Well, I'm no expert, but surely the streams coming in over the WiFi and going out over the USB are totally different (although the payload hopefully is the same) . So there should be a lot of reformatting etc going on, what with all the clocking and opportunities for jitter.
If Amir shows extremely low jitter, that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling ;-)
Jan
If Amir shows extremely low jitter, that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling ;-)
Jan
Hi mbrennwa,
For the extra dollars you get a cosmetically beautiful object and a turnkey hardware/software solution plus professional support. This "value" is subjective, but many would think its money well spent.
For the RPi, you have to buy at least a PSU and case so, closer to $100. 😉
Personally, I have replaced all my streamers with RPi's because I like "DIY Audio".
regards
For the extra dollars you get a cosmetically beautiful object and a turnkey hardware/software solution plus professional support. This "value" is subjective, but many would think its money well spent.
For the RPi, you have to buy at least a PSU and case so, closer to $100. 😉
Personally, I have replaced all my streamers with RPi's because I like "DIY Audio".
regards
And have the nice surprise that LMS is recently EOLed on for instance Synology NAS devices. Too bad as it is a nice device now being terminated.
The OP has chosen an iFi Zen stream. Maybe someone could suggest Raspberry Pi or RPi as it has not been mentioned yet!?!! I don’t as I got the vaccine.
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The Raspberry Pi has been mentioned numerous times and just might be a good solution the next time.
Are you aware that this is only relevant for SPDIF and I2S?
With modern USB audio devices (such as your ADI DAC) the audio data does not rely on any "USB clocking". The clock is generated in the DAC after the USB receiver. The jitter performance of the source/streamer is therefore irrelevant.
Please suggest a jittery RPi as a solution for playing back music with the iFi Zen stream. That is waaaaaay better than a low jitter source with a clean PSU. That Amir is talking nonsense. Jitter makes stuffs sound better say my tube friends. In fact it is the best solution and it is DIY as you can click HATs to the RPi yourself! No other solution comes close and people should explain why they buy ready made solutions for 399 Euro. That is too much money for nothing. You just pay for the name and the casing and nice casings are stupid. Who wants stuff that just works, looks OK and is supported by a manufacturer?
I have an RPi3 in the toilet, an RPi4 in the bedroom and one in the living room and it is the best. Recommended. Jan is an outsider, an outcast comparable with non vaccinated people. He does not have an RPi !!!!!!!!!!! maybe we can force him to buy one so he'll be as happy as us, the RPi church.
I have an RPi3 in the toilet, an RPi4 in the bedroom and one in the living room and it is the best. Recommended. Jan is an outsider, an outcast comparable with non vaccinated people. He does not have an RPi !!!!!!!!!!! maybe we can force him to buy one so he'll be as happy as us, the RPi church.
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Hah! Wrong! I have an RPi in the drawer for a few years, never got around to tackle it though ...
And I am fully vacced!
Jan
And I am fully vacced!
Jan
Thank God! Both a guy of the RPi church and the vaccine. You are one of the decent people. Had my thoughts but glad to discover you are a good man. One of the chosen few.
People can stop recommending RPi then and harass the next guy. Wait a minute... that is not the RPi 1 is it? You missed the 2, 2B, 3, 3B, 3B+ and 4?
People can stop recommending RPi then and harass the next guy. Wait a minute... that is not the RPi 1 is it? You missed the 2, 2B, 3, 3B, 3B+ and 4?
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I can't find it at the moment, maybe what I saw was this:
ifi Zen Stream Measurements and intro to streamers - GoldenSound
but I am pretty sure Amir also had a test, I remember he gave it a 'headless panther'.
Jan
Strange way of quoting. You are right, let's talk about RPi. It is sunday after all.
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Jan is looking for a streamer with perfect support of his ADI DAC over USB. That IMO eliminates any discussion about jitter, even if measured by a reviewer. He has definitely not measured any impact a streamer has on jitter of a properly designed USB async DAC which the ADI device is.
However what I find important is proper support of Jan's USB DAC, i.e. if the linux kernel running inside the streamer (vast majority of commercial streamers run linux) has the snd-usb-audio driver recent enough to have proper support of this DAC. I can vouch for RPi because the latest raspbian OS runs kernel 5.10 or newer. No idea about the commercial streamers being mentioned here. My 2 cents most have the kernels pretty outdated. I do not know which kernel version supported the ADI DAC flawlessly but e.g. the popular Motu M2/4 DACs have been flawlessly supported by the linux driver only quite recently.
However what I find important is proper support of Jan's USB DAC, i.e. if the linux kernel running inside the streamer (vast majority of commercial streamers run linux) has the snd-usb-audio driver recent enough to have proper support of this DAC. I can vouch for RPi because the latest raspbian OS runs kernel 5.10 or newer. No idea about the commercial streamers being mentioned here. My 2 cents most have the kernels pretty outdated. I do not know which kernel version supported the ADI DAC flawlessly but e.g. the popular Motu M2/4 DACs have been flawlessly supported by the linux driver only quite recently.
Well, I have no idea what kernel version iFi Zen Streamer uses and if it supports Jan's DAC flawlessly. The vendor does not seem to communicate such information.
When reading the vendor's claims:
not much to hope for...
When reading the vendor's claims:
not much to hope for...
When Thorsten Loesch is involved in a design I would not worry too much about kernels and their numbers.
All my devices that are non RPi don't care much about what DAC is connected either. Maybe that is what the customer pays for?!
All my devices that are non RPi don't care much about what DAC is connected either. Maybe that is what the customer pays for?!
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The kernel would be the very thing I would worry about when proper support for a specific USB DAC was required.
On the other hand, if a vendor starts talking about "software jitter" negative impact on computer audio, I get very cautious about real technical merits of the device.
On the other hand, if a vendor starts talking about "software jitter" negative impact on computer audio, I get very cautious about real technical merits of the device.