The true experimental tweak thread

[agladstone]

On 1/13/2018 at 8:11 AM, Cornan said:

So today I got some time alone and started with one of my Stammheim 3A single ps LT3045s. First up I made the DIY Canare starquad cables, plugged it in, fine-adjusted the output voltage and let it run for 10 minutes to ensure a stabile voltage.

 

 

Next up was to connect it all inside the cubborn. Not easy, but it will hopefully be easier when I have moved to my new apartment, which is pretty soon now.

 

 

Just to be sure I monitored the current draw of Brooklyn DAC. It never even past 1A. It is always around 911-915 mA in my setup, so I could possibly even use my 12v/1A board if I wanted to. Anyway, maybe a bit too close to be totally safe? 3A is in any case very very safe! ?

 

 

 

I started to listen through my new Gibson Les Paul 8 speakers which is now a definate keeper. In the beginning of the first track "Carry You" by Novo Amor I got chills all over and almost could'nt keep my eyes dry. Almost like falling in love. Sooooo beautiful! ?

Everything sounded so complete that I was totally trapped inside the music. A lovely feeling that unfortunately doesn't come sneaking in that often! ?

 

 

http://tidal.com/album/71241182

 

The Gibson speakers really translate the music great with a very broad register from top to bottom without feeling perticular or tense about it. I can pull the volume very high before feeling the need to lower the volume. 

The single ps made this volume range even greater. Novo Amor is sitting in my lap singing kind of feeling. Pitch black background, dynamic and deep LF, refinded and very nicely sculptured HF and most of all a very natural "woody" presentation.

 

Stammheim have clearly made a brilliant ps! I am so so happy that I pulled the plug. Do I want to go back to Brooklyns DACs internal SMPS yet again? NO WAY! I found my preferred PSU. Sorry, I am not going after SR4 or sPS-500 either after hearing how beautiful this combo sounds. I am happily trapped inside the music now! ?

 

@Cornan, so you have been reading under 1AMP draw for the Brooklyn DAC? 

If this is true, than that means that it actually can be powered via an LPS-1 with its 1.1A?? 

Is this correct? If it is, this is great news to me!!

 

[Cornan]

10 minutes ago, agladstone said:

Thanks! So I should source some silver plates wire vs. rip apart these Mogami’s? I have used a couple of the starquad Mogami cables to make a temporary DIY Y DC cable with screw down DC plugs and I think it is great wire for that (looks like better cable than the Canare 4S6 to me).  However I am going to have ghent make me a Canare / Oyiade Y cable since I believe the Oyiade plugs and Profesionally made / soldered DC cables are going to be better regardless. I am really not a fan of these screw down DC plugs! They are really cheap and also I have had a few of them have the wires pull right out of them when moving some stuff around in my rack now. 

 

Personally, I would buy something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/25-feet-22-AWG-Silver-Plated-PTFE-Teflon-R-Wire-White-19-strands-made-in-USA-/381574999242

I doesn't brake the bank and is great for the purpose.

IME the difference between DC plugs is quite small (but a snug fit is important). The secret to great SQ is in the cable gauge and overall construction. Oyiade DC plugs looks good though! ?

[Cornan]

7 minutes ago, agladstone said:

@Cornan, so you have been reading under 1AMP draw for the Brooklyn DAC? 

If this is true, than that means that it actually can be powered via an LPS-1 with its 1.1A?? 

Is this correct? If it is, this is great news to me!!

 

 

Yes, in my perticular setup it is true. However, you'll really need to measure it in your own setup before deciding on that in your setup. It is simply too close in amperage to give a firm answer. I play only cloud content for example. If you play local content Brooklyn might pull more. Other things matter as well. I use my Gophert to monitor each device. It is really handy for that purpose as well! ?

[gstew]

On 1/13/2018 at 7:11 AM, Cornan said:

So today I got some time alone and started with one of my Stammheim 3A single ps LT3045s. First up I made the DIY Canare starquad cables, plugged it in, fine-adjusted the output voltage and let it run for 10 minutes to ensure a stabile voltage.

 

 

Next up was to connect it all inside the cubborn. Not easy, but it will hopefully be easier when I have moved to my new apartment, which is pretty soon now.

