Hi,
I have some questions. Any replies appreciated.
1) I know SPDIF uses 75ohm wire. Does the same apply to I2S? It seems to work using plain old 24g from cat5 but I was just wondering about that.
2) I removed the display and it works without it (not sure if it changes the sound any), but I was wondering if it's possible to replace it with one that's lighted so I can see it from across the room (3meters or 10feet)
3) If I want to bypass the on board 7805 with a shunt regulator I just need to lift the output pin from it's pad right?
I have some questions. Any replies appreciated.
1) I know SPDIF uses 75ohm wire. Does the same apply to I2S? It seems to work using plain old 24g from cat5 but I was just wondering about that.
2) I removed the display and it works without it (not sure if it changes the sound any), but I was wondering if it's possible to replace it with one that's lighted so I can see it from across the room (3meters or 10feet)
3) If I want to bypass the on board 7805 with a shunt regulator I just need to lift the output pin from it's pad right?
No. You need to send board & your new LCD back to QLS and pay for upgrade & shipment.
I am assuming you are going to use the same LCD as we do.
QLS would not supply back-light LCD.
And we have not checked whether it still fits into the case.
We are making our own case (see post #89 for the rough layout).
The case is being assembled and we are waiting for the upgrade.
So no photos as yet.
Patrick
.
I am assuming you are going to use the same LCD as we do.
QLS would not supply back-light LCD.
And we have not checked whether it still fits into the case.
We are making our own case (see post #89 for the rough layout).
The case is being assembled and we are waiting for the upgrade.
So no photos as yet.
Patrick
.
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Hi Patrick,
Thanks for the picture. Yes, that looks like it would work for me. Can you give details on the LCD part# and the cost from QLS to reprogram?
Will you also be removing/extending the SD card reader for your project?
hi guys
ive been reading alittle about hdd based transports and also sd type ones and the impression i got was this was the way to go if after best sound quality because(moreso in the sd card type players) they have no moving parts etc so they will overcome all the problems that the best transports face regarding reading errors etc thats inherant in a spinning cd type system.
however after reading this whole thread it just doesnt seem to be the case has afew in the thread have said that it doesnt beat,or at least matches what they have regarding there cd players at the moment
surely if a no moving parts reading system is that far supiorer it should be stuffing every cd player/transport known to man,even if the rest of the product is only basic quality?)
the fact that people are tweaking the electronics/power surplies and using i2s outputs and still not beating the reference transports/cd players is begining to eat away at me that maybe a no moving part front end isnt a major update on the good old iffy spinning disc and optical system after all.
this is just a open question regarding these type of players and not one aimed at the product under mods in this forum.
i just wondered on peoples views,moreso from the likes of people who have tested it against some real high end transports and cd players as i was hoping to go this way myself,but after reading this thread i am no longer sure its worth it.
all the best
smithie
ive been reading alittle about hdd based transports and also sd type ones and the impression i got was this was the way to go if after best sound quality because(moreso in the sd card type players) they have no moving parts etc so they will overcome all the problems that the best transports face regarding reading errors etc thats inherant in a spinning cd type system.
however after reading this whole thread it just doesnt seem to be the case has afew in the thread have said that it doesnt beat,or at least matches what they have regarding there cd players at the moment
surely if a no moving parts reading system is that far supiorer it should be stuffing every cd player/transport known to man,even if the rest of the product is only basic quality?)the fact that people are tweaking the electronics/power surplies and using i2s outputs and still not beating the reference transports/cd players is begining to eat away at me that maybe a no moving part front end isnt a major update on the good old iffy spinning disc and optical system after all.
this is just a open question regarding these type of players and not one aimed at the product under mods in this forum.
i just wondered on peoples views,moreso from the likes of people who have tested it against some real high end transports and cd players as i was hoping to go this way myself,but after reading this thread i am no longer sure its worth it.
all the best
smithie
From my perspective when I 1st heard music off a hdd based system I sold my heavily modified scd1 and began a journey into pc-audio. Where it really makes a difference is in lower mids/upper bass...very bloat free but tons of definition. It took a while to get there but the highs/upper mids definitely beat my old scd-1 tansport.
