ASUS Tinkerboard vs RaspberryPi

[Guest]

So I've been AB'ing the RaspberryPi B+ and the ASUS Tinkerboard.

 

Not really expecting to hear a difference, but more only a difference in speed....however there is an audible difference between the two.

 

Specs wise they are close but the Tinkerboard has an obvious edge in terms of CPU and RAM. Could this small edge alone be the cause?

 

After a week of going back and forth, even getting my wife involved to try a little 'blind testing' I could clearly hear more high frequency detail which seemed to contribute to a sound stage that put it on a different level all together. Other than the boards they both used the exact same SSD card, Software, power etc. etc.

 

Anyone else have a Tinkerboard?

[The Computer Audiophile]

I received a Tinkerboard last week, but I haven't had a chance to tinker with it. I like how ASUS made its design fix all the flaws of the RPi.

 

[SYM]

Hi Dynobot, am currently using the Tinkerboard as a NAA (installed Volumio). Sound wise - definitely better than the RPi 3B. Music is more engaging and lively. Good dynamics too. 

 

Was using it with ifi iUSB3 - sound was ok. I recently upgraded the current psu (ifi ipower) to a generic linear power supply (5v 3.5a) and that took the sound to a whole new level. I read that the tinkerboard is quite fussy about power supply. Wife was pleasantly surprised at the improvement the psu made. 

 

I have also limited the cpu freq to 600mhz. That is sufficient for audio purpose. 

[FredericV]

I have a lot of raspberry pi 1, a pi 2, a pi 3 and a pi zero w. Asus is on my todo list.

I recently advised a Dutch DAC manufacturer to consider the Asus for their Roon bridge, but they went for a pi.
Personally also considering a banana pi M2 berry (or newer), in Belgium they are now 20 euro. These have sata.

[Guest]

On 9/1/2018 at 9:13 PM, SYM said:

Hi Dynobot, am currently using the Tinkerboard as a NAA (installed Volumio). Sound wise - definitely better than the RPi 3B. Music is more engaging and lively. Good dynamics too. 

 

Was using it with ifi iUSB3 - sound was ok. I recently upgraded the current psu (ifi ipower) to a generic linear power supply (5v 3.5a) and that took the sound to a whole new level. I read that the tinkerboard is quite fussy about power supply. Wife was pleasantly surprised at the improvement the psu made. 

 

I have also limited the cpu freq to 600mhz. That is sufficient for audio purpose. 

Hi SYM

 

I certainly like my Tinkerboard, it won a spot in my main system. I too have throttled the CPU down a bit, but its still very responsive. 

 

Next up, I want to connect the SPDIF from the board and use it instead of the USB output. I've read some Japanese sites that the sound is very good via SPDIF.

 

BTW, I use Dietpi with LMS and Squeezelite.

[Guest]

On 9/2/2018 at 12:31 AM, FredericV said:

I have a lot of raspberry pi 1, a pi 2, a pi 3 and a pi zero w. Asus is on my todo list.

I recently advised a Dutch DAC manufacturer to consider the Asus for their Roon bridge, but they went for a pi.
Personally also considering a banana pi M2 berry (or newer), in Belgium they are now 20 euro. These have sata.

 

Hi Fred

 

The Dutch DAC manufacturer should have taken your advise about the ASUS, for a few reasons....Ethernet and USB don't share the same chip, the newer model ASUS can use a emmc vs only a SD card [long term stability and speed increase], more RAM and CPU speeds = more responsive, better Ethernet speeds and the wifi card can be fitted with an external antenna.

 

I imagine they wanted to play it safe and go with the board with the most support and wider user base.

[SYM]

..... as I listen to the tinker board with Volumio on it for sometime - I felt the music was clear and transparent and I thought : wow very nice. After a while - I felt that something is wrong AGAIN. This happen again and again with the other SBC that I have. 

 

There is inherently something amiss with the SBCs that I tried - eg RPi, Odroid and now TB (with different configurations - eg usb, HAT, psu, cables, reclocker etc). Music sounds good but somehow it is lacking in something I cant really put my fingers to. Even feeding those SBC with good PSU did not improve things for me. I then decide to venture to the dark side - and got myself SoTM SMS200. I want to confirm that all ARM processor sounds the same. I was proven WRONG. 

 

The moment I played some music after setting the player up - I know I am not going back. Took less than 1 min to conclude that. Everything that I found lacking in the SBCs were right there present with SoTM. Realism, foot tapping engagement, spatial projection, dynamics etc were all there!!!!!

 

I am someone who own lots of SBC - I think the real reason are 1) I enjoy tweaking, 2) I believe I can bring SBC to perform up audiophile grade player and 3) the SBC that I have doesnt really sound natural to me. 

 

I had read about people comparing SBC with the likes of microrendu, sotm and concludes that it sounds the same. It took me less than a min to conclude the opposite. I have no agenda whatsoever - I only want to enjoy music. Just some random thoughts from a disgruntled tweaker

[chauphuong]

9 hours ago, SYM said:

..... as I listen to the tinker board with Volumio on it for sometime - I felt the music was clear and transparent and I thought : wow very nice. After a while - I felt that something is wrong AGAIN. This happen again and again with the other SBC that I have. 

