Hello,
Most audiophiles have crap sound because they focus on other things than musicians do.
If you don't try you will never know.
It is like driving a six cylinder car with one not working. You can brag about having six while in fact there is one sleeping.
Greetings Eduard
Most audiophiles have crap sound because they focus on other things than musicians do.
If you don't try you will never know.
It is like driving a six cylinder car with one not working. You can brag about having six while in fact there is one sleeping.
Greetings Eduard
Although all humans hear the same music, sounds, frequencies, etc. It's dependent on the neurons in the brain of each individual as to how they perceive these sounds. Take our taste for example: I may like rocky road ice-cream while my twin brother prefers vanilla. Same concept, just personal choices. I'm sure most of us audiophiles know this already! It's human nature to always want more, or to have the best ever. So in actuality, we are never completely satisfied. Just my 2-cents.
Hi all,
It looks like I have to devide my DAC and the streamer into two housings (chassis).
So the U.FL connections (SCK, LRCK and MLCK) have to be brought out of the streamer case with a chassis part. The DAC needs the same construction and the two have to be connected with three external U.FL cables.
Is this the right thing to do?
Or is there a good alternative to connect the two boxes (DAC and streamer with FifoPi/Q7)? (HDMI ??)
Thank you,
rgrds, Jan
It looks like I have to devide my DAC and the streamer into two housings (chassis).
So the U.FL connections (SCK, LRCK and MLCK) have to be brought out of the streamer case with a chassis part. The DAC needs the same construction and the two have to be connected with three external U.FL cables.
Is this the right thing to do?
Or is there a good alternative to connect the two boxes (DAC and streamer with FifoPi/Q7)? (HDMI ??)
Thank you,
rgrds, Jan
Hello,
I always have read that u.fl cables need to be as short as possible.
I always have read that u.fl cables need to be as short as possible.
I use i2S over the HDMIPro to the ReceiverPiPro. The ideal is u.fl but as @eduard says they need to be short. I think 12” max so better in a single chassis with 2 sides to it.
Thanks for sharing Gizmo. As you and @Batenet suggested, there are indeed great gains to be made with the right anti-vibrational implementation of the clocks into the sockets.
I then remembered that apart from the shortening of the pins of my Accusilicons, I also spread out their pins outwards, because they were pretty loose in their sockets. If I had turned the board upside down, they would just fall out. So to make them sit tight, I made my Accus look almost like Sputnik 1 and that apparently also helped to stabilize them vibrationally, which in result made them perform much better (they were on par with SC-Pure up to around 200 hours, only now after 300 hours the Pures pull ahead somewhat noticeably).
Let's see what will be achievable with good anti-vibration measures on SC-Pures, as they're now sitting just loosely (as stock) in the socket 😉
Hello,
Haha, clocks falling from sockets.
Like i wrote before you will attach them firmly ( soldering directly onto the board) and add a damping layer between clock and board or you use the technique our Italian clockmaker described.
When people spend hundreds of $ on power supplies and can improve things by spending 3 $ on some elastic stuff why not try something from Taica and try isolating the complete stack for a few $ more?
Greetings,Eduard
Haha, clocks falling from sockets.
Like i wrote before you will attach them firmly ( soldering directly onto the board) and add a damping layer between clock and board or you use the technique our Italian clockmaker described.
When people spend hundreds of $ on power supplies and can improve things by spending 3 $ on some elastic stuff why not try something from Taica and try isolating the complete stack for a few $ more?
Greetings,Eduard
Well yes I agree on that. However what is short.
I’am testen the past weeks with 60 cm 50 ohm cable and I don’t have the impression that it degrades the SQ.
Hello,
These u.fl cables have a limited number of connecting and disconnecting cycles according to the manufacturers datasheet.
Using them inside the chassis is already a pain in the ... The bigger brother needed for the sinepi is even worse.
I would spend 500 $ to change them into something better. Something made by Lemo. I know their connectors for a long time i just bought some new ones to create a balanced cable with solid silver core from Dave Slagle.
