Asynchronous I2S FIFO project, an ultimate weapon to fight the jitter

[BogdanS]

The Tent shut regulator you are recommending looks to have 80 mA output for 5V version. Not sure if this is enough for the FIFOPI Q7 FPGA...

 

[67339]

Hello,
I asked Guido to make it 100mA and i read or have told that the Fifopi needs around 60 mA.
Guido has been involved in the Grimm audio devices and i send him some Fifopi info and he assured me it will be ok.
Of course, you can wait a few months and i will confirm it.
Greetings Eduard

 

[matmax]

Hi thank you 🙏


I don't know why, but it works now.
I can see the frequency with the Monitor Pi Pro on the isolated GPIO port.

I get a "plop and crackle" sound when I change manualy to the next music or change to any music. If I don't touch anything, with gapless, no problem.
I read somewhere in this thread, other people have the same problem.
I can hear some relays in my dac during the changment files .

I don't know if it's Fifo Pi Q7 bad parameters or other thing somewhere...

I need to resolve this new problem

Hi ,

My DAC is old and unique. This is a Chord DAC64 mk1 (24/192) tweek by Rob Watts himself. The sounds is better than many new upsampling or next-gen DACs and at a very, very high price.

Your solution is the best for me. I hear the big difference now.
Many quality , finess, details and purity.
A big step forward has been taken.

I made a mistake during the first stage of construction. I put Monitor Pi pro on the isolated Recever Pi DDC GPIO.
Afterwards, I put it on the isolated Fifo Q7 GPIO but nothing changed (no frequency's and no Fifo settings in Monitor Pro)
I don't know why, but a few days later, I turned on the prototype and big surprise! the frequency is read on the monitor. And I see a new line at the bottom "FiFo Setting".
Now everything is fine, I can make the right settings as written in the manuals

thanks to all members and big thanks for you to share this project with us

Hi ,

thanks to all members who have help me to resolved my problems .

Now after set FiFo Q7 setting on 1.0ms and actived in "continuous clock mode"

no problem with plop and crackle
But If I use Volumio on the RPi 4 , at any action pause/play/next/ foward/backward.... I hear some relays in my dac during the changment files. Music stop and restart with delay.
I have installed Volumio X86 on a Nuc computer with USB connection, same probleme as RPi .
For example , If I use Daphile on the Nuc with USB on the Recever Pi DDC , I don't have his problem. All working parfaitly
I think is only Volumio , but When I try Volumio o my old Xmos interface, it's work .
I'm lost with this mystic problem

 

[MaxB_70]

Hi,
does anyone know what FifoPi Q7 is shipped with the group buy items VI or VII?

thx

Hi,
items received on last Thursday. FIfoPi Q7 II

 

[andersos]

I received my group buy package this week and I too got the Q7 II.

 

[MaxB_70]

As a newbie in digital transport-DAC , I am writing my first impressions :
Just plugged this afternoon PurePi under RPI4 without LifePO4 batteries (they will arrive on Monday from Audiophonics) , powered with Apple MBPro charger ("Original" one does not supply enough current to power RPI, PurePi and LCD widescreen )

• Ground noise so low !!
• scene very deep and wide
• bass louder, tighter, treble higher.

will be upgraded by mounting FifoPi, UCPure for FIFO and DAC HAT (Eaton UC will arrive soon), SC pure...

Very impressed by Ian job. Many thanks to you guys for all your advice and knowledge.
Regards,
Max

 

[badd99]

Thank you for your response. I checked out their website yesterday, and it looks very interesting. I'm in Canada, and I require 120v as well. Would you be willing to share the specs with me? I need to feed my UC pure as well and you appear to be much more knowledgeable on this subject than I am.

The setup with all three facing like this does indeed look much more aesthetically pleasing.

Let me know what in total you will be powering and I'll tell you what you need

 

[gizmo3]

For me, the room acoustics are more important now, very few people do anything about that

Not me 😁

 

[MtlJazz]

For me, the room acoustics are more important now, very few people do anything about that

So true, room acoustics should not be underestimated when aiming for the best sound quality. And just to push this further its stuff that are hard to fixed electrically...Yes I know about DSP but still I keep DSP to the last 5%...

Room acoustics can have such a significant impact on sound quality, think about it:

1. Reverberation and Reflections: The size, shape, and materials in your room can affect how sound waves reflect and reverberate. Excessive reflections can lead to muddied or blurred sound, while a lack of reflections can make the audio sound dry and lifeless. Properly managing these aspects can greatly improve clarity and imaging.
2. Frequency Response: Rooms can emphasize or attenuate certain frequencies due to standing waves or room modes. This can lead to peaks and dips in the frequency response, affecting the accuracy of what you hear. Correcting these issues with room treatments or EQ can yield a flatter and more neutral response.
3. Soundstage and Imaging: Proper room acoustics can enhance the perceived soundstage and imaging. With well-managed acoustics, you can achieve a more precise and immersive listening experience, with instruments and vocals appearing in their rightful positions.
4. Bass Response: Low-frequency management is particularly crucial. Rooms can cause uneven bass response, with some areas having excessive bass while others lack it. Bass traps and careful placement of subwoofers can help achieve smoother and more balanced bass.
5. Absorption and Diffusion: Strategically placed absorption panels and diffusers can help control sound reflections, reducing unwanted echoes and creating a more controlled acoustic environment.

Hence it's a lifelong undertaking to get right, well, right enough anyway!!

