I didn't know about OPA861 - very interesting! I'm still going to pursue the TPA6120 route though because it has the ability to drive a low impedance filter and that, I hope, will maximise an R2R AD1862 output.
I have a few ESS dacs so I was curious about whether a dual mono ES9038Q2M beats the single ES9028Q2M - I am about to start playing with a MiniDSP nanoSharc and I have been looking for 4 inexpensive DACs for that and settled on the 9028Q as the best within the budget.
I have a few ESS dacs so I was curious about whether a dual mono ES9038Q2M beats the single ES9028Q2M - I am about to start playing with a MiniDSP nanoSharc and I have been looking for 4 inexpensive DACs for that and settled on the 9028Q as the best within the budget.
@Hugh Jazz
I did some test to my dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT last weekend with my new designed LifiPO4 battery power supply. I have to say I'm really happy with the sound quality.
The configuration was:
RPi + FifoPi(with CCHD957 XOs) + ESS controller(isolated mode) + dual mono ES9038Q2M HAT + OPA1632 balanced I/V + LifePO4 power supply (all in one).
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pow...epo4-battery-power-supply-22.html#post5606829
I'll get the single and the dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT compared the next to see how much to get improved.
RpiLifePO4_1 by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
I did some test to my dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT last weekend with my new designed LifiPO4 battery power supply. I have to say I'm really happy with the sound quality.
The configuration was:
RPi + FifoPi(with CCHD957 XOs) + ESS controller(isolated mode) + dual mono ES9038Q2M HAT + OPA1632 balanced I/V + LifePO4 power supply (all in one).
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pow...epo4-battery-power-supply-22.html#post5606829
I'll get the single and the dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT compared the next to see how much to get improved.
RpiLifePO4_1 by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
Hi soundcheck,
Thank you for noticed my Ikea lamp, it's doing great job to light up my DAC HAT.
I have a Pi 3. I'll try your wifi configuration to see if I can 100% shut off the RF signal. Some audio gears are very sensitive to RF noise when they are exposed closed to wifi antennas, such as OPA1622. I'll do some real measurement to the RF noise levels. I'll post some update once I have.
Regards,
Ian
Hi Ian, did you ever check that the RF signal is completely shut down with soundcheck's recommended settings?
Yes, both IsolatorPiII and IsolatorPiI work for this new ESS controller.
For IsolatorPiI, you will need to assemble the additional GPIO by your self if you want the controller working in isolating mode. IsolatorPII has this GPIO port pre-assembled already.
Regards,
Ian
I need a little help, does anyone here have this Dac Board
http://oi66.tinypic.com/258wjtv.jpg
here is my 1st cheap diy starter build.
http://oi68.tinypic.com/16ap7xx.jpg
OK i have a problem, is the volume level on this Fixed or Variable? Mine is around 8% but i have to crank my amplifier %100 to hear only %8 of the volume, am i the only one having this issue, does this needs to be connected to a preamp?
i found this blog
ES-SABRE FORUM (Update) + HC-06 BT Rename + Dietpi 6.4 (+ES9028Q2M) – ES Sabre-90xx-Rpi
i asked the person there if the volume controls on the pcb worked, he said that it did without any software, just add some Tactile buttons or equivalent.
i added them but they don't work.
Now my question, am i the only one having this issue, did you had this same issue, did you resolve this or is it just how this Dac board is made and there is no way to fixed it?
Any answers i will greatly appreciate them.
http://oi66.tinypic.com/258wjtv.jpg
here is my 1st cheap diy starter build.
http://oi68.tinypic.com/16ap7xx.jpg
OK i have a problem, is the volume level on this Fixed or Variable? Mine is around 8% but i have to crank my amplifier %100 to hear only %8 of the volume, am i the only one having this issue, does this needs to be connected to a preamp?
i found this blog
ES-SABRE FORUM (Update) + HC-06 BT Rename + Dietpi 6.4 (+ES9028Q2M) – ES Sabre-90xx-Rpi
i asked the person there if the volume controls on the pcb worked, he said that it did without any software, just add some Tactile buttons or equivalent.
i added them but they don't work.
Now my question, am i the only one having this issue, did you had this same issue, did you resolve this or is it just how this Dac board is made and there is no way to fixed it?
Any answers i will greatly appreciate them.
You'll find more help in a different thread where your board has been discussed at least twice... Check this link, please:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/297351-chinese-es9018k2m-i2s-dac-24.html#post5482535
To do ESS DAC HAT SQ comparison
Now I have all the three ESS DAC HAT boards:
1. ES9038Q2M Dual Mono
2. ES9038Q2M
3. ES9028Q2M
I forget how many time in the past year I made the prototype PCBs for those ESS HAT. Five or six time probably. Trying to get small improvement for each new version.
I'll do a listening test by getting them compared to see what's the different in sound quality.
ES9038Q2MdualCompare by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
Now I have all the three ESS DAC HAT boards:
1. ES9038Q2M Dual Mono
2. ES9038Q2M
3. ES9028Q2M
I forget how many time in the past year I made the prototype PCBs for those ESS HAT. Five or six time probably. Trying to get small improvement for each new version.
I'll do a listening test by getting them compared to see what's the different in sound quality.
ES9038Q2MdualCompare by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
Hi Ian,
You certainly have my sympathies. I have been working with ES9038Q2M dacs for the past several months and find it quite challenging to get the best out of them. In addition, Allo recently came out with Katana dac and they seem to have found a very efficient approach to very good AVCC sound quality using a fairly simple regulator with pre and post filtering, then followed by an array of various size Rubycon SMD film caps, and a supercap in parallel. There is one regulator and filtering for each of the two stereo channels. Unfortunately, the Rubycon SMD film caps don't appear to be available in large uf sizes, in only small quantities, or I would probably give some a try.
