Last night, I was trying to play 2L dxd files with BII(clock replaced with 96Mhz one from FIDELIX)
at first, I only got noise, and Lock indicating LED continuously turn on/off extremely fast.
That occured when controlling dac via Arduino (based on Hifiduino Code, Best DPLL setting) , and volumite.
next, I disconnected wire from I2C Header and placed on-Board BII controller chip. This gave me clean DXD playback.
Sweet sound indeed!
This experience made me think changing/tweaking I2C signal path can make huge influence especially on 24bit/352.8khz playback.
Is there something other I should pay attention to get "Stable" playback on such Hi-resolution files?
Now my aim is to get clean, less-unlock DXD playback using HIFIDUINO-based controller.
I believe such effort also give me improvement on lowering DPLL bandwidth setting when playing 16bit/44.1khz, 24bit/96khz etc, Am I right?
Regards.
at first, I only got noise, and Lock indicating LED continuously turn on/off extremely fast.
That occured when controlling dac via Arduino (based on Hifiduino Code, Best DPLL setting) , and volumite.
next, I disconnected wire from I2C Header and placed on-Board BII controller chip. This gave me clean DXD playback.
Sweet sound indeed!
This experience made me think changing/tweaking I2C signal path can make huge influence especially on 24bit/352.8khz playback.
Is there something other I should pay attention to get "Stable" playback on such Hi-resolution files?
Now my aim is to get clean, less-unlock DXD playback using HIFIDUINO-based controller.
I believe such effort also give me improvement on lowering DPLL bandwidth setting when playing 16bit/44.1khz, 24bit/96khz etc, Am I right?
Regards.
This is more likely related to A) register settings in the Arduino code or B) startup sequencing and getting the chip properly configured.
There should be no need for I2C communication during playback for success, only for display updates etc.
Then, I will try 24/352.8khz with volumite. There must be something faulty related to "B)" when I couldn't get clean playback using it.
Thanks.
Thank you for your answer.
I did not realize that I have to remove the firmware-chipson the buffalos.
as far as i know the "mono" setting is done with the dip-switches. does this mean i could use the same instructions on booth boards (with the respective address((any hint hoe to do this))? is it possible just to dasy-chain the ic2 bus?
thx
Branko
The dip switches on the BII are read by the on-board micro to set the registers accordingly. The I2C bus is a daisy chain bus. The first thing you should do is get a hold of the data sheet and study the registers. The same register definition is used for both boards except where you must set MONO Left and MONO Right.
It's in his code, just follow the link www.hifiduino.wordpress.com. Then choose the link to the code.
I did some more trial.
I had made very simple program on Arduino by editing glt's code, although I'm new to Arduino and computer programming (thus there might be mistakes.)
This does only set some register values when starting DAC. I hoped BII play DXD files cleanly with this simple program,
like BII's on-board controller...
But, I had disappointed with the result. What I could saw was fast LED flashing. Also there's no music.
Of course, there's no probrem when playing lower samplerate files like 24/192, 16/44.1 etc.
I wonder why only on-board controller can play DXD files so well in my BII.
notes: My on board controller chip came with 80Mhz TCXO version Buffalo II, so I guess this sets DPLL_BANDWIDTH to "BEST_DEFAULT" and
enables OSF.
And, about volumite, I had tried to make extremely short wiring between volumite and BII's I2C header. But nothing improved.
continuously LED Flashed, and I heard only noises.
One thing I had noticed was I can get clean DXD playback when heavily attenuated via volumite (Thus, very low volume level)
Interesting behavior, isn't it?
I had made very simple program on Arduino by editing glt's code, although I'm new to Arduino and computer programming (thus there might be mistakes.)
This does only set some register values when starting DAC. I hoped BII play DXD files cleanly with this simple program,
like BII's on-board controller...
But, I had disappointed with the result. What I could saw was fast LED flashing. Also there's no music.
Of course, there's no probrem when playing lower samplerate files like 24/192, 16/44.1 etc.
I wonder why only on-board controller can play DXD files so well in my BII.
notes: My on board controller chip came with 80Mhz TCXO version Buffalo II, so I guess this sets DPLL_BANDWIDTH to "BEST_DEFAULT" and
enables OSF.
And, about volumite, I had tried to make extremely short wiring between volumite and BII's I2C header. But nothing improved.
continuously LED Flashed, and I heard only noises.
One thing I had noticed was I can get clean DXD playback when heavily attenuated via volumite (Thus, very low volume level)
Interesting behavior, isn't it?
Starting final assembly of my BuffaloII and IVY III, and associated Placid and Placid BP boards, in my newly finished chassis. Yesterday I was noodling around with ohm meter probes and discovered that the power ground outputs for the Placid boards did not show continuity with the chassis, despite using conductive spacers under the boards. Do these power ground points "float" with respect to chassis (earth) ground? If not, the first great searce for screw-ups begins.
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend.
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend.
Zapped...
This is normal, as far as I can tell, all the TPA, Buff II, I/V stages, and power supplies are designed to be floating relative to chassis (and therefore, AC) ground. I am pretty sure this approach stops any possible loops, as well as isolates the grounds from possible noise on the chassis/AC ground.
