IanCanada's Latest RPi GB Goodies Impressions... and your tweaks, mods and hints...

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#1,941
Hi all,
I was shocked how good high end streaming is when using a Bricasti M21 for several years, now finances are slim and I am looking for an economic DIY version that plugs into a I2S input DIY PCM58 (x8) dac.
The clear options appear to be either Ian Canada streamer stack or eRed dock and streamer module, basically the module used in many high end streamers (Dartzeel, CH Precision etc), my question is; has anyone done a direct comparison to the top of the line Ian Canada and the eRed dock and streamer boards?
Additionally, has anyone made a comparison with Ians streamer to professional products like the Holo Audio Red streamer?
Have a great day!
Jules
 
#1,943
Shertzy said:
my question is; has anyone done a direct comparison to the top of the line Ian Canada and the eRed dock and streamer boards?
Click to expand...
No direct comparison. Just point out one thing about iancanada I like. You can choose the clock. To eRed credit, they show phase noise of their clock. Good but not great. They list -102 dBc/Hz at 10Hz. By comparison, the clock I use on ian's FIFO is -150 at 10Hz. I have run FIFO with clocks similar to eRed and -150 is easily heard. So all else equal I choose iancanada for this feature.
 
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#1,944
wlowes said:
No direct comparison. Just point out one thing about iancanada I like. You can choose the clock. To eRed credit, they show phase noise of their clock. Good but not great. They list -102 dBc/Hz at 10Hz. By comparison, the clock I use on ian's FIFO is -150 at 10Hz. I have run FIFO with clocks similar to eRed and -150 is easily heard. So all else equal I choose iancanada for this feature.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Wolwes. Im not too bothered about the 10hz area, my speakers don't go there : ) have you been able to compare your IANC rig with other streaming setups?
Jules
 
#1,945
@Shertzy Have not done a direct comparison. More of an evolution of several solutions over time.
The 10Hz I referenced is the phase noise graph of the master clock. Basically you want the lowest number possible... you can check out the spec for the eRed and you'll see the phase noise is listed at various frequencies from the fundamental. You want a low number close to the fundamental. The eRed spec shows phase noise at 10 Hz from the fundamental. It is a decent clock, but not state of the art. Lower phase noise close to the fundamental results in less smearing of the audio signal. IMHO the main purpose of the FIFO is to reclock the I2S signal and having the option to choose your clock is a bonus. You can start with a clock similar to the one used by eRed but have the option to upgrade to SOTA.
 
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#1,946
wlowes said:
@Shertzy Have not done a direct comparison. More of an evolution of several solutions over time.
The 10Hz I referenced is the phase noise graph of the master clock. Basically you want the lowest number possible... you can check out the spec for the eRed and you'll see the phase noise is listed at various frequencies from the fundamental. You want a low number close to the fundamental. The eRed spec shows phase noise at 10 Hz from the fundamental. It is a decent clock, but not state of the art. Lower phase noise close to the fundamental results in less smearing of the audio signal. IMHO the main purpose of the FIFO is to reclock the I2S signal and having the option to choose your clock is a bonus. You can start with a clock similar to the one used by eRed but have the option to upgrade to SOTA.
Click to expand...
Thanks again @wlowes, aha so the IANC stuff is essentially just making the RasPi a better streamer by aligning its phase noise byway of fancy clocks? There is such little info out there on the eRed but it seems a full SOTA solution for streaming, would be super interesting to do a side by side.
 
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#1,947
Has anyone tried (successfully) removing the encoder on the MonitorPi Pro? Either by desoldering the pins, or simply snipping it off from the front. The current formfactor does lend itself to conveniently mounting on a front panel from a mechanical standpoint. Pitfalls?
 
#1,948
Shertzy said:
Thanks again @wlowes, aha so the IANC stuff is essentially just making the RasPi a better streamer by aligning its phase noise byway of fancy clocks?
Click to expand...
It does more than that; it helps isolate the dac from all the conducted and radiated EMI/RFI coming out of RPi. Also helps do the same if you connect a USB board to FIFO_Pi I2S inputs. So, good clocks and low EMI/RFI noise are to very desirable factors if you want to have a great dac. Where there may be a particular weak point in Ian's lineup, IMHO would be the Dual ES9038Q2M dac and its output stage. IME there are now ways to make a much better sounding dac. Also, if you only need USB inputs, then the whole RPi can be dispensed with. Still need good isolation and good clocking though. It happens to be that my best dac works with other brands of parts than what this thread is for. Just mentioning that because there is more than one way to make a good dac.
 
