Build thread for Diyinhk ES9018 DAC on Ebay

[voy]

Sure, here you go

The DAC front and back hires

http://i.imgur.com/28AGG4m.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/urxnjyg.jpg

complete setup out of its case

http://i.imgur.com/iMVANbG.jpg

Arduino board close up

http://i.imgur.com/QLOKh0z.jpg

Level converter

http://i.imgur.com/orF9B9M.jpg

connetion to the DAC board

http://i.imgur.com/NQL4HiF.jpg

 

[voy]

Heh!
Thanks for that! anyway i was thinking that my SPDIF level converter was not working so was giving up trying till my amanero arrive.. But it's actually jumper thing going.
Now tested DAC for the first time and it's working with SPDIF input!!!
Beautiful!!!

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

Still waiting Amanero..

By the way, I'm using EPSON.

Yours shows the input in your case spdif1 I have a blank space there?

Another funny thing. If I power the arduino from the 9v jack and the lcd from the onboard regulator on the arduino 5v pin it boots slower. You can see the blocks on the lcd screen and then the boot text

If I power the arduino using the v-in pin and I tie the lcd power onto it it boots twice as fast. On power on you will see the boot text almost instantly..

 

[somewhoo]

Well, I didn't noticed about boot time, probably because I'm powering arduino with USB cable from a laptop, still on a protoboard.. Anyway, any improvement? Did you tried to power level converter with both 5V and 3,3V from arduino and do you have shematics for it?

 

[voy]

Nope, I did not tried that yet. But I ordered a bus pirate, its a small cheap I2C bus sniffer.
I also found this the ADUM1250ARZ. It's a I2C bus isolator, it looks very good.
I got a response from mister hifiduino so there is hope.

 

[somewhoo]

Well, this is mine for now little bit messy but..

Until I find enclosure to pack things up.
Also experimenting with VFD display power management, brightness settings.. I would like to have sort of sleep timer after 30 seconds to put display to sleep, also maybe input selector on remote..
But that's HIFIDUINO things..
Never ending story

 

[voy]

Nice.

Mr hifiduino thinks that my diyinhk usb to i2s is to blame and that it's also trying to communicate with the es9018. It's that or I have a dead es9018.

What did you use for spdif input? I was looking at twisted pear audio but could not find that module for spdif level conversion.

 

[somewhoo]

What did you use for spdif input? I was looking at twisted pear audio but could not find that module for spdif level conversion.

Take a look on this page
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/buffalo8.aspx
Just scroll down to accessories.. I'm using single converter.. Also I'm thinking to add optical input and making balanced output for my active monitors..

 

[voy]

Ah thank you, that was it!

I don't really need a spdif in input, it's just to test if the usb to i2s is to blame.
A second analogue output would be nice for me reel to reel deck

I still don't know, why you have input selection in the right corner and I have a blank space.

Thanks for the pictures, I think we have almost the same setup except you use a different usb to i2s solution.

 

[somewhoo]

I still don't know, why you have input selection in the right corner and I have a blank space.

Right or left? On the upper left is input selection. When Arduino is started for the first time with HIFIDUINO programmed you have a blank space but when you make input selection for the first time, that input is active when you powercycle arduino...

 

[voy]

I just received my rotary encoder in the mail, and now it works! You first have to make a input selection before it works!

I have distorted sound now, but thats setting stuff I think, so I need to read the manual

 

[pepenoutte]

Hi,
I want to realise a Hi-end DAC from the Diyinhk ES9018 DAC and the Diyinhk Isolated XMOS DSD DXD 384kHz high-quality USB to I2S/DSD PCB with ultralow noise regulator.

1) I see many pictures on this thread about bypass and signal capacitors and someone doesn't follow the indication on the pcb with electrolytics evrywhere with ceramic capacitors. What is the better combination and the value ?

2) what is the better output stage ? transfo lundahl LL1684, unbalancer tube output stage from john Broskie, output stage with amp-ops or discrete components ?