This is normal, as far as I can tell, all the TPA, Buff II, I/V stages, and power supplies are designed to be floating relative to chassis (and therefore, AC) ground. I am pretty sure this approach stops any possible loops, as well as isolates the grounds from possible noise on the chassis/AC ground.
I'm in the process of rewiring from stereo Buffalo II to dual-mono Buffalo II and would appreciate clarification on how to wire the L and R channels for direct input into transformers and balanced XLR out. Leon van Bommel's Integration Guide indicates how to set the switches to assign the respective PCBs to L and R. My question is how to wire the outputs. Is the correct approach to jumper the L & R outputs together on each PCB (i.e. L(+) to R(+) and L(-) to R(-))? I think I recall an earlier post stating that in dual mono the relative phases are reversed between L and R side of PCB??
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks,
Dave
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The wiring scheme is on the site, see: http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/docs/digital/dualmono_BII+IVYIII.pdf
The principle is the same. Notice that one side of the I/V stage is normal phase, and the other is opposite. This corresponds directly with the manual.
The output from DAC on the selected channel side is normal phase.
The output from DAC on the not-selected channel side is opposite phase.
In your case you will want to carefully parallel the outputs of the DAC remembering the above rules.
The output from DAC on the selected channel side is normal phase.
The output from DAC on the not-selected channel side is opposite phase.
In your case you will want to carefully parallel the outputs of the DAC remembering the above rules.
Thanks, Russ. So if I understand, for the mono module designated L the jumper to obtain positive phase is L(+) to R(-) and the jumper to obtain negative phase is L(-) to R(+). For the mono module designated R the jumper to obtain positive phase is R(+) to L(-) and the jumper to obtain negative phase is R(-) to L(+). Yes?
My Buffalo II is up and running and sounds great
Finished assembling and adjusting my Buffalo II with IVY III and have been listening to it in connection with my Pass BLS preamp and Zen Ver4 amp, through first the unbalanced, and at the moment the balanced outputs. The sound is GREAT, even just with my unmoded Squeezebox as the source. I have yet to try the digital outputs of my CD player, and my Blue Ray Player, but I expect to be similarly pleased.
THANK YOU RUSS AND BRIAN! (And the other folks who provided advice and help to me here.)
I'd hoped to attach a couple of photos of the completed unit, in my custom built chassis (which BTW took 99% of the time on this project) but I'm not sure exactly how. When I just tried to upload photos, I got a message saying the upload failed because of the lack of a security token. Can someone tell me how this works?
On my chassis, I used a small Bulgin switch, and a little stainless steel knob that I turned my metal lathe to sort of match the lines of the switch. BTW, I am not impressed with the latching action of this particular Bulgin switch, sometimes it fails to latch and the whole unit flashes on and off, although apparently to no ill effect, however (again, thanks to the daring duo at Twisted Pear.) If I had space, I would use a relay circuit board and a non-latching Bulgin switch next time.
The chassis is constructed of 6061 aluminum: quarter-inch flatbar, and eighth-inch plate, with rectangular bar segments tapped to accept screws that hold it all together. I got the metal from Online metals here in the Seattle area. (I miss the old Boeing surplus store in nearby Kent, but they closed a couple of years back. Sigh.) The top of the chassis is milled out to allow for ventilation of the six Placid heat sinks, with some perforated metal under the milled out areas to keep out the moths. With the green LEDs inside, it reminds me of old tube equipment, innards glowing through a cage. The sound is as sweet as tubes too.
Finished assembling and adjusting my Buffalo II with IVY III and have been listening to it in connection with my Pass BLS preamp and Zen Ver4 amp, through first the unbalanced, and at the moment the balanced outputs. The sound is GREAT, even just with my unmoded Squeezebox as the source. I have yet to try the digital outputs of my CD player, and my Blue Ray Player, but I expect to be similarly pleased.
THANK YOU RUSS AND BRIAN! (And the other folks who provided advice and help to me here.)
I'd hoped to attach a couple of photos of the completed unit, in my custom built chassis (which BTW took 99% of the time on this project) but I'm not sure exactly how. When I just tried to upload photos, I got a message saying the upload failed because of the lack of a security token. Can someone tell me how this works?
On my chassis, I used a small Bulgin switch, and a little stainless steel knob that I turned my metal lathe to sort of match the lines of the switch. BTW, I am not impressed with the latching action of this particular Bulgin switch, sometimes it fails to latch and the whole unit flashes on and off, although apparently to no ill effect, however (again, thanks to the daring duo at Twisted Pear.) If I had space, I would use a relay circuit board and a non-latching Bulgin switch next time.
The chassis is constructed of 6061 aluminum: quarter-inch flatbar, and eighth-inch plate, with rectangular bar segments tapped to accept screws that hold it all together. I got the metal from Online metals here in the Seattle area. (I miss the old Boeing surplus store in nearby Kent, but they closed a couple of years back. Sigh.) The top of the chassis is milled out to allow for ventilation of the six Placid heat sinks, with some perforated metal under the milled out areas to keep out the moths. With the green LEDs inside, it reminds me of old tube equipment, innards glowing through a cage. The sound is as sweet as tubes too.
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