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Building an open embedded audio applicance.

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#305
I am a bit lost in this development. I'll have my BBB in two months, so I have to stick with the Rasberry Pi for the time being. I am enjoying it, using both the I2S and I2C to control the DAC. If there is interest I can share the results (that are kind of trivial) here or in a dedicated thread. What I am trying to do is to modify volumio to make it use I2C to control the volume. Now I manage to do it only with command line. Help is also appreciated.

Does the driver developed for BBB do the same ?

What's the final goal of the whole development ?

Thanks,

D.
 
#308
I don't want to distort the discussion or get into a support discussion, but I have failed to get Miero's I2S driver working with my BBB> I dropped the current Debian Wheezy onto an SD card, followed Miero's instructions but APLAY -l finds no DAC hardware.

The process seems to work fine, just the outcome fails to yield the required result.

I tried twice, reformatting the card. I had to add Alsa to get Aplay -l to run at all.

It is probably me being a Linux thicky, just thought the feedback might help.

I tried loading it on top of Volumio also (which uses Debian as a base), without positive results.
 
#310
Here is a very early preview if the "Botic" cape. The Botic is a creek in Prague. The name is a tribute to the work Miero has done on the driver for the project. I liked the name - so it is sticking. 🙂

Some feature will be (not all populated on the layout yet)

1) Buffered PCM/DSD out (DSD will take some driver work) The buffer protects the BBB from accidental overloading of the outputs.
2) I2C out
3) Dual ultra low jitter clocks with outputs for DACs which need them.
4) Optional external power.
5) On board linear reg for the clock/mux/buffers.
6) ADC and/or Rotary encoder input to control volume externally.
7) I2C display could also be used.
 

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#313
russ, any chance we could have a dac onboard, such as the es90023 for simple lower cost integrated music server? Could be optional and I believe there is a large demand for such a product. It would be great for the secondary system, bedroom, etc.
 
#314
Thanks! There is still some work to be done on it.

I forgot to add that we should also be able to support up to 8 channel output. Disregard the number of uFL connectors, as there will be more. 🙂 Also headers too.

I think I may do a seperate cape for those wanting a simple but high quality DAC. ES9023 would indeed be a solid choice.

I will mull it over.
 
#315
Simple Cape

Hi Russ,

My preference would be for a simple cape as you have already described. Adding an on-board DAC seems like another direction (although it would be useful). My own needs are for extracting I2S signals out of my BBB and feeding them directly into my TPA BII.

Currently I am using a BBB with USB output feeding my TPA USB receiver, into my BII. Fantastic sound. Substituting the BBB for my mac removed most (but not all) of the drop-outs. I measured the signals from #P9-28 -29 and -30 with my scope and did not find square waves. But my BBB is configured according to Chris Connaker's instructions on ComputerAudiophile's website.

I've been following this thread with keen interest and want to thank the members for their valuable contributions. I am looking forward to the Botic.

- David
 
#316
Excitement builds!

Russ White said:
3) Dual ultra low jitter clocks with outputs for DACs which need them.
4) Optional external power.
5) On board linear reg for the clock/mux/buffers.
6) ADC and/or Rotary encoder input to control volume externally.
7) I2C display could also be used.
Click to expand...

Wow! And my BBB is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Very exciting, and I know premature for questions, but:

1. Would this then allow for synchronous link with BIIIse?
2. Seems like having clean power at both BBB and the Botic will be great- is ground isolation an issue? (Using two supplies, should a common ground be used to avoid loops?)

Have been using my BIIIse into my amp direct the past few weeks and tweaking Audirvana filter settings, the SQ just keeps getting better and better. The Botic/buffalo will be anxiously awaited!

Thanks again for your energy and collective talents in making this happen.
 
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