Full digital amplifier with chip STA326

[foxint]

Hi
Thanks for the comments.

I was hoping there was a small assembled pcb that changes 110ohm XLR into 75 ohm RCA...then I can take those 2 wires and put them in the same place as the original RCA went.

Does such a thing exist???? Everything is XLR, so I am sort of stuffed.???
Any suggestions. No soldering please

What about http://www.neutrik.com/en/accessories/aes-ebu-impedance-transformers/

 

[abraxalito]

If you're willing to take a risk you could order up an RCA to XLR adaptor and try it. It might just work, but it'll be an incredible bodge. It'll look something like this - https://audiomate.co.uk/storeimages/large/f_jpegs/F346GA.jpg

 

[foxint]

Hi abraxalito et al

Thanks for the comments. As I said I have all XLR and looking for a neat solution.

What about http://www.neutrik.com/en/accessorie...-transformers/

I think this will match the impedence.???

Surely there is a small assembled board?? I have seen some really strange boards, but not sure what they do.

I am sorry for the hard questions.

 

[abraxalito]

Those Neutrik transformers will work yeah. Won't be particularly cheap though. You'll need a BNC to RCA cable (75ohm).

 

[foxint]

Hi abraxalito

Thank you

Surely there is an assembled board.... I can put inside the box??

What about this???

DIR9001 module AES / EBU / coaxial input IIS output 16 / 24bi free set | eBay

Not sure what it does??

???

 

[abraxalito]

That's something for DIYers - you'd need to know about I2S to make use of it and that's quite likely above your level right now. It doesn't need soldering though which is a plus, just wires which already have the appropriate terminations. It doesn't do what you're looking for anyway, it has parts which are already included in the amp circuitry.

I don't know of an assembled AES/EBU to S/PDIF board which won't need soldering.

 

[foxint]

Hi abraxalito

Thanks...

OK...what about a board that needs soldering???

 

[abraxalito]

You're OK with soldering now but not OK with ordering resistors and some protoboard?

 

[Hugh Jazz]

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

Cut an xlr cable and an rca cable in half. Buy the 4 resistors from radiospares and some insulating tape. Then do the above by twisting wires and putting tape over the twists. Then give yourself a pat on the back - you're a DIYER ! It's how many of us started. Now, you're up.

BTW, generally you can't buy this stuff cos it's so silly easy to do. So if you do find something that does it, you're gonna get burned for something way too complex:

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

 

[foxint]

Hi Guys

Thank you.

In regard to soldering, I can get someone to solder for me...so I am adaptable.

Just getting back to my original question as it seems to have grown....

I have a JHiF digital amp. All I wanted to do was replace one of the inputs with a AES/EBU.

Nanoloop - thanks for diagram. Looks awfully messy. Surely someone makes a nice little pcb I can just slip into the box.

Thanks everyone. Sorry for being a novice.

 

[abraxalito]

Certainly no apologies are necessary for being a novice, only for staying a novice when there are people ready and willing to lead you forward

 

[Hugh Jazz]

Just getting back to my original question as it seems to have grown....

I have a JHiF digital amp. All I wanted to do was replace one of the inputs with a AES/EBU.

You mentioned your source is a usb interface with aes out - what exactly is it? It may be easier to modify that, and certainly it'll be easier and probably cheaper to buy a different usb interface, like an xmos.

https://world.taobao.com/item/20827883149.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.hhYahT#detail

 

[abraxalito]

How about one of these which (as Nanoloop suggests) is putting out S/PDIF from USB?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/PHI...lt&btsid=a493de5f-c362-460c-b104-3c4e2d9aef02

 

[foxint]

Hi Guys

All great comments and I have really appreciated all the effort.

I think I will buy a Neutrik Impedance transformer and BNC to RCA (I think Neutrik do this as well).

Keep the thread going - it is very interesting. Although most of the stuff while exciting is a little more complex than I understand.

PS...just picked up an Neutrik Impedance Transformer for AUD40, next will get the BNC to RCA cable.

 

[gwingn]

Just a suggestion here . Rather than go USB converter -> AES -> Inpedence Transformer -> spdif -> STA326 amp board why not buy a nice simple and cheap sta326 amp such as the v200 or D802 or one-of-several-others that comes with a box, a display, gives you (some) control of the STA326 tone and equaliser functions and has itself a usb input so you can just plug it in without any of the other junk needed?

 

[foxint]

Hi gwing

Thanks for the suggestion. But I already have the amp. and the USB interface. I know this hobby is expensive, so I do not want to spend anymore. I already have to remove the binding post and replace them with Neutrik SpeakOn and put the whole thing in a 19" rack box.

But good idea. Thank you.

 

[cdsgames]

Is there a IC (Stm or TI) thats considered better in the FDA ?

 

[gwingn]

Is there a IC (Stm or TI) thats considered better in the FDA ?

I have come to like the STA326 but I'm not sure either these or the Ti chips are 'better' . I think both are sufficiently transparent that the quality of implementation and their other components is probably more important than the chip itself.

If you are canvasing ideas for a product what I think all the models in the market are missing is (a) better control of the microprocessor so that we can use the chips' active crossover/ biquad capabilities rather than just the popular and frankly silly tone profiles and also missing (b) direct i2s input.

 

[jean-paul]

+1 !

PS Audio have given permission to use their standard of I2S over HDMI connectors for longer possible cable lengths. I am surprised I don't see more use of it as it is free to be used. Otherwise I2S is quite troublesome with just 10 cm maximum wire length.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/164366-i2s-standards-ps-audio.html

http://www.fidelix.jp/technology/I2S.html

http://bbs.audio-gd.com/UploadFile/2014-12/2014122212484095779.jpg

 

[matt_garman]

If you are canvasing ideas for a product what I think all the models in the market are missing is (a) better control of the microprocessor so that we can use the chips' active crossover/ biquad capabilities rather than just the popular and frankly silly tone profiles and also missing (b) direct i2s input.

+1

With these FDA devices, I envision a "platform" more so than a "product".

Start with a quality reference board for the FDA chip itself: good layout and power supply. Add in features to make it easy to mod the hardware for those of us who can't help ourselves (jumper pins, dip switches, plated through-holes, socketed chips, etc for bypassing/augmenting/enabling/disabling default hardware).

Add an I2S header, or maybe even two or three I2S headers with an on-board I2S buffer + input selector. Maybe an optional re-clocker and optional isolation circuit.

Provide an easy software interface to the chip itself... the simple way is to just expose the chip's native programming interface (e.g. I2C). Or you could take it a step further and embed a microcontroller along with an interface to program that. (And of course, you should always be able to relatively easily bypass the microcontroller.)

Include open-source reference software, along with some useful stock configuration profiles. These should mostly work out of the box, with minimal tweaking. So in that regard, it's a "product". But all the low-level features make it a highly hackable "platform" for those of us who want to see if the defaults can't be improved.

Although not an FDA, the Soekris dam1021 DAC does a lot of these things. You can get it up and running with a fairly minimal set of supporting components. Or you can tweak it with all kinds of custom mods. E.g., the programmable filters and serial interface add a lot of utility. That board has several integrated voltage regulators; several people have hacked those out to use batteries or other power sources. But some amount of "surgery" is required for these mods, as the board doesn't natively support that degree of customization.