And dynamics are not even close, hdd based system or better yet a memory based pc system beats all.
And dynamics are not even close, hdd based system or better yet a memory based pc system beats all.
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Who has built a real top end SD player that uses a proper low jitter clock near the DAC, top of the range DACs, etc.?
The QA550 cost around 100 USD. You expect it to beat a Wadia ? That's asking too much.
The advantage is a fundamental one. But the implementation is equally important.
Patrick
The QA550 cost around 100 USD. You expect it to beat a Wadia ? That's asking too much.
The advantage is a fundamental one. But the implementation is equally important.
Patrick
theob
thanks for your views.
euvl,as you pointed out in your post "The advantage is a fundamental one"
so yes i would certainly expect it to be heading over wadia head,expensive cd players dont always mean great sound,im on about sound quality alone here (after all the wadia WT3200 was nothing other then a marantz in new clothes,i wonder how many people swear that the wadia sounds better then a stock marantz because it has the badge and look?)
if the advantage is a fundamental one,and people are using a good connection like i2s and some half decent dacs,power surplies like people are i would of thought there would of been some more positive reports.
smithie
thanks for your views.
euvl,as you pointed out in your post "The advantage is a fundamental one"
so yes i would certainly expect it to be heading over wadia head,expensive cd players dont always mean great sound,im on about sound quality alone here (after all the wadia WT3200 was nothing other then a marantz in new clothes,i wonder how many people swear that the wadia sounds better then a stock marantz because it has the badge and look?)
if the advantage is a fundamental one,and people are using a good connection like i2s and some half decent dacs,power surplies like people are i would of thought there would of been some more positive reports.
smithie
I don't consider this as a negative report :
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...card-16-44-1-wav-transport-3.html#post2167975
bearing in mind that it was done with a box standard QA550 with no mods, and shall we say a "low end" DAC, even though people have no idea how good the ES9022 is.
And neither do I consider the feedback from the SD players by ecdesign and by bunpei negative.
If people reject the SD idea because they don't want to rip and store WAV files on SD, and would rather use HDD, that's a totally different argument altogether.
Patrick
.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...card-16-44-1-wav-transport-3.html#post2167975
bearing in mind that it was done with a box standard QA550 with no mods, and shall we say a "low end" DAC, even though people have no idea how good the ES9022 is.
And neither do I consider the feedback from the SD players by ecdesign and by bunpei negative.
If people reject the SD idea because they don't want to rip and store WAV files on SD, and would rather use HDD, that's a totally different argument altogether.
Patrick
.
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hi euvl
i wasnt try to point out negitive reports,in fact i dont think ive seen any concerning sound quality,what i was pointing out is the fact there hasnt been many statements saying what a major leap forward in sound quality this sd reader approach brings either,and thats what i find strange after reading so much of the benifits this approch should bring over the good old cd and laser method.
lets forget dacs for the moment and treat it as what it is....
a solid state transport that can join to a dac via i2s (proven as one of the best methods to do this regarding performance) and can also run on batterys,which some swear by and consider the holy grail if they can run there audio equipment on them.
so when painted like that i would of thought it would of been fooling everyone and everything within that context...but thats not what im reading here?
im not panning anything,far from it,im trying to find the way forward for myself,i have no hang ups with it being a sd front end,hdd or whatever,im just trying to find the solution to go with thats going to give me the best results
out of intrest its been mentioned that these players can be brought for 100usd,can someone give me a link to that as the cheapest ive found is $150 which is alittle to steep to take a risk on to try for myself at the moment.
all the best
smithie
i wasnt try to point out negitive reports,in fact i dont think ive seen any concerning sound quality,what i was pointing out is the fact there hasnt been many statements saying what a major leap forward in sound quality this sd reader approach brings either,and thats what i find strange after reading so much of the benifits this approch should bring over the good old cd and laser method.
lets forget dacs for the moment and treat it as what it is....
a solid state transport that can join to a dac via i2s (proven as one of the best methods to do this regarding performance) and can also run on batterys,which some swear by and consider the holy grail if they can run there audio equipment on them.
so when painted like that i would of thought it would of been fooling everyone and everything within that context...but thats not what im reading here?
im not panning anything,far from it,im trying to find the way forward for myself,i have no hang ups with it being a sd front end,hdd or whatever,im just trying to find the solution to go with thats going to give me the best results
out of intrest its been mentioned that these players can be brought for 100usd,can someone give me a link to that as the cheapest ive found is $150 which is alittle to steep to take a risk on to try for myself at the moment.
all the best
smithie
QA-550--SD Card WAV Digital Audio Player
USD115 with 2GB Sd + post.
