Introducing miniStreamer: Native 24/96 USB to I2S / SPDIF interface

[minidsp]

Dear all,

A new addition to miniDSP's growing portfolio!

Introducing miniStreamer, a low cost native 24/96kHz USB audio interface with SPDIF / I2S connectivity for Playback and recording. Transformer isolation, driver-less installation and chassis mount integration makes it an easy fit for your DIY projects.

Engineered to provide a flexible interface for your Digital Audio project, miniSTREAMER can easily interface to a miniDIGI card, or any other I2S interface. Future instructions and tech note to follow on how to integrate miniStreamer to a miniDSP kit.

For more info, check out our product page.

Hope you like it,

DevTeam

 

[ferynov]

how about usb to I2S

 

[minidsp]

Mmmh, not sure where the confusion or question comes from..

Forum post, datasheet, user manual, web page all point out to explaining that this interface is indeed a USB to I2S / SPDIF interface... Maybe have a closer look at reading them first to understand the product.

Thanks.

 

[ferynov]

sorry...I have been read manual and brief , very interesting, but where real picture is?
what chip PCM use in this ministreamer? I bet that use pcm 27xx or 29xx.

 

[minidsp]

Indeed, it's missing the picture.. Our camera picture day is scheduled tomorrow.. Pics will be updated shortly on website and datasheet.

IC is actually based on the Tenor IC (TE7022L) so no PCM series since they only allow up to 48kHz.

 

[neutron7]

can this plug directly in to the i2s input of a miniDSP, or do you need the miniDIGI?

 

[minidsp]

can this plug directly in to the i2s input of a miniDSP, or do you need the miniDIGI?

In answer to your question: "It depends"..
- If you're only playing 48kHz audio content from your PC, i.e. to make sure the I2S out is compatible with the I2S in of the miniDSP (only operate at 48kHz), then that's fine.
- If you rather have freedom of choice and not have to worry about it, then connecting it to a miniDIGI allows you to input any signal thanks to the ASRC on board. Another good element is that the ASRC is very good at removing jitter on the signal.

Hope this makes sense,

 

[neutron7]

thanks, that makes more sense now.

 

[SunRa]

I was just wondering, what slave/master jumper means? That is it capable of asynchronous operation, or...?

Thank you!

 

[anbello]

I was just wondering, what slave/master jumper means? That is it capable of asynchronous operation, or...?

Thank you!

Good question, also i would like to know something about this

Ciao
Andrea

 

[SunRa]

I looked at the spreadsheet ant it states it is isochronous. Still, it would be great clarifying the slave/master option.

 

[ttan98]

Hi,

I mean to purchase MiniDSP and MiniDigi but did not a get around to it as yet. Now the Ministreamer is available I may not have to buy the MiniDigi.

After reading the Ministreamer manual, it provides either USB OR SPDIF input and also an SPDIF output, this is what I need. So how do you interface the MInistreamer to MiniDSP via I2S right, how is this being achieve, stack one on top of the other? Now that I a have a Ministreamer I don't need a Minidigi which only accepts SPDIF, right.

Your response please.

 

[ttan98]

Hi,

I mean to purchase MiniDSP and MiniDigi but did not a get around to it as yet. Now the Ministreamer is available I may not have to buy the MiniDigi.

After reading the Ministreamer manual, it provides either USB OR SPDIF input and also an SPDIF output, this is what I need. So how do you interface the MInistreamer to MiniDSP via I2S right, how is this being achieve, stack one on top of the other? Now that I a have a Ministreamer I don't need a Minidigi which only accepts SPDIF, right.

Your response please.

No one answesr my query here, after reading your answer at the ministream forum, I think this is now it works, I still need the Minidigi, This is how the ministreamer(MS) works, PC out goes into USB port on MS and then SPDIF out on MS goes into SPDIF in on Minidigi which is connected to MiniDSP, right. Please confirm. The MS manual is a little confusing.

 

[minidsp]

I was just wondering, what slave/master jumper means? That is it capable of asynchronous operation, or...?

Device is as per described in the datasheet an isochronous USB interface. So no asynchronous operation. The MCLK is always an output and I2S should be in sync with the MCLK.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[minidsp]

No one answesr my query here, after reading your answer at the ministream forum, I think this is now it works, I still need the Minidigi, This is how the ministreamer(MS) works, PC out goes into USB port on MS and then SPDIF out on MS goes into SPDIF in on Minidigi which is connected to MiniDSP, right. Please confirm. The MS manual is a little confusing.

Including the miniDIGI in your system will indeed allow the system to utilize the very good ASRC on the miniDIGI to remove the jitter and allow any type of signal to be played back on the ministreamer.
If you go the route of ministreamer straight into the miniDSP, you will have to rely on the Windows driver to perform the task of making sure it's outputting 48kHz at all times (miniDSP must get 48kHz). Finally, in the case you're getting confused about the basic concepts of I2S, better go the path of adding the miniDIGI since it will really be a plug&play.

Hope this answers your questions.

PS: Please allow at least 24-48h to answer post.. not getting an answer within an 8h delay is what I'd call normal by most standards of any companies out there... We try our best to answer question but realize that you're not alone asking them..

 

[anbello]

Device is as per described in the datasheet an isochronous USB interface. So no asynchronous operation. The MCLK is always an output and I2S should be in sync with the MCLK.

Hope this answers your question.

Isochronous is one of the transfer mode for USB interface (the other are Control, Interrupt, Bulk). Asynchronous, Synchronous and Adaptive are the synchronization mode for the Isochronous transfer mode.

Ciao
Andrea

 

[dvb projekt]

Hi,

i use in my DAC project only I2S input. How is the priority between the USB and SPDIF input?

I think the ministreamer will switch both inputs automatically, because a saw no switch on the pcb.

BTW, could you post a picture from top of the pcb?

Regards,
Oliver

 

[minidsp]

Hi,

i use in my DAC project only I2S input. How is the priority between the USB and SPDIF input?

I think the ministreamer will switch both inputs automatically, because a saw no switch on the pcb.

BTW, could you post a picture from top of the pcb?

Regards,
Oliver

Oliver,

Ok, I'm not sure I get it right, but I think that there some confusion.
miniStreamer is only USB to SPDIF/I2S (playback) and/or SPDIF/I2S to USB. It's basically like a sound card.

In what you're saying, it seems to imply that you're trying to get the miniStreamer to toggle between USB to I2S and/or SPDIF to I2S. That's just not going to happen.

Think of miniStreamer as a sound card. It has a USB side (going to a PC and creating a sound card in your PC) and a interface side (SPDIF or I2S) going to your external circuit.

AS for the pic, have a look at the user manual. It's quite a clear pic to us.

Hope this clarifies.

 

[zog666]

just a FYI: the miniSTREAMER works fine with Linux, I'm using it with Ubuntu 10.04 with the pulsaudio service, at least for playback.

I've only used it at 44100 hz 16 bit though, haven't tried any higher rates (or researched yet how to set it to higher rates).

 

[minidsp]

just a FYI: the miniSTREAMER works fine with Linux, I'm using it with Ubuntu 10.04 with the pulsaudio service, at least for playback.

I've only used it at 44100 hz 16 bit though, haven't tried any higher rates (or researched yet how to set it to higher rates).

Great info, thanks for the follow up. If you have any additional info to share on how you set it up, it will be useful info for the community.

Thanks for sharing the info again,

DevTeam