Looks good.
I just pulled out my SD card player from the AK4495 dac case and replaced it with a Volumio setup running on an Asus Tinker Board. Time will tell if it stays that way…
I just pulled out my SD card player from the AK4495 dac case and replaced it with a Volumio setup running on an Asus Tinker Board. Time will tell if it stays that way…
I just put in an order for one. Jack said I'll ship out in two weeks! I'm late to the game but as exited as you guys once was 🙂
I have a couple of newbie questions.
Does the Sdtrans384 have a power button to be able to turn on /off or do I need to pull the plug?
Anyone know of a nice, small, simple case on AliExpress that would work for the Sdtrans384 without much modding?
How hard is it to put say 100 albums on a 64gb sd card and scroll though the folders to play a certain album?
What's the best compatible sd card brands? I heard class 4 and under are more likely to be more compatible than higher class. Is this true?
I have a couple of newbie questions.
Does the Sdtrans384 have a power button to be able to turn on /off or do I need to pull the plug?
Anyone know of a nice, small, simple case on AliExpress that would work for the Sdtrans384 without much modding?
How hard is it to put say 100 albums on a 64gb sd card and scroll though the folders to play a certain album?
What's the best compatible sd card brands? I heard class 4 and under are more likely to be more compatible than higher class. Is this true?
You do not want to use more then 8gb sd card coz gonna be a pain to search for albums or songs. Lots to tweak if you want to get the best sound out of the Sd Trans
I only use 32GB cards as files can be very large for DFF256 and DXD files so not many files will fit on a 8GB card.
Use a memory card that has high read speed.
@panasonicst60,
Sorry for the slow response.
No, no on-off switch. Of course you can easily add one when you case it.
What case you use will depend on how you plan to use it. IF using the raw I2S output, you REALLY want the shortest cables possible to the fed DAC... I use about 2" u.fl where I mounted the sockets on the bottom side of the I2S pins and hard-wired the other end to the DAC input (modified Soekris DAM 1021). See pix. If you go with raw I2S, you likely want to chose a case that will also house your DAC.
IF you use I2S-over-HDMI or S/PDIF, then you want those connectors coming through the case.
To make your case selection more flexible, I have seen people remote the screen using a multi-pin cable like an older IDE PC drive cable. AND of course the display seems to be a pretty standard one like this one available from places like Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJ6AFW6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_19?smid=A30QSGOJR8LMXA&psc=1
AND of course the unit has pins for remoting the on-board switches and many of the selection jumpers, so you can move them to the front panel.
AND if you didn't get the remote board with yours, it is easy to use a remote-controlled 4-relay board off EBay, Amazon, or similar to implement remote control, which unlike the stock remote board, would be galvanically isolated. Some might suggest this could sound better.
SO what case you want will depend on how you plan to implement and use the unit
On card management, it is best to plan how you want to use them before starting to transfer. I have over 1TB of music files, mostly ripped from CDs, with many of them compressed to FLAC, so a LOT of cards once they are decompressed to WAV. I only have a small fraction copied onto SDCards for my SDTrans384 setup and add more when I want to listen to something not already copied. It helps that I have 2 setups with at least one always having access to almost all of my music files, so if I really want to hear something not an an SDCard for the SDTrans384 setup, I go listen on the other setup.
I have 2 sets of cards organized in two different ways...
Set #1 - Source Material cards... each of these contain a single music genre, with music by each musician/group in a sub-folder and groups similar-style groups on each card.
Set #2 - Playlist cards... each of these contains folders of playlists of music selections similar to what I use on my computer-music player source.
AND of course I keep a cheat-sheet which lists which folders and files I have on each card. Plan this well and you will find it pretty easy to use.
A later firmware update enabled 64Gb cards. Check with Tachyon to see if you have that on yours. On a 32Gb SD Card I typically have 40-50 recordings, each in a single .WAV file (on my computer-music source I use .cue files to navigate the files, on the SDTrans384 I live with play-the-entire-recording-to-the-end mode). IF you rip or purchase your .WAV and/or .DFF files with each track as a separate file, that limits your ability to organize them on an SDCard as the SDTrans384 only sees 1 level of file folders. You can work with that by how you name your file folders, but also recognize you see a limited number of characters on the display.
Also remember the SDTrans384 plays the files in the order written to the SDCard. There are utilities that allow you to edit each file's metadata to change the date for playback order purposes, but honestly it is easier to copy them on in the order you wish than deal with that, IMHO.
Yes it is hair-shirt with EXTREMELY limited options. AND IMHO, still my best digital source via Raw I2S, though I suspect something like the sadly now unavailable Allo USBBridge Signature with an Ian FiFoPi Q7 rivals that via Raw I2S and for I2S-over-HDMI, when you add his HDMIPiPro, may beat that same output on the SDTrans.
Finally I have not played a lot with brands and types of SDCards. DO confirm a particular brand and type works before you buy a bunch of them... I didn't one time!