Sorry for my poor english and thanks for ansewering
Best regards

 

[endy]

Any one knows why diyinhk doesn't ship his products to Hong Kong, China, Germany and PO Box?

 

[boldname]

Hi,
I want to realise a Hi-end DAC from the Diyinhk ES9018 DAC and the Diyinhk Isolated XMOS DSD DXD 384kHz high-quality USB to I2S/DSD PCB with ultralow noise regulator.

1) I see many pictures on this thread about bypass and signal capacitors and someone doesn't follow the indication on the pcb with electrolytics evrywhere with ceramic capacitors. What is the better combination and the value ?

2) what is the better output stage ? transfo lundahl LL1684, unbalancer tube output stage from john Broskie, output stage with amp-ops or discrete components ?

Sorry for my poor english and thanks for ansewering
Best regards

Hello there.

Did you ever get a good answer for the 4 choices and try them out. I am reviewing this again. The capacitor out is the simplest ans#d may be the best, if it is merely to get the signal volts out, But the transformer may in adjusting other things get a better sound balance and remove the jitter

 

[Ryssen]

Playing around with Lundhals LL1571 I had laying around,and it plays music,maybee a to little bas but i have eq...
I have a little scraping sound in one channel when silence between songs..
Anyone else got it?
Is there a way to disconnect the soft muting?

 

[andyjevans]

Has anybody built this ES9018 K2M version of the board? It comes with the XMOS card etc. I couldn't see a mention of it in the thread.

ES9018K2M XMOS DSD DXD 384kHz USB DAC with Bit-perfect volume control and SPDIF input - DIYINHK

 

[rbalu72]

Has anybody built Diyinhk ES9018 in Dual Mono mode? Any pointers on documentation/schematic to achieve this with two ES9018 boards and how to configure the inputs and output stage?

 

[Rod Coleman]

Should not be too difficult. My suggestions:

1. Hardware: You will need a microcontroller connected to the I2C pins of the DAC. If you use an Arduino, you can go to HiFiDuino for some firmware. Hardware change to the DIYinHK PCB: change the I2C Address pin on one of the 2 boards (so you can configure one to be the L and one to be R).

2. Firmware.
- Set MONO mode.
- Set one chip to be L channel, the other R.

You'll need the data sheet to do the register changes needed for this. It's not public (still, for some reason), so I can't publish the method.

3. Output.

The output stage should be one which accepts current as an input, and has an input impedance of a few ohms or less. Then you can just parallel-connect the L & R outputs of each board, to make the two audio outputs.

I have not tried it yet though, so you will need to try. Please report here, with your results.

 

[rbalu72]

Thanks for quick response !!

Are the inputs also to be parallel connected eg., spdifs and i2s lines?

let me dig some more info on Hifiduino before i can place order for 2 boards, right now my confidence level is not high enough to bite the bullet

 

[Rod Coleman]

Your I2S source must be a bus MASTER - but that is normal for USB audio receivers. In this case, all the ES9018 I2S pins are inputs, so parallel connexion is no problem.

For SPDIF, we have to make a receiver circuit to feed the 9018. Just add an extra logic buffer, to feed the second board.

The output from a TOSLINK receiver can usually be shared between two inputs.

I don't think it will be difficult, provided you have a microcontroller board. An Arduino is easy, and any of the ARM platforms on the mbed.org site are very low cost, and can easily be set up to do what you need with I2C register configuration.

 

[coroner21]

DSD Playback Issue

Hi all, I just recently finished building the diyinhk board which has been lying around here unused for much too long now.

Surprisingly it works pretty well (this was my first encounter in the world of diy audio electronics) and the DAC locks to every PCM sample rate I am able to feed from the Amanero hooked on to it.

However there seems to be an issue with DSD playback. When I feed DSD64 via the Amanero, always the left channel is louder on the meter of my power amp. The same track converted to PCM is balanced between left and right and also other PCM tracks do not show any balancing issues.

Any hints for troubleshooting? So far I tried swapping the cables for connecting the Amanero but probably this is something in the analog stage (which is the stock circuit of the board with AD797 opamps). Thanks in advance for any suggestions!