Musiland Lilo 3 - 24/96 USB to SPDIF?

[Kane Williams]

I see.

So what you are suggesting is that it may be worth buying a Lilo and use nothing but the USB chip and the software/protocol that Musiland have develloped from it by putting it into an existing DAC box (or build your own) add a USB port and take the I2S signal to the DAC chip in the box?

I wish I was capable of doing this.

This DAC seems to have done something similar http://www.pacificvalve.us/Brigatta.html but it appears they may still convert to SPDIF? May be this is because the PCM1704UK won't accept I2S? I have no idea.

I think I will plump for a Lilo. Only $38 delivered, as long as I don't get stung with VAT/Duty. The only thing that will cheese me off is that I have only just bought the HagUSB, which cost me about £90 and it would be redundant! :-(

"HEY JUST HAD A THOUGHT". What are the chances the software driver that can be downloaded here http://www.pacificvalve.us/LILOSUPT.html will be compatible with any other current USB to SPDIF converterts (HagUSB, Pop-Pulse etc)?

[Kane Williams]

The only think that has stopped me buying a Lilo so far is that it uses an optical connection. Why the heck couldn't they have used a coaxial SPDIF instead?

I know it costs a bit more, but it suggest pro rather than consumer. I mean the Lilo Classic could have had the optical and the Deluxe coaxial. They could have charged an extra $10.

Doesn't an optical connection inherently have higher jitter than coaxial? If so, why would a company go out of its way to try to make a "low jitter" device (as they claim the Lilo to be) and use optical?

[analog_sa]

Originally posted by Kane Williams
So what you are suggesting is that it may be worth buying a Lilo and use nothing but the USB chip and the software/protocol that Musiland have develloped from it by putting it into an existing DAC box (or build your own) add a USB port and take the I2S signal to the DAC chip in the box?

"HEY JUST HAD A THOUGHT". What are the chances the software driver that can be downloaded here http://www.pacificvalve.us/LILOSUPT.html will be compatible with any other current USB to SPDIF converterts (HagUSB, Pop-Pulse etc)?

You can try posting on diyhifi.org. Gordon Rankin knows everything there is to be known about USB protocols and supporting chips. He certainly would know about Lilo.


The driver you mention is certainly not usable with any of the isochronous chips. The chip inside the Lilo has been custom programmed to work with that driver.

[analog_sa]

Originally posted by Kane Williams
If so, why would a company go out of its way to try to make a "low jitter" device (as they claim the Lilo to be) and use optical?

A very good question indeed. There is nothing more expensive about consumer grade coax spdif anyway.

[Kane Williams]

Thanks for the link. I couldn't find anything about the Lilo or the PCM3010 chip, but I will post something and see who knows what.

I did read this though and think that it is this that the Lilo addresses? So, even using a "standard" clock, may be they can achieve low jitter, as the Lilo is the master and the PC the slave?

I can't remember the name of the person who I'm quoting here, so my appologies.


"The problem with USB is different to that seen with S/PDIF. The issue is that the source clock is in two parts. We get notified of the sample rate, but we then get the samples as lumps every USB send interval. So, in order to keep the buffer happy we need to sync to the send interval. That is 1kHz. Then we can synthesise the sample rate clock. There is no mechanism to send a raw clock with USB other than this. So a second link to slave the DAC would not add anything".

"What is needed - as always - is a way of slaving the sender to the DAC clock. (Which is perhaps what you meant.) To do this does not require another USB cable, merely a protocol to control the USB sender. Sadly there is no such protocol. Not that it would be impossible to create one. An appropriate driver could be written and the sender essentially folded into a PLL controlled by the DAC end. But this would not be plug and play any more. It would solve the problem".

[Kane Williams]

Quck question.

Is their any reason that the CIRRUS LOGIC CS8420 SPDIF digital transmitter that the Lilo uses could not have been connected to a coaxial output socket?

Would it be quite straight forward to change the optical to coaxial and should this result in even lower jitter?

Thanks