 

 

Just to be sure I monitored the current draw of Brooklyn DAC. It never even past 1A. It is always around 911-915 mA in my setup, so I could possibly even use my 12v/1A board if I wanted to. Anyway, maybe a bit too close to be totally safe? 3A is in any case very very safe! ?

 

 

 

I started to listen through my new Gibson Les Paul 8 speakers which is now a definate keeper. In the beginning of the first track "Carry You" by Novo Amor I got chills all over and almost could'nt keep my eyes dry. Almost like falling in love. Sooooo beautiful! ?

Everything sounded so complete that I was totally trapped inside the music. A lovely feeling that unfortunately doesn't come sneaking in that often! ?

 

 

http://tidal.com/album/71241182

 

The Gibson speakers really translate the music great with a very broad register from top to bottom without feeling perticular or tense about it. I can pull the volume very high before feeling the need to lower the volume. 

The single ps made this volume range even greater. Novo Amor is sitting in my lap singing kind of feeling. Pitch black background, dynamic and deep LF, refinded and very nicely sculptured HF and most of all a very natural "woody" presentation.

 

Stammheim have clearly made a brilliant ps! I am so so happy that I pulled the plug. Do I want to go back to Brooklyns DACs internal SMPS yet again? NO WAY! I found my preferred PSU. Sorry, I am not going after SR4 or sPS-500 either after hearing how beautiful this combo sounds. I am happily trapped inside the music now! ?

 

 

@Cornan,

 

Sounds like you got a winner too!

 

I mentioned earlier that mine has been improving with some run-in time. What I'm hearing now versus when I first started using them is increased detailing and dynamics, especially in the upper-bass through midranges, along with a slight increase in overall 'sweetness'. I'm listening closely daily to determine if it is really break-in or just the effects of our local weather, which has resulted in another round of WAY-below-typical temperature for this time of year.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Cornan said:

 

I have'nt done it myself, but I think @gstew, @hurka and maybe @mozes might have tried it? Hopefully one of these helpful guys can chime in! ?

 

I have. See quoted post below on that.

 

I find the best way to use the LPS-1s (I have 10 around here now!) is to think of them as VERY good low-noise voltage sources that almost eliminate any issues from the AC source powering them (and with the JSGT or using a linear PS to energize them as I do, completely eliminates them). How they work best depends on what they are powering. In my upstairs system, I have 4 LPS-1s in an RPi HAT DAC digital source setup powering:

 

1. An Allo.com isolator board

2. An Allo.com Kali I2S reclocker board

3. The digital side of a Dial RPi DAC's DAC chip (my own hot-rod build) 

4. The analog side of a Dial RPi DAC's DAC chip

 

All of these have very good regulators locally... LT3042 on the Allo.com boards, ADM715x on the Hot Rod Dial DAC. I have tried additional regulators after the LPS-1s here (ADM715x or Belleson) and found they work best direct.

 

BUT I also use a couple of LPS-1s to power an SDTrans384 SD Card Player in my downstairs system. While it has ok on-board regulation (mostly ADP151s), it responds well to the best power one can feed it. At one point, I saw posts of some audiophiles in Japan using a set of solar cells energized by bright lights to provide the power needed by the board.. over the top, even for me!

 

On this board, I have used a dual 4||LT3042 and the dual 3||LT3045 version of the board that Cornan is using worked very well... the post just below includes the different options I tried getting to that choice and the last post shows some pix of my boards.

 

I energize each side with its own LPS-1, so I have 2.2A max going into the regulator boards and with the dual 3||LT3045 board which has a 3A max capacity, the full 2.2A is available.

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

On 1/12/2017 at 3:59 PM, gstew said:

 

I have run LPS-1s with 3 supplies so far... the stock Meanwell, a cheapo 12v supply, and a DIY 12v supply. I could not tell a difference in the sound of the gear powered by the LPS-1s with any of the energizing supplies. I DID have some noise bleed-through with the Meanwell, discussing it with Alex we suspect it was radiated noise picked up through my transformer volume controls. But it only happened in certain configurations while not playing and when setup for playing, no noise and no difference.

 

I'm currently building two pretty massive DIY supplies designed to each power up to 4 LPS-1s... I have plans....

 

 

 

 

While my current amps DO have SMPSs, I do not use any other SMPSs with my audio gear, including source computers and networking gear. And where I have changed SMPSs out for DIY'd linear supplies, when they are directly powering a piece of gear, I have generally heard improvements. I do have a friend swearing his R-Pi-based player using a modified HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro sounds better with a specific SMPS powering the Pi, I'll be trying that in my setup soon.

