Glt
As I think you are aware of, me and Vale are working together on parallel lines.
The DAC is the Wolfson wm8742 (Twisted Pears), and I tried also pcm1794 (TP COD), both with good results. The supplies are shunts (Zen Mod's Shiny) for analog and plain 780x + Oscons for digital.
Jkeny, unfortunately I can't open the Musiland ('cause it's of a friend...) nor I will mod it (btw the legitimate owner is claiming for it
).
If I were in your shoes I should try HiFace on SPDIF, with the basic mod of an external supply (you can cut the +5v of an USB cable without the need of opening HiFace).
I tried it with Peter Daniel's TDA1543 DAC (CS8412 receiver) that Vale lended me, and I admit that it's not bad at all. If you like the result, you'll can steal I2s later (one mod at a time, more times to enjoy with your beatle)
Guido
As I think you are aware of, me and Vale are working together on parallel lines.
The DAC is the Wolfson wm8742 (Twisted Pears), and I tried also pcm1794 (TP COD), both with good results. The supplies are shunts (Zen Mod's Shiny) for analog and plain 780x + Oscons for digital.
Jkeny, unfortunately I can't open the Musiland ('cause it's of a friend...) nor I will mod it (btw the legitimate owner is claiming for it
).If I were in your shoes I should try HiFace on SPDIF, with the basic mod of an external supply (you can cut the +5v of an USB cable without the need of opening HiFace).
I tried it with Peter Daniel's TDA1543 DAC (CS8412 receiver) that Vale lended me, and I admit that it's not bad at all. If you like the result, you'll can steal I2s later (one mod at a time, more times to enjoy with your beatle
)Guido
I don't have a SPDIF receiver & can't borrow one - I will bring both set-ups to a sound studio to compare them....snip.........
Jkeny, unfortunately I can't open the Musiland ('cause it's of a friend...) nor I will mod it (btw the legitimate owner is claiming for it
If I were in your shoes I should try HiFace on SPDIF, with the basic mod of an external supply (you can cut the +5v of an USB cable without the need of opening HiFace).
I agree that step by step is the best approachI tried it with Peter Daniel's TDA1543 DAC (CS8412 receiver) that Vale lended me, and I admit that it's not bad at all. If you like the result, you'll can steal I2s later (one mod at a time, more times to enjoy with your beatle
Guido
Hi Guido, didn't realize that. So in your previous post you were comparing the built-in DAC of the Musiland 01-US which is a PCM1793 vs HiFace->I2S->WM8741/42?
Hi glt,
Correct, and I must admit that is not a fair comparison.
The fact is that, in my opinion, the Musiland is a big bang for the buck, but not a basis for a - serious - state-of-the-art setup. Too much mods are needed, and some issues aren't avoidable (the xtal/oscillator is only one, whereas HiFace has two, resulting an easy and precise reference for all sample frequencies).
So I sincerely advise the Musiland US 01 to my friends that have "modest" setups (and modest budget), but if the target is ambitious the HiFace seems to me a better choice. At the price of a pair of good xtals...
BTW glt, I really appreciate your projects, very original both in the technical and in aesthetic aspect.
Ciao
Guido
Correct, and I must admit that is not a fair comparison.
The fact is that, in my opinion, the Musiland is a big bang for the buck, but not a basis for a - serious - state-of-the-art setup. Too much mods are needed, and some issues aren't avoidable (the xtal/oscillator is only one, whereas HiFace has two, resulting an easy and precise reference for all sample frequencies).
So I sincerely advise the Musiland US 01 to my friends that have "modest" setups (and modest budget), but if the target is ambitious the HiFace seems to me a better choice. At the price of a pair of good xtals...
BTW glt, I really appreciate your projects, very original both in the technical and in aesthetic aspect.
Ciao
Guido
Guido and Valeriano. Thanks for the replies and good words. Enjoy following your project. I would probably agree with your assessment. But being able to mod is part of the fun . The Musiland is already hard to solder (for me). I think I will destroy the Hiface if I would attempt to mod it. I see you use a Wolfson DAC. Give Arduino a try to access all the features of the DAC. Besides, Arduino is also Italian
. The Musiland is already hard to solder (for me). I think I will destroy the Hiface if I would attempt to mod it. I see you use a Wolfson DAC. Give Arduino a try to access all the features of the DAC. Besides, Arduino is also Italian
Guido and Valeriano. Thanks for the replies and good words. Enjoy following your project. I would probably agree with your assessment. But being able to mod is part of the fun
Hi glt!
sure, hifiduino already in progress
nice job you did.waiting for i2c display to arrive
btw I measured MCK at 44.1 it's exactly 512 fs = 22.5792 Mhz
it should be quite standard and supported by most DACs
dunno why musiland is using 128fs @ 44.1Khz (I follow your blog, I told you !
)ciao
Vale
Hi guys,
I got my HiFace but can't listen as I have no SPDIF receiver DAC only I2S, so ......
I it opened up & had a look inside - I2S tapping shouldn't be a problem, I reckon, using the 3 vias (there are an awful lot of vias on this board? - not the best idea with high speed signals!).
