Hi, ccclapp,
We are now announcing an estimate by private usual e-mail.
Please send an e-mail to my following address;
bunpei<at>ta2<dot>so-net<dot>ne<do>jp
The transport does not support a CF card but (micro)SD/(micro)SDHC memory card.
You can connect your TPA Buffalo III to our player and play DSD64,128,256 DFF audio sources.
Bunpei
We are now announcing an estimate by private usual e-mail.
Please send an e-mail to my following address;
bunpei<at>ta2<dot>so-net<dot>ne<do>jp
The transport does not support a CF card but (micro)SD/(micro)SDHC memory card.
You can connect your TPA Buffalo III to our player and play DSD64,128,256 DFF audio sources.
Bunpei
Hi, Mihai,
Would you please read this post?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...ry-card-transport-project-45.html#post2967434
Bunpei
Would you please read this post?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...ry-card-transport-project-45.html#post2967434
Bunpei
Announce of SDTrans and its options
To existing SDTrans users and to those whom interested in the kit
I think I almost completed sending price estimates or replies to those who sent me their inquiry e-mails.
If you have not received any e-mail from Bunpei, please send a requesting e-mail again.
I have already shipped option 1, upgraded EEPROM for FPGA configuration, to some users. I hope they will kindly post their reports on this thread.
As for the new batch of the board kit, we hopefully ship them within 10 days.
(I have not received them from Chiaki.)
As for the option 3, sync oscillators sub boards option for ES9018 DAC, neither its possible delivery date or cost is not finalized yet. We are just accepting its reservations.
Bunpei
To existing SDTrans users and to those whom interested in the kit
I think I almost completed sending price estimates or replies to those who sent me their inquiry e-mails.
If you have not received any e-mail from Bunpei, please send a requesting e-mail again.
I have already shipped option 1, upgraded EEPROM for FPGA configuration, to some users. I hope they will kindly post their reports on this thread.
As for the new batch of the board kit, we hopefully ship them within 10 days.
(I have not received them from Chiaki.)
As for the option 3, sync oscillators sub boards option for ES9018 DAC, neither its possible delivery date or cost is not finalized yet. We are just accepting its reservations.
Bunpei
Sync oscillators subboard option for ES9018 DAC
4. Galvanic isolation between transport and DAC
Between the two sub boards on the SDTrans384 transport side and ES9018-based DAC side, I2S/DSD signals are sent from the transport side to the DAC side and a synchronous master clock signal is sent from the DAC side to the transport side. All these signals are isolated by using TI ISO7241 chip. Those signal level is LVDS and connected through HDMI type connectors & cable.
4. Galvanic isolation between transport and DAC
Between the two sub boards on the SDTrans384 transport side and ES9018-based DAC side, I2S/DSD signals are sent from the transport side to the DAC side and a synchronous master clock signal is sent from the DAC side to the transport side. All these signals are isolated by using TI ISO7241 chip. Those signal level is LVDS and connected through HDMI type connectors & cable.
Is there any chance for me to get the kit from the current batch or I will have to wait for the next one?
We can assign a few for you if you send me an ordering e-mail.
Bunpei
Sync oscillators sub-board option for ES9018 DAC
5. Effect of "Synchronous master clocking" for ES9018
All the people those who has listened to actual sounds based on the synchronous master clocking replied, "This is distinctively better."
My personal impressions are;
1. More finely focused sound image
2. Natural bass enhancement
3. Less digital, more analog feature
I guess the reasons why we recognize such improvements are;
A. Usual asynchronous master clocking of ES9018 DAC chip can't avoid the quantization errors in time domain, maximum 10 ns (at 100MHz clock).
B. The synchronous clocking can eliminate the quantization error completely.
However, in this scheme we must remember that the master clock must be of the best quality.
5. Effect of "Synchronous master clocking" for ES9018
All the people those who has listened to actual sounds based on the synchronous master clocking replied, "This is distinctively better."
My personal impressions are;
1. More finely focused sound image
2. Natural bass enhancement
3. Less digital, more analog feature
I guess the reasons why we recognize such improvements are;
A. Usual asynchronous master clocking of ES9018 DAC chip can't avoid the quantization errors in time domain, maximum 10 ns (at 100MHz clock).