 

But I'm with Barrows and YashN and generally keep generic consumer SMPSs out of my setups.

 

 

 

 

I did an interesting test a few days back. I powered an SDTrans384 feeding a somewhat modified Soekris DAM DAC with the following:

 

1. A DIY linear supply based on the K&K Audio Low Voltage Supply here: http://www.kandkaudio.com/other-kits/ . It was the 12 watt version with larger caps before and after the regulator.

 

2. A single LPS-1 set to 5v

 

3. A single LPS-1 set to 7v feeding a Belleson 5V/2A regulator.

 

4. 2 LPS-1s set to 5v in parallel.

 

#1 was good all around, but did not beat any of the other options in any parameter.

 

#2 was the cleanest and most focused and detailed, but not as dynamic as any of the others. That doesn't mean it is not dynamic, just not as much as the others in direct comparison.

 

#3 was about as dynamic as #1 & #4. Also it was more focused and detailed than #1, but not as good as #2 or #4

 

#4 was more focused and detailed than any of the others EXCEPT #2, where it lost out a bit, though decisively. It was up in the same realm of dynamics as #1 & #3.

 

I stuck with the single LPS-1, #2, as my preferred power source for this, my best digital source.

 

My next try will be a dual paralleled LT3042 regulator board from OPC on DIYAudio, powered by 2 LPS-1s set to 7V, and paralleled at the output of the two paralleled LT3042 sections (each has 4 of the regs giving about a 1A output capacity). I'm hoping this will give me the benefits of the additional current capacity of 2 LPS-1s while retaining the detail and focus I get with a single one direct.

 

 

 

 

See this post from Alex where he described a quick and dirty series adapter:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f27-uptone-audio-sponsored/ultracap%99-linear-power-supply-1-operation-and-pre-purchase-thread-30173/index5.html#post615780

 

While I haven't done this myself, I did make up a quick DIY adapter for a friend who used it with two LPS-1s in series to power his Aries Mini to good effect:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f22-networking-networked-audio-and-streaming/overall-isolation-network-universal-serial-bus-industry-standard-cables-connectors-and-communications-protocols-between-computers-and-electronic-devices-and-power-29916/index21.html#post618874

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

 

On 1/13/2018 at 10:44 AM, gstew said:

Cornan,

 

Very welcome. Very curious on how Michael's regs work for you. Do remember they take some time to break-in... my experience is that circuits with ceramic caps take about 3 weeks of constant running to finally settle. I have one of Michael's dual-boards powering my SDTrans384 SD Card player. Its been running about 2 1/2 weeks now and starting to sound good... at 1/2 week I put the previous supply (a dual 4||LT3042 board from DIYAudio poster OPC) back in and slightly preferred that. Now I suspect it'd be the other way around (though not by a huge difference... both the LT3042 and LT3045 are great regulators. BUT the in-line ballast resistance of the LT3045 setup is 1/2 of that on the LT3042 setup, so a little less reduction in the 'goodness' of the regulators when paralleled). I power both of these with 2 LPS-1s with each powering 1 side of the dual board. 

 

I only have Michael's dual boards... he didn't have the 6||LT3045 boards when I ordered them. BUT for low-level digital electronics, the 2 LPS-1s into a dual paralleled LT304x regulator board is the best I've tried. One would need current-matched LPS-1s to do that into the 6||LT3045.

 

Pix of my build attached. I used different caps than Michael's BOM... I wanted to use the same ones as on OPC's BOM for his boards as I knew they worked well in the setups where I've used them. I also added a couple at the output to make setups more like each other. AND I used fixed resistors instead of the adjustable pots... again to make the two different implementations more like each other so I can get a better feel for the basic differences between 2x4||LT3042 and the 2x3||LT305 boards.

 

Later!

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

P.S. I added a couple of pics of OPC's 2x4||LT3042 boards for comparison.

 

Then the other boards in the build picture are alternative  reg boards from OPC for powering ES9028/9038/9038 DACs' AVCC rails. Working on implementations of a couple of those. Gotta love building SMD boards!

 

 

[Cornan]

14 minutes ago, gstew said:

 

@Cornan,

 

Sounds like you got a winner too!

