Fantastic, that will be the crown jewel of my streamer.@ shutdown98
Flagship TransportPiAES will be released very soon.
And then - will it make any sense to replace the FifoPiMa + Isolator II for Q7, purely sound wise?
Hi everyone, hi Ian,
After too many years dreaming of the magic combo for a network streamer, I am kicking it.
But I am a bit lost about the options, I have a few questions for my combo, hoping the question is not too many times repeated.
specs: network input, spdif output (maybe aes option will be available before my buy)
the basic combo I see:
A. low profile combo (not a tower), I plan to start with the stationpi pro + raspeberry pi
B. fifopi q7,
C. transport pi mkII
D. monitor pi
E. power all these
Now about the questions/ points to make it the best
About B.
1. is it better adding reclockpi after fifopi q7 ? I don't see the point for the reclocker because fifopi is already doing reclocking, isn't it ?
2. is it better to go fifopima 1.5 vs fifopi q7 alone vs fifopi q7 + reclockpi ?
About E, how to power this the best ? I would see these combinations:
3.1 lifepo4 mini 6.6v for raspberry pi, lifepo4 mini 3.3V for fifopi, lifepo4 mini 3.3v for transportpi
3.2 purepi for raspberrypi and fifopi, another lifepo4 for transport pi
3.3 ucpure 5v for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
3.4 ucpi for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
3.5 ucconditioner for raspberry pi
4. ucmateconditioner pi can charge multiple lifepo4 mini ?
Basically go lifepo4 for each module ? or supercap for raspberry and lifepo4 for the next stages ? ucconditioner vs ucpure ?
Thank you !
After too many years dreaming of the magic combo for a network streamer, I am kicking it.
But I am a bit lost about the options, I have a few questions for my combo, hoping the question is not too many times repeated.
specs: network input, spdif output (maybe aes option will be available before my buy)
the basic combo I see:
A. low profile combo (not a tower), I plan to start with the stationpi pro + raspeberry pi
B. fifopi q7,
C. transport pi mkII
D. monitor pi
E. power all these
Now about the questions/ points to make it the best
About B.
1. is it better adding reclockpi after fifopi q7 ? I don't see the point for the reclocker because fifopi is already doing reclocking, isn't it ?
2. is it better to go fifopima 1.5 vs fifopi q7 alone vs fifopi q7 + reclockpi ?
About E, how to power this the best ? I would see these combinations:
3.1 lifepo4 mini 6.6v for raspberry pi, lifepo4 mini 3.3V for fifopi, lifepo4 mini 3.3v for transportpi
3.2 purepi for raspberrypi and fifopi, another lifepo4 for transport pi
3.3 ucpure 5v for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
3.4 ucpi for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
3.5 ucconditioner for raspberry pi
4. ucmateconditioner pi can charge multiple lifepo4 mini ?
Basically go lifepo4 for each module ? or supercap for raspberry and lifepo4 for the next stages ? ucconditioner vs ucpure ?
Thank you !
How did you connect up the Q7 to the DDDAC? Struggling to find those U.FL to pin-header cables... I also seem to remember someone making their own pin-header-to-U.FL converter block, but can't find the details behind that, either!
Hello Amaciele,
I contacted Audiophonics ( https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/search?search_query=u.fl) and they promised to obtain this product very soon.
So the question is what 'very soon' implies.
rgrds
Jan
Hi Iwif,
I am using a stack of
1) PurePi powered by Allo Shanti
2) Raspberry Pi 2B (no wireless circuitery on board)
3) fifopiMa
4) Transport Pi mkII
5) MonitorPi
connected to my Venus II over I2S.
RoPieee runs on the RPI and is driven by ROON.
The stack was put together before fifopiQ7 was available.
I am happy with the soplution,
Martin
@ Supersurfer,
That's a good question.
The low jitter I2S/DSD signal quality of FifoPiQ7 gets really improved over Q3. That's why both myself and many other audiophiles experienced improvements on sound quality of FifoPiQ7.
The other features too. For example, the continuous clock mode, works great to eliminate the pop sound of some DACs when start/stop music or change Fs. That is another significant improve to the SQ. And as well as the SYNC charge mode, it will keep the output of the UcPure ultracapacitor power supply always stay at the most optimized voltage to ensure the lowest possible phase noise level of the clocks that used on FifoPi Q7. The delay time too, it controls the depth of the huge FifoPiQ7 memory buffer and uses a smart way at the same time to make the depth variable according to the Fs, to implement a same delay for different Fs. You can use shorter delay time ( for example 0.1s) if you watch video at the same time, or you can use longer delay time to use bigger memory buffer, say 0.8s, for music. As same as setting how many memory you use for the memory direct mode in the software.
Ian
Happy new year @iancanada
How would you compare your new OPA861 line stage to a transformer output stage from either Ivan (Bisesik) or yours running the lundahls?
Regarding powering the OPA861 line stage, what would you recommend?
I’m using your LifeP04 in my system and could that somehow be used to provide the +/- 5v ? I looks like the 5v UcConditioner only accepts max. 5.3v, so two batteries wouldn’t work?
Could the dual LinearPi be feed with lifeP04 6.6v DC at the AC input, or would that not yield any SQ benefit? (This could eliminate any AC in the chassis)
Or could your LT3045 LDO be used? If so what about the negative rail?
Regards Mikkel
@Mikkel,
That's another good question.
Both OPA861 or Ivan transformer are great I/V stage for the sound quality. But they are in different styles.
