This seems like a great place to start and learn more about diy audio. So I decided to start this topic in lounge to discuss ADC connecting to raspberry pi's.
The new raspberry pi is available soon, and this beast has 4gb ddr4 ram and 64bits quadcore cpu. I want to connect at least 4 analog audio sources to it. I've ordered a bunch of TLC5510 chips (http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tlc5510.pdf) to start experimenting with. However i can't find much about it online, most articles i find use more integrated solutions. The TLC5510 has:
- 1 input channel
- 20 MSPS max sample rate
- semi-flash architecture
- internal sample-and-hold circuit
The datasheet says this chip is interchangeable with the Sony CXD1175, which seems to be almost twice as fasts.
I wonder if any of you have experience with something like this, I've got a hunch i'm not entirely looking in the right direction but i don't really know why. I can imagine connecting 4 or even 8 of these chips to a raspberry pi isn't possible without some hardware hacking. What specs are most important for sampling one analog audio input. How do I know if an ADC is suitable for audio or not. A friend of me claims there are many general purpose ADC's that are very well suitable for audio and quite often hi-fi ADCs are overpriced.
These are basic questions because it is new for me and I like challenges. Reading and understanding the datasheet seems to be the key for cheap DIY. I have basic understanding of algebra and stats, i think this is useful somehow for making informed decisions but i have yet to figure out how.
The new raspberry pi is available soon, and this beast has 4gb ddr4 ram and 64bits quadcore cpu. I want to connect at least 4 analog audio sources to it. I've ordered a bunch of TLC5510 chips (http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tlc5510.pdf) to start experimenting with. However i can't find much about it online, most articles i find use more integrated solutions. The TLC5510 has:
- 1 input channel
- 20 MSPS max sample rate
- semi-flash architecture
- internal sample-and-hold circuit
The datasheet says this chip is interchangeable with the Sony CXD1175, which seems to be almost twice as fasts.
I wonder if any of you have experience with something like this, I've got a hunch i'm not entirely looking in the right direction but i don't really know why. I can imagine connecting 4 or even 8 of these chips to a raspberry pi isn't possible without some hardware hacking. What specs are most important for sampling one analog audio input. How do I know if an ADC is suitable for audio or not. A friend of me claims there are many general purpose ADC's that are very well suitable for audio and quite often hi-fi ADCs are overpriced.
These are basic questions because it is new for me and I like challenges. Reading and understanding the datasheet seems to be the key for cheap DIY. I have basic understanding of algebra and stats, i think this is useful somehow for making informed decisions but i have yet to figure out how.
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Before you go all crazy DIYing a "solution" I would just like to point out that one (lots of them actually) already exist: USB pro-audio recording interfaces. These are "very suitable" for audio...
Examples:
Behringer UMC1820
Presonus 1818vsl
Focusrite Scarlett 1820
etc.
These all have 8 balanced analog audio inputs that are designed for audio work. You can often find them on Ebay for under $200.
Want EVEN MORE inputs? Use ADAT to add another AD/DA unit. For instance the Presonus 1818vsl can be connected to a Behringer ADA8200 to give you 8 more inputs and outputs.
The USB bus is not a limit for these kind of interfaces. They run at rates of 96kHz or lower and even the Pi 3B+ can handle that much data over USB just fine.
Honestly, I would not advise investing your time trying to DIY a solution when there is off the shelf gear like this available.
Examples:
Behringer UMC1820
Presonus 1818vsl
Focusrite Scarlett 1820
etc.
These all have 8 balanced analog audio inputs that are designed for audio work. You can often find them on Ebay for under $200.
Want EVEN MORE inputs? Use ADAT to add another AD/DA unit. For instance the Presonus 1818vsl can be connected to a Behringer ADA8200 to give you 8 more inputs and outputs.
The USB bus is not a limit for these kind of interfaces. They run at rates of 96kHz or lower and even the Pi 3B+ can handle that much data over USB just fine.
Honestly, I would not advise investing your time trying to DIY a solution when there is off the shelf gear like this available.
> TLC5510 chips
8-bit is not even good telephone quality.
20MHz is hundreds of times faster than audio needs: we normally sample 48kHz or 96kHz.
Agree: if you are just learning about DACs then you are not yet ready to be slinging solder; if you just want to get audio into a Pi then the home-studio interfaces are THE way to go today.
8-bit is not even good telephone quality.
20MHz is hundreds of times faster than audio needs: we normally sample 48kHz or 96kHz.
Agree: if you are just learning about DACs then you are not yet ready to be slinging solder; if you just want to get audio into a Pi then the home-studio interfaces are THE way to go today.
The CXD1175 is a video ADC and the TLC5510 includes video amongst its applications. Neither are suitable for audio.
Dear Charlie,
I would like to have your expert opinion about the possibility to use an USB pro audio interface such as the scarlett in combination with the Pi4 board in order to perform efficient DSP. I currently have an active 8 way system driven by an old yet efficient (but noisy) PC running Jriver for convolution of FIR filters (XO and DRC). I recently read a post of yours about the 8 way HDMI extractor for the Pi and therefore my questions are the following: may I switch safely my current system toward the Pi board in association with a USB interface? has the Pi 4 the power to make the necessary calculations for the convolution of the FIR filters? Is the audio quality of the HDMI extractor higher than USB ports? Is it possible to use Jriver on Pi or should I use another software and if yes on which OS?
Thanking you in advance
GiAnt
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