 

I mentioned earlier that mine has been improving with some run-in time. What I'm hearing now versus when I first started using them is increased detailing and dynamics, especially in the upper-bass through midranges, along with a slight increase in overall 'sweetness'. I'm listening closely daily to determine if it is really break-in or just the effects of our local weather, which has resulted in another round of WAY-below-typical temperature for this time of year.

 

Thanks Greg! 

 

Yes, I am really over the moon right now! ? Since I have one more of Michael's single ps that I was suppose to use for my main router I am now thinking to use the other one in series pre Brooklyn DAC and perhaps try your LT3042 board for the router. I am not letting this opportunity pass me by! ?

 

19 minutes ago, gstew said:

At one point, I saw posts of some audiophiles in Japan using a set of solar cells energized by bright lights to provide the power needed by the board.. over the top, even for me!

 

Interesting! Japanese audiophiles are really my idols in this hobby. I like over-the-counter ideas and might just give this one a thought as well! ?

[gstew]

Just now, Cornan said:

 

Thanks Greg! 

<SNIP>

Interesting! Japanese audiophiles are really my idols in this hobby. I like over-the-counter ideas and might just give this one a thought as well! ?

Cornan,

 

See the main SDTran384 thread on DIYAudio for the solar cell power posts:

 

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project-post3569285.html

 

SOMEDAY I'd like to add some solar panels to our house with the main purpose being to provide power to critical things like the refrigerator during the occasional power outages... and the rest of the time, use them to power my audio setups. We'll see if I ever find the funds to make that happen!

 

Later!

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

 

[Cornan]

35 minutes ago, gstew said:

Cornan,

 

See the main SDTran384 thread on DIYAudio for the solar cell power posts:

 

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project-post3569285.html

 

SOMEDAY I'd like to add some solar panels to our house with the main purpose being to provide power to critical things like the refrigerator during the occasional power outages... and the rest of the time, use them to power my audio setups. We'll see if I ever find the funds to make that happen!

 

Later!

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

 

 

Thanks Greg! I have subscribed to that thread and will be sure to read it. Right up my alley! ?

 

I'll bet the solar panels on your house will improve SQ as well. A pity that I live in an apartment. I will have to find other solar panel solutions close to a window perhaps? Interesting ideas non-the-less! ?

 

Micael

 

 

[Cornan]

@gstew 

After searching a bit after portable solar panels I ran into this one that looks interesting and got plenty of raves by users https://m.banggood.com/BlitzWolf-20W-3A-Foldable-Portable-SunPower-Solar-Cell-USB-Solar-Panel-Charger-with-Power3S-for-iPhone-6s-Plus-p-1012412.html

 

It could be an interesting experiment powering the galvanicly isolated output of my Luckit BluWave board for starters! ?

It seems quite powerful for what it is, so there could be other interesting uses for it together with ultracaps for example? ?

[agladstone]

2 hours ago, Cornan said:

@gstew 

After searching a bit after portable solar panels I ran into this one that looks interesting and got plenty of raves by users https://m.banggood.com/BlitzWolf-20W-3A-Foldable-Portable-SunPower-Solar-Cell-USB-Solar-Panel-Charger-with-Power3S-for-iPhone-6s-Plus-p-1012412.html

 

It could be an interesting experiment powering the galvanicly isolated output of my Luckit BluWave board for starters! ?

It seems quite powerful for what it is, so there could be other interesting uses for it together with ultracaps for example? ?

I can’t wait to hear the report on how the solar panels work. This could be interesting!! 

[BigGuy]

2 hours ago, Cornan said:

@gstew 

After searching a bit after portable solar panels I ran into this one that looks interesting and got plenty of raves by users https://m.banggood.com/BlitzWolf-20W-3A-Foldable-Portable-SunPower-Solar-Cell-USB-Solar-Panel-Charger-with-Power3S-for-iPhone-6s-Plus-p-1012412.html

 

It could be an interesting experiment powering the galvanicly isolated output of my Luckit BluWave board for starters! ?

It seems quite powerful for what it is, so there could be other interesting uses for it together with ultracaps for example? ?

So...you bought them all, eh?  ;-)  Link says currently not available.

 

Interesting concept tho'!

[hurka]

12 hours ago, jean-michel6 said:

Hi All ,

 

Does anybody has tried the LT 3045 regulator board with either an SPS-500 or a LPS-1 ?