 

There is inherently something amiss with the SBCs that I tried - eg RPi, Odroid and now TB (with different configurations - eg usb, HAT, psu, cables, reclocker etc). Music sounds good but somehow it is lacking in something I cant really put my fingers to. Even feeding those SBC with good PSU did not improve things for me. I then decide to venture to the dark side - and got myself SoTM SMS200. I want to confirm that all ARM processor sounds the same. I was proven WRONG. 

 

The moment I played some music after setting the player up - I know I am not going back. Took less than 1 min to conclude that. Everything that I found lacking in the SBCs were right there present with SoTM. Realism, foot tapping engagement, spatial projection, dynamics etc were all there!!!!!

 

I am someone who own lots of SBC - I think the real reason are 1) I enjoy tweaking, 2) I believe I can bring SBC to perform up audiophile grade player and 3) the SBC that I have doesnt really sound natural to me. 

 

I had read about people comparing SBC with the likes of microrendu, sotm and concludes that it sounds the same. It took me less than a min to conclude the opposite. I have no agenda whatsoever - I only want to enjoy music. Just some random thoughts from a disgruntled tweaker

If you enjoy tweaking, please do it to R Pi, especially its power by removing the smps dc-dc converter and providing linear currents directly to PI. Then say no to PI's usb ports by installing a Digione....

[SYM]

Update:

 

I was so impressed with SOTM SMS200 - that I went ahead and got the SMS200 Ultra Neo. There is no contest - and no chance that any sbc comes even close to this level of fidelity - NONE. This is speaking from years of experience tweaking, toying with various sbc boards. 

 

SBC provides a good value for $$ option for people who want to use it for streaming music - however that is what it is (value for $$). Moving up the fidelity ladder requires something more. 

[Johnjc]

I know this is a old thread but I used to have the SOtM 200 Ultra Neo and I am now using the ASUS Tinkerboard S at present being powered by a 12v battery with a 5v converter I am also using a Oehbach XXL Masterclock USB which I think takes the Tinkerboard a good few steps beyond the Ultra Neo at a 1/4 of the price but glad the SOtM is working for you 

[SYM]

5 hours ago, Johnjc said:

I know this is a old thread but I used to have the SOtM 200 Ultra Neo and I am now using the ASUS Tinkerboard S at present being powered by a 12v battery with a 5v converter I am also using a Oehbach XXL Masterclock USB which I think takes the Tinkerboard a good few steps beyond the Ultra Neo at a 1/4 of the price but glad the SOtM is working for you 

 

extremely happy that it works for you. congratulations

[YGGY1]

On 10/28/2019 at 12:44 AM, Johnjc said:

I know this is a old thread but I used to have the SOtM 200 Ultra Neo and I am now using the ASUS Tinkerboard S at present being powered by a 12v battery with a 5v converter I am also using a Oehbach XXL Masterclock USB which I think takes the Tinkerboard a good few steps beyond the Ultra Neo at a 1/4 of the price but glad the SOtM is working for you 

 

Hi. I am new to audio and would like to save some money on wireless bridge part in my new system. Can you show me where I can find instructions to build the one you have swapped with the SOtM?

[Johnjc]

The build is quite straight forward 

Get a Tinkerboard 

You will need a case I used a Asaka A-RA03-M1B.  Putting the unit in the case is straight forward make sure you are using the heat sinks during the installation 

I am using a 16gb sim card and downloaded Volumio for the Tinkerboard 

Do not use the Switch mode power supply it will sound awful You could get a power bank that can cope with a 3 amp load. This is critical otherwise it will not power up I am using a dedicated power supply with supercaps a bit over the top

You do not a hat unlike the pi. 

I have added a reclocker decent USB cables and decent isolation feet

You will need a USB based DAC 

I also added a few IFI USB silencers but this is just me pushing the unit as far as I can take it 

 

 

[Johnjc]

I forgot to mention get the Tinkerboard S type

Here a link to a link where a few people who had the digione have now moved onto the Tinkerboard 

http://theaudiostandard.net/thread/5234/building-volumio-usb-network-streamer

[YGGY1]

1 hour ago, Johnjc said:

I forgot to mention get the Tinkerboard S type

Here a link to a link where a few people who had the digione have now moved onto the Tinkerboard 

http://theaudiostandard.net/thread/5234/building-volumio-usb-network-streamer

 

Thank you very much Johnjc!

 

I am on my journey to set up a good bookshelf system.

 

This is how good I want from a setup and chose the same speaker as my next first stereo speaker (long story...)

 

Given that you have about 3.5K to buy the gears for the speaker, can you recommend me some components? 

 

Like DAC, amp, preamp or just a integrated amp?

 

In terms of streamer, I am going to build my own like yours or go with a MiniDSP SHD for room correction.

 

 

 

 

 

[Johnjc]

I suggest find a really good dealer Hear stuff in your home before committing to purchase (especially your speakers)

Better still hear as many systems as you can so you can figure out what you like and dislike