I have noticed some SQ variation from different types of cards and with SLC cards, but honestly to my ears the differences are not so large that I get very neurotic about it (which anyone who knows me well must find very confusing!). Find ones that work, put your most important music on those that sound the best to you, and play music!
Some improvement tips...
I have 2 SDTrans384, one modified with LDOVR.com LT3045 regulator boards mounted at the defined connection points for external power under the SDTrans384 board to keep the connections short (see pic). I also removed the stock reg chips from this board, not recommended as if any problem occurs, I doubt they will service it.
It was a definite improvement with the modified Soekris DAM 1021 attached to it. ALSO I am trying out one of the new Gustard R26 R2R DACs using my SDTrans384s as sources via I2S-over-HDMI and clearly heard an SQ lift swapping from the stock to my modified unit.
Also, as I suggest above, I suspect using IanCanada's FiFoPi Q7 fed from the I2S pins with his HDMIPiPro on top would be a better output than the stock HDMI circuit on the board.
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. @rickmcinnis, great to see you here. Send an email and let me know how you are doing and what you are using in your setup nowadays, haven't seen you post much here or on TirNaHiFi.
Sorry for the slow response.
No, no on-off switch. Of course you can easily add one when you case it.
What case you use will depend on how you plan to use it. IF using the raw I2S output, you REALLY want the shortest cables possible to the fed DAC... I use about 2" u.fl where I mounted the sockets on the bottom side of the I2S pins and hard-wired the other end to the DAC input (modified Soekris DAM 1021). See pix. If you go with raw I2S, you likely want to chose a case that will also house your DAC.
IF you use I2S-over-HDMI or S/PDIF, then you want those connectors coming through the case.
To make your case selection more flexible, I have seen people remote the screen using a multi-pin cable like an older IDE PC drive cable. AND of course the display seems to be a pretty standard one like this one available from places like Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJ6AFW6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_19?smid=A30QSGOJR8LMXA&psc=1
AND of course the unit has pins for remoting the on-board switches and many of the selection jumpers, so you can move them to the front panel.
AND if you didn't get the remote board with yours, it is easy to use a remote-controlled 4-relay board off EBay, Amazon, or similar to implement remote control, which unlike the stock remote board, would be galvanically isolated. Some might suggest this could sound better.
SO what case you want will depend on how you plan to implement and use the unit
On card management, it is best to plan how you want to use them before starting to transfer. I have over 1TB of music files, mostly ripped from CDs, with many of them compressed to FLAC, so a LOT of cards once they are decompressed to WAV. I only have a small fraction copied onto SDCards for my SDTrans384 setup and add more when I want to listen to something not already copied. It helps that I have 2 setups with at least one always having access to almost all of my music files, so if I really want to hear something not an an SDCard for the SDTrans384 setup, I go listen on the other setup.
I have 2 sets of cards organized in two different ways...
Set #1 - Source Material cards... each of these contain a single music genre, with music by each musician/group in a sub-folder and groups similar-style groups on each card.
Set #2 - Playlist cards... each of these contains folders of playlists of music selections similar to what I use on my computer-music player source.
AND of course I keep a cheat-sheet which lists which folders and files I have on each card. Plan this well and you will find it pretty easy to use.
A later firmware update enabled 64Gb cards. Check with Tachyon to see if you have that on yours. On a 32Gb SD Card I typically have 40-50 recordings, each in a single .WAV file (on my computer-music source I use .cue files to navigate the files, on the SDTrans384 I live with play-the-entire-recording-to-the-end mode). IF you rip or purchase your .WAV and/or .DFF files with each track as a separate file, that limits your ability to organize them on an SDCard as the SDTrans384 only sees 1 level of file folders. You can work with that by how you name your file folders, but also recognize you see a limited number of characters on the display.
Also remember the SDTrans384 plays the files in the order written to the SDCard. There are utilities that allow you to edit each file's metadata to change the date for playback order purposes, but honestly it is easier to copy them on in the order you wish than deal with that, IMHO.
Yes it is hair-shirt with EXTREMELY limited options. AND IMHO, still my best digital source via Raw I2S, though I suspect something like the sadly now unavailable Allo USBBridge Signature with an Ian FiFoPi Q7 rivals that via Raw I2S and for I2S-over-HDMI, when you add his HDMIPiPro, may beat that same output on the SDTrans.
Finally I have not played a lot with brands and types of SDCards. DO confirm a particular brand and type works before you buy a bunch of them... I didn't one time!
I have noticed some SQ variation from different types of cards and with SLC cards, but honestly to my ears the differences are not so large that I get very neurotic about it (which anyone who knows me well must find very confusing!). Find ones that work, put your most important music on those that sound the best to you, and play music!
Some improvement tips...
I have 2 SDTrans384, one modified with LDOVR.com LT3045 regulator boards mounted at the defined connection points for external power under the SDTrans384 board to keep the connections short (see pic). I also removed the stock reg chips from this board, not recommended as if any problem occurs, I doubt they will service it.
