Asynchronous I2S FIFO project, an ultimate weapon to fight the jitter

[MtlJazz]

For now I put everything into the chassis and stopped worring about it...

Guess he thought the hissing was just a lullaby, not his supercap singing its swan song...💥💥💥

 

[melorin]

Hi all. I am planning to upgrade the stock clock in FIFOPi Q7.
First, I would like to try a clock for CD playing. (44.1KHz)
Is the SC-Pure the best option for the money or there is another option on the market for this money or less?

 

[Oystein]

If you don't want to spend the money of SC-Pure the Accusilicon AS-318 clocks are an upgrade with a very reasonable price.
In the EU available at Audiophonics.

 

[melorin]

The stock clock is AS-318.

 

[Oystein]

Oh sorry .. in my recollection standard clocks were Crystek CCHD-957.

That the clocks are already Accusilicon is even better

 

[canvas]

NDK NZ2520SDA, CCHD-957 and AS-318 are pretty close with NDK has slightly an edge over the others. You can't beat NDK for its price.

 

[MtlJazz]

FYI: Ian Canada Flagship DAC & Streamer - Includes Ultra-capacitors and RPi5

 

[elamar]

Total newbie here trying to stream the fifopi q7 into my Gustard r 26. Everything works well except I can't get the r26 to accept the fifopi's clocks since it always says ext err on the led screen. I get sound but must revert to the r26 clocks instead to eliminate the err. I've tried every imaginable setting option on both the r26 and thru the monitor controller on the streamer. Has anybody experienced the same issues?

 

[dcallende]

@elamar I have the Gustard R26 and this is the journey I went through to get it to work.. Hopefully some where there is some helpful info:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...fight-the-jitter.192465/page-581#post-7592860

 

[elamar]

I set the settings on both exactly the same way. i don't have an hq player and at this point I'm happy with just streaming. I do get sound but I'd like to deal with the ERR issue.

 

[crossride]

@elamar the settings are half of the equation. It would help if you'd tell us about the signal (resolution/bit depth) you feed the streamer with, interface between streamer and R26, though I see on the photo that most likely it is I2S over HDMI. Do you have 16 to 32 bit conversion enabled for FIFO Pi Q7?

 

[elamar]

Thanks crossride. yes using I2S and the conversion is enabled using monitor controller..

 

[sbelyo]

@iancanada If I use 5VAC to charge the LifePO4 mini 3.3V how much current is needed?

 

[sbelyo]

To charge the LifePO4 mini 3.3V with 5VAC it will draw 1.5A. Ian said 2.5A or higher would be fine. I'm going to order a custom R Core transformer that would be 60 VA with115/230 primaries and 3 X 5V secondaries. If anyone wants one let me know so I can order more than one.

 

[Cooper60hz]

@Lso & @iancanada, I have also confirmed Ian's Dual Mono EA9038Q2M DAC will power up ok & play ok without VCCA powered.

I have not tried to assess any SQ differences at this point. Probably won't get to that tonight.

Nor have I tried reconfiguring the DAC back to ASRC mode to confirm whether it works ok in that mode without VCCA. Likely let someone else do that.

Ian, excited by your new clocks! Take my money, please!

It seems like the vcca is fed from the fifo clean board also. at least on my older board (2020ish) the vcca led stays lit if the fifo is powered up. I'm curious about this. also wondering what the power out of the j5 is for, the 5v from pi and the 3v3 from avcc.

 

[zxx222]

Hello,

I have little problem with Transporti Pi digi. Set up is simple - UcPi psu>Raspberry pi 5>TransportPi Digi. I use Volumio for Tital connection.
When it is powered via Raspberry pi - everything is fine.

However when I tried to power up TransportPi Digi using linear 5V PSU it was not working. I left both J2 jumpers open, checked voltage that was powering TransportPi Digi (5V exactly). Power led was on, however during playback there was no sound and and error message in Volumio. I tried different sequences - powering RPI first, TransportPi second and vice versa without any luck.
Tried to power up TransportPi directly from UcPi with jumpers removed - same issue.

Did anyone experience such issue before?

 

[zxx222]

Figured it out - apparently both should be powered simultaneously.