 

[MtlJazz]

I guess most of the people here don't have cupboards filled with books in their living room anymore but you could get from the attic .
I used some panels from Caruso( Italy) to make basstraps,egg crates don't work, you need volume like a small fridge in several corners of the room. Can't help it.

OF course the housing of your digital stacks need improvements too . Some of us have try to persuade others to invest some small change into that but they rather spend big cash on the latest updated prints.
Fifopi Q3 with 1000 € spend on acoustics ( with a little knowledge) sounds way better than a Q7 or even a Q7 mk2 . We will have mk3 before Christmas i guess.
Greetings Eduard

Murs en liege?? Wow, pretty expensive this side of the pond, must be great for absorption

 

[Aiello]

Room acoustics can have such a significant impact on sound quality, think about it:

The whole topic could not have been better summarised

have started to build a few things for the room acoustics
2500x1800mm diffuser built from wood, from floor to ceiling, and absorber with basotect support with very light wood diffuser, laser cut

 

[Aiello]

Not me 😁

I really like it, nice setup

 

[MtlJazz]

Let me know what in total you will be powering and I'll tell you what you need

Well, I just received yesterday the Flagship DAC from Ian!! Xmas allover agin!! yay!! here's what I need to power:

1. #1D FifoPi Q7II (UC Pure 3.3V) Shared with DAC?
2. #4B ES9038Q2M Dual Mono II DAC
3. #6B OPA861 Zero feedback balanced I/V (UC Pure 5V)
4. #19D ReceiverPi DDC
5. #35C StationPi SMT
6. #49B MonitorPi Pro
7. SC Pure 45,1584 & 49,1520 (UC Pure 3.3V)

So far, I have 4x UC-Pure and 5x UC Balancers. I wanted to create a quad setup for the clocks to further reduce ESR... Maybe it sounds a bit excessive! I haven't finished reading everything yet, so I'm not sure what can share the same power rails. Initially, I aimed to avoid using the Raspberry Pi, but I've realized that to benefit from I2S and minimize signal alteration, I'll need to build a streamer to feed the DAC. Maintaining the same topology is crucial, and this should be an exciting project! So, perhaps I need more UC Pure 🤣. My plan is to power the supercaps with the Toroidy, one per stack. That's where I currently stand.

 

[MtlJazz]

Not me 😁

Nice setup, I miss my Audio Physics! 🥲

 

[67339]

Hello,
The supercaps can be powered with any transformer because it is only used for charging the caps.
If you wanna reduce esr most of the total esr is outside the cap.
I think you can read French try finding the articles written by Jean Hiraga le prepre Autograph about connecting big caps and how to reduce esr. Or it could be in one of his power amp writings.
Greetings Eduard

 

[MtlJazz]

Yes, I've read Jean Hiragana; many of his designs still hold up quite well. I firmly adhere to the 'garbage in = garbage out' philosophy. Doing things properly never hurts, in my opinion. I see an audio chain as a big circuit, everything matters, not equally obviously but toroids can be used in many ways so it's never lost.

One effective method to reduce ESR with supercaps is to create quads, as Ian documented a while ago.
I believe the clocks are the most critical components, as everything in the system relies on their accuracy.

My question was directed more towards @badd99, specifically regarding the Toroidy and the specifications required, considering our power grid operates at 120 volts and that he did already ordered from them and was satisfied. Plus they come in shiny silver box so pretty it's to die for! 🤣

I'll be separating the power supplies in different enclosure so no more than 2 toroids at a time. I think I'll use smallest wire using Neutrik connector to feed the components, similar to what holo Audio did with the May...

As my step brother works in an aluminium smelter plan I have access to high purity blocks and may try to design something pretty for this project.

 

[gizmo3]

it plays al ready

The whole topic could not have been better summarised

have started to build a few things for the room acoustics
2500x1800mm diffuser built from wood, from floor to ceiling, and absorber with basotect support with very light wood diffuser, laser cut

Wow! how beautiful and what a job that must have been.
really beautiful.
also the equipment, really nice

 

[67339]

One effective method to reduce ESR with supercaps is to create quads, as Ian documented a while ago.

Hello,
The most effective method to reduce ESR with supercaps is pay much more attention to the way everything is connected.
There is more ESR once you are " departing " the supercap and " arriving " at the track on the board than in the supercap itself.
In my honest opinion ( i am not the one making money here ) you should tackle that first.

The cork i am using are 600×300×3 millimetres tiles. A square meter is about 23 Euros. Add glue and some kind of varnish ( they are delivered waxed, but extra protection is nice) So it is not that expensive and you can do it yourself. A decent wallpaper plus labour is more expensive. My main goal was the looks and creating an irregular surface. There are some tiles that are around 20 millimetres thickness they will probably do some absorbing. They are double the price or more and in some areas around a door post the thickness will look weird.
I have it on the floor( different quality) and on my Altec VOT too.
Greetings,Eduard

 

[67339]

Hello,
Supercap users read this before double up and start ordering a bigger chassis.
Greetings Eduard

 

[MtlJazz]

Hello,
The most effective method to reduce ESR with supercaps is pay much more attention to the way everything is connected.
There is more ESR once you are " departing " the supercap and " arriving " at the track on the board than in the supercap itself.
In my honest opinion ( i am not the one making money here ) you should tackle that first.

All taken care of Eduard, I got 52 AWG wire to make sure connections are good. Thanks for the reminders

BTW, You know what Helios PS is right? Not sure they are Ze "reference" for audio stuff...