Chinese ES9018K2M I2S DAC

[DRONE7]

Hi Drone7 - looks very interesting - are you using i2s or usb or..... and what software are you using? Thanks Adrian

Oops - I see you answered most in your earlier post - but just to clarify - you are not getting noise or glitches between tracks or on changing sample rate tracks - even on high res?

Nope, no noises,clicks,pops or otherwise. Plays smoothly when moving from 24/96 to DSD to 16/44...

Tried with PiB, Pi2 and Pi3B and Moode Beta8 and/or HP t620 thin-client with Daphile or Snakeoil OS using LMS. All work fine.
Using usb to i2s.
No idea as to how it would perform using i2s direct as there are no drivers (yet?)

 

[freezebox]

Did you try hifiberry DAC or generic I2S drivers? To my understanding this should work with Moode or pcp to get a i2s signal from Pi..

 

[DRONE7]

Did you try hifiberry DAC or generic I2S drivers? To my understanding this should work with Moode or pcp to get a i2s signal from Pi..

None of the generic I2S drivers work. I will give the hifiberry DAC driver a try tomorrow but won't be holding my breath.

 

[freezebox]

Do you have another DAC to test I2S output from Pi?
From HW side I cannot see entry resistors at the DAC board as on nearly all other DAC boards I know. Maybe the pi has some problems with this while your usb board does not..?

 

[zek]

Using a rotary switch to change inputs. No switching noises ! Very smooth operation.

Would you be so kind to draw some sort of schematics?

 

[yogilla62]

No idea as to how it would perform using i2s direct as there are no drivers (yet?)

Maybe on the drivers AUDIOPHONICS I-Sabre DAC ES9028Q2M Raspberry Pi

 

[DRONE7]

Would you be so kind to draw some sort of schematics?

Of the switch and connection ? Attached..
3pole 4position switch.
Position 1 connects as if jumper J2=optical spdif in,
position 2 as if jumper J3=coax spdif in,
position 3 as if jumpered both J2 & J3=i2s in,
position4 no connection so acts as mute.

It matters not which pin the black wire connects to on that side on the board header as they are all shorted to each other.

@yogilla62

Maybe on the drivers AUDIOPHONICS I-Sabre DAC ES9028Q2M Raspberry Pi

Tried that . Does not work

@freezebox

Did you try hifiberry DAC or generic I2S drivers? & Do you have another DAC to test I2S output from Pi?

Tried all those. None work.
Yes, I have several i2s dacs and they all work fine with the pi.
I have a couple of Pi and all have the i2s problem with this dac.
The usb to i2s works with this dac but so far no i2s drivers do.
I recall reading that the 9038Q2m is equivalent to two 9018k2m so drivers may be very different

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[freezebox]

I dont think its a driver problem. If the pi gives out an I2S signal to other DACs, then also here.
You can try:
1) input series resistors of 33...100 ohm for each I2S line.
2) Change start up order - e.g. my 9028 needs first the I2S signal then the power for the DAC chip.
3) reduce wire length and/or use shielded I2S wires

good luck!

 

[zek]

@DRONE7
Thanks

 

[zek]

Another interesting DAC with the ES9038Q2M chip and power supply on the board.

HiFi ES9038Q2M The ES9038 I2S Input Decoder DAC supports DSD | eBay

 

[yogilla62]

The earlier version (which I have with the rest) seems to be more interesting
- volume control
- source selection
and the power supply can be done in a discretion
I just wish I2S with raspberries did not work (yet )

 

[zek]

The usb to i2s works with this dac .....

Which usb to I2S board you used?

 

[DRONE7]

Which usb to I2S board you used?

It is an older xmos U8 for now..
XMOS U8 USB 384K 32B module I2S SPDIF output support DSD for es9018 DAC hifi amp | eBay

Looking to replace it with something like this..
XMOS XU208 Asynchronous USB coaxial fiber output IIS DSD256 spdif dop64 | eBay

or this...
XMOS 384kHz DXD DSD256 high-quality USB to I2S/DSD/SPDIF PCB - DIYINHK

 

[zek]

What do you think of this board?

ATSAM3U1C XC2C64A Combo384 USB a I2S Interfaccia Digitale Si Riferiscono a Amanero USB I2S Uscita IIS Supporto DSD512 32bit 384 K per Audio in ATSAM3U1C XC2C64A Combo384 USB a I2S Interfaccia Digitale Si Riferiscono a Amanero USB I2S Uscita IIS Supporto DSD512 32bit 384 K per Audioda Amplificatore su AliExpress.com | Gruppo Alibaba

or this one

USB XMOS XU208 tochterkarte Unterstutzung ES9018 decodierung bord Unterstutzung 32BIT 384 Karat kompatibel Italien Amanero usb iis digitale schnittstelle in USB XMOS XU208 tochterkarte Unterstutzung ES9018 decodierung bord Unterstutzung 32BIT 384 Karat kompatibel Italien Amanero usb iis digitale schnittstelle aus Verstarker auf AliExpress.com | Alibaba Group

 

[DRONE7]

What do you think of this board?

I've no experience with the Amanero sorry.

The two boards I referenced both have a couple of things that I would find useful...
1) option to power the board from a separate supply instead of via the usb cable.
2) file indicator leds... the Diyinhk's add on board is quite comprehensive, the 'sky song' board I'm still figuring out what the F/0/1/2/3 leds refer to.

Both boards have pcm/dsd indicators.

The sky song board xmos is xu208 same as your second board.
The Diyinhk is latest xmos 216 (said to be equivalent to 2 xu208's)

Sometimes you just have to make a decision and run with it...

 

[zek]

Too many options for too many decisions...

 

[DRONE7]

Too many options for too many decisions...

Sometimes 'the coin spends itself'.... heads or tails !

 

[zek]

The worst thing is when the coin does not fall to one side but stays upright.......

 

[DRONE7]

The worst thing is when the coin does not fall to one side but stays upright.......

When that happens I suspect Number One wifelet has been tampering with my coins...

 

[eightdigitword]

Thought id add to this as i'm on the forum and just spent a while making this.

I got this board last year, as is, tested with a dir9001 gave it a listen and was super disappointed. you can tell when there is scope for improvement and this was too far in the wrong direction. i threw it in the big box of boards and forgot about it. two months a ago i decided to build a 1 box music streamer/DAC with an Rpi this DAC (to prove concept) to listen to DSD and to replace my squeezebox + dac. This is now my main DAC.

pics attached.

enclosure: old network hub thing, used the SMPS within
110v AC 80VA toroid, 180vdc CRC
x2 9V 30VA toroid 317 - 1117, each 317 tapped direct to 9018 board with traces cut to separate
SMPS: +5.25v to Rpi3, +12.6v to heaters

RPI3 running max2play, music stored on network
xmos u8 USB
ES9018K2M (old cheap $9 one not the one with bigger board or fancy black one), literally using 9 components on the board.
SRPP output direct from DAC pins
6N6P valves
clarity cap PP output caps

Ive used only what it needed to keep cost down and i'm amazed at how good it sounds.