"Reference" TDA1541A DAC with I2S-BUS architecture

[Eldam]

😛 and "Valhalla" you mean ? (vuala = voilà)

 

[dvb projekt]

Hi Oliver,

Long time! My DAC is mothballed at the moment....the old Teradak USB to i2s converter is dead, it seems (It never worked reliably for me anyway). I know that people here have moved on from that device. What are the best options these days for various inputs please?

Many thanks
Lucas

Hi Lucas,

sorry for the late reply, but i am very busy atm.

The only device that could convert multiple inputs (SPDIF coax & optical, AES) to I2S is Ian´s SPDIF/AES Input board, afaik.
The only problem is, that you must use his FIFO ahead.

Best,
Oliver

 

[dvb projekt]

So I made the updates and burned one reg on PCM board accidentally! Anyway it's fixed now!
Sorry, no pics, will provide later.

A question most likely to Oliver 🙂
As a result of my update, I do not get any sound from the TDA chip now (w/o DDNF board). It is set to simultaneous mode as it should for PCM daughter board. All connections are triple checked and are the same as before I added mini coax cables and the DAC was working. The schematics is triple checked as well and is equal to v5.0.
When scope is connected, all 4 outputs (Data L, Data R, BCK, LE) have proper signals. Ian has confirmed that PCM board should be fine, but the output from TDA is completely silent. The only thing that could be is the DAC board I assume.

Unfortunately the worst thing here is that I'm stuck with this issues already for a month 😕 Would very appreciate any help!

Hi dtses,

hmm... strange.

Pleas look 1st to my high-res pictures on flicr. Perhaps you could see a difference to your connection.

Best,
Oliver

 

[dvb projekt]

Well I still have the problem stated further back. No sound either. I'm not using Ian's boards however I have tried the version 5 boards with waveio, aminero, exa with no sound at all. Changed tda1541a chips 3 times, used various output stages, changed caps on the dac chip. Still silence, I do get garbled noise if I change the jumper next to the chip to simultaneously mode.
Really frustrated as I have checked all components numerous times.

Anyone able to help?

Hi PixelPlay,

we need some detailed pictures of your setup to help! 😉

Best,
Oliver

 

[dtses]

Hi dtses,

hmm... strange.

Pleas look 1st to my high-res pictures on flicr. Perhaps you could see a difference to your connection.

Best,
Oliver

thanks, Oliver!
the connection is the same that worked for me before couple of month ago. So it's either PCM board or dead TDA board, not sure if any other option is available. Perhaps TDA chip has failed for some unknown reason 😕 Anyway when I had incorrect connection last time, at least there was some hissing and distortions, now it's complete silence!

Below are the pics of connection and 4 pics with PCM board output (I assume it's working fine?!)

If you have finished v5 board with mini coax sockets, is it possible please to try and check? Alternatively I could try finding another TDA chip, but not sure what could be the reason of it's failure...

 

[LucasAdamson]

Hi Lucas,

sorry for the late reply, but i am very busy atm.

The only device that could convert multiple inputs (SPDIF coax & optical, AES) to I2S is Ian´s SPDIF/AES Input board, afaik.
The only problem is, that you must use his FIFO ahead.

Best,
Oliver

Thanks Oliver. I only need USB input actually. What are the good options for USB to I2S these days?

Is the WaveIO any good?

What about the ebay XMOS Asynchronous USB to I2S converters?

Many thanks
Lucas

 

[dvb projekt]

thanks, Oliver!
the connection is the same that worked for me before couple of month ago. So it's either PCM board or dead TDA board, not sure if any other option is available. Perhaps TDA chip has failed for some unknown reason 😕 Anyway when I had incorrect connection last time, at least there was some hissing and distortions, now it's complete silence!

Below are the pics of connection and 4 pics with PCM board output (I assume it's working fine?!)

If you have finished v5 board with mini coax sockets, is it possible please to try and check? Alternatively I could try finding another TDA chip, but not sure what could be the reason of it's failure...

I saw on your photos that the I2S LED on Ian´s I2S to PCM converter is off. 😱
On mine it is on. How is the connection between the TP USB and Ian´s module?

 

[dvb projekt]

Thanks Oliver. I only need USB input actually. What are the good options for USB to I2S these days?

Is the WaveIO any good?

What about the ebay XMOS Asynchronous USB to I2S converters?

