Hello,
Feel happy about other people start trying to improve the Wave IO / Aurender couple. I already bought a big Lundahl LL2733 with a current rating of 500 mA ( So higher Henry than the standard one). First i am gonna try this with the same Belleson regulator connected right at the wave IO circuit. So it will just be another transformer ( because of the higher DCR of the bigger choke) and a bigger choke. It will probably give an improvement.
There are things that could be added then.
The next thing could be replacing the wave io but i wanna hear some opinions from people that are not making money when i decide to make the change!
Greetings, eduard
P.s in the attachment you can see i am still spending time on my DRD tube power amp power supply. Test set up for a 700 volt DC power supply with the LL2773 100mA ( so about 30H) choke input and a diy stainless steel cap for the R core and choke. All the caps will look the same but with different dimensions so still some work to be done.
Feel happy about other people start trying to improve the Wave IO / Aurender couple. I already bought a big Lundahl LL2733 with a current rating of 500 mA ( So higher Henry than the standard one). First i am gonna try this with the same Belleson regulator connected right at the wave IO circuit. So it will just be another transformer ( because of the higher DCR of the bigger choke) and a bigger choke. It will probably give an improvement.
There are things that could be added then.
The next thing could be replacing the wave io but i wanna hear some opinions from people that are not making money when i decide to make the change!
Greetings, eduard
P.s in the attachment you can see i am still spending time on my DRD tube power amp power supply. Test set up for a 700 volt DC power supply with the LL2773 100mA ( so about 30H) choke input and a diy stainless steel cap for the R core and choke. All the caps will look the same but with different dimensions so still some work to be done.
Attachments
Hey Doede and others - regarding Kali, I have an update at my end. I had successfully integrated Kali between the WaveIO and DDDAC motherboard. I initially felt a change and was liking it in the first go. However, upon extended listening, I was sensing something was off. I had several of my friends whose ears I trust also come and listen to the setup and they were not satisfied. I was feeling issues with phase/time alignment which was muddying up the overall sound. One day when I had enough, I was troubleshooting and as one of the steps, I removed the Kali board and the magic was back. The output became clearer and everything seemed to sound clearer and accurate. More than anything, it just started sounding right!! Not sure what worked and what dint. I have used Kali with the Rpi and can confirm there is no issues with the hardware. In one of the previous posts, I also shared the pin connection diagram on this thread. I won't probably be introducing the Kali in my DAC build for the foreseeable future unless someone has any troubleshooting pointers. Let us know what your findings are.I am maybe a bit early, and normally never do this (coming out early) but as this is really a theme lately, let me share something I did and my thoughts around it ... I still need / want to do some more listening and other tests, but haha - time - !! Maybe round Christmas (two weeks off)
Motivated by all positive stories I bought a standard Kali reclocker and connected it to an ("old" board without Tent) 8-Deck DAC with Sowter output, which I have standing around for tests etc. I made it so, I could quickly switch between with and without reclocking - As Source it uses the Waveio and the Aurender.
I did not have time to do long and intensive listening tests. To be honest and my disappointment, it was not clear at all in the beginning if this was better or not - May be I was expecting big revealing differences and was not sitting on the tip of my chair, listening to small details. So what could cause this? DDDAC users did report back success? Am I getting old ears or what?
So my thoughts around this are the following and NEED further testing from my side:
1. Audio creative used the IAN and had best results after the clocks were changed to some super clocks. Is the standard Kali not good enough to reveal? Need to check...
2. Based on the above point, I am using Waveio and Aurender. This was compared to PC/Waveaudio a very audible and immediately clear to hear improvement (Is it maybe so, that timing with Aurender is already so much better that the standard Kali reclocker does not causes that jump again? And I was may be expecting that to happen again and hence was disappointed?)
3. Is the Setup with PI and Berry in its standard form less good in timing than the Aurender and hence causes the positives results relatively spoken? (I cannot check that as I do not have that as source available)
4. May be the combination of the Aurender and Waveio is already so good that a standard Kali is not the medicine it needs ?
Food for thought...
So what I should actually DO to better understand how impact and causes are related, I should:
1. Test the same setup I have with a (poor) PC to Waveio and see if now the reclocker shows more improvement? If the Aurender improvement is the better timing of the source, that would explain something, wouldn't it?
2. Next step: get an Ian board with the super clocks and make my own opinion of Ian versus kali and clocks versus super clocks ? That would also explain something
exiting hobby time ahead
Hope to get some time soon!
I just wanted to share this - even though I feel I am only half way through this
Hi kartick, just search for Kali, WaveIO, DDDAC and mbrennwa on diyAudio and you'll find a number of posts about a number of things to consider.
My brief summary of all this:
My brief summary of all this:
- If it works well without too much fussing around: be happy that you got a "good" Kali. Don't touch anything and enjoy it.
- Otherwise: don't waste your time. Look elsewhere for a reclocker that actually does what it says on the box.
Hey, very well aware and versed with all your repeated feedback re: Kali. I think I am past bothering about making the Kali work. I dont think there is a hardware issue with it but it is not giving me the SQ I desire. Period!! Instead, I am going to change my motherboard from the red one to the blue, which I have recently acquired. Will connect it via SPIDF to other sources and enjoy the sound!!
Hi guys,
my dddac is up and running for some time now, and yesterday i did some testing against way more expensive DACs. The dddac with 4 boards, kali + isolator and sowters delivers the quality I expected and it matches or outperforms most of the more expensive DACs and I'm super happy with it.
