I've been getting great results with HQPlayer upsampling to DSD256 and playing through my no DAC. I recently upgraded my DIYINHK DAC, capable of playing DSD512 but alas my PC was not up the the task as recounted previously (AMD Phenom 6 core).
So today i bit the bullet. Bought a new CPU (I7 7700K with Cooler Master Hyper 103 fan), new mobo (Gigabyte z270) and new memory (32 GB of DDR4 2400). I can now upsample anything to DSD512 and CPU useage is only around 28%. And best of all, I can't hear the CPU fan anymore! So I am happy, with one caveat - with no CPU fan noise to mask other goings-on, I can now hear a low level of hiss in quiet places (between songs). Someone has suggested that I need to get rid of the SMPS that powers the dirty side of isolated DAC board. I think that this is good advice and I need to act sooner rather than later.
So if you are waiting for an AMD Ryzen - no need really. The new AMD may or not be better, but the I7 does the job and any more power is just gonna be wasted.
So today i bit the bullet. Bought a new CPU (I7 7700K with Cooler Master Hyper 103 fan), new mobo (Gigabyte z270) and new memory (32 GB of DDR4 2400). I can now upsample anything to DSD512 and CPU useage is only around 28%. And best of all, I can't hear the CPU fan anymore! So I am happy, with one caveat - with no CPU fan noise to mask other goings-on, I can now hear a low level of hiss in quiet places (between songs). Someone has suggested that I need to get rid of the SMPS that powers the dirty side of isolated DAC board. I think that this is good advice and I need to act sooner rather than later.
So if you are waiting for an AMD Ryzen - no need really. The new AMD may or not be better, but the I7 does the job and any more power is just gonna be wasted.
HEY!
i very much enjoy reading this.
now that u have a new i7 would you please try BUGhead emperor player and report back how it sounds?
also i would like to have one of these dsd dacs but rather get the i2s from an maudio 24/96. sadly im too busy to start a new project, maybe someone here can help me out and send me a dac to solder it to the maudio card i2s pins
i very much enjoy reading this.
now that u have a new i7 would you please try BUGhead emperor player and report back how it sounds?
also i would like to have one of these dsd dacs but rather get the i2s from an maudio 24/96. sadly im too busy to start a new project, maybe someone here can help me out and send me a dac to solder it to the maudio card i2s pins
Well, I got the PCBs from Ray (many thanks, Ray!) and have tried various combinations of output filters (1st order, 2nd order) with and without trannies after the flipflop with my Amanero board. Sound is wonderful, but regardless of output setup, the noise is there.
I've ordered an Amanero clone off ebay to see if that changes anything.
Can Bug Head Emporer convert PCM to DSD and output native DSD? If so are you able to send me a link to the download site?
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click on the green bar that says download on this page and also on the next Bug head‚Ì�Ú�×�î•ñ : Vector ƒ\ƒtƒg‚ð’T‚·�I
I use I2S isolator between the USB-I2S converter and the LPF, also I use CLC in the PSU powering the clean side of isolator choke is common mode 2x2mH, also it's important a very clean and well regulated PSU: I'm using Salas BiB for Amanero & Salas Reflektor-D for I2S clean side of isolator.
I agree, good PSU is probably the key. Right now I have very clean PSU for the flipflop/LPF but less clean for the Amanero; I'll try that next. I've also ordered parts and board for an isolator. I'll try some different filter settings as well (changing the "balance" between R and C components)..
I read an update on DIY audio somewhere that there was an Amanero driver which was optimized for DSD playback without the up/dowm pops. But can't find the post anywhere anymore. Did one of you more conciously see it pass by?
Thanks,
Thanks,
You can find it at http://www.audiodesignguide.com/PureDSD/index.html.
There are also several other firmware editions you can flash which deal with the same problem and which can be found in the normal OEM tool for Amanero (1099c/1099be).
However, if you're going the nodac route, I haven't been able to get rid of the white noise which the amanero adds to the playback even when using those drivers.
There are also several other firmware editions you can flash which deal with the same problem and which can be found in the normal OEM tool for Amanero (1099c/1099be).
However, if you're going the nodac route, I haven't been able to get rid of the white noise which the amanero adds to the playback even when using those drivers.
Thanks! I Build up Ray's board with the JLsound board before. Intrestingly&strangly enough I wasn't having any audible white noise issues, but the start/stop pops with the JLSounds board (as well as leack of Windows drivers) were to big a disturbing factor for me to accept. So I'm still hopefull the noise issue could be resolved. I've build up an isolator/re-clocker (S03) and want to filter a PSU to the max, see if that makes any difference..
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Good to know! I think the JL board simply does something right which the Amanero does not in this particular application, so I'll probably try that board next.
As far as I understand, the pops/clicks have to do with how the USB-i2s board's firmware implementation deals with starts/stops in the DSD datastream. Unless the firmware deliberately implements a dedicated mute function (i.e. starts playing a lot of zeroes if the incoming data stream is interrupted), the pops/clicks will be there, but perhaps isolation and filtering can lower them to acceptable levels. Have you pushed the NE555 to its limits?
Coincidentally...
I've just acquired an Amanero board and will partner it with an Acko SO3 as well; it'll be interesting to see if the JLSounds secret is the isolation/reclocking?
I'm looking to use the DSD-only Amanero firmware too as per the audiodesign link, though looking to reflash the Amanero the firmware versions are different to those shown on the website. Which versions are you chaps using for DSD only?
Ray
Please, if you find the secret out, let me know 🙂 I've racked my brain over this a while. I might of course have a broken Amanero as well, but I'd prefer if that was not the answer...
The things which made the dsd firmware on that website special (mute before data stream, to avoid pop/clicks) seems to later have been integrated into 1099c/1099be (little endian/big endian, as indicated by text below; be is required for Soekris but most others work with both from what I gather). I've used both for DSD playback. Also, the 1099c1/1099be1 may not work; those were part of a development effort that I followed in another thread.
No problem!
Seems Amanero might work better under windows than linux(mac) but I haven't found any follow up of the issue since that thread went quiet.
Seems Amanero might work better under windows than linux(mac) but I haven't found any follow up of the issue since that thread went quiet.
Unfortunately the 1099be firmware is working fine in native only up to DSD256.
The big problem however is another: if you switch to a file with a different sampling rate, it will mute forever... only after multiple connections/disconnections you can play again.
Not ready yet.
The big problem however is another: if you switch to a file with a different sampling rate, it will mute forever... only after multiple connections/disconnections you can play again.
Not ready yet.