Greetings,Eduard
These u.fl cables have a limited number of connecting and disconnecting cycles according to the manufacturers datasheet.
Using them inside the chassis is already a pain in the ... The bigger brother needed for the sinepi is even worse.
I would spend 500 $ to change them into something better. Something made by Lemo. I know their connectors for a long time i just bought some new ones to create a balanced cable with solid silver core from Dave Slagle.
Greetings,Eduard
@fusion360guy
I'm curious to know, in your opinion, if you have tried HDMI cable to connect some of the components together and have heard an audible difference? I have heard that the HDMI cables make quite a sonic difference in SQ. If this is correct, then perhaps it's due to many individual wires that carry these digital signals?
I'm curious to know, in your opinion, if you have tried HDMI cable to connect some of the components together and have heard an audible difference? I have heard that the HDMI cables make quite a sonic difference in SQ. If this is correct, then perhaps it's due to many individual wires that carry these digital signals?
I2S is only using the 3 or 4 wires of the HDMI. Buy the best HDMI. Ian says the spec in the manuals. I think 2.1. It’s not an HDMI standard. It’s just using them as wires. Each DAC builder may use different pins. Shorter is better. I tried a small cable with red ends and it didn’t sound as good. (See another post) plus it wasn’t really long enough (12”)
Remember GPIO pins are wires too. So are circuit traces. Rule is in every case less is more. Shorter is better. None is even better still.
Plus I “overbuilt” my streamer with the top end everything boards like FiFoPiQ7 and everything is getting reclocked on the way out of the streamer and then again on the way into to DAC. It wasn’t a cheap build. It was the best parts with both streamer and DAC. Aside from putting SCPure in th streamer because it’s getting reclocked anyway with SCPure.
It depends also if you are using streamer as a transport and then transport pro AES is best for other protocols to feed another non Ian commercial DAC - I would put a FiFo for sure then. I started with my streamer feeding a DACMagic200M. Sound twice as good with my streamer going coaxial spidif via Ian’s transport board than just streaming to the dacmagic from phone over USB.
Then when I built my own DAC to replace dacmagic 200m - 10x better. Then with new clocks another maybe 2x better after burn in.
Hope this helps. My system sounds pretty amazing for the cost.
YMMV
Remember GPIO pins are wires too. So are circuit traces. Rule is in every case less is more. Shorter is better. None is even better still.
Plus I “overbuilt” my streamer with the top end everything boards like FiFoPiQ7 and everything is getting reclocked on the way out of the streamer and then again on the way into to DAC. It wasn’t a cheap build. It was the best parts with both streamer and DAC. Aside from putting SCPure in th streamer because it’s getting reclocked anyway with SCPure.
It depends also if you are using streamer as a transport and then transport pro AES is best for other protocols to feed another non Ian commercial DAC - I would put a FiFo for sure then. I started with my streamer feeding a DACMagic200M. Sound twice as good with my streamer going coaxial spidif via Ian’s transport board than just streaming to the dacmagic from phone over USB.
Then when I built my own DAC to replace dacmagic 200m - 10x better. Then with new clocks another maybe 2x better after burn in.
Hope this helps. My system sounds pretty amazing for the cost.
YMMV
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@fusion360guy
So I have been into audio, mainly speakers, since I was a teenager. Many moons ago..lol..Anyhow, I am trying to gain more knowledge here about how I should build this DAC setup. I know that Ian is a very busy person, so I have learned a few things from you guys that have built these DAC hats. So I am now starting out with the ProtoDAC build that I have already purchased and received from hifiamps (really nice guy) and have soldered all of the parts on the ProtoDAC. I also ordered a DIR9001 board from China, which apparently got lost in the USPS circuit. I am hoping they find it so I can complete the setup so I can hear how good it sounds! I will be A/B'ing it compared to the older BurrBrown DAC chips in my NAD cd player. Hopefully this should let me know what direction I want to proceed with.
Have you had a chance to listen to this ProtoDAC? If so, what is your opinion? Thanks!
