Did you notice any audible improvement in sound over the BT in or headphone in??
>Did you notice any audible improvement in sound over the BT in or headphone in??
Well, I think I hear more dynamics, like the difference between an internet stream and a ordinary flac CD rip off your server or USB disk. It's sounding pretty good. I'm in the process of trying a different "Xmos" based USB board. This has the advantage of having dedicated clock oscillator chips vs just a xtal for the PCM2706.
The idea is to see if I can get an improvement "upgrading" on the PCM2706, then upgrading the clock chips on that Xmos board. I'm hoping it works at all to drive the Zoudio amp; if so, another board in the list of what works!
I guess I'm pretty enamored with a USB connected amp, like the USB connected DACs I used to use. It'd be great to figure out a switch for the front panel, so I can select USB / BT before power on. BT is just so convenient for some background during lunch, connected to the cell phone...
Well, I think I hear more dynamics, like the difference between an internet stream and a ordinary flac CD rip off your server or USB disk. It's sounding pretty good. I'm in the process of trying a different "Xmos" based USB board. This has the advantage of having dedicated clock oscillator chips vs just a xtal for the PCM2706.
The idea is to see if I can get an improvement "upgrading" on the PCM2706, then upgrading the clock chips on that Xmos board. I'm hoping it works at all to drive the Zoudio amp; if so, another board in the list of what works!
I guess I'm pretty enamored with a USB connected amp, like the USB connected DACs I used to use. It'd be great to figure out a switch for the front panel, so I can select USB / BT before power on. BT is just so convenient for some background during lunch, connected to the cell phone...
A Twisted Pear Otto do that sort of switching I think - the problem will be that BT is tightly integrated into the board so accessing it's digital output is likely to be problematic?
OTTO-II 2:1 Switching Module
OTTO-II 2:1 Switching Module
I got my XU208 XMOS based DAC card connected to the AIO4CH via I2S. So add another card style to the list of working modules.
Regarding the BT switch, I'm hoping it'll be as easy as the jumper shown previously and in the doc for this. With the jumper connected, BT receiver never wakes up, leaving the clocks and data lines "open circuited" I assume - allowing those to be driven by an external USB to I2S device.
I'm hoping if the USB to I2S board doesn't get 5V power, it does pretty much the same, allowing the internal BT chip to take over the I2S. So the switch would - in one position;
1. Make the jumper connection.
2. Apply +5 to the USB DAC card.
In the other position, the opposite of course -
1. Break the jumper connection.
2. Remove +5 from the USB DAC card.
The switch would have to be positioned before power up the amplifier - I wouldnt expect it to work on the fly.
Regarding the BT switch, I'm hoping it'll be as easy as the jumper shown previously and in the doc for this. With the jumper connected, BT receiver never wakes up, leaving the clocks and data lines "open circuited" I assume - allowing those to be driven by an external USB to I2S device.
I'm hoping if the USB to I2S board doesn't get 5V power, it does pretty much the same, allowing the internal BT chip to take over the I2S. So the switch would - in one position;
1. Make the jumper connection.
2. Apply +5 to the USB DAC card.
In the other position, the opposite of course -
1. Break the jumper connection.
2. Remove +5 from the USB DAC card.
The switch would have to be positioned before power up the amplifier - I wouldnt expect it to work on the fly.
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Would like to know is the Wondom 4x100watts amp with DSP is it comparable to Zoudio or better. Wondom is half the price too and more power than Zudio
I am looking at making a powerful boomBox 2.1
WONDOM | STORE
I am looking at making a powerful boomBox 2.1
WONDOM | STORE
The Wondom uses the Adau1701, which is a much more capable DSP.
In general SigmaStudio is just a lot more powerful, more versatile and not difficult to use.
Personally I would upgrade the inductors, but the Zoudio has the same issue.
I have a thread about this. It seems the wondom has Analog to digital conversions quite a few times. But the zoudio is pretty much 100% digital
I have a thread about this. It seems the wondom has Analog to digital conversions quite a few times. But the zoudio is pretty much 100% digital
I have to dive into what pins are available on the Wondom board, but it's not so difficult to just connect i2s (from s/pdif connection or something) into the ADAU1701
Might you share the issue you perceive and what to replace the existing inductors with? I and many others I'm sure are interested!
I'm finding these "I2S input" amps do benefit from the quality of the I2S signal. From what I'm hearing so far, at least with the AIO4CH, it IS worth getting a better than run of the mill I2S source.
