Hermes-BBB/Botic cape for BeagleBone Black

Russ White · 2015-04-23 9:50 pm

twluke said:
BTW, I'm still using software clock divider by miero instead of H/W divider on the board. If I'm going to use the latter, I think that there is no necessity to edit kernel option for clock rate setting. Correct?

Best Regards,

You should definitely use the hardware divider on the cronus - because the input on the BBB are only rated for 25Mhz - exceeding that is not a good idea and could not possibly have any positive effects. And yes if you use 22/24Mhz input you can use the normal clock settings on Botic.

Thanks for the report!

Cheers!
Russ

jtr · 2015-04-24 3:13 pm

Up & running, making exquisite music (Mark Knopfler,Tracker).
Many thanks to all at TPA, et al for making this possible.
I don't think that digital music can sound better than this,but then again TPA keeps confounding us.
Only two small problems in the build, the back-up battery leads are very
thin so I had to resort to extending them with thicker wire to clamp them properly in the terminal block & I got the divider selector in the wrong position resulting in 'chipmunk' sounding music.

Synology NAS,ethernet,BBB,Hermes,Cronus,Teleporter,
Teleporter,Dual B-iii,Legato,Mono N-Core 400s,Shahinian Obelisks.

Well done, Russ, Brian & Miero.

jtr.

druidaudio · 2015-04-24 4:28 pm

Looks excellent!
I see you are using Teleporter for output, is this for I2S to external DAC? Not directly connected?
Would be interested to know why as I am awaiting my boards.

Russ White · 2015-04-24 4:33 pm

jtr said:
Up & running, making exquisite music (Mark Knopfler,Tracker).
Many thanks to all at TPA, et al for making this possible.
I don't think that digital music can sound better than this,but then again TPA
...
Well done, Russ, Brian & Miero.

jtr.

Excellent build! That is a great way to use the Cronus/Teleporter.

Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers!
Russ

Russ White · 2015-04-24 4:39 pm

One building note - on the battery - I prefer to mount it with hook and loop directly under the hermes - then I just directly solder the battery leads to the terminal block pads. This keeps the battery tucked away and in a spot where it is not likely to get banged around or damaged.

Russ White · 2015-04-24 4:44 pm

druidaudio said:
Looks excellent!
I see you are using Teleporter for output, is this for I2S to external DAC? Not directly connected?
Would be interested to know why as I am awaiting my boards.

It looks like he is sending MCK/BCK/D1/D2 out the teleporter - this means he can run either synch or asych with stereo PCM(I2S) or DSD at the DAC.

Cheers!
Russ

druidaudio · 2015-04-24 4:48 pm

Russ White said:
It looks like he is sending MCK/BCK/D1/D2 out the teleporter - this means he can run either synch or asych with stereo PCM(I2S) or DSD at the DAC.

Cheers!
Russ

Russ, will I need same to feed I2S to Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2?
Was hoping to do it direct from Cronus.

Russ White · 2015-04-24 4:50 pm

The teleporter setup is completely optional (but very cool) - it is just a nice way to completely separate the source from the DAC - it has the advantage that you can put the DAC and the Cronus/Hermes is two completely separate cases. Teleporter is designed to transport the signals cleanly using LVDS over ethernet cables - the latest teleporter version supports shielded cat5/6 cables. It is a superb way to move audio signals around while maintaining ultra low phase noise.

druidaudio · 2015-04-24 4:59 pm

Russ White said:
The teleporter setup is completely optional (but very cool) - it is just a nice way to completely separate the source from the DAC - it has the advantage that you can put the DAC and the Cronus/Hermes is two completely separate cases. Teleporter is designed to transport the signals cleanly using LVDS over ethernet cables - the latest teleporter version supports shielded cat5/6 cables. It is a superb way to move audio signals around while maintaining ultra low phase noise.

In my case I have to find the easiest way to send LVDS to W4S HDMI I2S input, similar I think to PS Audio set-up?

jtr · 2015-04-24 7:32 pm

Hi, Druidaudio. Yes, I use Teleporters to carry I2S between player & dacs. The receiving Teleporter output conveniently splits the signal to the two B-IIIs.
Very versatile modules that could be used for isolation within single large unit.

IMHO BBB,Hermes,Cronus is a very significant improvement in terms of musical enjoyment, over my previous RaspberryPi/I2S player that Russ started us off with. Well worth waiting for.
jtr.

Russ White · 2015-04-24 10:30 pm

@ jtr

That is a very well thought out and executed DAC. Great work!

Cheers!
Russ

linuxfan · 2015-04-25 2:12 am

druidaudio said:
In my case I have to find the easiest way to send LVDS to W4S HDMI I2S input, similar I think to PS Audio set-up?

The PS Audio I2S-over-LVDS method is discussed on the forum here -
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/237690-ps-audio-i2s-interface.html#post3645239

If PS Audio's use of LVDS is equivalent to the TPA Teleporter (it would certainly be worth checking)
then your Cronus-to-HDMI connections should be -

MCK to pin 10 (TMDS Clock+)
GND to pin 12 (TMDS Clock-)
BCK to pin 4 (TMDS Data1+)
GND to pin 6 (TMDS Data1-)
D1 to pin 9 (TMDS Data0-)
GND to pin 7 (TMDS Data0+)
D2 to pin 3 (TMDS Data2-)
GND to pin 1 (TMDS Data 2+)

Russ White · 2015-04-25 4:13 am

You can very easily wire a teleporter for HDMI - but it has no HDMI connector on the PCB.

twluke · 2015-04-25 8:15 am

Russ White said:
You can very easily wire a teleporter for HDMI - but it has no HDMI connector on the PCB.

Here are a few examples of my previous solution. A DVI-HDMI adapter can provide easier access to check electric validity of prepared cables by tester.

Supersurfer · 2015-04-25 2:11 pm

connecting to dddac1794

Hi,

I have the boards soldered and connected to the BBB. Botic is running dut I did no configurations yet.

How do I connect Cronus to my dac?
Cronus outputs: U_MCK, DCK, D1, D2
Dac inputs: BCK, LRC, Data, (MCK)

I have tried different configurations but only static noise is generated.

Regards,

Russ White · 2015-04-25 2:15 pm

DCK -> BCK, D1 -> LRC. D2 -> Data MCK-> MCK (if required)

Russ White · 2015-04-25 2:18 pm

You should be using the 1:2 clock divider into BBB (you are currently using 1:4) What sort of DAC is it? Also the fact that the enable LED is not lit on the hermes BBB is confusing to me. It should be - or the BBB is not getting any master clock.

Supersurfer · 2015-04-25 2:43 pm

Hi Russ,

Thanks for your fast reply! Will try your advice right away!

The dac is DDDAC; a NOS dac design with PCM1794.

I have swiched to 1:2 (my bad) and soldered the leds to the board to see if there is a connection faillure with enable led. After soldering still led is still not on.

lintweaker · 2015-04-25 6:10 pm

I am struggling a bit getting my setup to work. So far only LED 1 and 2 are lid, EN en 4 are not.

BBB is still powered through its adapter, the Cronus by the 5V from the DAC power supply.

Any hints were too look next?

Russ White · 2015-04-25 6:40 pm

You sure you have the firmware on the BBB working correctly? Make sure you follow Miero's instructions. Also make sure you set the clock mode to 3.

See here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/twisted-pear/258254-support-botic-linux-driver.html

and some more specific help here:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/twisted-pear/258254-support-botic-linux-driver-69.html#post4305174

Hermes-BBB/Botic cape for BeagleBone Black

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