Also, I once tried LiPO4 batteries for AVCC, but didn't like it. Seemed to be artificially over-dynamic, which I did not think was accurate reproduction of the recording.
Anyway, best wishes for your efforts. Hope you find the best solution possible. If you do, then I might be interested in testing for my diy use. They might be a better starting point for diy'ers interesting in building a dac if it can save them some of the work.
Regards,
Mark
You certainly have my sympathies. I have been working with ES9038Q2M dacs for the past several months and find it quite challenging to get the best out of them. In addition, Allo recently came out with Katana dac and they seem to have found a very efficient approach to very good AVCC sound quality using a fairly simple regulator with pre and post filtering, then followed by an array of various size Rubycon SMD film caps, and a supercap in parallel. There is one regulator and filtering for each of the two stereo channels. Unfortunately, the Rubycon SMD film caps don't appear to be available in large uf sizes, in only small quantities, or I would probably give some a try.
Also, I once tried LiPO4 batteries for AVCC, but didn't like it. Seemed to be artificially over-dynamic, which I did not think was accurate reproduction of the recording.
Anyway, best wishes for your efforts. Hope you find the best solution possible. If you do, then I might be interested in testing for my diy use. They might be a better starting point for diy'ers interesting in building a dac if it can save them some of the work.
Regards,
Mark
;5636079 said:
@BryceJ
All of my ESS DAC HAT are tested working with VolumIO, piCorePlayer. I tried older version of Moode without problem. I didn't test the new version because I have no time generating the image. But I didn't see any problem.
You can use generic I2S driver if you have analog volume control in your system (for example on your pre-amp) or PCM5122 compatible driver if you want the internal volume control from the web UI.
piCorePlayer can do up to both PCM 384KHz and DSD128. However VolumIO only up to PCM 192KHz and DSD64, it re-samples all higher PCM/DSD music into PCM 384KHz.
Regards,
Ian
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Thanks Ian. By the way, Moode is once again available as an image file, no generating required.
@iancanada, really looking forward to your impressions of the different boards. I expect you saw my comparison of your prototype ES9028Q2M board to the Allo Katana in post #74 of this thread:
Getting the best out of Allo.com's new Katana DAC...
I suspect with a different output stage configuration, the rankings would be different. Thanks for helping with that!
@markw4, I have gotten the 22uF/16V Rubycon PML caps from Digikey and see them in stock there right now. What I'm not sure is whether Allo used the MU or ST series of that cap... I'll ask them. I hope that helps.
Greg in Mississippi
Getting the best out of Allo.com's new Katana DAC...
I suspect with a different output stage configuration, the rankings would be different. Thanks for helping with that!
@markw4, I have gotten the 22uF/16V Rubycon PML caps from Digikey and see them in stock there right now. What I'm not sure is whether Allo used the MU or ST series of that cap... I'll ask them. I hope that helps.
Greg in Mississippi
Thanks Mark for your experiences sharing. I appreciate your efforts on modding the ES9038Q2M DAC.
Again, I'm highly recommended you trying the true synchronize clock mode of ESS DAC by stopping the internal DPLL.
The artificial sound comes from the ASRC for sure. In a cheap system, it can make you feeling good. However once your improvement reached to a certain level, that artificial sound could be noticed with clear. That's why you have to try different power supply solution to balance the artificial sound.
The key difference between battery/ultra capacitor power supplies and regulators would be that the passive power supplies have no any feedback. That makes it responding to the load current demand evenly over a wide frequency range more close to ideal power supply. Thus makes the music play back more nature than any other power supply with feedbacks.
Based on my innumerable listening test, my finial version ESS DAC HATs has all LDOs removed. The best sound quality comes from the passive battery/ultra capacitor direct power supply. AVCC,AVDD,VCCA, each voltage rails can be fed separately.
Just hope you get chance trying my ESS DAC HATs down the road. They are all DIY friendly design without any limitation on modding and improvement. You will have freedom trying different power supply, clock, controller, filtering, I/V stage, anything you want. I believe you will have more discovery with them.
BTW, film capacitors are at bottom side of PCB. Footprints of optional super capacitor too. Any possible LDOs and inductors will be bypassed during test.
Regards,
Ian
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@Greg Stewart
Thanks Greg, you did good job on the ESS DAC project.
My finial ES9028Q2M DAC HAT was improved from the previous prototype version that you are having right now. And the newest dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT could be even better. Please see my later on report of the comparison test for details.
Allo's DAC looks very good. They did good job and put a lot of efforts on the project. My DAC project is based on a totally different design idea to them, so it could be reasonable if the sound style is slightly different.
Just hope you could try my new DAC HATs soon. I believe you will have some new surprise. I'm looking for your advises.
Regards,
Ian
Thanks Greg, you did good job on the ESS DAC project.
My finial ES9028Q2M DAC HAT was improved from the previous prototype version that you are having right now. And the newest dual mono ES9038Q2M DAC HAT could be even better. Please see my later on report of the comparison test for details.
Allo's DAC looks very good. They did good job and put a lot of efforts on the project. My DAC project is based on a totally different design idea to them, so it could be reasonable if the sound style is slightly different.
Just hope you could try my new DAC HATs soon. I believe you will have some new surprise. I'm looking for your advises.
Regards,
Ian
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