Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

@Michael Kelly I noticed that there are pictures of a case for the 502DAC board up on the pi2design site. Any idea of an ETA for when we'd be able to buy them?

 

Just received my 502DAC with case.

I may be one of the last people on the planet that prefers using Toslink.

Michael, thanks for including a Toslink port that doesn't include a door that scratches the nice polished end of my Lifatec glass toslink cable! It's the little things.

I have 2 x Uptone LPS-1's so I figured I'd use each to power the Pi and 502DAC boards separately (overkill)

So if I have it correctly, the Toslink output of the 502DAC is directly powered by the ultra noise Uptone LPS-1 at 5V, and the very nice LT3042 powers the NDK oscilators to help reduce jitter as much as possible.

After that I leave it to the glass Lifatec toslink cable and my DirectStream DAC's FPGA to work it's magic with jitter reduction and D to A conversion.

It sounds better than the Digi+ Pro it replaced. I don't think I've had a better Toslink source in my system.

I'm running DietPi and using this 502DAC as a Roon endpoint.

I just used the same Pi board and SD card that was used with my Digi+ Pro, and went into DietPi to change the audio hat to Dac+ Pro and it worked right away. Really easy.

The only issue I ran into is I can't use my nice right angled Oyaide 2.5mm connector to power the 502DAC board - the case prevents proper contact/insertion so it needs a straight 2.5mm DC plug but not a major issue at all.

Thanks for the great HAT Michael and thanks for keeping quality Toslink sources alive !

A metal case would be really cool, at some point later, but I don't mind the see through look at the moment.

Looking forward to the DAC3 for a second system also.

Photos here:

http://imgur.com/a/hD3qL

 

Cases for the 502DAC are now ready to ship. Sorry for the delay, we ended up waiting on the standoffs! Anyway, they are in the store at:

http://www.pi2design.com/store/p16/502DAC_Acrylic_case.html

Use coupon code SBAF at checkout and the cost is $0 plus shipping. Thanks for all your patience.

BTW, you can use the coupon code if you are ordering a 502DAC also, or just the 502DAC alone. It takes $10 off your total purchase.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Thanks for the very informative write up. So glad you're happy!

Would you be willing to test it with a standard Pi power supply? Anyway you could do it as a blind test? I am really curious to see how well the 502DAC does with a stock supply versus a very high end power supply.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Whoa, for just the cost of shipping? That is truly an awesome deal! Thanks so much!

 

Hey Michael. Yes happy to try this.

in this case with using the stock Pi PSU, the Toslink connector is powered by the 5V stock Pi PSU? But the NDK oscillators will still be powered by the very nice ultra low noise LT3042, if I understand things correctly?

 

Calling for reviwer

Yes, you are correct. The toslink connector is powered from the raspberry pi 5V rail, but there is a ferrite bead in the line.

I greatly appreciate your willingness to do this. That's why I love this forum, you guys (and gals) have been great.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Not a problem Michael. I'll be away for a few days but definitely looking forward to trying this out later in the week and will report back.

Cheers

 

Just a question on this Michael. Is the ferrite bead on the Pi board or your 502DAC board? And what's it's purpose/s ? RF filtering?

Cheers

 

I just finished setting up my rpi with the newer revision board and an lps I made. (and moode w/ bubbleupnp server so I can use Tidal) (btw the high pitched (coil?) whine is completely fixed.) Will post impressions after a few days of listening or so. The sound is awesome though, it seems to be a bit more dynamic than usb into my Modi Multibit.

 

I switched back from Moode to Volumio due to Moode failing to complete a library scan and also shutting off at random, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 502DAC is listed as an I2S DAC in the settings, no need to make Volumio think you're using a Hifiberry.

 

Wow that's actually really nice. I think I'll switch over. I dropped the $10 they started charging for Mo0de because it was what I used before and I wanted to support the dev, but I also like free software. I haven't had any issues yet, but I guess I'll just use another sd card and pick the one I prefer. Also, just for future reference, does anyone have the details for the power connector? (I saw it once but the last 3 times I looked [even using search,] I couldn't find it) I just kind of hacked it together with an old wallwart I found that fit, and soldered the cable onto the lps, but it'd be nice to make an enclosure for the lps with a removable cable.

Thanks!

 

I also paid the $10 for Moode and I think it's good software, but I was having issues and didn't want to bother doing detailed troubleshooting.

 

The power jack accepts 2.5mm center positive with a 5.5mm length barrel. The case does cut into the depth a bit, but as others have found out a typical straight plug works fine.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Sorry I forgot to answer this. The bead is from the PI 5V rail to the rest of the 502DAC. It is mostly for RF, but does server to decouple the rails which helps overall noise.

Again, can't to hear your impressions with just the standard PI supply.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Thanks Michael. I'm looking forward to testing this out myself over the next few days.

Since I'm using Toslink, obviously there's no electrical noise going from the 502DAC to my DAC.

So it will be interesting to hear if powering the LT3042 (which powers the NDK's) with cleaner power makes an audible difference. And if powering the Toslink connector with cleaner power also makes an audible difference.

Later I will try the other digital outputs of the 502DAC but Toslink is really my preferred so testing the other outputs will be later, on a quiet weekend perhaps.

 

I've compared the Pi supply vs my "over the top" version (ifi ipower into pi and sbooster psu into the 502dac).
Listened with Meier Corda Daccord - Schiit valhalla 2 - HD650.
In my regular setup I power the complete transport through the 502dac's barrel jack using just the sbooster, without the ipower.

The "OTT" version has a more holographic soundstage, more space and air around the instruments, smoother treble, sounds more focused and more "real". It's hard to decide how big the differences are, they are not major, but I prefer the low noise psu version as it shows the magic of the Val2 can do.
It does sound very good with the Pi psu already, better then the Hifiberry Digi+ I used previoulsy.

It will be interesting to see how the 502dac compares to the Schiit Eitr.

 

Hi, just out of interest, which output of the 502DAC are you using?

 

Sorry I forgot to mention this. SPDIF from the BNC with a RCA adapter.

 

Nice. I'll get around to trying this connection too, at some stage.

@Michael Kelly I'm just trying to let my brain burn-in with this new sound, before I try the stock Pi3 PSU.