Hi Ian, im new to all things R-Pi but Im thinking of getting a PS-Audio stellar gain cell dac, it has an I2s HDMI input, do you do a board that has an HDMI out compatible with this? If not I see Audio GD does one but I like the look of your stuff. So could you tell me what I need from you to build an awesome streamer please, oh and how I order/pay.
Many thanks
Alan
Many thanks
Alan
It is not HDMI, it is I2S that happens to use a HDMI connector. The RPi already has I2S outputs on the I/O pins, all you need is a suitable cable (that you might have to make yourself, from a cheap HDMI cable).
Thanks for the response, I'm aware it's not HDMI, I wonder why Audio DG does a board when all anyone needs to do is cut the end off an HDMI cable, they must think we are stupid......
Thanks for the response, I'm aware it's not HDMI, I wonder why Audio DG does a board when all anyone needs to do is cut the end off an HDMI cable, they must think we are stupid......
Not stupid, but some people just don't want to fiddle with wire ends and worst case - horror of all horrors! - soldering.... 🙂
Ian has a board, here is the documentation for it:DocumentDownload/HDMIpi at master * iancanada/DocumentDownload * GitHub just email him to see if he has any in stock.
Ah thank God, nice one wealas, that's very helpful. I will send him an email....
Plus these "HDMI I2S" inputs are using LVDS signaling, so you can't just use a gutted HDMI cable.
Yes, the HDMI cable's pins (and wires) are just fine, twisted pairs of proper impedance, but you do need to convert the "classic" LVCMOS I2S signals to LVDS signals before sending them over the HDMI cable.
Ah, yes. So yes, you can use a gutted HDMI cable as the cable, but that alone is not enough.
Does the latest ESS Controller have a 1-row, 6-pin connector ...
... or a 2-row, 10-pin connector (5 grounds) as in the PDF file ?
Also, does the ESS Controller add any noise to a DAC ?
TIA
... or a 2-row, 10-pin connector (5 grounds) as in the PDF file ?
Also, does the ESS Controller add any noise to a DAC ?
TIA
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That is not Ian's latest controller, but his earlier one. It does not include all of the functionality of the latest and is a bit harder to connect into the RPi.
If you are using an RPi, best options for connecting are either Ian's IsolatorPi or FiFoPi. Both have galvanic isolators on the inputs. Both also have a separate GPIO header that is a pass-through to the pre-isolator RPi. So connecting the ESS Controller to that header means you have the isolation barrier between the processing in the controller and your DAC. That will minimize any noise from the controller getting into your DAC chip.
This is all assuming you are planning to use it on an RPi DAC. If something else, please let us know and we can help connect. Ian has used it with generic ESS ES9018K2M / ES9028Q2M / ES9038Q2M DAC boards and he shows how he connected it in one of his other threads... I believe it was his DAC board thread, if you need that info I can go look it up.
Greg in Mississippi
If you are using an RPi, best options for connecting are either Ian's IsolatorPi or FiFoPi. Both have galvanic isolators on the inputs. Both also have a separate GPIO header that is a pass-through to the pre-isolator RPi. So connecting the ESS Controller to that header means you have the isolation barrier between the processing in the controller and your DAC. That will minimize any noise from the controller getting into your DAC chip.
This is all assuming you are planning to use it on an RPi DAC. If something else, please let us know and we can help connect. Ian has used it with generic ESS ES9018K2M / ES9028Q2M / ES9038Q2M DAC boards and he shows how he connected it in one of his other threads... I believe it was his DAC board thread, if you need that info I can go look it up.
Greg in Mississippi
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the info. I was considering adding it to the Khadas Tone Board DAC. One of the folks on ASR was able to connect them via the KTBD's 30 pin connector and a breakout board which seems pretty straight forward, but I don't know about adding suitable noise isolation.
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Has anyone tried Ian's board stack on top of Allos UsbBridge Signature?:
USBridge Sig - Ultra low noise RPI
USBridge Sig - Ultra low noise RPI
@TioFrancotirador,
See my recent posts #588 & #594 in Allo's Shanti / USBBridge Signature / Revolution thread:
Shanti Dual LPS 5V/3A , 5V/1.5A
Nice combo, highly recommended.
Greg in Mississippi
See my recent posts #588 & #594 in Allo's Shanti / USBBridge Signature / Revolution thread:
Shanti Dual LPS 5V/3A , 5V/1.5A
Nice combo, highly recommended.
Greg in Mississippi
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Thanks Greg!
I like USBBridge Signature approach. I think it is great. Still I see some potential improvement in upgrading 19.2Mhz RPI3 Compute Stick onboard clock ...
I am just wonder now how USBBridge Signature with Ian stack compares to Chromecast Audio + Ians Spdif receiver board + Ian stack. In the latter case processing (Chromecast Audio or any other like PC with Toslink out) is totally isoalted by light and I suspect that Ian spdif receiver has less noise than USBBridge Signature ...
Such test would tell how good is FifoPi and whether using any RPI3 implementation make sense for things like tidal streaming and other stuff up to 192khz.
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