I was using this chart to configure the pins that can be changed with the Switches. I see that the 15 pin is SCL (PS Audio) vs Mode (Gustard) . I don't see the corresponding pin on the Gustard. As you went down this rabbit hole was the conclusion that all the pins needed to correspond? It looks like PS Audio has these pins that do not correspond to any pin on the Gustard:
Pin 13 CEC
Pin 15 SCL
Pin 16 SDA
Pin 17 DDC/CEC GND - Gustard has GND
Pin 18 5v.
Pin 19 Hot Plug Detected
What streamer were you trying to make work? Did you make a custom HDMI cable? Looking at the image are there pins on the Gustard that correspond to any of the pins I listed above?
Thanks
Dave
Pin 13 CEC
Pin 15 SCL
Pin 16 SDA
Pin 17 DDC/CEC GND - Gustard has GND
Pin 18 5v.
Pin 19 Hot Plug Detected
What streamer were you trying to make work? Did you make a custom HDMI cable? Looking at the image are there pins on the Gustard that correspond to any of the pins I listed above?
Thanks
Dave
Attachments
@camrector
Even using the iancanda streamer without direct DSD I have found it to be much better that just using the LAN input on the R26. More detail / larger image. I may have to go so far as to get the Pontus II (Same Pin as the PS Audio) to make this work. Not real excited about doing that..... But we all have to make scarifies for the hobby.
Even using the iancanda streamer without direct DSD I have found it to be much better that just using the LAN input on the R26. More detail / larger image. I may have to go so far as to get the Pontus II (Same Pin as the PS Audio) to make this work. Not real excited about doing that..... But we all have to make scarifies for the hobby.
@dcallende I personally didn’t go down this road but helped a bunch of guys who tried. We tried everything because these guys had some very expensive DDCs and streamers that wouldn’t send DSD via I2S.
Without DSD direct turned on your just converting to PCM and using the R2R ladder. You’re not using the DSD 1bit dac at that point. Which is why it sounds better. The 1bit DSD dac is the weak point of the R26. That’s why I switched to the A26 for DSD.
I sold my Pontus2 and didn’t by the Venus 2 when I heard the R26. I was using the Silent Angel Munich m1T via I2S to the Pontus2.
R26 had more air and detail.
Almost exactly like the Venus2 but half the cost.
Have you used FMCs with your LAN connection?
Without DSD direct turned on your just converting to PCM and using the R2R ladder. You’re not using the DSD 1bit dac at that point. Which is why it sounds better. The 1bit DSD dac is the weak point of the R26. That’s why I switched to the A26 for DSD.
I sold my Pontus2 and didn’t by the Venus 2 when I heard the R26. I was using the Silent Angel Munich m1T via I2S to the Pontus2.
R26 had more air and detail.
Almost exactly like the Venus2 but half the cost.
Have you used FMCs with your LAN connection?
@camrector Is the HDMI cable configuration of the Silent Angel work directly with the Pontus2? I believe the Pontus2 is the PS Audio configuration. With that setup did you get DSD working on the Pontus2? If that is the case I am hoping that I can use the Iancanada in the place of the Silent Angel.
@dcallende
No trouble with that set up at all. DSD with the silent angel and Pontus worked perfect.
No trouble with that set up at all. DSD with the silent angel and Pontus worked perfect.
For the various power options I have some questions too.
I use a stack of FifoPi Q7 (3.3 V / 200 mA) —> HDMIPi Pro II (3.3V / 100 mA) —> Es9038Q2M II (3.3 V / 200 mA) —> OPA861 (+-5V 2x50 mA)
At the moment I use 1 LinearPi Power Supply to power the 3.3 V rail and 1 LinearPi Dual for the +-5V.
I would like to put all the transformers in separate housing.
The Questions:
Is there any advantage of using toroidal over „normal“ (EI) transformers (if they are in a separate, shielded enclosure)?
How much „overhead“ should I use.
For the 3.3 V: With 6V transformers and „minimum" need of together 500 mA —> 3 VA. Would 6 VA be sufficient? In see people use 80VA and more?
For the +- 5V and „minimum“ need 200 mA —> 1VA. Would 2 VA be good?
thx
I use a stack of FifoPi Q7 (3.3 V / 200 mA) —> HDMIPi Pro II (3.3V / 100 mA) —> Es9038Q2M II (3.3 V / 200 mA) —> OPA861 (+-5V 2x50 mA)
At the moment I use 1 LinearPi Power Supply to power the 3.3 V rail and 1 LinearPi Dual for the +-5V.
I would like to put all the transformers in separate housing.
The Questions:
Is there any advantage of using toroidal over „normal“ (EI) transformers (if they are in a separate, shielded enclosure)?
