Here is my problem--
I have a special form factor PC called ITX "thin mini" and it does not have a any PCI lanes, only USB 3 Gen1 and USB 2.
It will be used as a storage device for music aside from it's duties as a PC. As a USB audio source it will be feeding into high-end diy gear like a B1 Nutube or Mezmerize, but from there I have no idea what the best way to go about this is.
PC USB -> ??? DAC ??? -> B1 -> M2x
Any thoughts/recommendations are appreciated!
EDIT: I'm looking for diy types of solutions to keep costs down unless there is an off the shelf item that can be had for less than $250. On the other hand I want to keep the quality high and be on par with using the PASS diy components.
I have a special form factor PC called ITX "thin mini" and it does not have a any PCI lanes, only USB 3 Gen1 and USB 2.
It will be used as a storage device for music aside from it's duties as a PC. As a USB audio source it will be feeding into high-end diy gear like a B1 Nutube or Mezmerize, but from there I have no idea what the best way to go about this is.
PC USB -> ??? DAC ??? -> B1 -> M2x
Any thoughts/recommendations are appreciated!
EDIT: I'm looking for diy types of solutions to keep costs down unless there is an off the shelf item that can be had for less than $250. On the other hand I want to keep the quality high and be on par with using the PASS diy components.
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You could either use a USB sound card or a USB to I2S interface followed by a DAC with I2S input. Amanero is a well-known supplier of USB to I2S interfaces, and there is also this thread: XMOS-based Asynchronous USB to I2S interface No idea if the costs will be less than $250.
You may want to start with the Apple Dac. Less than $10 USD.
Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Audio Reviews
Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Audio Reviews
Thanks for the tip, jasonhanjk! That article was perfect because was looking at those Dragonfly units and it sounds like the much cheaper Apple unit is just as good, albeit at lower power. Too bad I'd have to adapt USB to lightning to headphone to preamp lol. I'll give it a go as a first round affordable experiment.
You have an M2... just feed the output from the suitable DAC straight into it; a minimalist approach (no preamp & extra set of interconnect cables) will give you fantastic results.
The volume can be set on the PC. Try Fidelizer (free edition) and see if you can notice the difference...
Re DIY DAC... do you like multibit / current-out / voltage-out / R 2R ...?
...you can get the JDS Labs EL DAC II USB DAC for the money you want to spend, and then play with the power supply.... this will sound (with a good power supply), coupled straight to that M2, really great.
Build Aleph J .... then you can use balanced out DAC's
You could even turn the Aleph J into a DC-coupled, balanced amp... now THAT will sound special.
The volume can be set on the PC. Try Fidelizer (free edition) and see if you can notice the difference...
Re DIY DAC... do you like multibit / current-out / voltage-out / R 2R ...?
...you can get the JDS Labs EL DAC II USB DAC for the money you want to spend, and then play with the power supply.... this will sound (with a good power supply), coupled straight to that M2, really great.
Build Aleph J .... then you can use balanced out DAC's
You could even turn the Aleph J into a DC-coupled, balanced amp... now THAT will sound special.
Extreme_Boky, thanks for the input!
I put the EL DAC and Fidelizer on my list to research further.
You bring up some spec. options that I'm totally in the dark on so will
have to get up to speed with multibit / current-out / voltage-out / R 2R
and what any of that means
The Aleph J balanced system has my attention! Just now getting started
on the M2 build and looking hard at doing an F-6, but with your build scenario
I might have to revisit which amp is the most compatible with everything in front of it.
DAC to amp, big agree there, I'm trying to minimize clutter coming out of the PC and that would really make a difference.
It's got an onboard Realtek DAC and I wonder if I should be considering this as well?
I'll attach a pic of the current setup meant for two Icepower monos. As you can see, the cleaner I can keep the connections the better-
I put the EL DAC and Fidelizer on my list to research further.
You bring up some spec. options that I'm totally in the dark on so will
have to get up to speed with multibit / current-out / voltage-out / R 2R
and what any of that means
The Aleph J balanced system has my attention! Just now getting started
on the M2 build and looking hard at doing an F-6, but with your build scenario
I might have to revisit which amp is the most compatible with everything in front of it.
DAC to amp, big agree there, I'm trying to minimize clutter coming out of the PC and that would really make a difference.