 

[Musicforflos]

....VERY tough to answer as the DDDAC has so many mods and you can parallel the boards for a better sound etc. You cant really compare them like for like.

Doede is designing MK3 version right now too so I expect this to be even better. I have built 5 DDDACs if that helps e.g. its sounds WONDERFUL but so does Ian solution.

My super pimped 4 stack DDDAC with Andrea clock, super cap PSUs etc etc is the best I have ever heard and smashed hands down a Chord 10K DAC of my friend, we both agreed on that!

Thanks for you’re reply. Interesting to hear you own both the dac’s. Since the dddac (even more the mk3) is substantially more expensive compared to Ian canada dac module, i’d be interested to hear what sonic differences you (and others) can hear and describe!

Im asking this because I now own a Chord qutest (but with no streamer), so i’m still thinking of upgrading this dac with a good Ian Canada streamer or replacing the qutest with the ian Canada dac or dddac of this results in improved sound quality (I listen mainly to classical music, i’m adding this because Some top rated cables and even dac’s can have terrible violins for example, because the best sound possible (for as little money possible) is what we’re after right!

 

[iancanada]

Upgrading Gustard R26 sound quality by external re-clock streamer DDC and compared with a Holo Spring3 side-by-side



A. The Story

Gustard R26 is an inexpensive R-2R but the build-quality is great. I never thought it can be at the same or even higher sound quality level than my Holo Spring 3 because the Spring 3 is almost double the price.

A friend of mine sent his R26 to me to see if there is a chance to upgrade. Fortunately, R26 has an I2S/DSD over HDMI input and the internal clock can be off when inputting from external sources except USB and LAN.

After upgrading the R26 with an external re-clock streamer DDC ( FifoPiQ7 with SC-Pure clocks and HdmiPiPro II), and kept it break-in for two weeks, I really got a surprise. The R26 sounds amazing, it plays a very beautiful high range with great details and is smooth like silk , and I found it also has the best clarity among all the DACs I have ever tested. R26's DSD SQ is also great, even better than its I2S.

I still like my Spring3, but I can not decide which is better now. I have to say R26 and Spring 3 have really different sound signatures though they are both R-2R DAC. R26 is really great for piano and guitar and classical music. But the singer's voice likes a little bit younger than the Spring 3. Maybe I should use them for different kinds of music.

I have to ship the R26 back to my friend next week. I definitely will miss the R26.

B. How to upgrade R26 with external re-clock DDC through I2S/DSD over HDMI

1. DDC streamer Option1: #93B + UcConditioner Pro

FifoPiQ7II + SC-Pure 45/49 clocks + HdmiPi Pro II + PurePi + UcConditionerPro 3.3V + MonitorPi Pro



2. DDC streamer Option2: #91B + #96C

FifoPiQ7II + SC-Pure 45/49 clocks + HdmiPi Pro II + StationPi SMT + MonitorPi Pro

LinearPi Solo 5V + UcConditioner Pro 5V + UcPureMkIII 3.3V(or UcPure Quad)



3: DDC streamer configuration

HdmiPiPro II: SW1=OFF,SW2=ON,SW3=ON,SW4=OFF. J8 needs to be connected to FifoPiQ7 for MUTE/DSD

FifoPiQ: Enable continuous clock mode, Enable 16-32 lossless converter function



4. R26 configuration: PCM NOS=ON, DSD direct=ON, Phase Invert=Disable, anything else default

C. Gustard R26 VS Holo Spring3: Sound Quality comparison after upgrade

Both Gustard R26 and Holo Spring3 got pretty improved over default when upgrading with the same above re-clock stream DDC. The high grade SC-pure clocks and good extreme low-noise passive power supply really make a difference. Under the same conditions, I did listening tests back and forth many times. Here is the comparison result.



4. Useful links

External re-clock streamer DDC projects

Improve Holo Spring3 R2R DAC

HdmiPiPro II user's manual

Gustard R26

Ian

 

[Musicforflos]

Very interesting Ian, not only technical descriptions, but also sound descriptions (good to hear you listen classical music as well, indeed often requires different audio compents). How would you’re own dac perform/score in comparison with the other two dac’s?