How much „overhead“ should I use.
For the 3.3 V: With 6V transformers and „minimum" need of together 500 mA —> 3 VA. Would 6 VA be sufficient? In see people use 80VA and more?
For the +- 5V and „minimum“ need 200 mA —> 1VA. Would 2 VA be good?
thx
@drone
Both EI or toroidal transformers have pros and cons as you probably already know. In general the toroidal seems to be the most used. The magnetic stray field are generally smaller and having two transformer next to each in separate enclosure could also influence each other.
You can also buy Audio grade toroidal transformer manufacturerd with protective layer between the windings, encapsulating windings and much more to further reduce noise. Have a look at this polish manufacturer: Transformers
This is what they say about there supreme audio transformer:
“Supreme audio grade transformer is dedicated for use in power amplifiers and other high-end audio devices. In Supreme audio grade, noiseless transformer price You'll get transformer wound on highest inductive, laboratory selected and tested core. For a best noise reducion core and all the windings are impregnated . Transformer will also has electric and electromagnetic shields. Whole transformer is vacuum encapsuled, epoxy filled in a polished, stainless steel box.”
A regular non audio toroidal would of course also work.
I would probably look for a 15/20va or 30 va transformer because they are very commen sizes. They are usually the same price or sometimes the bigger are even cheaper because more are sold.
If you in the future plan to upgrade your linearPi with some ultra capacitors a 30va or 50va could also be a good choice.
I am personally also looking at this MCFE series of transformers:
Transformer MCFE
Both EI or toroidal transformers have pros and cons as you probably already know. In general the toroidal seems to be the most used. The magnetic stray field are generally smaller and having two transformer next to each in separate enclosure could also influence each other.
You can also buy Audio grade toroidal transformer manufacturerd with protective layer between the windings, encapsulating windings and much more to further reduce noise. Have a look at this polish manufacturer: Transformers
This is what they say about there supreme audio transformer:
“Supreme audio grade transformer is dedicated for use in power amplifiers and other high-end audio devices. In Supreme audio grade, noiseless transformer price You'll get transformer wound on highest inductive, laboratory selected and tested core. For a best noise reducion core and all the windings are impregnated . Transformer will also has electric and electromagnetic shields. Whole transformer is vacuum encapsuled, epoxy filled in a polished, stainless steel box.”
A regular non audio toroidal would of course also work.
I would probably look for a 15/20va or 30 va transformer because they are very commen sizes. They are usually the same price or sometimes the bigger are even cheaper because more are sold.
If you in the future plan to upgrade your linearPi with some ultra capacitors a 30va or 50va could also be a good choice.
I am personally also looking at this MCFE series of transformers:
Transformer MCFE
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Now my turn to hit the wall. Please bear with me...
Built my GB streamer kit testing output every time after adding another board. Everything worked fine with random dirty power supplies.
Then added the big Eaton juice cans with appropriate HW for 3,3V. All good.
After that went for 5V. And hit the wall. Have read the manuals, yes, really. Times.
Seems an isolated issue combining LinearPi MkII, UcConditioner and Skelcap SCA0300.
Whether connected to the audio stack or not, the behaviour is exactly the same.
3A 9VDC input. As per LinearPi manual not more than 9VDC in case of UcConditioner.
So - as per manual I have enough current to feed the system (3A vs 1,5A min requirement).
Connected to the audio stack, played well approx 10 minutes, then went into "endless reboot cyle".
Disconnected power for a couple of times, when reconnected - "reboot cycle" in a less than a minute of normal operation.
Disconnected load from the output. Still the same loop. All the associated LED-s flash like fireworks.
Measured voltage on LinearPi output.
Rapid decrease from 5V, within approx 15-20 sec down to zero then instantly back to 5V again, rapid decrease and so on and so forth in endless loop.
Removed UcConditioner and run directly from LinearPi directly. All good. For hours now.
I can follow technical instructions. I can build Legos, Including Ian's. I can solder, I can compile software. As long as detailed instructions are there.
Not sure how much this 100+ EUR UcConditioner + Supercaps could improve the SQ.
However spending 100+ EUR on something that does not work does not feel right at all.
Have I missed something? Any experience or ideas?
Built my GB streamer kit testing output every time after adding another board. Everything worked fine with random dirty power supplies.
Then added the big Eaton juice cans with appropriate HW for 3,3V. All good.
After that went for 5V. And hit the wall. Have read the manuals, yes, really. Times.
Seems an isolated issue combining LinearPi MkII, UcConditioner and Skelcap SCA0300.
Whether connected to the audio stack or not, the behaviour is exactly the same.
3A 9VDC input. As per LinearPi manual not more than 9VDC in case of UcConditioner.
