Ethernet ?
Hello,
One option that I really would like to see for your great DACs is an ethernet connection.
My house has an ethernet outlet in every room, so it would be great if I could connect to the DAC over ethernet.
Ethernet is the most common used connection so why not with DACs ?
Will there be an ethernet connection in the future?
Here's a site of someone who has implemented a DAC with ethernet: http://audio.peufeu.com/node/10
Regards,
Danny
Hello,
One option that I really would like to see for your great DACs is an ethernet connection.
My house has an ethernet outlet in every room, so it would be great if I could connect to the DAC over ethernet.
Ethernet is the most common used connection so why not with DACs ?
Will there be an ethernet connection in the future?
Here's a site of someone who has implemented a DAC with ethernet: http://audio.peufeu.com/node/10
Regards,
Danny
Check this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103162
I bought the SMC box for $35 on ebay. It has the ethernet connection and is modded to output SPDIF.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103162
I bought the SMC box for $35 on ebay. It has the ethernet connection and is modded to output SPDIF.
ethernet to your DAC
I recommend getting a Roku. You can get them cheap on e-bay. But you must get the 1000 units not the 1001 units. (They screwed up resampling on the 1001 units; read the RokuForums thread to find out what's wrong with that.)
The key is the software and the Roku is VERY nice. Feed its SPDIF out to your DAC. You don't even need a computer on. Just have a NAS on your network and run an iTunes compatible server on that (for example, FireFly media server). Works like a charm, makes no noise and consumes very little power.
Peter
I recommend getting a Roku. You can get them cheap on e-bay. But you must get the 1000 units not the 1001 units. (They screwed up resampling on the 1001 units; read the RokuForums thread to find out what's wrong with that.)
The key is the software and the Roku is VERY nice. Feed its SPDIF out to your DAC. You don't even need a computer on. Just have a NAS on your network and run an iTunes compatible server on that (for example, FireFly media server). Works like a charm, makes no noise and consumes very little power.
Peter
Thanks for the hints and links, I have been looking around and it seems that for the moment the way to go is a Squeezebox, Roku or SMC.
The SMC device seems nice, especially the price.
For the Squeezebox there are alot of mods, even external reclocking and i2s output. And the new Duet seems very nice.
But they all use their own players, a solution like an USB-DAC is not possible for ethernet.
What I would like to do is to use any audioplayer on my PC and connect to my DAC over ethernet.
But for that to be possible a device driver is needed in the OS that sends the audio output stream over an ethernet connection to the DAC.
So I would like to see a device driver for audio over ethernet, standard available in the OS, with ASIO support and some hardware to connect ethernet to the DAC. That's all
Regards,
Danny
The SMC device seems nice, especially the price.
For the Squeezebox there are alot of mods, even external reclocking and i2s output. And the new Duet seems very nice.
But they all use their own players, a solution like an USB-DAC is not possible for ethernet.
What I would like to do is to use any audioplayer on my PC and connect to my DAC over ethernet.
But for that to be possible a device driver is needed in the OS that sends the audio output stream over an ethernet connection to the DAC.
So I would like to see a device driver for audio over ethernet, standard available in the OS, with ASIO support and some hardware to connect ethernet to the DAC. That's all
Regards,
Danny
Dougie085 said:
I have gotten PCM (I can't recall if it was I2S or LJ/RJ) out of it, and it's not very hard. You just have to look at the datasheet of the DAC they used (I forget what it is right now, and I am no longer using the SMC so I can't check).
The SMC sounds fine when used as a SPDIF source, I did not do an in depth comparison with the Logitech stuff.
I would not fret over using SMC, it preserved the signal intact with no re-sampling. if you can find one cheap, go for it, as it's a fun project with little risk. Cheers!
Russ
Hi Guys
Before I can even lay my hand on the current chip, ESS is going to launch a new reference DAC, below is the text copy from enjoythemusic.com
ESS Technology Audio, designers and manufacturers of high-performance digital video/audio semiconductors for the consumer digital entertainment, digital home and automotive markets, will be showcasing their Sabre32 Reference DAC. Heralded as the world's best 32-bit audio DAC with 135dB of dynamic range, this new chip is said to offer "unmatched sound clarity made possible by ESS's patented Hyperstream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator." The 24-bit Sabre DAC is designed into leading-edge high-end audio products by McIntosh, Krell and Samsung. The Sabre32 Reference DAC extends the musicality of the original Sabre Reference DAC from 24 to 32 bit music and raises its performance to 135dB dynamic range and -120dB THD. Total harmonic distortion is a low -118dB (0.00013%), the chip supports stereo analog XLR or RCA output, and has S/PDIF or I2S/DSD header input.
Here is the original URL where the text from
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/ces2009/preshow/b.htm
Before I can even lay my hand on the current chip, ESS is going to launch a new reference DAC, below is the text copy from enjoythemusic.com
ESS Technology Audio, designers and manufacturers of high-performance digital video/audio semiconductors for the consumer digital entertainment, digital home and automotive markets, will be showcasing their Sabre32 Reference DAC. Heralded as the world's best 32-bit audio DAC with 135dB of dynamic range, this new chip is said to offer "unmatched sound clarity made possible by ESS's patented Hyperstream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator." The 24-bit Sabre DAC is designed into leading-edge high-end audio products by McIntosh, Krell and Samsung. The Sabre32 Reference DAC extends the musicality of the original Sabre Reference DAC from 24 to 32 bit music and raises its performance to 135dB dynamic range and -120dB THD. Total harmonic distortion is a low -118dB (0.00013%), the chip supports stereo analog XLR or RCA output, and has S/PDIF or I2S/DSD header input.
