try changing the filter on the 8741 or upsample, most prefer it to the 8740, its what I plan on using with the waveio, so you make me nervous.
I have one built with 8740 and am trying to figure if it is worthwhile to use the 8741 on another pcb. I do not care about DSD nor do I consider a few extra dB worthwhile but the sound matters. If it cannot beat the BB1704 I will not care at all. Have you compared to Buffalo?
@Wolfsin
Depends of which output stage you use on the BII and Opus but if I compare with the same one (IVY III) the BII is a little more precise, without being clinical. Better imaging and depth overall. If you're a fan of bass, the Wolfson 8741 is a winner on that area. It is not over exaggerated, just tighter and more defined. Goes a little deeper.
Other that that, they're both extremely palpable and vocals are outstanding. However, they're both OS DACs so I don't know if it is what you're looking for.
Have not played with the filters on the 8741 but when my Arduino is in place, I'll definitely try them.
I have not tried the BB1704 just 1794 but did not make any comparison.
Ciao!
Do
Depends of which output stage you use on the BII and Opus but if I compare with the same one (IVY III) the BII is a little more precise, without being clinical. Better imaging and depth overall. If you're a fan of bass, the Wolfson 8741 is a winner on that area. It is not over exaggerated, just tighter and more defined. Goes a little deeper.
Other that that, they're both extremely palpable and vocals are outstanding. However, they're both OS DACs so I don't know if it is what you're looking for.
Have not played with the filters on the 8741 but when my Arduino is in place, I'll definitely try them.
I have not tried the BB1704 just 1794 but did not make any comparison.
Ciao!
Do
Stressing the WaveIO
Sorry about taking this thread into uncharted OT waters re DACs.
I have been listening to lots of 24/96 but that is as high a bit rate as I can stress WaveIO with until I get the Wolfson going. I have been doing all the worst kinds of things, like running with USB power from a portable with WiFi bitz and it is working almost perfectly. Congratulations.
I love to 'break' things so can hardly wait to get the WM8740s working so I can double the data rate
Sorry about taking this thread into uncharted OT waters re DACs.
I have been listening to lots of 24/96 but that is as high a bit rate as I can stress WaveIO with until I get the Wolfson going. I have been doing all the worst kinds of things, like running with USB power from a portable with WiFi bitz and it is working almost perfectly. Congratulations.
I love to 'break' things so can hardly wait to get the WM8740s working so I can double the data rate
Say yes to STRESS!
Hey guyz, Thesycon has some neat free utilities that dump interesting info, particularly regarding latencies, on Winderz boxes. These are totally free when used on a non-commercial basis and are downloadable from the Thesycon website.
Wolfsin is still working to 'break' WaveIO but all he gets is beautiful music
Keep in mind that a problem can be caused by drivers unrelated to WaveIO so it may be worthwhile to check your computer(s) even before your WaveIO arrives.
Hey guyz, Thesycon has some neat free utilities that dump interesting info, particularly regarding latencies, on Winderz boxes. These are totally free when used on a non-commercial basis and are downloadable from the Thesycon website.
Wolfsin is still working to 'break' WaveIO but all he gets is beautiful music
Keep in mind that a problem can be caused by drivers unrelated to WaveIO so it may be worthwhile to check your computer(s) even before your WaveIO arrives.
Well, I'm having few health issues mostly due to the crazy weather here in Romania so I have to stay at home and take care of myself for few days. On the other hand I'm trying to do my best to finish what I started but this condition does not help me at all. Moreover, there are other concerns related to delivery of some parts .. again: weather.
Kind regards,
L
Kind regards,
L
WaveIO first impressions
My WaveIO card arrived yesterday. First I must commend Lucien on craftsmanship and attention to detail. The card was beautifully packaged for shipping in a static free envelope and tons of bubble wrap. Even included carefully wrapped standoffs. Nice touch!
The card itself is a work of electronic art. Beautifully laid out and executed. Extremely clean soldering. I didn't know if I wanted to install it or put it on display!
I have to travel for a week, so I wanted to plug it in quickly to get a first impression. I hooked it up with very temporary setup using I2S cables that are 3x longer than needed and powering off the USB cable. I have built a nice low noise 5v reg and have set aside some blackgate caps for a nice little power supply, but all that will wait for a couple of weeks.
First sound impressions despite these limitations are very promising. Very detailed and effortless sound with lots of clear extension at both ends. My DAC is happy with 44.1 to 96 sample rates. I tried out some high res files with great results.
It will be a while until I will comment fully on sound quality. It would not do it justice. It is new and not broken in. Also, I run CMP/Cplay on an XP machine. Normally XP is stripped down to its bare essentials leading to greatly improved sound. Since I had to install the drivers, I had to go back to a reasonably complete version of XP to get the install to work. There are obviously some dlls that the drivers need that I normally remove. I'll have to figure out its needed dlls before I can go back to a fully optimized XP and hear what WaveIO is fully capable of.
Again, first impressions are very favorable. Thanks Lucian for a nice piece of work.
