Jump to content

gstew

  • Posts

    306
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Country

    country-ZZ

4 Followers

Retained

  • Member Title
    Rabid Audio Tweaker & DIY'er

Personal Information

  • Location
    MS, US

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. Please PM with condition & asking price. Greg in Mississippi
  2. More on Ian's gear, some on, some off-topic for this thread... If you are considering Ian Canada's HDMIPi Pro I mentioned in my previous post, some related info... Ian originally released his original DIY I2S relocking FIFO hardware in 2011. His latest version FiFoPi Q7, was his 2nd to include discrete relocking circuits for lower jitter, which he 1st released in his ReclockPi as an add-on for his earlier Q3 FiFoPi. I've used Ian's I2S relocking HW in a number of DIY builds over the years, with each successive version improving on the previous. I've had his FiFoPi Q7 in one of my setups since fall '22 & it was a revelatory jump in sonic performance over his FiFoPi Q3 / ReclockPi combo. AND the SQ I am now getting using his gear (with my own spin on power supplies & component tweaks) is far beyond what I ever expected to achieve via DIY. AND in addition to his HDMIPi Pro - FiFoPi Q7 combo relevant to this thread, he recently announced his TransportPi AES AES+S/PDIF output board also incorporating his discrete output lower jitter technology. If you DIY (or can) & need to feed direct I2S, I2S-over-HDMI, or AES/S/PDIF to your DAC and can use an RPi as your endpoint, I heartily recommend you look at his offerings. Direct links... https://github.com/iancanada/DocumentDownload/tree/master/FifoPi/FifoPiQ7 https://github.com/iancanada/DocumentDownload/blob/master/HDMIpi/HdmiPiPro https://github.com/iancanada/DocumentDownload/tree/master/TransportPi/TransportPiAES Greg in Mississippi P.S. Full disclosure, I am both a user of Ian's gear and a collaborator, trying out his new releases & occasionally assisting in writing user manuals. AND I have no financial interest here, just trying to spread the word about some of the most effective DIY gear I've used in order to help keep him motivated to engineer the next better version. AND Ian has a day job as a medical equipment engineer, this is an audiophile-hobby labor of love for him, not a money-making business.
  3. I may have missed this, but has anyone compared the Gustard R26 balanced output to the single-ended? I ask this as I just realized that the R2R boards appear to be similar in basic D-to-A conversion functionality to those in the Soekris R2R DIY DAC boards I have, which ONLY output a single-ended signal. Soekris used an output stage to buffer the single-ended output AND a 2nd stage to convert the single-ended to balanced. BUT the basic raw output of the boards was accessible and sufficient in voltage and low-enough output impedance to work direct in many setups, such as mine To get a pure balanced output using those DIY DAC boards, you needed to use 2 R2R conversion circuits to created a balanced output. When I was playing with the Soekris DIY DAC boards a few years back, I went from a fairly generic stock-ish implementation which retained the single-ended buffer and single-ended-to-balanced stages, through a number of of much more progressively tweaky and minimalistic SQ-focused implementation. Bypassing the single-ended buffer and single-ended-to-balanced stages, then removing them were the 2nd-most significant set of improvements to my implementation's SQ. Only a very extensive redo of the power supplies and local regulation on the board made a larger improvement. I WILL try this when I have my Gustard R26 back, it is now with a friend in Canada who is comparing it to his Holo Spring 3. The setup where I have been using my R26 is one where I have a passive transformer volume control and it accepts either single-ended or balanced , no preference. I had been using the R26 with a balanced only passive attenuator, but when it returns I will compare the balanced and single-ended outputs via the transformer VC to see what I hear. ANYONE else who can give this a try? Greg in Mississippi
  4. An interesting alternative I2S-over-HDMI sourd for a DIY'er is my friend Ian Canada's recent HDMIPi Pro. He engineered this LVDS output board with discrete output devices for lower jitter than typical and possibly any chip-based LVDS output devices. You can use it on a stack consisting of an RPi and his FiFoPi Q7 for a low-jitter input to the HDMIPi Pro I2S-to-LVDS conversion circuit. You can see it here along with his FiFoPi Q7: https://github.com/iancanada/DocumentDownload Relevant for this thread, he is currently using this as an input to a Holo Spring (3 I believe) DAC he has there for trial and he prefers that input with the PLL turned off. Of course, this is DIY only and only as good as the associated components, especially the power supplies used. YMMV! Greg in Mississippi
