ADAU1701 is cheap, easy to use and VERY powerful with the use of SigmaStudio... but it's ADC and DAC are garbage...
Isn't there any "expansion" board that can implement a better ADC and DAC for the ADAU1701 using I2S? Maybe not SOTA, but closer to the 100db THD+N...
I know you can connect another DAC's (I've done it) but haven't tried I2S ADC, and I surely don't know which boards are correctly designed. In Aliexpress you can find I2S ADC and their specs are as follows:
Imagine an expansion board to connect THIS ADAU 1701 and add a PCM1802 ADC and a reasonable DAC. The whole point would be to use the ADAU1701 for active 3 way speakers, although performance may not be close to HypeX Fusion amps, but it should be very cost effective and the performance would be around sub USD$300 active speakers.
Do you know if this expansion board exists? Is there anyone that could properly design it and measure it?
Cheers.
Isn't there any "expansion" board that can implement a better ADC and DAC for the ADAU1701 using I2S? Maybe not SOTA, but closer to the 100db THD+N...
I know you can connect another DAC's (I've done it) but haven't tried I2S ADC, and I surely don't know which boards are correctly designed. In Aliexpress you can find I2S ADC and their specs are as follows:
| THD+N (dB) | SNR (dB) | DR (dB) | Max Sample (kHz) | SE or Balanced | |
| PCM1808 | -93 | 99 | 99 | 96 | SE |
| ADAU1701 | -83 | 100 | SE | ||
| AD1938 | -94 | 107 | 107 | SE | |
| Cirrus Logic CS5343 | -92 | 98 | 98 | 96 | SE |
| AKM 5720 | -94 | 102 | 102 | SE | |
| PCM1802 | -96 | 105 | 105 | SE |
Imagine an expansion board to connect THIS ADAU 1701 and add a PCM1802 ADC and a reasonable DAC. The whole point would be to use the ADAU1701 for active 3 way speakers, although performance may not be close to HypeX Fusion amps, but it should be very cost effective and the performance would be around sub USD$300 active speakers.
Do you know if this expansion board exists? Is there anyone that could properly design it and measure it?
Cheers.
Problem is that the stuff on Aliexpress at low cost is generally of poor quality. It isn't just the ADC/DAC chip that accounts for most of the board performance, its all the support circuitry around the data converter chip, the PCB layout, enough PCB layers, etc. What data converter chip does is kind of set a maximum limit on the best you can do if everything else is done right. Unfortunately, the low-cost boards on aliexpess and or ebay are mostly junk. The only good/non-fake thing is typically the brand name converter chip. That's because the only way they can make any money at those low prices is to make everything absolutely as cheaply as possible.
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Everything @Markw4 said. Plus the ADC board has to be able to run as a slave unless you are willing to remove the 1701 crystal and drive it with the ADC's MCLK. And only a few 1701 boards bring out the 1701 MCLK line that is required. I wish AD would have released an updated 1701 with better ADC and DAC specs, but we're a small niche market. After using the 1701 in several projects I faced the inevitable and moved up to the 1462/1466 series that have built in ASRCs and are more capable.
OK... so basically there is no alternative...
Hope someone release a good plate amp for active speaker design, at an affordable price point.
Also, checked the AD1462, but it's WAAAY more complex than the ADAU1701... At least for me, it's on a whole other level.
Thanks for your replies! Cheers.
Hope someone release a good plate amp for active speaker design, at an affordable price point.
Also, checked the AD1462, but it's WAAAY more complex than the ADAU1701... At least for me, it's on a whole other level.
Thanks for your replies! Cheers.