My WaveIO card arrived yesterday. First I must commend Lucien on craftsmanship and attention to detail. The card was beautifully packaged for shipping in a static free envelope and tons of bubble wrap. Even included carefully wrapped standoffs. Nice touch!
The card itself is a work of electronic art. Beautifully laid out and executed. Extremely clean soldering. I didn't know if I wanted to install it or put it on display!
I have to travel for a week, so I wanted to plug it in quickly to get a first impression. I hooked it up with very temporary setup using I2S cables that are 3x longer than needed and powering off the USB cable. I have built a nice low noise 5v reg and have set aside some blackgate caps for a nice little power supply, but all that will wait for a couple of weeks.
First sound impressions despite these limitations are very promising. Very detailed and effortless sound with lots of clear extension at both ends. My DAC is happy with 44.1 to 96 sample rates. I tried out some high res files with great results.
It will be a while until I will comment fully on sound quality. It would not do it justice. It is new and not broken in. Also, I run CMP/Cplay on an XP machine. Normally XP is stripped down to its bare essentials leading to greatly improved sound. Since I had to install the drivers, I had to go back to a reasonably complete version of XP to get the install to work. There are obviously some dlls that the drivers need that I normally remove. I'll have to figure out its needed dlls before I can go back to a fully optimized XP and hear what WaveIO is fully capable of.
Again, first impressions are very favorable. Thanks Lucian for a nice piece of work.
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I'd be interested in hearing what sort of regs people are using with these boards. I'm trying to decide between a lm317 based one or some LiFePO4 batteries, batteries will be much better quality result I think but the inconvenience of charging might annoy me ...
Has anyone tried a few different types of supplies for the WaveIO?
Has anyone tried a few different types of supplies for the WaveIO?
Indeed.
With a little digging we can find a way to have them always on a "smart" charger (charger disconnects when there is current being drawn from the battery and goes back to charging once the device is off - also charger automatically stops at full charge).
I think only jkenny bothered to look it up but I guess he had a stronger incentive, using it in the modded HiFaces he sells.
Indeed.
With a little digging we can find a way to have them always on a "smart" charger (charger disconnects when there is current being drawn from the battery and goes back to charging once the device is off - also charger automatically stops at full charge).
I think only jkenny bothered to look it up but I guess he had a stronger incentive, using it in the modded HiFaces he sells.
Hi TheShaman,
Since you're bringing this up, do you have a source for this type of schematics that everyone here interested in a battery setup could benefit from?
It would be interesting to find a good charging circuit that does all this. I have searched myself but never really found anything worth trying. Maybe I should be doing more digging but with all the projects I have running, I have had much less time. So if you know, please do share your knowledge!
Ciao!
Do
As the only representative of the accounting department 'current'ly online, let me remind everyone of the extraordinarily high ability of digital signals to withstand power supply noise. This is exactly the reason Russ extended the ability to separate digital from analog supplies to the edge of the TPA cards.
Given that WavIO is on the power hungry side and requires 5v whereas the Opus, for example, wants 7.5v and then reregulates, it is cumbersome to use a common digital power source for both. It comes down to the added noise of isolation or providing two voltages from a single powSupp. I stumbled on some tiny, stackable regulator modules that are ideal for this application. The eBay seller calls them RP05-PCB linear voltage regulator module PCB kit but you get just one or more pcbs, no 'kit'. You could, for example provide 3.3, 5, and 7.5v all from a common supply so a variety of digital modules could share the same digital supply ground and then not require isolation. By providing a totally separate analog supply for the dac, and spending to get low noise there, the overall result should cost less. End of accounting department memo.
I continue to be amazed by the WaveIO. Thanks Lucian.
Given that WavIO is on the power hungry side and requires 5v whereas the Opus, for example, wants 7.5v and then reregulates, it is cumbersome to use a common digital power source for both. It comes down to the added noise of isolation or providing two voltages from a single powSupp. I stumbled on some tiny, stackable regulator modules that are ideal for this application. The eBay seller calls them RP05-PCB linear voltage regulator module PCB kit but you get just one or more pcbs, no 'kit'. You could, for example provide 3.3, 5, and 7.5v all from a common supply so a variety of digital modules could share the same digital supply ground and then not require isolation. By providing a totally separate analog supply for the dac, and spending to get low noise there, the overall result should cost less. End of accounting department memo.
I continue to be amazed by the WaveIO. Thanks Lucian.
In addition to being able to withstand some noise, digital also creates a lot of noise on the supply lines due to basically passing around square waves all the time. i.e. Not only is it more convenient to separate digital from analog since the digital can deal with a noisier supply, but it's easier to keep the analog clean if it is separate. Many DAC chip data sheets show details of PCB layout for how to bring the separate supplies to the chip, which is often the only place that digital and analog meet.
I'm sure you're right that clock jitter may need filtered supplies, but I still wouldn't feed a clock supply to an analog circuit, so separate is good.
Thats why you synch reclock (align) after isolation directly in front of the DAC, what ever happens on the digital side is a mute point if this is done well. The issue is you must use the same clock to drive the Xmos chip.
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My understanding of reclocking is deficient. Is the use of the term reclocking 100% interchangeable with ASRC or is there some other method? How is this data alignment achieved?