  5. Thanks, checking that out, a nice almost 100 page thread on the slimdevices forums. I run LMS on a Zotac ZBOX-Pi320-w3 with either W8 or W10. A tiny (smaller than 2 of your cellphones put face to face) package that I can easily run on a 5V linear supply. I have spares, so will load one up with LMS, DL the plugin, configure it, and give it a try. Again, thanks! Greg
  6. Update on my R26 experience so far... First, it is good. AND my assessment so far is that it does not beat my DIY setup in resolution, detailing, black backgrounds, and soundstage depth, width, and height. BUT that setup is wildly over-the-top, especially around the power supplies used, and if made into a retail product would cost several times that of the R26, so not surprising. I'm listening to 44.1 ripped CDs via either I2S-over-HDMI from a SDTrans384 SD Card Player or USB via an original-version (Not V3) Sonore UltraRendu, with both powered by an Uptone Audio LPS-1/1.2s. My modified SDTrans384 (LDOVR.com LT3045 regulator boards replacing the on-board stock regulators) beat a stock one. BUT I was surprised that the UltraRendu on limited listening seems to beat them both. I think this is both a testament to how good the UR is as a source AND that the SDTrans384's I2S-over-HDMI output uses an LVDS chip (TI DS90LV047A) that is over 10-years-old (as @superdad has posted, there are recent chips that provide measurably lower-jitter on the outputs than most others). I need to spend more time comparing these two inputs and against my DIY setup. In the meantime, I tried downloading the PGGB upsampled files from Audiowise as @seeteeyou mentioned. No dice so far, they are higher rate than the SDTrans's max 384. I'm checking with Audiowise on getting 384 versions and also will try the sample files via the UltraRendu. If they sound good, I'll get some of my tracks/files converted for further comparisons. This all brings me to a couple questions... First, my standard digital file playback is via the Logitech Squeezebox scheme only playing back files stored locally on my LMS server computer. I use the UltraRendu in this mode, but as far as I've read so far, the R26 built-in streamer does handle this. Am I wrong? OR if not, what recommendations do people have for a good sounding, easy to setup streaming SW I can use into the R26's Ethernet input? I would only be playing local files, as above. Second, I took awhile to understand how to get the UltraRendu connect via USB consistently. Most of that was my learning curve, the biggest breakthrough was when I found a comment in one of the UR support threads saying that the USB receiver had to be up and connected when the UltraRendu boots. Power-cycling the R26 just before power-cycling the UR works every time. BUT I get inconsistent results selecting the I2S input, then back to USB. Most of the time the USB input quickly cycles from indicating PCM 44.1k to DSD. SOMETIMES it will cycle back after a few seconds, but most of the time it does not. AND if I don't power-cycle the R26 before rebooting the UR, it often comes up as DSD on the USB input too. Before I start trying to troubleshoot this via both Sonore and Gustard support, has anyone else experienced similar via the R26 USB input? OR have any ideas here? I admit I haven't updated to the 1.4v of the firmware yet, I need to do so and see if it impacts this issue. Thanks in advance for any answers! Greg in Mississippi
  7. As always, @Superdad pegs it. Nothing special, but in my experience, still good as a linear supply entry point. I've used the 12V and 5V Jameco Linear-Regulated Linear wall warts as basic supplies in my DIY work for several years now. At $15 and $14 each respectively, they aren't LPS-1/1.2's (what else is?), JS-2's, Paul Hynes, FARAD, or whatever, but even stock they've beat every OEM-supplied SMPS and even the original iFi. Even though I always upgraded them to a better supply, they are always a good basic starting point when trying new gear and configurations. If you have DIY skills or can strongarm your DIY friend to do it, you can upgrade them quite nicely using $30 or so in parts. The hardest mod tasks are carefully cracking open the glued case without damaging