I can only tell you that we bought 5 QA550s amongst the 3 of us, and are using them with our chipamp "Kitchen Radios". We just ordered 5 new chips to support the backlight LCD.
We are also building a Hi-End Sd player based on Koon's Ultimate Source, ECL differential clock and reclocker, and differential PCM1704, all driven using separate batteries. This will take another year to finish.
If you don't want to take risks, you can build Koon's US V2 for very little money.
http://koonlab.com/UltimateSourceV2.html
Patrick
.
USD115 with 2GB Sd + post.
I can only tell you that we bought 5 QA550s amongst the 3 of us, and are using them with our chipamp "Kitchen Radios". We just ordered 5 new chips to support the backlight LCD.
We are also building a Hi-End Sd player based on Koon's Ultimate Source, ECL differential clock and reclocker, and differential PCM1704, all driven using separate batteries. This will take another year to finish.
If you don't want to take risks, you can build Koon's US V2 for very little money.
http://koonlab.com/UltimateSourceV2.html
Patrick
.
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hi patrick
thanks for that link.
i have no problem taking risks,its because i take risks that funds are alittle tight at the moment and one of my reasons for my posts,im just looking for the right way forward rather then keep trying this and that and spending money left right and center,thats why this threads are so helpful,they can also be a curse as its easy to get up in everyones excitement and end up buying stuff that might not be suitable for ones own needs
your projects sound intresting and look forward to your results and conclusions
with great intrest.
all the best
smithie
thanks for that link.
i have no problem taking risks,its because i take risks that funds are alittle tight at the moment
and one of my reasons for my posts,im just looking for the right way forward rather then keep trying this and that and spending money left right and center,thats why this threads are so helpful,they can also be a curse as its easy to get up in everyones excitement and end up buying stuff that might not be suitable for ones own needsyour projects sound intresting and look forward to your results and conclusions
with great intrest.
all the best
smithie
hi guys
ive been reading alittle about hdd based transports and also sd type ones and the impression i got was this was the way to go if after best sound quality because(moreso in the sd card type players) they have no moving parts etc so they will overcome all the problems that the best transports face regarding reading errors etc thats inherant in a spinning cd type system.
however after reading this whole thread it just doesnt seem to be the case has afew in the thread have said that it doesnt beat,or at least matches what they have regarding there cd players at the moment
the fact that people are tweaking the electronics/power surplies and using i2s outputs and still not beating the reference transports/cd players is begining to eat away at me that maybe a no moving part front end isnt a major update on the good old iffy spinning disc and optical system after all.
this is just a open question regarding these type of players and not one aimed at the product under mods in this forum.
i just wondered on peoples views,moreso from the likes of people who have tested it against some real high end transports and cd players as i was hoping to go this way myself,but after reading this thread i am no longer sure its worth it.
all the best
smithie
Hi,
Remember that this device retails for $115 USD. Using the I2S it can be competitive with much more expensive CD transports using SPDIF. Also, a 16GB SD card can hold about 320 songs vs a CD's 15 or so.
Is it perfect? No. I wish it could play high bit FLAC files. It's not bad out of the box, but DIYers always like to try and improve things regardless of the products starting quality.
For what it's worth, I've been using my QA-550 for months and haven't done any mods at all. Still using a crappy cheap PSU. Using coax out it sounds as good as my DVD player with CDs. I'm happy to accept that there are better 16/44.1 transports out there, but in my experience better returns can be found spending money on dacs and preamps. Not to say it's not well worth playing with...