Here is the original URL where the text from
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/ces2009/preshow/b.htm
Re: Ethernet ?
Hey, i'm famous, lol.
Anyway, as for Ethernet, there are two flavours :
* the device is actually a media player and fetches compressed audio (flac) from the LAN. I'll assume the music files are stored on a RAID server.
In that case, there is no reason to use a cumtom device. Just use a fanless PC. It will be cheaper anyway, and the user interface will be a lot better than a 2-line LCD.
* the device is just a DAC, and a PC somewhere streams audio data to it.
This is what I implemented... there are several flaws. First, ethernet is not a low-latency medium. Second, you need a rather powerful CPU in the device to handle the traffic, because it can come in bursts. Realtime control is also an issue. It's difficult.
Since I don't see why I'd build a DAC without a FPGA in it, for the CPU I used Microblaze, which is neither free nor fast. It was barely enough...
In the end, since a mini-itx motherboard with an Intel Atom, with case and psu, is so cheap, I'm building an USB dac. I got a FPGA board with USB one week ago... I get about 40 MB/s bandwidth between it and the PC... USB is so simple... there is no need for a CPU... the PC is there for that. Don't reinvent the wheel. I got this board one week ago and it's been advancing pretty fast since.
Hey, i'm famous, lol.
Anyway, as for Ethernet, there are two flavours :
* the device is actually a media player and fetches compressed audio (flac) from the LAN. I'll assume the music files are stored on a RAID server.
In that case, there is no reason to use a cumtom device. Just use a fanless PC. It will be cheaper anyway, and the user interface will be a lot better than a 2-line LCD.
* the device is just a DAC, and a PC somewhere streams audio data to it.
This is what I implemented... there are several flaws. First, ethernet is not a low-latency medium. Second, you need a rather powerful CPU in the device to handle the traffic, because it can come in bursts. Realtime control is also an issue. It's difficult.
Since I don't see why I'd build a DAC without a FPGA in it, for the CPU I used Microblaze, which is neither free nor fast. It was barely enough...
In the end, since a mini-itx motherboard with an Intel Atom, with case and psu, is so cheap, I'm building an USB dac. I got a FPGA board with USB one week ago... I get about 40 MB/s bandwidth between it and the PC... USB is so simple... there is no need for a CPU... the PC is there for that. Don't reinvent the wheel. I got this board one week ago and it's been advancing pretty fast since.
@ peufeu
Interesting read. I didn't know that you dropped your ethernet DAC.
I am currently running USB PCM 2707 (DDDAC receiver) to feed
the Sabre DAC via I2S, which sounds better to me than the SPDIF
I tried.
One key issue though is the galvanic isolation of USB from the PC.
Otherwise you won't become happy. You're catching too much noise.
I use an Opticis fibre powered with a TeddyReg and battery on the receiver side.
I integrated the Opticis receiver box right into the DAC-box to avoid another USB
cable.
Cheers
Interesting read. I didn't know that you dropped your ethernet DAC.
I am currently running USB PCM 2707 (DDDAC receiver) to feed
the Sabre DAC via I2S, which sounds better to me than the SPDIF
I tried.
One key issue though is the galvanic isolation of USB from the PC.
Otherwise you won't become happy. You're catching too much noise.
I use an Opticis fibre powered with a TeddyReg and battery on the receiver side.
I integrated the Opticis receiver box right into the DAC-box to avoid another USB
cable.
Cheers
Re: Active X-over + DAC
No, I don't have any ESS yet, it is the highest on my list to try, though. As soon as this FPGA thing will be able to do it, I want to try the ESS...
No PXM270x chip, it's a Cypress FX2 usb chip + a FPGA. Drawback is of course that I have to write a driver
Yeah, Ethernet turned out to be a hassle, the need for at least a 50-100 MHz CPU in the DAC was a real problem. USB is extremely dumb, so much better. There is no CPU in the DAC (well, there is a 8 bit uc, but that hardly counts...).
As I said in the other thread I plan to use IL261-3E to isolate the DAC chip.
I don't want to pollute this ESS thread, so give me a few weeks and I'll come back with something a bit more stabilized...
knc said:
No, I don't have any ESS yet, it is the highest on my list to try, though. As soon as this FPGA thing will be able to do it, I want to try the ESS...
plep said:
No PXM270x chip, it's a Cypress FX2 usb chip + a FPGA. Drawback is of course that I have to write a driver
soundcheck said:
Yeah, Ethernet turned out to be a hassle, the need for at least a 50-100 MHz CPU in the DAC was a real problem. USB is extremely dumb, so much better. There is no CPU in the DAC (well, there is a 8 bit uc, but that hardly counts...).
As I said in the other thread I plan to use IL261-3E to isolate the DAC chip.
I don't want to pollute this ESS thread, so give me a few weeks and I'll come back with something a bit more stabilized...