So I have been into audio, mainly speakers, since I was a teenager. Many moons ago..lol..Anyhow, I am trying to gain more knowledge here about how I should build this DAC setup. I know that Ian is a very busy person, so I have learned a few things from you guys that have built these DAC hats. So I am now starting out with the ProtoDAC build that I have already purchased and received from hifiamps (really nice guy) and have soldered all of the parts on the ProtoDAC. I also ordered a DIR9001 board from China, which apparently got lost in the USPS circuit. I am hoping they find it so I can complete the setup so I can hear how good it sounds! I will be A/B'ing it compared to the older BurrBrown DAC chips in my NAD cd player. Hopefully this should let me know what direction I want to proceed with.
Have you had a chance to listen to this ProtoDAC? If so, what is your opinion? Thanks!
@FSHZ42
Gabster reviewed the protoDAC I think. The Ian stuff is my first DAC build.
My original DAcMagicPlus had the burr brown chip and it was pretty good and did me for ten years until it recently blew up (stopped working). I got the replacement 200M and it had dual mono ESS chips either 9038 or 9028. But I didn’t like the sound as much as the original DACMagic plus. Then I started searching for high end DACs and decided I’d build one which led me to gabster which led me to Ian.
And my DAC blows the 200M and the original DMPlus to smithereens. It’s worth investing into the power and shielding boards as much as the sound stuff. The linear pi duo and purepi and ucpureiii make a bigger difference than you realize. Music signals are voltage. Clean virgin voltage with zero noise makes the best music. You have to have good power and minimize noise in the entire design which is a big part of what Ian does in his designs.
Have fun building!
Gabster reviewed the protoDAC I think. The Ian stuff is my first DAC build.
My original DAcMagicPlus had the burr brown chip and it was pretty good and did me for ten years until it recently blew up (stopped working). I got the replacement 200M and it had dual mono ESS chips either 9038 or 9028. But I didn’t like the sound as much as the original DACMagic plus. Then I started searching for high end DACs and decided I’d build one which led me to gabster which led me to Ian.
And my DAC blows the 200M and the original DMPlus to smithereens. It’s worth investing into the power and shielding boards as much as the sound stuff. The linear pi duo and purepi and ucpureiii make a bigger difference than you realize. Music signals are voltage. Clean virgin voltage with zero noise makes the best music. You have to have good power and minimize noise in the entire design which is a big part of what Ian does in his designs.
Have fun building!
I too had auditioned a DACMAGIC+ years ago, and it sounded fairly good to me. I then purchased a Peachtree audio GrandPre DAC and it did sound better to me than the magicplus! I also tried a few USB cables just to see if it made a sonic improvement, so I settled with a WireWorld Platinum USB cable that I liked very much and still do. I also experimented with HDMI cables for video, not audio at that time, and could clearly see improvements with a better made/constructed cable.
Whenever I finally get the DIR9001 in, I will report back and tell you my subjective opinion on what I can hear with comparing my cd player to the ProtoDAC. It wasn't expensive to get the parts to make this ProtoDAC, so it will be a starting point for things to come.
As far as Ian's components, I imagine I can start off with a basic build and improve from there. I'm only wanting to start a build for the sole purpose of playing my music files I have collected over the years and perhaps look around for a decent transport that I can connect to the ReceiverPi DDC and the FiFoPi Q7 with the perhaps the stock clocks? What else would you recommend for a basic type of DAC hat build? Thanks!
Whenever I finally get the DIR9001 in, I will report back and tell you my subjective opinion on what I can hear with comparing my cd player to the ProtoDAC. It wasn't expensive to get the parts to make this ProtoDAC, so it will be a starting point for things to come.
As far as Ian's components, I imagine I can start off with a basic build and improve from there. I'm only wanting to start a build for the sole purpose of playing my music files I have collected over the years and perhaps look around for a decent transport that I can connect to the ReceiverPi DDC and the FiFoPi Q7 with the perhaps the stock clocks? What else would you recommend for a basic type of DAC hat build? Thanks!
Do you guys have experience with cable between RPi + FifoPi Q7 or any other board between? I would like to use there a 20cm long GPIO extension cable but I am afraid it won't work.