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Low cost ES9018 DAC board GB

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cristi289

cristi289

Member
Joined 2009
Ok, ...

1) syklab - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
2) quan - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
3) richard_pc - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
4) tubo - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
5) freeman - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
6) mvsavage - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
7) danzup - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
8) tvicol - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
9) audiomaniac4u - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
10) atupi - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M+oscillator (pre-soldered)
11) rredline - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
12) DaveK - 1 or 2 kits
13)OverkillAudio 4pcb, 4 ES9018
14)Cristi289 1kit
15)Turbon - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
16)eledanca - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
 
S

syllable

Member
Joined 2012
Here is the board everyone will be receiving. It slightly differs from the test board. I have made provision for isolated i2s feature, only one ic, two caps and one smd switch are needed to be added to the existing bom. Buyers can populate or not populate the isolated i2s section. Even if it is populated it can be enabled or disabled with a small switch. The spdif signals from two onboard receivers can now be connected to the GPIO pins so that the spdif and i2s can be connected all the time and switched through the software, the updated board has provision for that. This will be done little later. Also the board now has provision for SOIC opamps. The total cost for the test board came out to be $90 as i already had some parts.

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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
jean-paul

jean-paul

Disabled Account
Joined 2002
Hi, why is there so much unused board space ?

BTW I2S lines all need GND between them. Also the U.FL are recommended even if their longevity is doubtful (I really don't like plugs that break/wear out so easy as those). Molex connectors are not suitable for I2S (except when one uses a GND pin in between data line pins, that would make it acceptable but not exceptional ;) ). Data lines need to be kept as short as possible so moving them to the edge of the board would be advisable. In normal circumstances 10 cm wire is already very/too long for I2S ! The PS Audio LVDS system is a very nice I2S solution, also adopted by RAKK. In fact it would be best if manufacturers would choose this system as a standard as it surpasses SPDIF/USB big time. It is nice that cheap standard HDMI cables are used. See the following link for more information:

http://www.raleighaudio.com/I2S Interface v3.1.pdf

All in all a nice ES9018K2M board, I am curious how it will compare to the ES9018 and ES9023 boards. To my surprise some ES9018 boards are simply less good performers than ES9023 boards even though the chip is better on paper, clocks are higher and an output stage is used.
 
Last edited:
cristi289

cristi289

Member
Joined 2009
Some modifications:
1) syklab - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
2) quan - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
3) richard_pc - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
4) tubo - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
5) freeman - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
6) mvsavage - 2 PCB, 2 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
7) danzup - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
8) tvicol - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (un-soldered)
9) audiomaniac4u - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
10) atupi - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M+oscillator (pre-soldered)
11) rredline - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
12) DaveK - 1 or 2 kits
13)OverkillAudio - 4pcb, 4 ES9018
14)cristi289 - 2PCB, 2ES9018K2M+oscillator (pre-soldered)
15)Turbon - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)
16)eledanca - 1 PCB, 1 ES9018K2M (pre-soldered)

Total: 23 or 24 (Davek)
 
S

syllable

Member
Joined 2012
jean-paul said:
Hi, why is there so much unused board space ?

BTW I2S lines all need GND between them. Also the U.FL are recommended even if their longevity is doubtful (I really don't like plugs that break/wear out so easy as those). Molex connectors are not suitable for I2S (except when one uses a GND pin in between data line pins, that would make it acceptable but not exceptional ;) ). Data lines need to be kept as short as possible so moving them to the edge of the board would be advisable. In normal circumstances 10 cm wire is already very/too long for I2S ! The PS Audio LVDS system is a very nice I2S solution, also adopted by RAKK. In fact it would be best if manufacturers would choose this system as a standard as it surpasses SPDIF/USB big time. It is nice that cheap standard HDMI cables are used. See the following link for more information:

http://www.raleighaudio.com/I2S Interface v3.1.pdf

All in all a nice ES9018K2M board, I am curious how it will compare to the ES9018 and ES9023 boards. To my surprise some ES9018 boards are simply less good performers than ES9023 boards even though the chip is better on paper, clocks are higher and an output stage is used.
Click to expand...

ES9018k2m is a mobile version of ES9018 but has similar features like a ES9018 except it is not a octa dac like ES9018 and hence dynamic range is limited to 127 dB. It cannot be compared to a chip like ES9023 which is inferior to features and functions. May be you can ask ESS tech how ES9018 compares to ES9023. ES9023 are for beginners.
 
danzup

danzup

Member
Joined 2007
jean-paul said:
Hi, why is there so much unused board space ?
.
Click to expand...

Jean Paul the perspective is conning .
The board have max 10cm x 15 cm at all
guessing by what is in photo (approximation.)!
It is ok also with I2S how long insert on top of this board another board at 1..2 cm above with pins/wire bridge soldered between 2 boards that provide I2s from another source.
But I am in doubt that someone will use on this board something else but Spdif input !
Maybe I will put a Tenor USB module on top of this board to have also USB input .
 
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jean-paul

jean-paul

Disabled Account
Joined 2002
syllable said:
ES9018k2m is a mobile version of ES9018 but has similar features like a ES9018 except it is not a octa dac like ES9018 and hence dynamic range is limited to 127 dB. It cannot be compared to a chip like ES9023 which is inferior to features and functions. May be you can ask ESS tech how ES9018 compares to ES9023. ES9023 are for beginners.
Click to expand...

Good luck with the sales of features and functions. You could work a bit on the PR front.
 
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S

syllable

Member
Joined 2012
Guys this DAC sounds absolutely incredible, fast signal lock, one good news is that it does work without an MCU but if we want to access all functions of the DAC we will still need a MCU. Those who would like to go with the default values of the DAC they can omit the mcu PSU and i2c isolation section.

Sent from my Q700i using Tapatalk
 
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