 

To power what and What was the results ?

 

Thank's

Lps1: lt3042's inside.

if your ac main perfect clean,sps 500 better choice.

if not,Lps1 can beat!

[Cornan]

2 hours ago, hurka said:

I can’t wait to hear the report on how the solar panels work. This could be interesting!! 

 

5 hours ago, BigGuy said:

So...you bought them all, eh?  ;-)  Link says currently not available.

 

Interesting concept tho'!

 

I have'nt ordered it yet since I move to a new address in February. First off I'll need to know if the setup will be located close to a window in the sunny side (Not sure yet and Sweden is not that sunny). Secondly I do not want the parcel to get lost due to my new address. I will check in 2-3 weeks time and place an order when it ticks my boxes. It is still available when I looked just now. In any case I can always use it to charge my tablet or iPhone if it does'nt work as intended! ? 

[Cornan]

2 hours ago, hurka said:

Lps1: lt3042's inside.

if your ac main perfect clean,sps 500 better choice.

if not,Lps1 can beat!

 

The newly released LPS-1.2 includes parallel LT3045 (and a bunch of other great additions). It looks like a killer PSU! Congrats @agladstone for a great choise! ?

 

 

[Cornan]

Thinking about the solar panels on DiyAudio http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project-62.html#post3569285 I wonder how effective (ie. how much solar energy it would produce) a day-light lamp like this one would be charging the portable solar panel?

 

https://www.conrad.se/Dagsljuslampa-Beurer-TL55-Vit.htm?websale8=conrad-swe&pi=1609590

 

 

I have seen the same or a very similar one much cheaper around (roughly $65). I could connect it to a twilight relay so it powers on when its dark and shuts off during sunshine? Could be a fun experiment atleast!  

[Cornan]

Today I had no time for big projects, but had time for a quick one! ? I got my Neutrik RCA>XLR adapter that I ordered from a local dealer the other day and received in my mailbox today! ?

 

 

I had a simple plan. Inspired by a recent post by @tapatrick that he slightly preferred I2S with WaveIO to coaxial Spdif with BluWave in his setup I started to look how to convert coaxial Spdif to AES/EBU since my Brooklyn DAC lacks I2S input. I had three options. 1. Buy a Spdif to AES/EBU format converter, 2. Buy a Spdif to AES/EBU cable and butcher it or 3. Buy a RCA to XLR adapter. Since I did'nt want to add yet another power source I ended up with 2. and 3. Well, you know what I choosed. The easy way out! ? This means that my connection is still 75 ohm. The only thing that changes is the actual input and plug.

 

 

I installed it expecting no change at all. I was wrong! It did change the sound for the better. Small changes, but likable changes. Feels like the sound have a tiny bit better structure overall. A slightly more body to the upper register as well as the lower register. Echoes is slightly more clear. Anyway, all-in-one a surprising improvement and clearly worth the small cost of the Neutrik. I have no idea if this is due to if Brooklyn's AES/EBU input is slightly better than the Spdif? Frankly, I don't care either. I am just happy I tried! ?

 

 

 

[John769]

8 hours ago, Cornan said:

I have no idea if this is due to if Brooklyn's AES/EBU input is slightly better than the Spdif?

 

I tried a Singxer F1 with the Brooklyn a while ago and found it a mixed bag compared to the USB input (some things better, some not). Possibly the SPDIF input isn't quite what it could be...although that's just a guess.

 

 

[Cornan]

6 hours ago, John769 said:

 

I tried a Singxer F1 with the Brooklyn a while ago and found it a mixed bag compared to the USB input (some things better, some not). Possibly the SPDIF input isn't quite what it could be...although that's just a guess.

 

 

 

I think that these things could be very system dependant. My move from direct USB to USB>Spdif was quite a big jump in SQ. The RCA to XLR adaptor was just a small but likable change. It is quite possible that if I change from my Gotham GAC-1 RCA plugs to QED RCA plugs I will have another result as well as going for a soldered AES/EBU plug. No other way to find that out but to try it though! Anyway, there is other things to mind about at the moment, but it is a possible coming project!  

 

 

[tapatrick]

On 14/01/2018 at 7:59 PM, Cornan said:

 

Thanks Greg! I have subscribed to that thread and will be sure to read it. Right up my alley! ?