Bisesik transformers are very natural and analog. While OPA861 plays more vivid and dynamic sound. It also have better sound stage, 3D image and micro resolution.
If you listen the Jazz and classical, Bisesik would be a great option. And, if you like vocal, symphony or pop music, OPA861 can give you surprise.
The output voltages of LifePO4 power supplies have to be 3.3V or times, because the voltage is decided by the chemical of the battery so it can not be changed. That means it's impassible to get +/- 5V from a LifePO4 power supply.
I use 5V AC coils with 2x LinearPi 5V + UcConditioner 5V for the OPA861 with good result. Two LifePO4 Mini 6.6V as input would be even better.
But if you don't mind the size, the best +/- 5V power supply would be two UcPure 3000F 5V.
Ian
@ rikibowI'm planning to build a simple stack of purepi | rpi | shieldpro | q7 | hdmpipro to feed my Denafrips Venus II over hdmi and see if it gets any better.
Since from a technical point of view all I can achieve with this is introducing higher quality clocks into the chain overriding Venus's clocks, I'm facing some obvious clock-questions
- What better clocks could I use than the usual 30-40 EUR Crystek and Accusilicon ones? (I found Pulsar Clock but it's not available anymore and the ~300 EUR price is also a bit bigger of a jump than I'm instantly open to)
- 90/98Mhz is supposed to be better than 45/49MHz? I'm finding contradicting feedbacks online.
- I'm wondering...when using USB, Venus (and probably all dacs) have a buffer and get their feed from there, timing their clocks. We have even tested this, Venus was immune to low quality sources, after buffering and re-clocking, all sources sounded the same. What happens with the buffer when using I2S? Are we sure the dac buffers are still in use and only the clocks are getting out of the chain? If the buffering mechanism somehow gets touched, I might hurt the process instead of improving even with better clocks.
"
- What better clocks could I use than the usual 30-40 EUR Crystek and Accusilicon ones? (I found Pulsar Clock but it's not available anymore and the ~300 EUR price is also a bit bigger of a jump than I'm instantly open to)"
Accusilicon AS318B is a good clock for the price. It's a little bit better than the CCHD957. Try to use higher possible frequency ones. OCXOs uses SC-CUT crystals and runs at around 80 degree most optimized temperature for the best phase noise stability. The are expected to have the best sound quality. However they are very very expensive and will be very hard to order audio frequencies OCXOs formal products from a decent manufacturer.
"- 90/98Mhz is supposed to be better than 45/49MHz? I'm finding contradicting feedbacks online."
If XOs have the same jitter level, high frequency ones would be easier to have better sound quality. I'll explain it later.
Some DACs, such as the Holo Spring 3 and its other R-2R, can be configured to disable the PLL or DAC clock, so the sound quality can be improved by the better external clock from a DDC or other digital transport such as FifoPiQ7/HdimPi Pro. That's a great feature.
I'm not sure if the external clock can take over the internal clock of Venus DAC, if not, it would be a bad design. I will have a DENAFRIPS ARES 12th in my listening room for test next week. I'll keep you posted for the update.
Ian
McFifo/McDualXO combo is a great design. Actually FifoPi Q7 and all previous generations are based on the McFifo technologies. So, if you go deep into digital audio projects, McFifo can give you both great performance and more flexibility, as well as different possibility.
However, being the 7th generation FIFO reclocker, FifoPiQ7 will not only give you so far the best performance , but also make it much easier to build project more closed to a real commercial product but at audiophile grade.
ES9038 DACs are so far the best DIY DS DAC. But has to be run at SYNC mode with decent clocks. ES9038 Pro is basically more ES9038Q2M in parallel. I like my ES9038Q2M Dual mono DAC with OPA861 I/V stage. But if I have time, I'll develop a ES9038 Pro DAC. AK4499 has so far the best performance according to the datasheet. But none of the AK4499 DAC I have ever experienced impressed me much. I don't know why.
Some R-2R DAXCs are great. But not all of them are. R-2R DACs are also relay on good clocks for improvement of sound quality. I strongly experienced that.
1) TRANSPORTPI DIGI: Inexpensive solution but still great signal quality, no DSD support, up to 192KHz, no isolator
2) FIFOPIMA + HDMIPI PRO: Great signal quality, with DSD, up to 384KHz, no isolator
3) FIFOPI Q7 + HDMIPI PRO: Flagship best signal quality, with DSD, up to 768KHz, built-in isolator, mass FIFO memory and many others
About E, how to power this the best ? I would see these combinations:
3.1 lifepo4 mini 6.6v for raspberry pi, lifepo4 mini 3.3V for fifopi, lifepo4 mini 3.3v for transportpi
Wrong, can not power a Rpi by 6.6V
3.2 purepi for raspberrypi and fifopi, another lifepo4 for transport pi
Good option
3.3 ucpure 5v for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
No good. No need UcPure for RPi.
3.4 ucpi for raspberrypi (lifepo4 for the other stages: fifopi and transportpi)
Good.
3.5 ucconditioner for raspberry pi
OK
4. ucmateconditioner pi can charge multiple lifepo4 mini ?
No recommended
My suggests for power supply solutions:
1. For light project: PurePi
2. For mid scale project: LinearPi 5V with UcConditioner 5V for Rpi, LifePO4 Mini 3.3V for FifoPi clean side and the rest.
3. For top project: LinearPi 5V with UcConditioner 5V for Rpi, UcPure 3000F 3.3V for FifoPi clean side and the rest.