DAC ES9018 Evaluation Board / No Output

ghmfranken · 11th November 2012, 09:17 AM

Dear all,

For my DIY DAC project I purchased an ES9018 2CH evaluation board from an ESS distributor. However, I can not seem to get any output from it. Next to it, I am not quite sure why the Sabre GUI is telling it is an ES9006 chip, while the labelling on the chip itself says ES9018S. Your help is very much appreciated!

- For testing purposes I connected a CD player on the SPDIF IN and added the jumper on SPDIF_EN as described in the manual. The settings in the Sabre GUI are depicted below.
- The jumper setting on the board is also depicted.
- When playing audio the LOCKED led is active.
- I checked all cables individually and all work when connected to other sources and outputs.

Am I missing the obvious?

merlin el mago · 11th November 2012, 09:42 AM

Are you sure there is no connected the automute?

ghmfranken · 11th November 2012, 09:48 AM

When hitting the play button the automute LED is not active. When pausing the audio the automute LED becomes active. So this tells me automute is not active while playing audio.

Bunpei · 11th November 2012, 12:17 PM

In Japan, more than two years ago, a local distributor at that time gave us a CD-R that contained the newest version of GUI software for register settings.
I'm afraid that the software you are using seems obsolete.

ghmfranken · 11th November 2012, 12:28 PM

The distributor supplied a CD-R with the board, but the CD only contains the PCB schematics/BOM/Operation Manual. I downloaded the Sabre8 GUI from the ESS website:
ESS Support Downloads. It is the Sabre8 GUI v2.0.2.1. So there is actually a newer version?

Bunpei · 11th November 2012, 01:29 PM

I think the software you downloaded from the web site is completely obsolete.
Why don't you contact to your distributor to obtain a correct one?

When you reset the DAC chip alone, its hardware default setting will bring a normal output for S/PDIF input. ( The output volume might be less loud in this case. )

ghmfranken · 11th November 2012, 03:16 PM

I tried to reset the DAC chip by pressing the "Reset" button (and also turned off the power for > 10sec), but still no luck. I mailed the distributor with my problem and also asked for the latest GUI software.

ghmfranken · 15th January 2013, 08:13 PM

I finally got the evaluation board working! In a desperate last attempt (and strenghtend by the fact that ESS did test the PCB/board in the meantime) to get audio out of the evaluation board I modified the power supply to 240V (before it was on 220V). And against all odds the EV board is now working correctly. I did measure the PSU when it was on 220V, but I can only assume that for some reason the output circuit just did not had enough "juice" (the ES9018 chip itself was working from the beginning).

Thank you for all the suggestions.

11th November 2012, 09:17 AM	#1
ghmfranken diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012	DAC ES9018 Evaluation Board / No Output Dear all, For my DIY DAC project I purchased an ES9018 2CH evaluation board from an ESS distributor. However, I can not seem to get any output from it. Next to it, I am not quite sure why the Sabre GUI is telling it is an ES9006 chip, while the labelling on the chip itself says ES9018S. Your help is very much appreciated! - For testing purposes I connected a CD player on the SPDIF IN and added the jumper on SPDIF_EN as described in the manual. The settings in the Sabre GUI are depicted below. - The jumper setting on the board is also depicted. - When playing audio the LOCKED led is active. - I checked all cables individually and all work when connected to other sources and outputs. Am I missing the obvious?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Another DIY ESS ES9018 Sabre DAC board	Trevor White	Digital Line Level	4	19th August 2010 02:41 PM
My Cambridge 500SE, needs an output board (to replace internal DAC Board)	slbender	Digital Source	0	15th May 2008 01:36 AM
WTB AD1955 evaluation board DAC	mgm31	Swap Meet	1	13th February 2008 08:27 AM
Evaluation board as DAC?	ctong	Digital Source	4	2nd October 2007 10:31 PM
cs4398 evaluation board as universal dac	Mickey	Digital Source	3	6th September 2007 03:42 AM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

11th November 2012, 09:42 AM	#2
merlin el mago diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Catalonia new Europe state	Are you sure there is no connected the automute?

11th November 2012, 09:48 AM	#3
ghmfranken diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012	When hitting the play button the automute LED is not active. When pausing the audio the automute LED becomes active. So this tells me automute is not active while playing audio.

11th November 2012, 12:17 PM	#4
Bunpei diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2008	In Japan, more than two years ago, a local distributor at that time gave us a CD-R that contained the newest version of GUI software for register settings. I'm afraid that the software you are using seems obsolete.

11th November 2012, 12:28 PM	#5
ghmfranken diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012	The distributor supplied a CD-R with the board, but the CD only contains the PCB schematics/BOM/Operation Manual. I downloaded the Sabre8 GUI from the ESS website: ESS Support Downloads. It is the Sabre8 GUI v2.0.2.1. So there is actually a newer version?

11th November 2012, 01:29 PM	#6
Bunpei diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2008	I think the software you downloaded from the web site is completely obsolete. Why don't you contact to your distributor to obtain a correct one? When you reset the DAC chip alone, its hardware default setting will bring a normal output for S/PDIF input. ( The output volume might be less loud in this case. )

11th November 2012, 03:16 PM	#7
ghmfranken diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012	I tried to reset the DAC chip by pressing the "Reset" button (and also turned off the power for > 10sec), but still no luck. I mailed the distributor with my problem and also asked for the latest GUI software.

15th January 2013, 08:13 PM	#8
ghmfranken diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2012	I finally got the evaluation board working! In a desperate last attempt (and strenghtend by the fact that ESS did test the PCB/board in the meantime) to get audio out of the evaluation board I modified the power supply to 240V (before it was on 220V). And against all odds the EV board is now working correctly. I did measure the PSU when it was on 220V, but I can only assume that for some reason the output circuit just did not had enough "juice" (the ES9018 chip itself was working from the beginning). Thank you for all the suggestions.