 

Me too ? I’ve been reading about SD card transports for the last few months and have ordered a SDtrans384 but could be some time as it needs min 10 orders.. 

 

Im considering a Rpi and an ALLO Kali reclocker to test out pure I2S into my PS Audio Junior. Very cheap  components and could be fun. @gstew

how do you rate the Raspberries with Allo reclocker as an I2S source?

[Cornan]

3 minutes ago, tapatrick said:

Me too ? I’ve been reading about SD card transports for the last few months and have ordered a SDtrans384 but could be some time as it needs min 10 orders..

 

I´m a bit too far up into the clouds streaming Mesosphere to consider the SDtrans384, but it is still a really great thread to get new ideas!  

[gstew]

1 hour ago, tapatrick said:

Me too ? I’ve been reading about SD card transports for the last few months and have ordered a SDtrans384 but could be some time as it needs min 10 orders.. 

 

Im considering a Rpi and an ALLO Kali reclocker to test out pure I2S into my PS Audio Junior. Very cheap  components and could be fun. @gstew

how do you rate the Raspberries with Allo reclocker as an I2S source?

Good for you, tapatrick. I'm considering getting a 2nd, always good to have a spare when one starts modifying one's reference source! So maybe we'll get to that 10 1 sooner!

 

AND it does native PS Audio-compliant I2S-over-HDMI! Power it up, plug in a cable, insert an SD Card, and GO!

 

I use various RPi setups as one of my main alternate digital sources, with various RPi DAC Hats (with good power one can get very good results from the best of them) and also one of my Soekris DAM1021 DACs. 

 

I get the best results from those when setup with a low-power music server (music on a 512Gb SD Card), good network gear, all linear power supplies on the music server, networking gear and RPi, multiple LPS-1s powering the DAC and interface cards, and using both a Kali & an Isolator board. I slightly prefer Allo.com's isolator to Ian's, but both are good. AND I suspect Ian's reclocker setup with good clocks will beat the Kali, but is more expensive and takes more power supplies.  The Kali II that Allo is working on should be better, but I still think the best setup will still be Ian's full FIFO setup with the isolation after the FIFO and just before the re-clocking output board. 

 

At that level, it is to my ears roughly equivalent to my SDTrans384 with a good, but now the best power supply. At some point I need to try the RPi powered by my now-reference source power setup, 2 LPS-1's into a Dual 3||LT3045 board. I did that once with the Dual 4||LT3042 board awhile back and it did lift the RPi a bit further. That might lift it close to the SDTrans384 with my reference power setup. Then there's always modifying the RPi to eliminate the on-board switching DC-DC converter and feed it good 3.3v & 1.8V... that would take it even higher. Also on my list to try.

 

But do get that the entire stream from music server on affects the sound in this type of setup. AND while mine is good, I know of a lot of optimizations and mods I could do to further improve it (and there's NEVER enough time!). Will those get the RPi to the same level as an SDTrans384? Dunno, I doubt it, but I bet it can get really close. AND the RPi setup has the benefit of easy access to one's library. BTW, I've been using the Logitech LMS server setup and PiCorePlayer with Squeezelite. Likely not the super-best setup, but good and easy to implement.

 

Your question reminds me I need to post some info on getting the best sound out of RPi setups. Likely blog it here, but after I get my current DAC projects running.

 

On using an RPi->Isolator->Kali into your PS Audio Junior, the issue you'll run up against is getting the raw I2S out of the Kali into the I2S-over-HDMI format for input into the Directstream DAC. K&K audio used to carry some boards designed to do that... I'd check there first. I also believe you can wire up a Twisted Pear Audio Teleporter  module... it's just a matter of getting a good HDMI connector (or hard-wiring in one end of a good HDMI cable) and getting the wiring right, I believe the Teleporter output is otherwise equivalent to other LVDS setups. Research that first, though. Sonore used to have some info on their website on that for the original Rendu Signature... not sure if its still there, but Jesus can probably supply if not.

 

Later!

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

 

[tapatrick]

3 hours ago, gstew said:

Good for you, tapatrick. I'm considering getting a 2nd, always good to have a spare when one starts modifying one's reference source! So maybe we'll get to that 10 1 sooner!

 

AND it does native PS Audio-compliant I2S-over-HDMI! Power it up, plug in a cable, insert an SD Card, and GO!

