That's not exactly what I meant - but you are not wrong. 🙂
My main point was - using the local master clock async is often the cleanest/best solution - even if we choose to reclock the source - so I am saying people should not dismiss that notion out of hand. Sync is not always better than async. 🙂
I am encouraging people to explore the simpler options first - because I have found the results are somewhat surprisingly awesome. 🙂
I guess I would put it like this - while sync is great and has some appeal - async likewise has some advantages - one of which is that the clock is right next to the chip - and you don't get much better than that in a situation where noise is critical.
Happy new year!
Cheers!
Russ
Here's perhaps a dumb question, my excuse is I am only just learning Arduino programming with the intent of initially integrating Arduino control of the ES9038. The first step I was considering was using the Arduino to merely switch the IO ports on the Buffalo board, allowing microprocessor control of SW1 and SW2 settings. Implementation should be pretty easy with display of parameters on an LCD.
The question I have relates to the desire to also display the sample frequency on the display, which involves using I2C communication with the DAC chip to pull data from the chip registers. If however the ATMEL controller chip on the DAC board is still present, and is presumably the master on the I2C bus, can the Amanero even use the I2C bus to request data from the DAC? - my guess is that it cannot, and if I want to retrieve the sample rate form the DAC, it would mean removing the ATMEL chip an using the Arduino to control all the chip settings. Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks
The question I have relates to the desire to also display the sample frequency on the display, which involves using I2C communication with the DAC chip to pull data from the chip registers. If however the ATMEL controller chip on the DAC board is still present, and is presumably the master on the I2C bus, can the Amanero even use the I2C bus to request data from the DAC? - my guess is that it cannot, and if I want to retrieve the sample rate form the DAC, it would mean removing the ATMEL chip an using the Arduino to control all the chip settings. Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks
I too am thinking this for display control purposes. However, I am thinking of using an 8 bit PIC from MicroChip instead of Auduino. Will there be any problem using a PIC to drive the display to show ESS chip status ?
The display should show: input, sample rate, bit rate, playback format, and possibly audio dB level.
You can use any controller you like - but it should be the only I2C master connected to the I2C bus. It would actually be fairly easy to adapt the on-board firmware to drive an I2C display. I may start a branch that does that if there is interest.
Just to clear - the short of it is - if you are going use an I2C master with an external controller - you should always remove the on-board controller.
I am interested in making an ESS Buffalo 3 SE Pro DAC. From what I heard about the Murcury board, I will be using that to interface with the Buffalo 3 SE Pro.
If I start with a stereo stage, can I later on configure my DAC for dual-mono by purchasing just another ESS Buffalo 3 SE Pro and have both ESS chips configured for all 8 outputs on each for single channel output ? Assuming I am on the right track - Will I need another Mercury board ?
I also want to have a variety of inputs for the ESS 9038 to select from:
4 TOSLINKs
4 Coaxials
I2S
USB Input
I want RCA unbalanced outputs to interface with the rest of my stereo system.
What sort of Line Stage will I need to accommodate all these inputs from TPA ?
When using USB input - what situation would I want The Amanero Combo 384 module is a buss-powered, 2-channel USB2 to I2S/DSD adapter? Can I use only the USB Buss ? Does the additional modules offer significant performance gains when using USB ? And what situation would I need to make use of the additional clock that TPA offers ?
Also, would I want to use Chronus even though I am not using a master clock controller at this time ? Will I hear significant performance going this route ?
If I start with a stereo stage, can I later on configure my DAC for dual-mono by purchasing just another ESS Buffalo 3 SE Pro and have both ESS chips configured for all 8 outputs on each for single channel output ? Assuming I am on the right track - Will I need another Mercury board ?
I also want to have a variety of inputs for the ESS 9038 to select from:
4 TOSLINKs
4 Coaxials
I2S
USB Input
I want RCA unbalanced outputs to interface with the rest of my stereo system.
What sort of Line Stage will I need to accommodate all these inputs from TPA ?
When using USB input - what situation would I want The Amanero Combo 384 module is a buss-powered, 2-channel USB2 to I2S/DSD adapter? Can I use only the USB Buss ? Does the additional modules offer significant performance gains when using USB ? And what situation would I need to make use of the additional clock that TPA offers ?
Also, would I want to use Chronus even though I am not using a master clock controller at this time ? Will I hear significant performance going this route ?
Thanks everyone that's very helpful.
Russ, here's another question, could the onboard firmware be modified so that the raw sample rate data from the DAC is held in memory in the ATMEL and the Arduino then use I2C to request that from the controller?
Russ, here's another question, could the onboard firmware be modified so that the raw sample rate data from the DAC is held in memory in the ATMEL and the Arduino then use I2C to request that from the controller?
I would very strongly suggest you start simple until you grow confident about the modules and how they work.
- Just use 1 spdif input (you can MUX it if you want)
- Use Amanero + Cronus connected async to the B3SEPro (don't take master clock from Cronus - leave master clock on B3SEPro) for DSD/PCM(I2S) - or use an Amanero in master mode if you want to save some money/complexity at the cost of a small amount of SQ.
- Mercury already does Balanced and SE outputs - you will love it.
- The on-board controller does volume control - you don't need a line stage or pre-amp.
Start there - you can add more features later.
Cheers!
Russ
@MartinC700:
... I reckon you may want to program this yourself but just in case you are not aware of it the member dimdim has programmed a setup for the ES9028 &9038:
TFT HiFiDuino Pro Project | Dimdim's Blog
The youtube video two-thirds down the page shows what this software can do.
Cheers,
Jesper
... I reckon you may want to program this yourself but just in case you are not aware of it the member dimdim has programmed a setup for the ES9028 &9038:
TFT HiFiDuino Pro Project | Dimdim's Blog
The youtube video two-thirds down the page shows what this software can do.
Cheers,
Jesper
If I understand correctly, if I want to use dimdim TFT Hififuino Pro controller for your DAC ES9038pro I need to remove the onboard controller?
Getting ready to put the Amanero / Cronus together, but I'm having a hard time finding what looks like u.fl male to male connectors. Looks like both the Cronus and b3 have male connectors, but every cable I'm seeing male / female.
Am I missing something?
Am I missing something?
Thanks. This is a great starting point. I will make a decision soon to purchase.
One thing to note - I plan to use an AMB Sigma 11 or 22 voltage regulators as power. I see I need a bipolar voltage power supply which the Sigma 22 provides. Would I require any additional power supplies such as the Sigma 11 boards which provides positive voltage or any additional Sigma 22 bipolar voltage regulators ?
I also use Avel Lindberg Toroidal Power Transformers with Sigma 11/22 voltage regulators to power my audio projects.
Thanks !!!
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