the unit (while allowing re-assembly) and fitting an AC filter cap. While in there, you can also modify the regulated output voltages up or down a volt or 2 by changing 1 resistor OR even tap the raw DC voltage (~10V on the 5V units, ~19V on the 12V units) OR. Doing this lets them work well as DC feeders for either an MPAudio.net dual 3||LT3045 board (1 modified Jameco per side, can either use the outputs separately or in parallel to double the current) or an LDOVR.com 2|| or 3||LT3045 board, though in some applications I have preferred the sonics of the modified Jameco directly without the additional regulation stages. If you are not in the US or Canada, I suspect you can find similar units in your home country for your local AC voltage. Upgrades include replacing the pre/post regulator caps and rectifier diodes (with Schottky diodes) along with adding John Swenson's transformer ringing snubber circuit, and a 2uF polyprop AC filter cap. I can share pix and recommended parts for those interested, message me. In my 2 setups, my reference EtherRegen supply remains similar to that I outlined in the 1st post in this thread, 2 LPS-1.2's set to 12V, each feeding 1/2 of a modified MPAudio.net dual 3||LT3045 board with the outputs paralleled, which halves the current draw per LPS-1.2 and helps keep them healthy (see picture). In my upstairs setup, when I am not listening I keep the HVAC vents into the room closed and the temps can range over 100F during the summer. I power down the LPS-1.2s to avoid overheating them and instead use 2 of the modified Jameco's as the raw DC sources for the MPAudio board to keep the EtherRegen warmed up and ready for a listening session. Yes, the pair of LPS-1.2's beats the modified Jamecos. BUT the modified Jamecos in the setup still sound very good to my ears, they are no slouch for <$100 modified. DIY forever! Greg in Mississippi
  8. @GUTB, Thanks for this response. I generally agree with what you wrote, though I have heard DACs using discrete opamps (like the licensed Sparkos Lab circuit used in the Allo.com Katana) that compete with non-opamp discrete and/or the best transformer output stages. My take is that Gustard has incrementally improved their DAC systems' designs and each successive model builds on the next, so where they had opamp-only output stages at first they now include discrete building blocks. OTOH, you may be right on their use of opamps in the output stage of the R26. I took closeup pix of much of the interior before I put it in one of my setups for break-in and audition to assess the potential for DIY improvements. I saw a couple of opamps in the output stage area, OPA1642s (IMHO a fairly good sounding one). How they affect the final result will of course be dependent on how they are used... I am GUESSING that the R2R ladder output is voltage similar to that of the Soekris circuits, so no I/V conversion would be needed (which is where opamps have particular challenges though again, with proper design and implementation AND with the use of discrete opamps, I have heard some opamp I/V stages sound reasonably good). Perhaps they are used as a buffers. Perhaps as DC servos. IDK. I doubt that Gustard will release the circuit (very interested in seeing it if they do), but their effect may be large or not. I posted my current assessment of the unit in a previous post. While I don't consider the R26 to be fully broken-in at this point, it was a fairly good assessment, though my super-over-the top DIY setup was IMHO better in pretty much all parameters. AND in all fairness, my DIY setup, with the music server, networking gear, and the over-the-top power supplies (12 in toto), would likely be a $10k USD commercial unit. Greg in Mississippi P.S. DIY improvement potential assessment of the R26... not much to do nor much that can be done. The unit appears to be well though-out, designed, and implemented and likely a bargain for its price point. The overall integration is VERY tight and because of that, there are not a lot of opportunities for improvement without a significant chance of degrading the sonics by disrupting their system design (or out and out breaking the unit). To contrast, OTOH, I found the Sony HAP Z1-ES a very fertile unit for DIY improvements, many of which I documented on a thread on that unit at DIYAudio.
