Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
I must admit I didn't spot any 'Linux' when installing either Volumio or SqueezePlug, both where straight forward and SqueezePlug even includes a detailed step by step guide on how to configure it, right there on the the opening screen.
I have delved under the hood to perform some tweaks that are not really necessary for normal operation on either of these two solutions but it was hardly difficult in any case....However, if you don't understand computers then I can see the reason why somebody wouldn't want to go the DIY route because if there is an issue you are a bit stuck!
Listening in a Foo free Zone...
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Gordon, firstly thanks for answering the volume control question which I'd asked early on in this thread.
I looked at the RPI+IQDac some time ago, but as I need 3 dacs as I have an active system - one for each frequency band I couldn't see a way to implement it.
Having used both digital and analogue volume controls I think it's as much about how well they are implemented than about the method. Currently I'm using a digital volume control (JRiver - 64 bit) as I think it is better than my other option of using a multi-channel analogue volume control (MSB) just before the power amps. It seems to be quieter and there is less cable clutter.
However, an RPi and multiple IQDacs would be very appealing for an active system if I could find way to implement it....
Gordon
The differences between DACs (abilities with hi-res file formats apart) are primarily the same as the differences between preamps, ie in the output stage. Why on earth wouldn't it be? My Audio Note DAC (2.1x upgraded to 4.1x spec) has pretty much and equivalent ouput stage to an Audio Note M5. It's a total nonsense to suggest that the op amp chips in a one-piece DAC board like this do the same thing as this or any other high-end DAC. Don't be daft.
I remember all the fun people had when DIY DAC boards from China appeared on ebay, great sound for not very much. (I ran one myself for a bit with a SRPP tube output stage). But who is still using them? It was a fad and people realised eventually that DIY fun as they were, there were all sorts of limitations when compared to 'real' kit. This looks to be exactly the same proposition, with a tiny computer attached to do the streaming bit.
With a digital signal there is nothing to be gained from an integrated streamer and DAC if all you are doing is passing data. Interface issues pale into insignificance anyway if a) you do it right as Audio Note do with buffers/transformers on SPDIF/AES-EBU input and output, or you can provide USB output to a DAC's Asynchronous USB input, and b) compared to preamp performance, see above.
As I said before the DAC element of this is a red herring in my book. The interesting part is a useful, functional replacement for the Squeezebox (which had its own DAC too, remember, though most people used it as a transport).
All good fun I'm sure but I do detect a bit of collective forum mania coming on. Sorry about the water.
Location: England
Posts: 23
I'm Gordon.
Montesquieu, take your point.
I think the difference here is that there is more control of the features and functionality that can be implemented without the need for big CE companies.
G
Location: England
Posts: 23
I'm Gordon.
Hi Tom,
Having used and familiarised myself with the Pi/IQ-Audio DAC combination now for over a week, I couldn't disagree more!!
Not sure how you can say that, really, when others and I have already reported that this little £32 wonder has outperformed some Naim gear, the DAC inside a £6k Rega Isis CDP, and has given my (circa £5k) highly-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 combo a serious run for its money - and indeed continues to do so...
How much more of a bargain do you want, or proof that this little thing kicks serious ass??
For me, the IQ-Audio DAC+ is an integral part of the magic of this combination. The truly superb sounds it produces are a fundamental reason why I've finally embraced the joys of FBA, after many years of not finding a solution (at any price point) that satisfies my ears. Like I said before, the Pi/IQ Audio DAC+ is bonkers good for the money, and many, many multiples of money more!!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
Gordon, any idea when the Spotify error in Volumio is going to be fixed?
Duncan visited me yesterday, armed with some Linux code (or at least I think that's what it was), which he thought would fix matters, but despite keying in my Spotify username and password, ensuring that both were correct, I still can't access Spotify within the Volumio user interface (in effect so that it appears beside my NAS box and WEBRADIO, when hitting 'Browse', thereby allowing me to select it for playback).
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!
Don't be daft?! I suggest you get down of that high horse as the rarified air up there seems to be affecting your thinking!
DAC chip technology moves on at a rapid rate you need to reset your thinking from the old TDA151A days. Modern DAC chips give outstanding performance when correctly implemented and offer some great features. An integrated DAC close to the data stream utilizing the I2S bus with its separate serial line and clock has got to be better than encoding the PCM stream for SPDIF and worse USB. Why on earth wouldn't it be? Just because Audio Note have used an isolation transformer on the SPDIF interface does not make it perfect, its laughable to think that as you still need to recover the clock and you have issues dealing with ground plane noise. Utilising SPDIF / USB adds complexity and is unnecessary if you can use I2S with a well implemented DAC, it needn't cost Audio Note prices....the only issue as I mentioned before is the dependency on the power supply...
Listening in a Foo free Zone...
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
+1 (with bells on, although the Sony DAC, featuring the use of TDA1541s, still has a very entertaining and musically valid sound of its own).
Anyway, a couple of observations, based on recent experimenting and further listening to the Pi/IQ-Audio DAC combo:
First of all, the ethernet cables that Gazjam recommended further back in this thread, shown here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1717289032...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
...unquestionably sound significantly better than the much thinner Maplins Cat5e cable I had been using before. Technically, why that is, I don't know. I suspect it's got something to do with the shielding used in the former.
However, there is a marked difference in the sonic presentation of both ethernet cables (bearing in mind that the Duronic ones are actually £5 less than the Maplins cables I bought, so definitely not 'overpriced foo'). The Duronic cables tighten bass and open up the midrange and top-end, allowing markedly more detail through. The effect is so obvious, one can hear it instantly.
As such, I now use these cables from my NAS box to the router, and from the router to the Pi. Highly recommended, and at a bargain price! Nice one, Gary
The other thing is that I must retract my earlier statements about the IQ-Audio DAC+ sounding better with no active preamp in line. It turned out that the reason why I wasn't getting the proper results with my Croft was because I hadn't set the 'gain' high enough in Volumio, when adjusting it, before disabling the Hardware.
Once I had set the controls to 96 (the sweet spot in my system), and had successfully applied that setting (disabling the Hardware), the sound is stunningly good now through the Croft, and significantly better than using the Volumio digital interface alone to adjust listening levels, which I guess is as it should be.
I feel, however, that the process in Volumio should be explained more clearly for newbies, in terms of how to optimally partner the Pi/IQ-Audio DAC with an active preamp, as it is far from obvious, and thus mistakes are easily made! That said, things have now never sounded better
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!
Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!