Raspberry Pi I2S to SPDIF Hat

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

  1. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    ***The below is how I set mine up for Roon; other use cases/audio players may require a different disk image like raspbian***

    For what it's worth, you'll want the following (all Amazon links for simplicity):
    Raspberry 3 B+ - $37 on Prime https://smile.amazon.com/ELEMENT-Element14-Raspberry-Pi-Motherboard/dp/B07BDR5PDW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2G8SHVR6Y4QQJ&keywords=raspberry+pi+3+b+&qid=1565896248&s=gateway&sprefix=rasp,aps,153&sr=8-3
    4-16Gb micro SD card, I bought this one for $4: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B079H6PDCK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    I prefer the micro SD to USB readers but if you have an SD card reader, the above comes with the adapter. I use something like this - $9: https://smile.amazon.com/Rocketek-A...+micro+sd&qid=1565896347&s=electronics&sr=1-7

    Software: Download Etcher: https://www.balena.io/etcher/
    Download latest copy of RoPieee: https://www.ropieee.org/software/

    Assemble your Pi and case
    Plug SD card into adapter and then into PC or Mac
    Load up Etcher, select the Ropieee image you downloaded above
    Select your destination drive in Etcher
    Flash the image, this takes ~ 5 minutes
    Unplug MicroSD card, insert into Pi
    Plug network jack into Pi first, then apply power
    After that, you should be able to find your Pi in a browser by going to http://ropieee.local
    You can change the host name in the software once it comes up.
    You can then choose your "hat" in RoPieee
    From @Michael Kelly - Please note the proper card to select, if they don’t have ours listed, is the hifiberry digi plus pro.
    You can also choose to enable WiFi on the Pi at this point. I just stick with a hard line for network, but YMMV
    From there you're a bit on your own; this was all I needed to do to get the Pi to be "discoverable" by Roon and to start playing music.

    Screenshot of my RoPieee setup:
    [​IMG]

    I hope this helps.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2019
  2. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Thanks for the quick setup guide man! I think I’m good on the SD card/adapter and familiar with Etcher. Will also be using hardwired Ethernet. Hadn’t settled on which OS, but probably doesn’t matter too much since I’ll be using Roon as well. Have heard good things about Ropieee however, so will give it a shot.

    I’m thinking about trying a 12v Sbooster power supply to power both boards. It’s 3A max however, but I don’t plan to hook up anything else to the Pi board - I assume it should work well?
     
  3. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Please note the proper card to select, if they don’t have ours listed, is the hifiberry digi plus pro.

    Michael
     
  4. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    Fixed, and added a screenshot because rude not to.
     
  5. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    I was wondering where I could get help validating that pi2aes works with matrix xsp mqa. The Matrix supports i2s in psaudio format. When I feed the i2s signal with .5 meter hdmi cable, I get nothing. I assume that u use the hdmi port on the hat itself. Tried various cables, and configurations and I get no signal. Page 15 of the manual says something technical that I'm not sure about. I see that W1 has a place for a jumper and 5V, not sure how to use that. Can someone help me out or if you have a Matrix and a pi2aes, please test it. The unit does work via spdif/coax and optical and Aes works as well.
     
  6. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    If desired I will be happy to test the dac here. In the mean time can you send me a link to the dac user manual. I will review to see if there is anything I can help with.

    Michael
     
  7. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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  8. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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  9. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    I did, no dice. Do I have to put any jumper in W1? Not sure what it might be. I ordered another unit today, I can test and see if the port is bad when I get the other unit in.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2019
  10. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    It does not appear it needs the I2C or the 5V.

    I assume from your post you are getting another of our units? If so then I will await your further testing. Otherwise the unit is under warranty and we will replace if need be.

    Michael
     
  11. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Quick clarification on lead time. On our website it indicates two weeks, it should say 2 to 3 weeks, also it was reflecting an initial date of June 7, which was from the previous batch. It has since been updated, but anyone who has ordered expecting the unit to come essentially now, I apologize. If anyone wishes to cancel the order we will immediately refund their money.

    Michael
     
  12. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    @Michael Kelly, if I want the Pi2AES to arrive in Canada in time for me to pick it up on a visit the first week of October, when should I order by?
     
  13. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Earlier is always better! But, if you order by the beginning of September you won’t have any issues. If you wait until the middle of September it will probably be OK, but unfortunately our production is such that we can’t buy the parts to build hundreds in advance, cash flow just doesn’t allow that. So when we go to build each batch there’s always a bit of variability as to when we will get all the parts we need. Especially since a fair number of parts come from China due to the way electronics are sourced these days.