One thing I noticed though, is that it lacks a bit of dynamics compared to the best DAC in the test (>10k€, you can guess the brand as it's not the subject I won't name it) and has kind of a fatter bass, by that I mean its kind of more dominant in the deep lows but not quite as exact. Anyone else noticed this and what the culprit could be? Sowters, power, cabeling or source?
With the "lacking" dynamics I mean that it feels as if there the dddac has bit of a problem falling back to 0. Let's say on a dynamic scale from 0 to 10 (0 beeing complete silence and 10 the loudest in the song) the dddac has no problem shooting to a crystal clear and realistic 10 but it falls back only to 1 or 1.5 ^^
I hope I could describe it good enough to understand what I mean.
Don't get me wrong here the dddac is the best DAC I ever owned and probably will own (a complete review of my experience will follow when I have more time) and surely fights well above it's price class. You really need an A/B test and quite some experience to recognise this minor flaws ( I was made aware of it by a friend and that's when I started hearing it, before that I just heard a little difference but couldn't point it out and wasn't even sure if its better or worse in a whole)
Greetings oli
my dddac is up and running for some time now, and yesterday i did some testing against way more expensive DACs. The dddac with 4 boards, kali + isolator and sowters delivers the quality I expected and it matches or outperforms most of the more expensive DACs and I'm super happy with it.
One thing I noticed though, is that it lacks a bit of dynamics compared to the best DAC in the test (>10k€, you can guess the brand as it's not the subject I won't name it) and has kind of a fatter bass, by that I mean its kind of more dominant in the deep lows but not quite as exact. Anyone else noticed this and what the culprit could be? Sowters, power, cabeling or source?
With the "lacking" dynamics I mean that it feels as if there the dddac has bit of a problem falling back to 0. Let's say on a dynamic scale from 0 to 10 (0 beeing complete silence and 10 the loudest in the song) the dddac has no problem shooting to a crystal clear and realistic 10 but it falls back only to 1 or 1.5 ^^
I hope I could describe it good enough to understand what I mean.
Don't get me wrong here the dddac is the best DAC I ever owned and probably will own (a complete review of my experience will follow when I have more time) and surely fights well above it's price class. You really need an A/B test and quite some experience to recognise this minor flaws ( I was made aware of it by a friend and that's when I started hearing it, before that I just heard a little difference but couldn't point it out and wasn't even sure if its better or worse in a whole)
Greetings oli
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I have replaced Kali with Ian’s fifo with Accusilicon, and it’s another ballgame. Much better and not analytic in a bad way. Very detailed and warm.
As I am writing now, I have a Berkeley Reference dac for testing up against dddac, and my dddac with overkill psu ( chokes, big capacitor bank and big trafos) is much more dynamic in the lower frequencies. The listening window seems to expand further backwards and big drums have much more autority when I turn up the volume to realistic levels, this is easy to hear. I have had several dac contenders in my setup, and my ddac is still on top.
As I am writing now, I have a Berkeley Reference dac for testing up against dddac, and my dddac with overkill psu ( chokes, big capacitor bank and big trafos) is much more dynamic in the lower frequencies. The listening window seems to expand further backwards and big drums have much more autority when I turn up the volume to realistic levels, this is easy to hear. I have had several dac contenders in my setup, and my ddac is still on top.
I am not (yet?) familiar with Ians reclocker goodies. Is it possible to buy the board with the Accusilicon clocks installed, or do I need to tweak it myself?
I just ordered a fifo with clocks, so I have some experiments for Christmas holidays.
I will report back !
I spent some time listening with the 5v 3045 regulator and it has out performed the original LF50.
I decided to try the 3.3v versions on the main board.
The difference is much better. I often have to listen for a week or two for parts to settle down before serious listening sessions.
I was pleasantly surprised that the sound quality was better straight from first switch on and a cold dac.
I recommend using the 3045 regulator in the 5v and 3.3v positions on the main board, you will be very pleased with the sound quality.
I decided to try the 3.3v versions on the main board.
The difference is much better. I often have to listen for a week or two for parts to settle down before serious listening sessions.
I was pleasantly surprised that the sound quality was better straight from first switch on and a cold dac.
I recommend using the 3045 regulator in the 5v and 3.3v positions on the main board, you will be very pleased with the sound quality.
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Cool! Do you recommend using the U.FL connectors or the 40 pin header for the I2S connection to the DDDAC?
Okay!
Notes to myself:
(1) Try to find the box where I put my 3045 regulators and install them on the DDDAC boards.
(2) Try Ian's FiFo with my RPi!
...but first I have to complete some unfinished work! The xovers of the Open Source Monkey Coffins are still missing a cap, the Babelfish Aleph J needs work, and the the boxes with the Aleph heatsinks are still blocking my workspace... too much good stuff going on at the moment!
Thank´s for sharing.
I am no expert, but as far I can see, the 3.3V reg is supply for the spdif receiver and Tent clock, so if you use only i2s it would be of no importance?
Theo
mbrennwa @
I use pin 12,35 and 40 for i2s to dac mainboard, and don’t forget gnd. Here you can choose between many, I use pin 6.
I think puma is right about LF 30. I have only replaced LF 50 with an LT-3045 from Ldovr.
Doede@
You can look forward to Ian’s fifo with Accusilicon, I’m still very impressed.
I use pin 12,35 and 40 for i2s to dac mainboard, and don’t forget gnd. Here you can choose between many, I use pin 6.
I think puma is right about LF 30. I have only replaced LF 50 with an LT-3045 from Ldovr.
Doede@
You can look forward to Ian’s fifo with Accusilicon, I’m still very impressed.