B. The synchronous clocking can eliminate the quantization error completely.
However, in this scheme we must remember that the master clock must be of the best quality.
DSD64,DSD128,DSD256
I ripped the track "Time" from the hybrid SACD, "The Dark Side of the Moon". The original format is DSDIFF of sampling rate DSD64. I converted it into DSD128 using Korg AudioGate and listened the two with SDTrans384 and TPA Buffalo II DAC. My simple impression is "DSD128 is better."
In the next step, the DSD128 track was converted again. The resulting file size of the DSD256 sampling rate is 1.1GB for a single 7 minute tune! I feel "DSD256 is better."
I hope some of SDTrans users make similar experiments.
I ripped the track "Time" from the hybrid SACD, "The Dark Side of the Moon". The original format is DSDIFF of sampling rate DSD64. I converted it into DSD128 using Korg AudioGate and listened the two with SDTrans384 and TPA Buffalo II DAC. My simple impression is "DSD128 is better."
In the next step, the DSD128 track was converted again. The resulting file size of the DSD256 sampling rate is 1.1GB for a single 7 minute tune! I feel "DSD256 is better."
I hope some of SDTrans users make similar experiments.
Bunpei...this whole thread is fascinating...I love the idea of your player/transport...I have a QLS QA 350...but am seriously thinking about
your SDTrans384 as a card transport to ultimately run a buffalo dac 3. I want to use it as the source for a dac/tube preamp. How much is your kit...and how soon will it be available again.
Thanks, jgwtriode
Hi, jgwtriode,
Would you please read this post in the previous page?
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project-45.html#post2967434
Bunpei
To those who sent an ordering e-mail to Bunpei
I have transmitted payment requests to those who sent me their ordering e-mail for SDTrans384 board kit.
If you have not received the request yet is spite of your ordering, please send an e-mail to me quickly.
We will start our shipping of the main board of SDTrans384 tomorrow.
Best regards,
Bunpei
I have transmitted payment requests to those who sent me their ordering e-mail for SDTrans384 board kit.
If you have not received the request yet is spite of your ordering, please send an e-mail to me quickly.
We will start our shipping of the main board of SDTrans384 tomorrow.
Best regards,
Bunpei
DSD256 11.2MHz Amazes
Tonight I had one of the greatest non-analog listening experiences of recent. Bunpei paid me a visit and we listened to his Korg AudioGate converted DSD256 11.2MHz files played back through my SDTrans and Fidelix Caprice combination with synchronous clocking option and custom NDK clocks of 90.3168MHz and 98.304MHz. Bunpei also did a little PERL programming for use through the TERMINAL of my MAC so I can "trick" AudioGate to produce DSD256 11.2MHz files (AudioGate is normally limited to DSD128 5.6MHz). Despite of the nice program, it is a pretty laboursome manual process, and the resulting file-size is huge at between 500MB - 1GB (for a single song). Great that memory prices are falling each day!
Bunpei had converted most of the files beforehand, while some were prepared at my place including for instructional purpose so I could learn how to do it myself.
We listened to various files that originally had been 44.1kHz/16bit, 48kHz/16bit, 192kHz/24bit, and 352.8kHz/24bit (DXD) while we also had some that were ripped from SACD (using a particular Sony PlayStation model) and BlueRay. For comparison purposes we also listened to some files with identical program material in DSD64, DSD128, and DSD256 to see how each step altered the sound. We also compared with the original multi-bit versions of the files.
Some files were "old standards" that we have been listening to throughout the development of the SDTrans over the last few years. We were lucky to have a Lyra Connoisseur 4-2L SE with the very latest updates as well as the acoustically revealing Kiso Acoustic HB-1 speakers.
The results were astonishing in a pure audiophile sense; information that we did not know (until know) had been inside these files was revealed in a very uncanny manner. Pinpointing of instruments, natural timbre of voices, spatial information that gave us a better idea of the recording location than I have ever heard from these tracks. The sound was both relaxed and extremely natural with lots of details without feeling overwhelming at any time.
At one point we were discussing how come files upconverted from lower quality could end up with such an increase in perceived quality. We all have learnt that it isn't possible to increase information from a source that didn't have such information in the first place.... Also, we have already done many other experiments (in upconverting) that always led to a "mixed bag" of results leading us to prefer the original file format. Preferably we would like to get hold of the file format the recording originally had been recorded with.
