable stuff. Lazy. I know. But hey...wine!
     
  16. haywood

    haywood Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2015
    Likes Received:
    763
    Trophy Points:
    93
    It's considerably more expensive at 39€ for just the case and you'd need miscellaneous non-free parts to get it actually usable but it would be a cool option for a higher end build.

    It being close enough to split hairs is soothing to the nervosa and I'm sure encouraging to Michael. I've considered trying the Eitr but have really come to appreciate the freedom of delegating playback to the Pi and am really happy with the sound from moode as-is. I could use the Eitr with the Pi but I spent more than it costs on my evil empire style case to hold the lpsu + pi so having another box stacked on top would be sad unless it was a big difference.
     
  17. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:

    Yes, I need to assemble it, but will have photos on a day or two.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  18. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:

    I don't think there would be a difference. As mentioned, the 5V, wherever it comes from, goes through the high-PSRR LDO to create the 3.3V

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  19. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Thanks. We'll fix it asap.

    Cheers,
    Michael
    The two digital sections perform virtually the same based on our testing.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  20. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:

    That is the plan, but we have not yet firmed up a deal.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     

Share This Page