#1,949
FIFO isolates and reclocks. It can now be used with a Rpi or without.
There are/have been other solutions that do the same thing. Before FIFO, I used Acko's S03 with a BBB and Lorien's WaveIO with a variety of laptops and SBCs. For me, the biggest differentiator of iancanada's FIFO is the ability to easily plug in different clocks since this is the key thing that FIFO does.
 
#1,950
Hello everybody

I was using some of Ian hats couple years ago and now want to try again. Would like to have Rpi with Camilla (or something better or more convenient if existing), 8 channels output and will need one Spdif input (optical for TV audio), Remote not neccessary but would be nice at least for volume.
What would be best options for that configuration
 
#1,952
Hi.
@iancanada

Hope someone can help.

I recently purchased the OPA861 Balance I/V

I have a few LinearPI Mk2's and am trying to configure them for +5 -5 V for the output stage

So both Linear PI's are setup and output 5.06V normally ( they are fed from a bench regulated 12V DC supply)

When I connect the V- of one Linear Pi to the V+ of the other, I see +2.5V on the positive side and - 1.33V on the negative side from the outputs?

Will this configuration not work with a DC Source?
 
#1,953
Why would you connect V- of one supply to V+ of the other supply? If they are both driven from the same bench supply, why wouldn't that cause a problem?

The manual says:
"A 7V-9V DC power can also be used as input. The connection will be non-polarity. DC power must be totally isolated. Never share ground with other power supplies."

It sounds like you are doing more or less what the manual warns you not to do. If you only have one bench supply, then you should only power one Linear_Pi with it, otherwise the two supplies will not be isolated from each other in terms of DC input power (and the DC supply should have a floating output, otherwise it will be connected to the AC line ground).

Also, 12v DC input is too high a voltage according to the manual. It shouldn't be more than 9v DC.
 
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#1,957
You shouldn't need Ian to tell you the supplies aren't isolated if they share the same DC input power. There will be conduction path through the rectifier diodes if you connect the outputs together from + to -, which means you might damage something.
 
#1,958
@Zorch33

iancanada

Post in thread 'IanCanada's Latest RPi GB Goodies Impressions... and your tweaks, mods and hints...'

Flifli said:
Thanks Ian, your cards are great and I follow all the news. I made my source with the FifoPi Q3(signal from JLSound card I2S over USB), Accusilicon (90,... and 98,... MHz) , your dual mono DAC and output with Bisesik transformers. All channels individually supplied with linearPi with Ucconditioner. The result is the best I've been having so far (software: Roon, HQplayer and Gentoplayer for the last stage). I would be interested in this new stage board but I have a question:
You advise to power supply the stage board with a dual linearPi with Ucconditioner but if I'm not wrong they...
Click to expand...
 
#1,959
Thanks all,

If I use a Hammond 1182 Series ( or similar) can I use the two 6 Volt secondaries independently for this? and then presumably can't also use those same secondaries to supply another 2 linear pi's doing 3VDC for DAC & Clock and 5VDC for Station Pi. I will need another similar transformer for the Linear pi's doing 3V and regular 5V?

Could I take a +5VDC and GND from the +/- Supply for the Station PI input or would that create imbalance issues?

last question - what's the recommendation then for grounding the staton Pi and FiFo Pi etc?
 
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#1,960
Its pretty simple. Each Linear_Pi needs to have its own transformer winding. If a transformer has two secondary windings, then that's enough windings to power two Linear_Pi power supplies. If you have more than two Linear Pi, then you may need more transformers so that each Linear_Pi has its own secondary winding. Never break that rule, and it should work (unless you already damaged your existing Linear_Pi supplies by connecting them up wrong).

Also, each Linear_Pi DC output should to use a pair of twisted wires that go the the load board. Only connect the grounds together at the load board, not at the power supplies. This will avoid "common impedance distortion" on your power rails which could be caused by using a shared ground wire from the power supplies. Understand?
It would be kind of like this:
1730474108393.png

Except you are using Linear_Pi so you don't need the power supply internal circuitry shown above. Each generator on the left side of the diagram, V1 and V2, represent separate transformer windings. The wires marked "twisted pair" go from Linear_Pi DC outputs to the circuit you want to power.



Now, to connect your whole system to earth ground, you should use a "hum breaker" circuit, something like this:
1730474183466.png
 
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