I am attempting to create a digital playback device (i believe they are called 'renderers' now) to feed hi res audio to a dac. I would build this device based on either PC or Pi hardware.
As these do not tend to have spdif outputs, I am relegated to using USB or optical. I read that USB is the 'best' choice.
I also read that the clocking on onboard USB is bad and I either need a precision clocked USB card or an external 'reclocker' ( I fail to see how this could work. But I'm stupid). Incidentally, a 'recommended' add on board manufacturer claims the crystals supplied with his board are just for 'proof of concept', and for best results I should replace them with better ones. Eh ?
What would be the best solution here without breaking the bank ? The external dac I have is quite good. Or supposed to be.
Thanks,
Pete
As these do not tend to have spdif outputs, I am relegated to using USB or optical. I read that USB is the 'best' choice.
I also read that the clocking on onboard USB is bad and I either need a precision clocked USB card or an external 'reclocker' ( I fail to see how this could work. But I'm stupid). Incidentally, a 'recommended' add on board manufacturer claims the crystals supplied with his board are just for 'proof of concept', and for best results I should replace them with better ones. Eh ?
What would be the best solution here without breaking the bank ? The external dac I have is quite good. Or supposed to be.
Thanks,
Pete
Asyncronous USB DACs get around this issue. Most modern DACS these days are built this way. An Async DAC is in charge of data rate, eliminating any potential problems in the renderer.
Thank you for the reply. I've been looking at pics of my DAC board (I don't want to pull it) and there's nothing I immediately recognize as a clock crystal. But there must be one somewhere, I'm sure.
An sd card player is going to be better than a usb interface, but there is a trade off with convenience.
If you choose the pi way, there are plenty of dac modules and combos ready to play with that bypass usb and go with i2s or spdif.
Whether RPi, SPDIF, TOSLINK, USB, whatever is better depends. USB or I2S offer the most sample rates, and most digital audio formats. TOSLINK has built-in galvanic isolation, but isolation can be added to other transport methods. SPDIF offers lower jitter than TOSLINK, and usually supports higher sample rates too.
So, what kind of dac is it? Does is use or support ASRC? What is the source device? How much cost and complexity are tolerable? What kind of sound quality is sought?
So, what kind of dac is it? Does is use or support ASRC? What is the source device? How much cost and complexity are tolerable? What kind of sound quality is sought?
Thanks for the replies. The DAC is built intro the amplifier (by means of an add on card). It offers USB, optical or coax. The 'renderer' will be PC hardware based, the mobo has optical and USB. I don't think coax is really an option on PC hardware these days. Music will be pulled by wifi from a NAS. Software will being either Volumio, Daphile, Daphile mealtime or Windoze with JRiver.
The manufacturer of the amp/DAC offers very little information bar the proprietary alphabet soup.
Pete
The manufacturer of the amp/DAC offers very little information bar the proprietary alphabet soup.
Pete
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I fired off an email to the manufacturer regarding the above. I'm not holding my breath though. Pete
If we can see detailed closeup pics of the inside and outside it might help us to help you. The more information we have, the better. The lettering on the dac chip would be a helpful clue. The connector for the USB add on board might tell us something too, such as if its Amanero format. Hopefully, you are starting to get the idea.
Okay, thank you. Two of them then? Dual mono AK4490EQ should be able to play up to DSD256, do you know if your player supports DSD?
If DSD256 is supported, that will probably give the most satisfying audio reproduction. It would require a USB interface with ASIO drivers (if used with a Windows PC).
If DSD256 is supported, that will probably give the most satisfying audio reproduction. It would require a USB interface with ASIO drivers (if used with a Windows PC).
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Supported modes of the dac are :
USB : DSD /2.8224MHz, 5.6448MHz,11.2896MHz(1bit) (11.2896 ASIO only)
PCM/ 32kHz～384kHz,32bit
OPTICAL： 32kHz～96kHz, 24bit
COAXIAL：32kHz～192kHz, 24bit
You can see why I would prefer USB
Supported mode for the 'renderer' : DSD native and DSD PCM
Pete
USB : DSD /2.8224MHz, 5.6448MHz,11.2896MHz(1bit) (11.2896 ASIO only)
PCM/ 32kHz～384kHz,32bit
OPTICAL： 32kHz～96kHz, 24bit
COAXIAL：32kHz～192kHz, 24bit
You can see why I would prefer USB
Supported mode for the 'renderer' : DSD native and DSD PCM
Pete
Typically a maximum DSD rate is supported in a native format only. In this case DSD256. It is why it says: ASIO only.
DSD64 and DSD128 should be working in both DoP and native. But what is a question?
DSD64 and DSD128 should be working in both DoP and native. But what is a question?
The one in the first post : does a USB feeding a DAC need ‘cleaning up’ ? If so, how ?