It was a definite improvement with the modified Soekris DAM 1021 attached to it. ALSO I am trying out one of the new Gustard R26 R2R DACs using my SDTrans384s as sources via I2S-over-HDMI and clearly heard an SQ lift swapping from the stock to my modified unit.
Also, as I suggest above, I suspect using IanCanada's FiFoPi Q7 fed from the I2S pins with his HDMIPiPro on top would be a better output than the stock HDMI circuit on the board.
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. @rickmcinnis, great to see you here. Send an email and let me know how you are doing and what you are using in your setup nowadays, haven't seen you post much here or on TirNaHiFi.
Attachments
I forgot to mention that the display appears to be the common 1602-style display available from many sources, so if you want to remote them and use a different color, it should be an easy swap.
Here is one source:: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJ6AFW6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_19?smid=A30QSGOJR8LMXA&psc=1
Greg in Mississippi
Here is one source:: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJ6AFW6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_19?smid=A30QSGOJR8LMXA&psc=1
Greg in Mississippi
Have you tried making the display remote yourself ?
And have you only tried different LCDs, or similar format OLEDs ?
Patrick
And have you only tried different LCDs, or similar format OLEDs ?
Patrick
Hey EUVL / Patrick, long time, hoping you and yours are great!
No on either. I did do a search on the 1602-style display used and found a number of sources, the one I listed was the easiest to get back to. As far as I can tell, this is the type that is used by Tachyon and to get spares or a different color, an easy part to source.
Someone could determine the format used by this display and find alternatives that will work. Sorry, too lazy for that myself! 😉
On remoting the display, I have not, but there are at least two implementations showing the display remoted. I believe one or both are earlier in this thread, but one may have been in one of the Twisted Pear Buffalo DAC threads as that is the DAC shown in the picture.
I saved the pictures from each, I am reposting the ones with the Buffalo DAC as it shows the most details.
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. I should add that I'd keep my u.fl connections MUCH shorter than shown here, based on experience. My SDTrans384 > Soekris DAM 1021 has <2" u.fl lines with the input side of the DAC board mounted up against the I2S output side of the SDTrans.
No on either. I did do a search on the 1602-style display used and found a number of sources, the one I listed was the easiest to get back to. As far as I can tell, this is the type that is used by Tachyon and to get spares or a different color, an easy part to source.
Someone could determine the format used by this display and find alternatives that will work. Sorry, too lazy for that myself! 😉
On remoting the display, I have not, but there are at least two implementations showing the display remoted. I believe one or both are earlier in this thread, but one may have been in one of the Twisted Pear Buffalo DAC threads as that is the DAC shown in the picture.
I saved the pictures from each, I am reposting the ones with the Buffalo DAC as it shows the most details.
Greg in Mississippi
P.S. I should add that I'd keep my u.fl connections MUCH shorter than shown here, based on experience. My SDTrans384 > Soekris DAM 1021 has <2" u.fl lines with the input side of the DAC board mounted up against the I2S output side of the SDTrans.
Attachments
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The Apple remote control is pretty nice to use, and I use them.
WAV files with header text info seam to be a problem for SD Trans to read. I think there are at least two types of WAV file types. One with a header and another without a header.
Has anyone a tips on how to make sure that the SDtrans can play a wav file? Or do you use some SW that removes the headers`?
WAV files with header text info seam to be a problem for SD Trans to read. I think there are at least two types of WAV file types. One with a header and another without a header.
Has anyone a tips on how to make sure that the SDtrans can play a wav file? Or do you use some SW that removes the headers`?
I use Mp3tag free software and it removes all info on the wav files. It's so efficient too, as you can process a ton at once.
I got my Sdtrans384 in a few days ago and it has been a lot easier to navigate through about 80 albums on a 32gb than I though. Damn the sound quality is amazing! Worth the hassle.
That's a lot of info there and most is way over my head as I'm not much of a DIY'er, but sloooowly learning a bit. One thing I must say is in stock form the Sdtrans384 blew the socks off my reference cd transport. This little motherboard looking thing is the best thing I have ever heard. I'm finally get what the rave was all about.
Once you cross you T's and dot your I's., everything just works flawlessly. No weird software issues, freeze, etc. I love this thing.
I really wish someone would make a simple, small and affordable aluminum case for it that I could buy.
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Hello,
Sorry to revive older thread and post here, but by any chance anyone have SDtrans384 they would like to sell. Looked for it everywhere, but to no avail.
Sorry to revive older thread and post here, but by any chance anyone have SDtrans384 they would like to sell. Looked for it everywhere, but to no avail.
Hello,
It seems I will be able to get my hands onto SDtrans to mod and play with it. If anybody has schematics of it, I would really appreciate if you can email them to me. mindaugas.kazanavicius@gmail.com. Thanks in advance.
It seems I will be able to get my hands onto SDtrans to mod and play with it. If anybody has schematics of it, I would really appreciate if you can email them to me. mindaugas.kazanavicius@gmail.com. Thanks in advance.