MicroSD Memory Card Transport Project

Good news :)

Yamazaki san of Tachyon Limited is delighted to offer a group buy opportunity for the SDTrans384.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/grou...ro-sd-card-digital-transport.html#post4023979

Those like me whom missed out from the previous batches can now get one and appreciate the R&D efforts of both Chiaki and Bunpei san.

***Please refer to the GB page above for purchasing related questions and keep this thread solely for techincal discussion purposes**
 
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I am interested in a SDtransport but somewhat confused about the specifications:
The thread says Micro SD but the specifications for the SDTrans384 says:

"Compatible memory card*
(MiniSD, microSD compatible adapter in combination) up to 2 GB ~ SD*
(MicroSDHC compatible adapter in combination) up to 32 GB ~ SDHC"

So apparently a MiniSD card input and not a MicroSD (useable with an adapter)
Mini SD is a disappearing format (likely very difficult to get any cards in the near future) and is not supported by SDXC. Could one use micro SDXC with adapters?
if I interpret that right the best would be a different (SDXC or micro SDXC ) memory card input for the next batch!
 
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Hi, Monteverdi!

Our project started by using a microSD card. The project evolved and adopted a SD/SDHC card slot in the second generation and supported micro & mini compatibles with adapters.
File systems supported are FAT and FAT32.

As for SDXC, the card is formatted in exFAT of which format is not open for a humble DIY user. Therefore, it's very difficult to handle the type for a tiny C8051 compatible 8 bit MCU.

I hope you can understand the difficulty well.

Bunpei
 
Oled?

Hello,
I am very interested in this nice unit. Impressive work.
Question: Would it maybe be possible to order this unit in near future possibly with an oled? There are oleds out which feature the same pin-layout and work as direct drop-ins to lcd´s. Oleds seem to become very cheap and that could lower the cost at least a little bit, although I do not consider this unit to be cheap regarding what it is capable of!
Best regards.
 
Hello,
read my own last line and sorry have to correct: I do consider this unit to be adequately priced regarding what it is capable of! Few-hunderd bucks is just some money for me. Sorry for the wrong writing there.
I would be very interested if it is possible to explain why it plays only *.wav and *.dff, because my plan was to directly rip my CD´s which are mostly *.aiff or *.flac and play them by sd. Also I can convert them but would prefer to just directly play em like they are. I read through most posts and hope this isn't covered in some post before.
Best regards.
 
I would be very interested if it is possible to explain why it plays only *.wav and *.dff, because my plan was to directly rip my CD´s which are mostly *.aiff or *.flac and play them by sd.

Hi,

If you search the thread, you can read an explanation / discussion as to why the SDTrans only supports wav and dff.

Despite the limitations and inconvenience, I enjoy mine immensely. I seldom use my computer set up, taking the time to convert flac files to wav and copy them to the cards because the SDTrans combined with the SyncDAC sounds so much better.
 
What is the technical side of SPDIF transmitting?
In cd-player modding to transport you can remove all the "unnecessary" stuff from SPDIF output line like separation transformers, series capacitors etc. to make the SPDIF trace "cleaner" and more square.
Have you looked at the trace how does it look like in scope?
Thanks,
na
 
Hi, na!

I have no idea on the "speed" of S/PDIF signal. Please let me know a definition and any measurement methods for that characteristic.
Unfortunately, I have no scope traces of S/PDIF output of SDTrans384 because I have no DAC of S/PDIF input.

Please speculate possible points to be improved by looking at the S/PDIF output circuit of SDTrans as attached to this post. The pulse transformer is made by Newava Technology Inc.
 

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Well first i have to say that i am hobbyist, not an expert!

To my eyes it looks "pure" output design. Is the R15 there to drop the SPDIF to 0,5V?
Newava shoud do the job, and i have seen some waveforms comparisons of different pulse transformers and 22083 didn't look half bad in that shootout. I guess it galvanically isolates also?
I wonder how much effect there is if trying different R15? Is it surface mounted?
I guess the SPDIF should sound great if the power supply is up to it.
Well, i am going to try out in future months :)

I like the "simple" design of SDTrans384. PCB looks good, short and even traces, good quality components etc.
I have noticed that it usually is the software side where the great dacs, sources, cd-players have taken the extra mile. That is why, i wanted to try this SDTrans384. The software should be very good, thanks to Bunpei&Chiaki :)
And i guess the hardware side is in the "mature" stage also.
Best regards,
na
 
Hi,

In the specs the power consumption of SdTrans384 is Power 5.0V , 0.5A
But i will also buy use arduino+apple remote control set. As far as i saw on the application pictures it uses Arduino Pro Mini (5V 0.16A) and it takes power on SdTrans pcb.

And i have 5v 1A regulated power supply. What do you think is it enough? Am i miss something?

And i will use SdTrans with Soren R-2R DAC. And this dac have serial interface volume control. So i want to use Sdtrans arduino to control both volume on the dac and sdtrans384.

Did you send arduino code also? So we can modify it for such application.
 
... Is the R15 there to drop the SPDIF to 0,5V? ...
Its circuit design is based on a reference design shown on CS8406 datasheet. The value of R15 is selected to maintain a proper output voltage level for +3.3V power.

... I guess it galvanically isolates also? ...
I wonder how much effect there is if trying different R15? Is it surface mounted? ...
I guess the SPDIF should sound great if the power supply is up to it.
Yes, the pulse transformer isolates SDTrans and your DAC. The R15 is SMD. You can replace it with a resister of your favorite brand.
An output section of SDTrans has an independent optional power supply terminal. You can apply your own power supply to CS8406.
 
And i have 5v 1A regulated power supply. What do you think is it enough? Am i miss something?
I think the whole draw will be less than 1A absolutely. However, an audiophile always prepares a certain amount of "allowance" or "extra". It will depend on your policy.

Did you send arduino code also? So we can modify it for such application.
Please contact to Mr. Yamazaki and ask him about the availability of the code.
I have my own code. I can send it to you if you want to modify it.