"Audiophile" SD Card Transport?

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

It's been a recurring theme on this site, we're just doing our own things and then all of a sudden sponsors would chime in with a healthy dose of conflict of interests.

 

Hey @The Computer Audiophile, what's up with that?

It isn't allowed. Please use the report post function and I'll take care of it. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Guys - It isn't always black & white when a site supporter chimes in a conversation. Barrows has been a member here since July 15, 2008. In that time he has worked for a few different audio companies but more than anything he has helped people and contributed quite a bit of knowledge to the site. 

 

When he offers information in a thread it's far different from the manufacturers who are here solely to promote products and who have recently jumped on our bandwagon. 

 

That said, blatant marketing is only allowed in a sponsored forum. I don't see Barrows' recent post as blatant marketing. If you disagree please PM me and we can chat.

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

wise decision as you have no argument

 

but no reason you shouldn't have fun

You’re trying pretty hard to not let people just have fun 😁

[The Computer Audiophile]

On 2/3/2019 at 6:22 PM, gstew said:

The Granddad of SD card players is the SDTrans384. You can see the large thread on it at DIYAudio here:

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project.html?highlight=sdtrans384

 

AND info on how to get one when the infrequent group-buys are run here:

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/group-buys/260565-gb-sdtrans384-micro-sd-card-digital-transport.html?highlight=sdtrans384

 

BTW, Tachyon is doing a run of the units right now, with the last price I saw about 43,000 JPY (about $400 USD).

 

I've been running one as a digital source for 3-4 years now, feeding a wildly modified Soekris DAM DAC. I modified the SDTran too last summer. It's been the main digital source in one of my systems for about 2 years now and I listen to it on a daily basis. 

 

Here's my setup as of a couple of years ago before my latest mods to both the SDTrans and the Soekris DAC and my latest power scheme:

 

 

The SDTrans384 was designed by pretty fanatic Japanese audiophiles. The unit, like most digital audio gear, performs better with very good power. At one point they were using large light bulbs to feed solar cells to power the player and their related DAC. Most recently they have been using a fairly extensive set of AC-connected supplies... see picture. I power mine with 2 Uptone Audio LPS-1.2's with each feeding 1/2 of an MPAudio MD-HPULN power supply and the outputs of each half paralleled to provide a lower output impedance (the current draw of the player is less than 500mA). It has S/PDIF, PS Audio-styled LVDS I2S over HDMI, and logic-level I2S outputs and will play up to 384 & DSD256. The SDTrans384 does not decode FLAC or other compression schemes (that's how limited the FPGA is!), the TiNaHiFi one does some.

 

 

Ok, it is my favorite and best digital source. AND I suspect the much less expensive one in the TirNaHiFi thread will challenge it after appropriate mods, though I also suspect applying the same mods to the SDTrans would keep it ahead of that challenger. I have a couple of the TirNaHiFi ones here from regular Ebay to modify & compare. BUT the best output of the SDTrans384 is the I2S AND that is the only output of the one on TirNaHiFi, which doesn't do you a lot of good, Doak. 

 

I looked strongly at the QLS QA661 when it first came out and have followed ECDesign's monster TDA1541 DAC DIYAudio thread for years, where he chronicles his DAC developments over the years and occasionally drops hints on his SD Card players. I my thoughts, after digging into the QLS units as much as I could without having one, was that the SDTrans384 was probably a better sounding option the way I would use it.

 

I'd say anything by ECDesigns would be top of the heap, with the SDTrans384 a good strong second along with possibly the TirNaHiFi player. BUT they are DIY projects with no USB output. 

 

Alex nails it above. Getting USB output would require a full computer of some sort... and you'd be back in USB optimization world. The SDTrans384 uses a fairly dumb FPGA for processing, the TirNaHiFi card a small ARM processor. I don't see anyone doing that in the near future, playing off SD Cards is super hair shirt and it took me awhile to get a sufficient amount of my library on SD Cards to keep me satisfied 90% of the time. Most people won’t put up with that AND no streaming… not a sufficiently large market.

 

BUT given the Lampizator’s DIY roots, you might ask what it would take to modify it to accept an I2S or I2S over HDMI input, especially if they could retain any other existing digital source selections. That MIGHT give you a chance to have your cake and eat it too, for a price.

 

Still, the limitations of SD Card playback alone (AND I don’t stream at all) have me trying hard to get my other main I2S sources (mostly Raspberry Pis) up to the SDTrans384 level. I was heartened that when I modified one with linear regulators replacing the on-board DC-DC converters and with a dual LPS-1.2 / MPAudio power supply as above, it was about as good as my SDTrans384 setup with a lower-quality power supply. I now am watching what Allo.com is doing to make some improved SBCs… that might be what puts them over the top. OR once the EtherRegen is available, maybe the expected isolation of any prior network gear may push what I have now into that same level. We will see!

 

In the meantime, I’m buying a 2^nd SDTrans384 so I can further modify the one I have and have a backup if I break it!

 

Greg in Mississippi

Finally a system my wife will accept in our living room!

 

Only kidding.

 

If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad. 

- Sheryl Crow

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, Doak said:

IMO there is nothing simple about the music playback system you describe.

While I disagree with you, I really do see what you're going for and see that many may think it's a simpler method of enjoying audio. In a way it's like vinyl and CD. Physical media and the slowing of the process. Adding music to an SD card can be done by nearly anyone without thinking. No network headaches etc...

 

I get it and I think it's cool people are exploring this avenue. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Topic closed at request of OP.