So when you see all the reclocker, low jitter boards, Fi-Fo hats and oscillator add-ons - I think they do make a difference. The BT connection sounds pretty good, but you can do better.
I'm sure the Wondom with its ADAU1701 would respond positively as well, by using a high quality I2S source. Then it comes down to your own like of the DACs in 1701 - and whatever amp chip that board uses. A question I have, that I dont know if it's a known bit of data about it. Seems like Wondom doesnt want you to know -
Nope. I read the Pi's GPIO pin implementation is notoriously jittery, so I went the USB DAC route. If I was going to use the rPi's pins, I'd want to go through an Allo FiFo reclocker hat - or maybe the Ian Canada board - to "fix things up".
Aware that the pi can drive a multitude of USB DACs, I decided to go that route. I can do simple stuff like power the DAC board from my own +5, vs the USB power. Change the clock oscillator chip to better ones (more of a physical dexterity challenge to do and something I need to get done). So far, the sound improvement is promising.
I was using a HiFiBerry AMP2, which ran off the Pi's GPIO pins. I assume it would have sounded better going through an Allo FiFo reclocker first. Alas, my speaker design needed 4 amps and the DSP implementation of a Xover, so I chose to upgrade to Zoudio to support the new speakers.
Aware that the pi can drive a multitude of USB DACs, I decided to go that route. I can do simple stuff like power the DAC board from my own +5, vs the USB power. Change the clock oscillator chip to better ones (more of a physical dexterity challenge to do and something I need to get done). So far, the sound improvement is promising.
I was using a HiFiBerry AMP2, which ran off the Pi's GPIO pins. I assume it would have sounded better going through an Allo FiFo reclocker first. Alas, my speaker design needed 4 amps and the DSP implementation of a Xover, so I chose to upgrade to Zoudio to support the new speakers.
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The distortion will be a lot less with better inductors.
Some of these companies even use iron powder core inductors, which is the worst.
Try the biggest CoilCraft MSS serie, or equivalent from another brand.
Wurth, Sumida, etc
As a rule of thumb, the peak (of the sine wave) of the output current, should be the rated 10% current drop of the inductor at most.
Also the flatter the inductance curve the better.
Oh yes, I forgot Wondom also uses BT.
So you can literally rewire the output of the BT module and you have your I2s input.
@Christian K
The 2 amp chips receive the same stereo signal.
In the software you select which channel it selects (or combines).
@danb11
There should be a sealing strip included in the package.
If that was not included in your package, im sorry.
Its indeed good to maintain an airtight seal.
@b_force
The AIO4CH uses the Murata 1274AS-H-100M as used in the Texas Instruments reference circuit.
Could there be a slightly better option? Probably, but it should be pretty high performance by default.
The 2 amp chips receive the same stereo signal.
In the software you select which channel it selects (or combines).
@danb11
There should be a sealing strip included in the package.
If that was not included in your package, im sorry.
Its indeed good to maintain an airtight seal.
@b_force
The AIO4CH uses the Murata 1274AS-H-100M as used in the Texas Instruments reference circuit.
Could there be a slightly better option? Probably, but it should be pretty high performance by default.
The saturation curve of those is not really something to be proud of.
Very soft. This reflects in the numbers of the datasheet.
The 10% inductance loss is around 6A peak.
Which will give around 72W @ 4ohm ("RMS")
Or only 36W @ 2ohm (PBTL mode) or 145W used for 8ohm loads.
I personally wouldn't call the numbers shown in the datasheets high-performance.
More just decent/average performance.
Have you done your own measurements?
I have seen TI cherry picking their numbers quite a lot (there is an amusing thread about the TPA3128 on the TI forum itself)
Something like a MSS1278 (or a cheaper equivalent by Wurth or Sumida, or other brands) will perform so much better for just a few cents extra.
They are also just only an hair bigger.
But there are many other better alternatives as well.
Very soft. This reflects in the numbers of the datasheet.
The 10% inductance loss is around 6A peak.
Which will give around 72W @ 4ohm ("RMS")
Or only 36W @ 2ohm (PBTL mode) or 145W used for 8ohm loads.
I personally wouldn't call the numbers shown in the datasheets high-performance.
More just decent/average performance.
Have you done your own measurements?
I have seen TI cherry picking their numbers quite a lot (there is an amusing thread about the TPA3128 on the TI forum itself)
Something like a MSS1278 (or a cheaper equivalent by Wurth or Sumida, or other brands) will perform so much better for just a few cents extra.
They are also just only an hair bigger.
But there are many other better alternatives as well.