However, I am quite convinced that this is the best digital playback that I have heard to date (and I have heard a lot of very exotic and quite pricey stuff). Is it as good, or better, than the best of vinyl playback? All I can say is that this is a different, but still very high level audio experience. In my mind the best of vinyl playback has an excellence hard to be paralleled by any digital playback system, but the current DSD256 capable synchronous clocked SDTrans player and ES9018 based DAC is extremely capable and probably worthy of trying DXD256 11.2MHz recordings (through AD) of LP records played back with the finest turntables, tonearms and cartridges.
Tonight I had one of the greatest non-analog listening experiences of recent. Bunpei paid me a visit and we listened to his Korg AudioGate converted DSD256 11.2MHz files played back through my SDTrans and Fidelix Caprice combination with synchronous clocking option and custom NDK clocks of 90.3168MHz and 98.304MHz. Bunpei also did a little PERL programming for use through the TERMINAL of my MAC so I can "trick" AudioGate to produce DSD256 11.2MHz files (AudioGate is normally limited to DSD128 5.6MHz). Despite of the nice program, it is a pretty laboursome manual process, and the resulting file-size is huge at between 500MB - 1GB (for a single song). Great that memory prices are falling each day!
Bunpei had converted most of the files beforehand, while some were prepared at my place including for instructional purpose so I could learn how to do it myself.
We listened to various files that originally had been 44.1kHz/16bit, 48kHz/16bit, 192kHz/24bit, and 352.8kHz/24bit (DXD) while we also had some that were ripped from SACD (using a particular Sony PlayStation model) and BlueRay. For comparison purposes we also listened to some files with identical program material in DSD64, DSD128, and DSD256 to see how each step altered the sound. We also compared with the original multi-bit versions of the files.
Some files were "old standards" that we have been listening to throughout the development of the SDTrans over the last few years. We were lucky to have a Lyra Connoisseur 4-2L SE with the very latest updates as well as the acoustically revealing Kiso Acoustic HB-1 speakers.
The results were astonishing in a pure audiophile sense; information that we did not know (until know) had been inside these files was revealed in a very uncanny manner. Pinpointing of instruments, natural timbre of voices, spatial information that gave us a better idea of the recording location than I have ever heard from these tracks. The sound was both relaxed and extremely natural with lots of details without feeling overwhelming at any time.
At one point we were discussing how come files upconverted from lower quality could end up with such an increase in perceived quality. We all have learnt that it isn't possible to increase information from a source that didn't have such information in the first place.... Also, we have already done many other experiments (in upconverting) that always led to a "mixed bag" of results leading us to prefer the original file format. Preferably we would like to get hold of the file format the recording originally had been recorded with.
However, I am quite convinced that this is the best digital playback that I have heard to date (and I have heard a lot of very exotic and quite pricey stuff). Is it as good, or better, than the best of vinyl playback? All I can say is that this is a different, but still very high level audio experience. In my mind the best of vinyl playback has an excellence hard to be paralleled by any digital playback system, but the current DSD256 capable synchronous clocked SDTrans player and ES9018 based DAC is extremely capable and probably worthy of trying DXD256 11.2MHz recordings (through AD) of LP records played back with the finest turntables, tonearms and cartridges.
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Well my first test did not go too well...as matter of fact it was dismal failure:
my nice new Sandisk ultra 30mb/s SDHC was not recognized....@001 format error.
Reformated FAT 32 and copied some files...same thing.
My car reads it well enough....very fast, as expected, of course it only reads MP3 files, as does my computer with the same WAV 24 bit and 32 bit files as well as DSDIFF diles using Audiogate.
Got another sandisk slower sdhc....no problem works like a charm.
So the problem is ? and here i was thinking a fast card was best.
my nice new Sandisk ultra 30mb/s SDHC was not recognized....@001 format error.
Reformated FAT 32 and copied some files...same thing.
My car reads it well enough....very fast, as expected, of course it only reads MP3 files, as does my computer with the same WAV 24 bit and 32 bit files as well as DSDIFF diles using Audiogate.
Got another sandisk slower sdhc....no problem works like a charm.
So the problem is ?
and here i was thinking a fast card was best.
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