It's got an onboard Realtek DAC and I wonder if I should be considering this as well?
I'll attach a pic of the current setup meant for two Icepower monos. As you can see, the cleaner I can keep the connections the better-
Attachments
Oh, gotcha, Thx MarceldG. I guess that shows where I'm at with DACs lol-
@Extreme_Boky yes, it's a 1U form factor and it was inspired by some of the newer Jeff Rowland billet slabs. I just figured it would be worth while to fit more than an Icepower module in all that metal
I wrote something about single-bit sigma-delta DACs in chapter 3 of https://linearaudio.net/sites/linearaudio.net/files/03 Didden LA V13 mvdg.pdf , but I don't know if that helps.
Um, nice PHD thesis! Seriously that is a beautifully done paper.
And yes, that gave me a huge leap into what the DAC and surrounding
devices do.
I found your build threads and perused for a bit. Very impressive. Questions:
Can you implement the Nutube triodes to shrink the form factor and power
requirements--but for the voltage regulator?
Could I make a Terasic Cyclone 5 Dev board work in place of the Spartan?
And yes, that gave me a huge leap into what the DAC and surrounding
devices do.
I found your build threads and perused for a bit. Very impressive. Questions:
Can you implement the Nutube triodes to shrink the form factor and power
requirements--but for the voltage regulator?
Could I make a Terasic Cyclone 5 Dev board work in place of the Spartan?
Attachments
That FPGA board is by itself outside the budget you specified in post #1
Looking at the specifications of the FPGA, if I got the model right, I think it is more powerful than the one I used, so it should in principle be possible to rewrite the Verilog code and resynthesize it for this board. I have no intention of trying it, though.
From what I read in this datasheet: http://www.nutube.us/downloads/Nutube_Datasheet_31.pdf , the Nutubes are way to slow for a single-bit audio DAC. If you want to reduce power and size, you can make a DIY FIRDAC from CMOS logic. This thread is dedicated to a non-return-to-zero FIRDAC Signalyst DSC1 and you can find a return-to-zero FIRDAC here: 74AHC02 and 74AHC08 DAC with 97 dB(A) dynamic range
Looking at the specifications of the FPGA, if I got the model right, I think it is more powerful than the one I used, so it should in principle be possible to rewrite the Verilog code and resynthesize it for this board. I have no intention of trying it, though.
From what I read in this datasheet: http://www.nutube.us/downloads/Nutube_Datasheet_31.pdf , the Nutubes are way to slow for a single-bit audio DAC. If you want to reduce power and size, you can make a DIY FIRDAC from CMOS logic. This thread is dedicated to a non-return-to-zero FIRDAC Signalyst DSC1 and you can find a return-to-zero FIRDAC here: 74AHC02 and 74AHC08 DAC with 97 dB(A) dynamic range
That's a bummer about the Nutubes being too slow. Pretty interesting none the less.
Regarding the Cyclone Dev. board, well....I just happen to own one of those lol.
But yeah, I had a hunch you can't just slap one into the mix without
major revision. It would smash my budget to pieces either way though, FPGA
or not.
My focus is on doing an all battery powered rig, so beyond the general
power consumption it gets to be more challenging with negative rails and higher
voltages, etc. Once I get back to mains AC land I'll maybe give a go at building
one of your designs. I'm really glad you chimed in and gave me new areas to
explore!
Regarding the Cyclone Dev. board, well....I just happen to own one of those lol.
But yeah, I had a hunch you can't just slap one into the mix without
major revision. It would smash my budget to pieces either way though, FPGA
or not.
My focus is on doing an all battery powered rig, so beyond the general
power consumption it gets to be more challenging with negative rails and higher
voltages, etc. Once I get back to mains AC land I'll maybe give a go at building
one of your designs. I'm really glad you chimed in and gave me new areas to
explore!
Your aluminum casing looks really good. I've thought about asking you about it. Then I saw your project is about Battery, its even more interesting.
Please tell me more about it. What kind of Battery are you using? I have always wonder why the high end sound system have not switched to Battery power? Is the Battery still not good enough?
Please tell me more about it. What kind of Battery are you using? I have always wonder why the high end sound system have not switched to Battery power? Is the Battery still not good enough?
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