Infineon MA12070 Class D

I now have the Merus HAT amp working with piCorePlayer and playing music very well.

I had to SSH into the pi to make changes to ALSAmixer settings. For some reason I couldn't change the settings within the piCorePlayer menus (even though the settings can be seen, they couldn't be saved).

It sounds quite good. I understand how these amps have surprised people. I like the silent background and abundance of detail. The overall balance from low to high frequencies is impressive. Maybe just a bit light on bass, but it's just a wee little thing with ~20VDC rails. There is a bit of power output limitation because of the internal limiter settings, but it gets plenty loud enough for my listening.

A very interesting find!
 

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I now have the Merus HAT amp working with piCorePlayer and playing music very well.

I had to SSH into the pi to make changes to ALSAmixer settings. For some reason I couldn't change the settings within the piCorePlayer menus (even though the settings can be seen, they couldn't be saved).

It sounds quite good. I understand how these amps have surprised people. I like the silent background and abundance of detail. The overall balance from low to high frequencies is impressive. Maybe just a bit light on bass, but it's just a wee little thing with ~20VDC rails. There is a bit of power output limitation because of the internal limiter settings, but it gets plenty loud enough for my listening.

A very interesting find!
How are you powering it? In your photo I can't see a supply connected to either of the power connections?
 
I measured the DC voltage at the power-in terminal block on the HAT. I’m not going to try to measure at the IC. I’d definitely fry something.
  • TB3 cable into HAT: 20.16V
  • TB3 cable into the Pi: 4.6V
So it’s working as expected. Remarkable that it works at all on 4.6V, but it should be powered by a supply into the HAT for full performance. 👍

Oddly, though. The ALSA mixer settings didn't save from last night. I even used 'sudo alsactl store' to make them stay, but no dice. I'll need to find what exact files I can change to keep the right settings.
 
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I measured the DC voltage at the power-in terminal block on the HAT. I’m not going to try to measure at the IC. I’d definitely fry something.
  • TB3 cable into HAT: 20.16V
  • TB3 cable into the Pi: 4.6V
So it’s working as expected. Remarkable that it works at all on 4.6V, but it should be powered by a supply into the HAT for full performance. 👍

Oddly, though. The ALSA mixer settings didn't save from last night. I even used 'sudo alsactl store' to make them stay, but no dice. I'll need to find what exact files I can change to keep the right settings.
I was unaware of USB-c Power Delivery until your posts.

Ya, ALSA settings are pain. Somehow I discovered how to save them, but can't remember 🤔
 
Why do YOU think output filters/stages are standard in datasheets of DAC chips? To sell more electronics? To annoy audiophiles? Because these guys at AKM/ESS etc. don't know their stuff and "just do something"?

Ever heard of polyester, polypropylene or polystyrene caps? Discrete stages? Passive stages with transformers? There are a lot of ways to Rome. Opamp stages are the easiest to implement and they can be excellent.

Modern DACs have quite high frequency XO's and you can often find that frequency in a lot of places in the device. Then there are the other XO's in the device... It is no coincidence that devices that use metal casings and old fashioned shielding between sections have good performance.
They use filterstages to get best specs. Because 99% of their customers buy because of these specs. Last 40 years the best DAC"s i heard where without those standard opamp filters or even with no filtration at all.
 
Normal that it works with the pi power supply.
your Hat card is equipped with a buck boost.
I have a Pi that no longer serves me .... This tempts me seriously ...
Is it really ma12070 which accepts 24 volts or its little brother limited to 19 volts?
Enjoy!!! :hphones: :hphones::hphones:
 
Normal that it works with the pi power supply.
your Hat card is equipped with a buck boost.
I have a Pi that no longer serves me .... This tempts me seriously ...
Is it really ma12070 which accepts 24 volts or its little brother limited to 19 volts?
Enjoy!!! :hphones: :hphones::hphones:
You'll fry it if you supply 24v (despite the board saying 26v max). Ask me how I know!

The board designer stated the board is setup for 20v supply, but will tolerate 22v. See his post here:

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/infineon-ma12070-class-d.347422/post-6814624
 
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They use filterstages to get best specs. Because 99% of their customers buy because of these specs. Last 40 years the best DAC"s i heard where without those standard opamp filters or even with no filtration at all.
Tube guys measure with their ears, I know. It are reconstruction filters and they happen to filter out RF as well which is a phenomenon that occurs with modern high res DAC chips running at quite high clock frequencies. Example: ESS chips running on 100 MHz oscillators. 40 Years ago that was a frequency you tuned your FM tuner at 🙂 16.9344 MHz in a DAC was then already a high frequency.
 
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Tube guys use their output transformer as filter😉. And tube amps have not as much problems with IM distorsion as classd amps (with there own oscilators) have.

I had horrible expierence with unfiltered pcm1794a dac and ucd400 amp.
 
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