That will definitely keep things more tidy. I’ve done something similar except for the purpose of switching Vxo and having all digital inputs plug directly via an edge connector. 🙂
Nice solution Franco, cool.
Personally Ive never liked the way tridents wobble and float even though they've never given problems in the years i've run them. So its a mechanical solution as much as electrical.
I am however in 2 minds about grounding the 4 transformers supplies feeding the buffalo, so I've given myself 2 options:
1. Grounding transformers and pre-regs right at the the Trident grounds.
2. Grounding all transformers all at Vd and other components at the Trident Grounds.
I expect option 1 to be how I go as this should avoid mixing digital and analogue grounds keeping current loops local.
Option 2 as backup if I'm getting ground bounce for some reason. Hard to tell what might happen without seeing the actual Buffalo PCB layout so rather have a plan B.
Either way Option 1 has transformers, Pre-regs and Trident Regs for each supply star grounded at the trident ground entry point to the buffalo.
Pre-regs also have the option for a sense ground as I may play around with alternatives at some point.
Personally Ive never liked the way tridents wobble and float even though they've never given problems in the years i've run them. So its a mechanical solution as much as electrical.
I am however in 2 minds about grounding the 4 transformers supplies feeding the buffalo, so I've given myself 2 options:
1. Grounding transformers and pre-regs right at the the Trident grounds.
2. Grounding all transformers all at Vd and other components at the Trident Grounds.
I expect option 1 to be how I go as this should avoid mixing digital and analogue grounds keeping current loops local.
Option 2 as backup if I'm getting ground bounce for some reason. Hard to tell what might happen without seeing the actual Buffalo PCB layout so rather have a plan B.
Either way Option 1 has transformers, Pre-regs and Trident Regs for each supply star grounded at the trident ground entry point to the buffalo.
Pre-regs also have the option for a sense ground as I may play around with alternatives at some point.
SSD and Raberry Pi mSata to USB converter board from Startech I prepped a while back.
I LIKE the Startech boards, they are constructed to toggle between USB power and offboard power. Perfect to align with design goal of max Power supply isolation between components. USB will supply signal only.
The RPi PCB mounting pattern is also pretty common so likely to make replacement parts or addtional parts easy to mount in future.
I LIKE the Startech boards, they are constructed to toggle between USB power and offboard power. Perfect to align with design goal of max Power supply isolation between components. USB will supply signal only.
The RPi PCB mounting pattern is also pretty common so likely to make replacement parts or addtional parts easy to mount in future.
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Zero4U mini USB hub I also picked up a while back. Dinky little unit.Will allow ability to plug in a USB thumb drive via back socket, And for additional SSD drives if needed though unlikely to be necessary with 2TB units being freely available now.
I stopped buying hirez formats several years ago as damned if I can hear the difference between them and redbook standard. Production quality makes far more difference than sample rate when I did a few A-B comparsions buying the same album twice. So saved as FLACs I dont need vast amounts of storage.
Again, you can see ability to power from separate Supply rather than via USB.
I stopped buying hirez formats several years ago as damned if I can hear the difference between them and redbook standard. Production quality makes far more difference than sample rate when I did a few A-B comparsions buying the same album twice. So saved as FLACs I dont need vast amounts of storage.
Again, you can see ability to power from separate Supply rather than via USB.
UPS battery for the BBB I ordered online a couple of weeka ago. Bricked one BBB a few years back but been lucky since. Need a more robust approach to power down than crossed fingers though.
I seem to remember having the devil of a time trying to get the battery to work with the Hermes first time around which is why I never implemented it. Will have to have a go again gah.
I seem to remember having the devil of a time trying to get the battery to work with the Hermes first time around which is why I never implemented it. Will have to have a go again gah.
So the online shopping is almost complete, he he. Then the assembly starts, which annoyingly may be a couple of weeks before can start. Work is hotting up and I'm away most weekends in June. Maybe snatch an hour here and there and grind it out.
I quite agree re: engineering quality vs mere high data rates. You will have the fun option to revisit the comparison between red book and ‘deeper’ data formats. I don’t find any great advantage to three-digit sample rates, though greater than 16 bit depth is always appreciated. With your new rig you will become even more aware of production quality - sometimes a mixed blessing! 🙂
My Buffalo build emits a lot of heat. Whenever I turn it on to play I remove the top cover, which has much more ventilation holes that shown on the top cover for this project. I do not know if it has to do with the regulated power supplies implemented, Placid HD and Placid HD bipolar. The heat sinks get pretty hot, that is expected, but the top cover if not removed, really, really gets hot. I do not know if this is healthy for the unit and how to mitigate it, other wise, than removing the top.
Maybe Francolargo could shed some light on this! Do your top plate in your builds get hot too?
And, ced, congratulations your build will be awesome!
Maybe Francolargo could shed some light on this! Do your top plate in your builds get hot too?
And, ced, congratulations your build will be awesome!
Hi Manolo! You should probably check how much current the placids are shunting when they have warmed up. The DAC does not need very much extra. I’d say ~60 mv? The I/V might sound a tiny bit more crisp with 85mv shunting. Then it’s a matter of airflow. Is there a vent source under the placids? And of course, a convective exit route over the heat sinks is pretty fundamental. But getting the shunting right is the first step.
I have the same problem with my current folded cascode I/V stage. Runs with too much voltage overhead so the shunts on that burn off far too many watts, I've always had the lid off. too, always made me nervous.
One of the reasons for this build- run cooler and get a damn lid on the thing finally. You can try heatsinking directly to the chassis if your setup allows which improves thermal management and is also a cheap solution. Or run your shunts with as little voltage overhead as possible, reduce the power you need to burn off.
One of the reasons for this build- run cooler and get a damn lid on the thing finally. You can try heatsinking directly to the chassis if your setup allows which improves thermal management and is also a cheap solution. Or run your shunts with as little voltage overhead as possible, reduce the power you need to burn off.
PCBs also arrived from china.
Regulator mounting board for the tridents, fingers crossed all the header pads are in the right position. I had to reverse engineer from a pcb image that was posted years ago.
Regulator mounting board for the tridents, fingers crossed all the header pads are in the right position. I had to reverse engineer from a pcb image that was posted years ago.
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dimensions came from this, sized up in photoshop. Looks like its a CAD export so measurements should be pretty accurate
Loose fitting of the Mercury-Buffalo-Regulator mounting board- Tridents with headers.
Boom it all fits, all the headers line up perfectly, 3rd board down. Damn, I LOVE it when a plan comes together.
Well actually, almost. Haven't checked the AVCC pads yet. As usual, its some of the minor fixings that are missing in this case 4 pin males headers. None in my parts bin, sigh. But need to get some slightly smaller PCB standoffs too, so putting together a BOM of missing parts.
Main thing is it works. Need to triple check all the pins too, if I've made the smallest mistake I'll almost certainly fry the buffalo, so gonna triple check that.
Boom it all fits, all the headers line up perfectly, 3rd board down. Damn, I LOVE it when a plan comes together.
Well actually, almost. Haven't checked the AVCC pads yet. As usual, its some of the minor fixings that are missing in this case 4 pin males headers. None in my parts bin, sigh. But need to get some slightly smaller PCB standoffs too, so putting together a BOM of missing parts.
Main thing is it works. Need to triple check all the pins too, if I've made the smallest mistake I'll almost certainly fry the buffalo, so gonna triple check that.
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