I'm trying to find where the USB 5V gets converted to 3.3V for supply to the various chips but am finding it impossible to trace the 5V - any help would be appreciated
I got my HiFace but can't listen as I have no SPDIF receiver DAC only I2S, so ......
I it opened up & had a look inside - I2S tapping shouldn't be a problem, I reckon, using the 3 vias (there are an awful lot of vias on this board? - not the best idea with high speed signals!).
I'm trying to find where the USB 5V gets converted to 3.3V for supply to the various chips but am finding it impossible to trace the 5V - any help would be appreciated
Is this a 4 layer board? I see lots of vias from top of the board to bottom but there is no trace connected to them on the bottom?
The only candidate for 3.3V reg is D1 but I can't trace or probe 5V coming in to it!
Edit: I see now there are 2 regs down at the output end of the board! 5 pin units (don't know their IDs) with 2 large smd inductors above them. Any idea how good these are? I'm thinking of directly feeding 3.3V battery supply to this board so I'll be looking to lift the legs of these.
The only candidate for 3.3V reg is D1 but I can't trace or probe 5V coming in to it!
Edit: I see now there are 2 regs down at the output end of the board! 5 pin units (don't know their IDs) with 2 large smd inductors above them. Any idea how good these are? I'm thinking of directly feeding 3.3V battery supply to this board so I'll be looking to lift the legs of these.
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OK, here's what I've discovered so far - refer to the pic attached:
- DIT4192 requires 5V supply at pin 19 so can't dispense with 5V
- top regulator in pic supplies 3.3V to the two clocks (it also sets the DIT4192 into hardware mode by setting MODE pin 28 (top right) to on i.e 3.3V)
- bottom regulator supplies 3.3V to everywhere else that needs it, (including pins 1 & 3 of DIT4192)
So it seems that an external 5V is probably the best & easiest option. But as clean PS to clocks is important, I might try an external 3.3V supply to clock by removing the inductor in series with the 3.3V supply to both clocks & feed the external 3.3V supply to here (see 2nd pic).
- DIT4192 requires 5V supply at pin 19 so can't dispense with 5V
- top regulator in pic supplies 3.3V to the two clocks (it also sets the DIT4192 into hardware mode by setting MODE pin 28 (top right) to on i.e 3.3V)
- bottom regulator supplies 3.3V to everywhere else that needs it, (including pins 1 & 3 of DIT4192)
So it seems that an external 5V is probably the best & easiest option. But as clean PS to clocks is important, I might try an external 3.3V supply to clock by removing the inductor in series with the 3.3V supply to both clocks & feed the external 3.3V supply to here (see 2nd pic).
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Hi John.
nice to see your progress.
two regulators are used onboard for 3.3v and 1.8v..please note that bottom regulator is supplying 1.8v not 3.3!
of course you can lift the output pin of these and feed your own preferite clean supply (battery?
)ciao
Vale
I
Thanks Vale,
I must measure the bottom reg again - I thought I got 3.3V but maybe I didn't pay close attention - that board is very tight & I was concerned about not shorting anything. The 1.8V is the PS to the CPLD, I presume. Any idea what regulators are being used?
I assumed that the designers had dedicated a 3.3V supply to the clocks but it seems not (3.3V is also needed for the Cypress chip)
I'm really only interested in a clean 3.3V supply to the clocks (LiFePO4 battery) - the PS to the rest of the board is probably not as critical & well de-coupled, by the looks of things. The 2nd pic shows the easy way to do this by shifting/removing the smd inductor - this is probably the route I'll take.
I must measure the bottom reg again - I thought I got 3.3V but maybe I didn't pay close attention - that board is very tight & I was concerned about not shorting anything
. The 1.8V is the PS to the CPLD, I presume. Any idea what regulators are being used? I assumed that the designers had dedicated a 3.3V supply to the clocks but it seems not (3.3V is also needed for the Cypress chip)
I'm really only interested in a clean 3.3V supply to the clocks (LiFePO4 battery
) - the PS to the rest of the board is probably not as critical & well de-coupled, by the looks of things. The 2nd pic shows the easy way to do this by shifting/removing the smd inductor - this is probably the route I'll take.
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I just received the M2tech usb to spdif converter. It is really very good sounding with Foobar and KS dll, much better than my previous usb to spdif converter using a pcm2902 but I can't use it with other software such as windows media player for DVDs. I am using the latest 1.02 driver under Vista 32 bit. Accordind to M2tech documentation it should work with any application when 1.02 drivers are used. Do you know what could cause the problem?
I made the listening comparaison using my diy DAC:
6 channel digital delay and DAC
I made the listening comparaison using my diy DAC:
6 channel digital delay and DAC
Hi Vincent.
afaih wasapi support is not included in latest Win driver (1.0.2).. however directsound should be emulated on Vista.
on my XP laptop I use foobar with KS and when necessary for video applications, I select hiface audio interface from audio control panel (directsound).
do you see it available from panel? try selecting it and restart your mediaplayer.
btw really nice xover/dac you did ! congratulations you're a pro
ciao
Vale
Hi Shaman
directsound support is included in win driver 1.0.2, I'm using it on my XP laptop.
I didn't tried hiface on Vista, afaih DS should be emulated through wasapi.
ciao
Vale
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