Many thanks
Lucas

Hi Lukas,

the WaveIO is still one of the best. In the meantime i switch to the smaller, isolated one from DIYINHK.

 

[dtses]

I saw on your photos that the I2S LED on Ian´s I2S to PCM converter is off. 😱
On mine it is on. How is the connection between the TP USB and Ian´s module?

believe me, it's always on 🙂 it's just the picture where I disconnected the signal.

it's a spdif board from TP and here is the connection to PCM:

BCK - SD
SCK - MCLK
LRCK - WS
DOUT - SCK

 

[koldby]

believe me, it's always on 🙂 it's just the picture where I disconnected the signal.

it's a spdif board from TP and here is the connection to PCM:

BCK - SD
SCK - MCLK
LRCK - WS
DOUT - SCK

There is the problem!
SD is DOUT and BCK is SCK
Koldby

 

[dtses]

There is the problem!
SD is DOUT and BCK is SCK
Koldby

thanks!
are you sure? as it doesn't work this way either.

 

[koldby]

sd = serial data
mckl = master clock
lrck = left right clock
dout = data out
bck= bit clock
the rest was a little gueswork
Normally lrck is also called word clock so ws was a good guess.
You have a scope so check it with that.
SCK is a little strange.
Koldby

 

[dvb projekt]

thanks!
are you sure? as it doesn't work this way either.

🙁

What is the MCKL frequency from the TP to Ian´s PCM board?.

 

[kokonut]

this is my version of DAC TDA 1541A with 6N2P GainStage

Helo,

i will give a short look at my version of Olivers TDA DAC with the Lampizator/ Tubizator GainStage. A detailed story will follow if wanted.

Best regards

kokonut, carlosz

 

[dvb projekt]

Helo,

i will give a short look at my version of Olivers TDA DAC with the Lampizator/ Tubizator GainStage. A detailed story will follow if wanted.

Best regards

kokonut, carlosz

Go ahead! 😉

 

[dtses]

🙁

What is the MCKL frequency from the TP to Ian´s PCM board?.

Where to check that? 😕

For testing reasons I have disconnected TP and Ian's boards and connected back Amanero that was the only board that I managed to get working without any issues. Now it's not working as well, I get same silence on the output of TDA chip. Here is the connection from Amanero to TDA:

Data -> Data/L (pin 3)
BCLK -> BCK (pin 2)
FSCLK -> FS (pin 1)
Ground -> ground

Pin 27 is switched to i2s mode instead of simultaneous. Pin 4 (Data/R) is set to ground.
My concern it's faulty TDA chip...

 

[Ceglar]

I2S mode pin 4 to pin 2, pin 27 to pin 26 (+5V)

With your PCM board, make sure you're feeding MCK with MCK from your source, and that you have I2S cables connected to the input. Is MCK seated properly?. Also, ufl cables QC can be poor - check for open circuits. Make sure you don't have any shorts - especially with them hardwired at one end like that. As previous poster mentioned, you have problem with I2S signal to the PCM board.

Shane

 

[dvb projekt]

Where to check that? 😕

With your scope 😉

 

[dtses]

I2S mode pin 4 to pin 2, pin 27 to pin 26 (+5V)

With your PCM board, make sure you're feeding MCK with MCK from your source, and that you have I2S cables connected to the input. Is MCK seated properly?. Also, ufl cables QC can be poor - check for open circuits. Make sure you don't have any shorts - especially with them hardwired at one end like that. As previous poster mentioned, you have problem with I2S signal to the PCM board.

Shane

thanks Shane!

I removed PCM board and tried with Amanero, last time it was working with no issues! Is the connection above ok or I mixed up something?

it looks like pin 27 should go to 28th (+5V) according to the manual.
Pin 4 according to Oliver's V5.0 design should go to the ground.

With your scope 😉

thanks! will check it once I figure out why even Amanero refuses to produce any sound!
Scope shows signals for all outputs, so the only possible failure is connection or TDA chip 😕

 

[dtses]

damn, I finally got it working!!!

The problem laid in TDA chip, I removed it from the socket and soldered Amanero's i2s outputs directly and everything went fine. Then made the same with TPA+Ian's PCM board and at last managed to get the sound! Put back in the socket, removed few pcb traces and soldered mini coax cables directly.
I'm very happy now! thanks to everyone!

From the 1st test, the DAC sounds very smoothly with great and deep bass. Bravo 🙂