I have for some years been using the DIY edition of the Minidsp 2x4HD without DAC's, named Nanosharc. I have sent the I2S output to two Soekris 1021. Their solution has worked really well for me, the software is easy to work with, and it worked well with the two inputs.
After a firmware update, the unit sends no sound, neither from the Toslink or USB input. I am in contact with Minidsp, but they are slow, and although I still hope for a helpful feedback, I hate being dependent on them for my lovely sound system to work. What else can I do to keep the two Soekris DAC's? I am looking for a kind of DSP solution where I can send two I2S signals after crossover and other DSP processing.
Any advice will be helpful.
After a firmware update, the unit sends no sound, neither from the Toslink or USB input. I am in contact with Minidsp, but they are slow, and although I still hope for a helpful feedback, I hate being dependent on them for my lovely sound system to work. What else can I do to keep the two Soekris DAC's? I am looking for a kind of DSP solution where I can send two I2S signals after crossover and other DSP processing.
Any advice will be helpful.
Not much luck, it seems. Possibly my text has been confusing. I hope that a bit more info might help. What I am doing now is that I send the LRCK and the BCLK from the Nanosharc to both of the Soekris dam1021 DAC's and the two I2S out signals from the Nanosharc to each of the them. It had worked fine. So my question is: Can I do something similar using CamillaDSP on a Raspberry? The threads about CamillaDSP all mention multidac's, and I don't know enough to be able to see whether such an option might be possible.
Older versions of the miniDSP 2x4HD had 4 channel I2S output available on pin header J7. The current manual doesn't mention I2S but the older PDF version -> https://www.minidsp.com/images/documents/miniDSP 2x4 HD User Manual.pdf, documents I2S output.
From this post -> https://www.minidsp.com/forum/hardware-support/21395-i2s-output-on-new-minidsp-2x4hd#66179, it is unclear to me if I2S output has been eliminated or if it is just that the 2x4HD no longer comes with a pin header soldered from the factory. Probably worth reaching out to miniDSP to see if the 2x4HD still has I2S output as this could be a good replacement option for the nanosharc if you only need 4 channel output.
If you are interested in the CamillaDSP route, devices like the miniDSP MCHstreamer, miniDSP USBstreamer or DIYINHK multichannel XMOS board can give you multichannel I2S output.
Michael
From this post -> https://www.minidsp.com/forum/hardware-support/21395-i2s-output-on-new-minidsp-2x4hd#66179, it is unclear to me if I2S output has been eliminated or if it is just that the 2x4HD no longer comes with a pin header soldered from the factory. Probably worth reaching out to miniDSP to see if the 2x4HD still has I2S output as this could be a good replacement option for the nanosharc if you only need 4 channel output.
If you are interested in the CamillaDSP route, devices like the miniDSP MCHstreamer, miniDSP USBstreamer or DIYINHK multichannel XMOS board can give you multichannel I2S output.
Michael
Thank you for the response to both of you. Michael, leading me towards the thread about the missing J7 on the newer 2x4HD's is helpful. I actually have one of the older 2x4HD lying around, and I am aware that possibly can use the I2S output from that. I don't dare to firmware update that one - I am now using this as it is with the dac's built in. It doesn't fit right away in my box with the Soekris DAC's, so I need to reorganise that if I take the board from that instead of the nanosharc. But that might be the solution, if Minidsp doesn't come back with a solution that makes it work again.
My question was about alternatives, and although I can substitute it with the 2x4HD, I was asking for a more sustainable solution. But apparently it is not possible to use the Soekris DAC's the way I do now if I don't use the Minidsp boards.
My question was about alternatives, and although I can substitute it with the 2x4HD, I was asking for a more sustainable solution. But apparently it is not possible to use the Soekris DAC's the way I do now if I don't use the Minidsp boards.
A potential solution is to use a RPi5 which appears to support multichannel I2S output with CamillaDSP. I have not seen anyone confirm that it actually works but I do have a RPi5 and plan on testing it out. Some discussion on the topic can be found here -> https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?p=2158110#p2156536.
The biggest issue with RPi / CamillaDSP setups is dealing with variable sample rates on the input, devices like the miniDSP 2x4HD and nanoSHARC solve this by using an ASRC. What are your audio sources and are they fixed sample rate?
Michael
The biggest issue with RPi / CamillaDSP setups is dealing with variable sample rates on the input, devices like the miniDSP 2x4HD and nanoSHARC solve this by using an ASRC. What are your audio sources and are they fixed sample rate?
Michael
no, the sample rates are not fixed, unfortunately. Possibly I could upscale to same sample rate from television somehow, and do the same with my music, but that would take another step. I will look into the thread you link to.
But I will eagerly wait to hear about your experience with the Pi 5
But I will eagerly wait to hear about your experience with the Pi 5