 

I use various RPi setups as one of my main alternate digital sources, with various RPi DAC Hats (with good power one can get very good results from the best of them) and also one of my Soekris DAM1021 DACs. 

 

I get the best results from those when setup with a low-power music server (music on a 512Gb SD Card), good network gear, all linear power supplies on the music server, networking gear and RPi, multiple LPS-1s powering the DAC and interface cards, and using both a Kali & an Isolator board. I slightly prefer Allo.com's isolator to Ian's, but both are good. AND I suspect Ian's reclocker setup with good clocks will beat the Kali, but is more expensive and takes more power supplies.  The Kali II that Allo is working on should be better, but I still think the best setup will still be Ian's full FIFO setup with the isolation after the FIFO and just before the re-clocking output board. 

 

At that level, it is to my ears roughly equivalent to my SDTrans384 with a good, but now the best power supply. At some point I need to try the RPi powered by my now-reference source power setup, 2 LPS-1's into a Dual 3||LT3045 board. I did that once with the Dual 4||LT3042 board awhile back and it did lift the RPi a bit further. That might lift it close to the SDTrans384 with my reference power setup. Then there's always modifying the RPi to eliminate the on-board switching DC-DC converter and feed it good 3.3v & 1.8V... that would take it even higher. Also on my list to try.

 

But do get that the entire stream from music server on affects the sound in this type of setup. AND while mine is good, I know of a lot of optimizations and mods I could do to further improve it (and there's NEVER enough time!). Will those get the RPi to the same level as an SDTrans384? Dunno, I doubt it, but I bet it can get really close. AND the RPi setup has the benefit of easy access to one's library. BTW, I've been using the Logitech LMS server setup and PiCorePlayer with Squeezelite. Likely not the super-best setup, but good and easy to implement.

 

Your question reminds me I need to post some info on getting the best sound out of RPi setups. Likely blog it here, but after I get my current DAC projects running.

 

On using an RPi->Isolator->Kali into your PS Audio Junior, the issue you'll run up against is getting the raw I2S out of the Kali into the I2S-over-HDMI format for input into the Directstream DAC. K&K audio used to carry some boards designed to do that... I'd check there first. I also believe you can wire up a Twisted Pear Audio Teleporter  module... it's just a matter of getting a good HDMI connector (or hard-wiring in one end of a good HDMI cable) and getting the wiring right, I believe the Teleporter output is otherwise equivalent to other LVDS setups. Research that first, though. Sonore used to have some info on their website on that for the original Rendu Signature... not sure if its still there, but Jesus can probably supply if not.

 

Later!

 

Greg in Mississippi

 

 

Awesome Greg! Thanks for the info, lots to digest... and consider.

Would the Audi-gd HDMI card work to get I2S out of Kali? I have it after my WavIO board into my PS Junior with a hard HDMI adapter so it’s close to the DAC input. Works good. 

[tapatrick]

3 hours ago, gstew said:

 

Your question reminds me I need to post some info on getting the best sound out of RPi setups. Likely blog it here, but after I get my current DAC projects

Yes please ?. Would appreciate that a lot. 

[Cornan]

1 minute ago, tapatrick said:

Yes please ?. Would appreciate that a lot. 

+1 ?

[Cornan]

Today I turned my attention to my main router. It was about time it got its own 12v/1A LT3045. Before I started I monitored the current draw for 10 minutes. I was really surprised how little it pulled since it have a quite big original SMPS of 12v/2.33A. It kept steady around 90mA and would rarely pass 120mA. Anyway, pretty safe with 1A board to say the least, so I plugged it in post Voltcraft floating LPS set to 13v and had a initial listen to Tidal tracks!

 

 

A definate improvement with more details emerging from the dark. The airial room is bigger. Greater. Quieter. Better separated and detailed in widht and depht. LT3045 is great and router end power improvements and isolation always seems to pay off in my cloud based setup.

 

Now I cannot wait to try the single ps in series (14v>13v/3A>12v/3A) pre my Brooklyn DAC. I hope to have time to get it done on Saturday before I go to a live concert with Iron & Wine! ?

 

[Cornan]

Neutrik RCA to XLR adapter revisited.

After changing back and forth I think I now prefer without it. I’m back to coaxial Sdif. More airy without it.

 

Also it feels like the Stammheims single ps is slightly opening up the sound. It definately needs more burn-in than Alexeys single LT3045s.