    Michael
     
  14. NDonchev

    NDonchev New

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    Hi guys! I placed an order for the PI2AES yesterday.

    While I wait for the unit to reach me (lead time + delivery time to Europe), I have two questions about the device.

    1. I looked around this and other forums and couldn't reach a conclusion if linear power supply will be beneficial. I see using batteries is another option, but unless this is a significant improvement, I prefer to not use batteries because of inconviniance. Which/what type of power supply will work best for the PI2AES that doesn't cost more then the PI2AES itself (that's about 250 dollars for Europe because of delivery costs and customs taxes)?

    For example, this linear power supply from China:
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50VA-HIF...517641?hash=item34100bf1c9:g:mDYAAOSwjwNcowaN
    It says DC 12V (3.5A, max output current).

    2. What would be the best output to use? I was going to use the AES XLR output as the Yggdrasil A2 that I'm using is said to sound best with AES XLR. However, I saw Michael saying that the PI2AES XLR Jitter is a bit worse then the RCA.

    EDIT: Regarding cables, Blue Jeans is an option and Grimm TPR cables were also suggested to me.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2019
  15. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

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    Channeling @Hands, I'd suggest you try the switcher Michael sells to power the whole unit. Quality power will change the presentation - but it's subjective whether you believe it's an improvement. To my sensibilities, I believe it's an improvement.

    If you decide to upgrade power and you're going to limit your power budget to =< the PI2AES, you'll want to go with batteries. Do some research on this site for context on the best sounding batteries.

    The best output is largely dictated by the best input for your DAC, with Yggdrasil A2, I'd go AES. You'll want be be sure to use a cable with the correct impedance; not all XLR cables are impedance matched to the AES spec. BlueJean is, and is reasonable cost wise.

    UPDATE:
    I'm using AES from PI2AES to my Pavane with very good results. I hope to get around to I2S soon, but AES is damn good.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2019
  16. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I would also like to clarify that the difference between the XLR and the BNC interface was fractions of a pico second. It’s real, but really hard to tell if it would make any difference.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  17. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    #1. The Pi2AES to me doesn't need an external lps. The Allo signature definitely does need one or batteries for optimal sound performance. If you buy an LPS for the Pi2AES, report back your findings.
    #2. Stock power supply => Pi2AES = AES xlr => Yggdrasil A2 is sublime. As Mike said, the bnc connector is pretty close but Aes is a tiny bit better.
     
  18. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I’ve read that SPDIF cables should be kept to 1.5m minimum to avoid reflections - is this true or audiophile BS? And would that apply to AES as well? Is there a minimum recommended length?
     
  19. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I can’t speak to an actual number, but all cables have a combination of series resistance and parallel capacitance. The longer the cable the more these add up. An electrical signal traveling down the cable attempting it to go from a low to high or high to low must overcome this resistance and capacitance. The longer cable will slow the transition down, potentially to the point that the receiving end cannot accurately detect these edges.

    Other than the optical, our interfaces are driven with 5 V buffers that can provide up to 25 mA per line. I cannot see a situation where a cable less than 2 meters would have sufficient degradation. But again, it isn’t easy to quantify a hard number.

    My best advice is start with an inexpensive but reasonably well built cable and go from there. I wouldn’t start with the most expensive because that may simply be a waste of money Although, as mentioned previously (https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?members/misterrogers.89/), proper impedance, 75 ohm for BNC/RCA and 110 ohm for XLR, is very critical

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  20. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    upload_2019-8-27_14-9-40.png

    ^ See this piece of junk? A 2 meter spdif that was not cheap... used it from a DVD player into my Adcom GCD-750 (it was such a cool feature to use it as a DAC way back then!) It was fine, worked great for movies.

    Then I happened to use it a few years ago on roughly my current system (didn't really think about it or put 2 & 2 together)

    For a month I was searching the web for topics like "Does ferrofluid dry out in tweeters, how to replace ferrofluid, eBay for new replacement veritas tweeters/midrange" etc-- sound was borked and annoyed me! sounded like the tweeters were slightly blown.

    Eventually just switched spdif cables for some other reason, and sound was back & fine.


    So yeah, don't get me going on too long a spdif cable... also I just took that pic, was a pricy cable but would never foist it on someone!
     

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