So - as per manual I have enough current to feed the system (3A vs 1,5A min requirement).
Connected to the audio stack, played well approx 10 minutes, then went into "endless reboot cyle".
Disconnected power for a couple of times, when reconnected - "reboot cycle" in a less than a minute of normal operation.
Disconnected load from the output. Still the same loop. All the associated LED-s flash like fireworks.
Measured voltage on LinearPi output.
Rapid decrease from 5V, within approx 15-20 sec down to zero then instantly back to 5V again, rapid decrease and so on and so forth in endless loop.
Removed UcConditioner and run directly from LinearPi directly. All good. For hours now.
I can follow technical instructions. I can build Legos, Including Ian's. I can solder, I can compile software. As long as detailed instructions are there.
Not sure how much this 100+ EUR UcConditioner + Supercaps could improve the SQ.
However spending 100+ EUR on something that does not work does not feel right at all.
Have I missed something? Any experience or ideas?
It depends. If your previous power system had problems that adversely affected the audio, then a device intended to improve that might help enough to hear a difference.
Actually, building really good dacs is quite complicated. Its not necessarily a purely plug and play game. You need some test instruments and know how to use them in order to figure out what's going on sometimes. A DVM and a 2-channel, 100MHz scope (or better) are pretty minimal. Having them plus knowing/learning how to use them is what keeps you from being helpless. Yes, it adds some hundreds of dollars to the cost of your hobby. Aside: I had a friend who decided to start racing motorcycles at the amateur level at the lowest cost. First year it cost him $10k. I asked how much it costs to play in the more competitive classes, such as 600cc sport bike. He said, it costs however much you have! Okay, back to audio: Digital audio really begs having a scope and a DVM. Its much cheaper than racing motorcycles, but its more expensive than just going and buying a Topping or SMSL DAC and living with that.
Beyond the foregoing, I can pretty safely opine that you are still doing some things less than optimally with how you are plugging boards together even when they do seem to work. Digital audio is more complicated than that if you want to do it well.
So, what do you want for now? A working power conditioner system? If so, part of the electronics hobby is learning how to troubleshoot. You can probably do it, but you may need to post more detailed information here if you would like help, including some measurements, maybe some pics of the setup, a block diagram schematic of the interconnections, etc. Otherwise its kind of hard to guess what might be wrong.
If you want you are welcome to PM me so we can talk about it some more.
Best,
Mark
@Spacejack: Kindly ask how you managed to power the isolator with 3.3V. If I can see it correctly from the pictures, you do apply 3.3V from LifePO4Mini to both, the HDMI Transmitter and the Isolator terminal. But Isolator requires 5V at the input terminal, so there is a voltage regulator on board? Do you bypass this regulator somehow. I know how to do this on HDMI Transmitter, it is written in the manual, but for Isolator I have not found a 3.3V variant.
I tried to power HDMI Transmitter only with 3.3.V and this works for HDMI itself, but the Audio LED on Isolator does not turn on in this case. I hoped that the 3.3V are also transported to Isolator via GPIO and this is sufficient for the Isolator so there is no 5V required then.
Is there any chance to power both, HDMI Transmitter and Isolator, with one 3.3V supply?
@michl2604 You can connect 3.3V instead of 5V at J1 terminal of IsolatorPi II. Confirmed by Ian. I have not removed the local regulator, I just connected 3.3V directly to the 5V terminal. The IsolatorPi requires two voltages: the 5V on the dirty side, which is the same as RPi runs on and the 5V (or 3.3V) for the clean side - J1. BTW - connecting power at J1 will not turn the isolator ON, that is probably why the LED does not light up when you connect 3.3V there. It also needs to get 5V through the GPIO from RPi. When both are connected, then it will turn ON.
You can also connect 5V on the J2 of the Isolator to test (when it is not connected to GPIO from RPI). Or you can run RPi from that connection, but then you don't connect 5V to RPi. You can read about it in the manual.
You can also connect 5V on the J2 of the Isolator to test (when it is not connected to GPIO from RPI). Or you can run RPi from that connection, but then you don't connect 5V to RPi. You can read about it in the manual.
Hi, I’m in the process of building a rpi rig with Ian Canada gear. I bumped in to your comment. Could you please clarify- does this mean installing audiolinux on the pi and opening chromium on the pi to play music? Will this give me hires audio to output (i2s via Fifopi q7) Most threads are about streaming in to the pi, or running volumio etal.Then get your self Auiodlinux for RPI and use chromium browser to stream Tidal
Thank you very much for your help! It is working now. It seems to be importand to apply the 3.3V to both, the Isolator AND the HDMI Transmitter. I'm still wondering why, because 3.3V is actually shared via GPIO. Anyway, it is working nice now, thank you again!