Hi Ian,
I use two of your lifepo4 battery boards. The ultracapacitors are only tested for local decoupling on dac and fifopi boards. I have now soldered some black gate non polars in super e-cap configuration on the dac board.
I will do some listening tests later on but my guess is that it is better than the ultracapacitors.
Using big ultracapacitors as the primary power supply instead of battery supply is another function of the ultracapacitors.
If you finish the ultracapacitor power supply I would like to be one of the first to try it out
Guys I got the FifoPi but still not have success with DSD output from Roon. There is I2S input always on FifoPi Status leds, but Roon says that he doing his job as needed. The output led is always on I2S too. Jumper S1 on FifoPi board does not helps - always I2S input while playing DSD files. Can anybody confirm that it is possible somehow to force play DSD on Roon+Ian's FifoPi&ES9038Q2MPi?
Here what Roon says during playing DSD:
Here what Roon says during playing DSD:
Is your DAC is really Hifiberry DAC+? If yes, then it can not play DSD. DoP (DSD over PCM) is still DSD (only in PCM stream), which PCM5122 in Hifiberry DAC+ can not accept.
Yes, I can confirm it works. The thing is that because you have to use DoP (which is DSD wrapped in a PCM stream) the input to the FifoPi will always be PCM (thus the I2S led). The output let of the FifoPi should show DSD if the DoP decoder is on (S1 in off position) and I2S if the DoP decoder is off (S1 in on position).
If you have the ESS controller you should be able to check the stream as well.
If you have the ESS controller you should be able to check the stream as well.
I have Ian's ESS controller and there is always I2S stream (no matter S1 ON\OFF). What DAC should I choose in Roon can you advise? Thank you!
wealas, it is impossible to change S1 without unplugging all the system from Power source, because it is needed to take off the FifoPi from RPi anyway to switch S1 (S1 is on the bottom of the board).
What hardware\OS do you use for Roon Core and for RAAT on Rpi (DietPi or Ropieee)?
What hardware\OS do you use for Roon Core and for RAAT on Rpi (DietPi or Ropieee)?
Last edited:
Ian, can you say what settings exactly have you choosed in the Roon for playing DSD stream? Thank you!
Thank you! Ofcourse my DAC is not HiFiberry DAC+, but which one should I choose from list of Roon's branded devices (there is no Ian's FifoPi in the list yet
Which HAT DAC do you use?
Select HiFiBerry DAC+, DAC+ Pro during the configuration in Ropieee.
Last edited:
If to select Hifiberry DAC (or DAC+\PRO) then DSD playback not works like any other within ropieee' list and there is no option in Roon->Device Setup->Advanced->Max Sample Rate (DSD) at all. I have selected Audiophonics I-Sabre ES90*8Q2M DAC, but still no sucess -I2S output from FifoPi always (I2S on ESS Controller always)
@supersurfer & @Ian Canada,
@supersurfer, good comments on Ultracaps. Trying 1.5F Ultracaps to my Ian setups has been on my list, but I haven't gotten to that yet.
When you posted your comments about minimal improvement with the added Ultracaps, I had thought you were one of those who have taken the LiFePO4 power supply game to the max and your recent post confirmed that. I suspected the level of improvement by adding local Ultracaps might be minimal when Ian's boards were powered with separate LiFePO4 rails as you do and you've confirmed that.
I'm very interested to hear your report on the Black Gates in those positions.
Another option to try would be some of the larger-value SMD PPS caps such as the Rubycon 22uF ones used by Allo on some of their offerings.
As for Ultracaps as power supplies, I'm getting very good results right now with my modified Allo Katana using 2 of Ian's UCPi charged to 5V by an Uptone Audio LPS-1.2 Ultracap supply on each. It is currently my favorite supply for that setup for the DAC and Microprocessor boards. I still have my AC-connected +-15V supplies on the Opamp board and the RPi is powered by another AC-connected supply. The new Allo Shanti shares some of the UCPi characteristics, I'm looking into whether they can be set down to 3.3V for use with Ian's GB gear.
I did try the UCPi initially on Ian's GB DACs and FiFoPi, but that was with one of Ian's LT3042 regs set to 3.3V on the DAC and the FiFoPi being fed via the onboard regulators. EVEN with the regulators in-between, they were the best supplies for that configuration. BUT Ian's LiFePO4 supply direct was better.
I now need to try Ian's GB gear with direct Ultracap power and see how it compares to Ian's LiFePO4 supply, so I'm making some DIY P-T-P UCPi for that purpose since his boards are no longer available. Of course, using the LPS-1.2s to keep them charged is a bit over the top for most, but I have several here so it is a viable option for trials while we wait for Ian's full Ultracap supply.
Greg in Mississippi
@supersurfer, good comments on Ultracaps. Trying 1.5F Ultracaps to my Ian setups has been on my list, but I haven't gotten to that yet.
When you posted your comments about minimal improvement with the added Ultracaps, I had thought you were one of those who have taken the LiFePO4 power supply game to the max and your recent post confirmed that. I suspected the level of improvement by adding local Ultracaps might be minimal when Ian's boards were powered with separate LiFePO4 rails as you do and you've confirmed that.
I'm very interested to hear your report on the Black Gates in those positions.
Another option to try would be some of the larger-value SMD PPS caps such as the Rubycon 22uF ones used by Allo on some of their offerings.
As for Ultracaps as power supplies, I'm getting very good results right now with my modified Allo Katana using 2 of Ian's UCPi charged to 5V by an Uptone Audio LPS-1.2 Ultracap supply on each. It is currently my favorite supply for that setup for the DAC and Microprocessor boards. I still have my AC-connected +-15V supplies on the Opamp board and the RPi is powered by another AC-connected supply. The new Allo Shanti shares some of the UCPi characteristics, I'm looking into whether they can be set down to 3.3V for use with Ian's GB gear.
I did try the UCPi initially on Ian's GB DACs and FiFoPi, but that was with one of Ian's LT3042 regs set to 3.3V on the DAC and the FiFoPi being fed via the onboard regulators. EVEN with the regulators in-between, they were the best supplies for that configuration. BUT Ian's LiFePO4 supply direct was better.
I now need to try Ian's GB gear with direct Ultracap power and see how it compares to Ian's LiFePO4 supply, so I'm making some DIY P-T-P UCPi for that purpose since his boards are no longer available. Of course, using the LPS-1.2s to keep them charged is a bit over the top for most, but I have several here so it is a viable option for trials while we wait for Ian's full Ultracap supply.
Greg in Mississippi
Last edited:
To the best of my knowledge, yes. That is how I did mine. Use a small amount of paste.
I was hopping someone using LiFePO4 would try a supercap. I found a significant improvement with a supercap added to my FIFOPi powered with linear PS. Now we know that the battery seems to be enough.
I too will be interested to hear your report on BG vs supercaps on your DAC. FWIW, I use BG N 1000u caps in super e config on the analogue PS on my TDA1541a DAC, and BG F 100u on the digital side. BG NX are on the pins of all of these. Certainly a big step up from typical OSCON, and I am pretty happy with the sound. Given the +5,-5&-15 voltages, supercaps are not a good option so I did not compare. Different DAC but still interested in Supersurfer's observations.