exaU2I - Multi-Channel Asynchronous USB to I2S Interface

[deanoUK]

Ability to connect up to 3 boards for 24 channels would be great.

[labjr]

Originally Posted by deanoUK

Ability to connect up to 3 boards for 24 channels would be great.

Seems like overkill.

[deanoUK]

I am already using 8 channels for my front speakers.
Would like to go active surround.

[exa065]

Originally Posted by acko

Hi George,

Really excited about the new version!
Yes, would like to register my interest for purchasing one. Even the current one has become my preferred transport for the AckoDAC System

Mine is all 9018/12 DACs so hopefully you would maintain support for these.
The rest on the list is really good, native DSD especially. Possibly dedicated 2CH or 8CH versions if these make things more optimized?

OSX support?

Is the I2C a slave or master? Can the sample rates be read over I2C? I will be using the AKC12 Controller (master), so DAC Vol Cntrl is taken care of but sample rates from EXA2UI needed (for display purpose mainly).

Those U.FL coax, if you could leave it unpopulated would make it easier for my DAC that uses the smaller w.fl types. I could kludge a connection in place.

From the looks of it you have got re-clocking done after the isolation. If true this is great! For your current version (2.0) I am doing the re-clocking externally using a separate module after the isolators. So this could become redundant

Has the dimensions and mounting positions been finalised? Nice if you could keep it the same as the current one for easy upgrades. ETA? would like to start the integration process already.

Well done and thank you for the great efforts!

Hello Acko, Thank you for the kind words.

We are testing the new exaU2I with an ES9018 DAC, and so far everything is backward compatible. We are considering 2 channel and 8 channel versions. The new device will be released with OS X and Windows ASIO drivers. On Widows we will support native DSD. The OS X drivers will support DSD over PCM.

The I2C is a master. At this time we use it to control the ES9018 volume and other settings. Eventually we can try addressing a third device. This is a good idea, it makes the LED indicators unnecessary

We introduced the coax connectors to make it easier to attach the exaU2I to your DACs. I guess I picked the wrong type. Can you email me the part number that I should use?

Yes, relocking is done after the isolation. The output jitter is as good as the clocks. This makes it easy to experiment with different clocks and power sources.

The device is under development, everything can be changed. It has about two times the surface of the old one. Please send me an email and we can discuss early testing.

Best,

George

[acko]

Hi George,

Thank you for all the details.

As for the 2CH version it is best to stick to the U.FL coax types as I realised my DAC requires input remapping and fan-in, so will be using the header outputs with an adapter board instead. Doing w.fl coax to match my setup would make yours not compatible with other DACs/devices. I may revise my own 2CH DAC design with U.FL types to match in future.

For the 8CH version, would prefer the smaller w.fl coax, Hirose PN:W.FL-R-SMT-1(10), Digikey PN:H9173CT-ND

The I2C is a master. At this time we use it to control the ES9018 volume and other settings. Eventually we can try addressing a third device. This is a good idea, it makes the LED indicators unnecessary

Good to have a "PC dashboard" control of the DAC. If not too much trouble adding a slave i2C channel would be great, otherwise just provide a header with all the led lines. Please do not remove the LEDs. There are actually quite useful diagnostics.

Happy to do some testing on the prototypes! will email shortly

Cheers, Acko

[analog_sa]

Originally Posted by RayCtech

The most important issue (missing in the list) are USB 2.0 Audio compatibility for driverless use with Linux and OSX...

So, it appears this won't be part of the new release then...

[qusp]

w.fl sockets can be fairly easily soldered on u.fl patterns anyway if need be.

[acko]

Good point! All U.FL then

[Goto]

USB standard drivers would be one of the key enhancements to get me interested in the new board. I am very happy with the current device, but the ASIO driver is a limitation.

Mark

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by RayCtech

The most important issue (missing in the list) are USB 2.0 Audio compatibility for driverless use with Linux and OSX...

I agree.