  9. @seeteeyou, No I do not. BUT MANY THANKS for this link, I have been wondering what next on the R26 besides letting it continue its break-in. Trying well-upsampled materials (like from PGGB) has been on my list! I'll be getting some of my reference tracks upsampled to 384 (the max the SDTrans will handle). I have moved from my stock "spare" SDTrans384 to the one I modified with LT3045 regulator boards from LDOVR.com replacing the older stock regulators. That was a nice upgrade when it was feeding my modified Soekris DAM 1021 and was here too, feeding the R26 from its I2S-over-HDMI output. At some point I'll have to try it with IanCanada's new-ish HDMIPi Pro, where he uses discrete LVDS circuitry for the lowest possible jitter. Ian believes his latest HDMIPi Pro may be the lowest jitter source available of this type. I'll be sending the R26 to him to try and also compare his HDMIPiPro against my stock SDTrans384 (and the R26 against the Holo Spring 3 he recently purchased to try an R2R DAC). R26 impressions... with about 2 1/2 weeks break-in, it is getting good and promising. I don't have any comparable commercial DACs for comparison, BUT my DIY'd setup using an Allo USBBridge Signature, Ian's FiFoPi Q7 (recently upgraded to this), his ES9038Q2M Dual Mono DAC, and his recently released OPA861 I/V stage with seriously over-the-top power supplies is ahead of it in all areas, including detailing, resolution, spatial presentation, and ability to keep instruments and voices separate especially when the music gets complex. I'll give the R26 at least 4 weeks of constant run-time before I form any lasting impressions. It has continually and significantly improved significantly since new and cold. AND while I haven't fired it up to compare yet, from memory it is well ahead of my modified Soekris DAM 1021 setup. I'll also compare the I2S-over-HDMI osurce to USB USB from a Sonore UltraRendu I have here. Greg in Mississippi
  10. @GUTB curious where you got that info. Gustard's product blurb on the output stage... "LPF is specifically designed for the D/A converter using discrete devices. Final parameters of the circuit are adjusted with subjective listening. Different from IC s, discrete circuits provide the possibilities to control every detail in sound and performance. But the parasitic effects introduced huge challenges to development experience and device' s quality." TIA! Greg in Mississippi
  11. Just ordered one via Amazon to take advantage of the $250 off Black Friday price. Anyone else? Greg in Mississippi
  12. Not from Allo, but I was involved with Beta testing & tweaking the Katana for the final shipped versions. IMHO, the best thing you can due to prevent overheating & keep your Katana functional is to turn off the DC-DC converter & add a separate linear +-15V supply to power the output OpAmp board. See more in this thread on DIYAudio where I was responding to a similar question... Greg in Mississippi https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/getting-the-best-out-of-allo-coms-new-katana-dac.329911/post-7108255
  13. No slouch with HW indeed. Glad it is working for you. Sorry I left you both astray! Which of your 2 RPi is it powering? Any sonic differences noticed? Greg in Mississippi P.S. My 2 player setups are topologically similar, LMS servers are Zotac ZBox PI-320 micro PCs with music both on the onboard storage & an attached 1Tb SD card on each, PiCorePlayer on Allo USBBridge Signatures (custom audiophile-ish carrier board for an RPi 3 compute module), both setups hosting DIY I2S-connected DACs.
  14. @Narcissus, sounds like a thorough troubleshooting regime provides by Alex or John or you are just good with HW... Yup, dead. @[email protected], my experience trying to use an LPS-1 or 1.2 on an RPi 2B is that booting was hit or miss, I assume to the higher current draw at boot. Also these were all powering just the RPi & in some cases the dirty side of an I2S isolator board which at most adds something in the low 10s of mA. Over time more trouble than benefit. Of course YMMV. Also, as Alex shared here: ... the failure rate on these units was higher than expected. I've experienced a few failures with them & most have been at currents nearing 500mA, as I don't run any at higher currents as so not to stress these then fairly expensive & now rare & more delicate than expected supplies. OTOH, I have several running at 200mA or lower 24-7 for the past several years with almost no issues. Also YMMV, this has been what works the best for me. Greg in Mississippi
  15. Nope. RPi 4 officially requires 5V 3A, LPS-1.2 is 5V 1.1A. I tried one on the earlier & less current-hungry RPi 2B with occasional success, but mostly aborted boots. What's up with your ISO Regen, if I may ask... Just curious. Greg in Mississippi.
×
×
  • Create New...