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Thread: Small RPi/IQAudio DAC+ Review

  1. #11
    Join Date: Jun 2012

    Location: Liverpool, UK

    Posts: 343
    I'm fabulous.

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    I'm very pleased with my PI2 and IQAudio DAC+.... put it all together last night and did some quick listening and I was impressed.

    I opted for the RuneAudio solution - but just spent the last hour reconfiguring it to get the hardware volume control working. Now it was a huge surprise (and initial shock) to see that the volume control is now logarithmic in its use. So 99% is really loud and 70% quiet and 50% might as well be mute.

    Going to listen to some tunes tonight with a glass of Pinot Noir (or two)

    Glad you're having a good experience as well
    lossless > Raspberry PI-3b+ > allo Boss > Van Damme Purple interconnect >
    Myryad Z210 CD Player > Chord Chameleon Silver+ interconnect >

    into Magnum IA170 amplifier > Van Damme Blue 4mm cable > Mission 752 Freedom Floorstanders
    Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-back



  2. #12
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: London UK

    Posts: 529
    I'm Chris.

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    There was a discussion about volume control in the rune audio forums "Volume control; Linear or logarithmic?" , see:

    http://www.runeaudio.com/forum/volum...hmic-t254.html

    Someone claimed to have found a best fit curve from data put into Excel, integer=rounddown(120*log(volume)+15). Gordon of IQaudio got involved.
    Chris

    Stuff

    1. Linux PC with onboard HDA SB/ALC892 24/192 optical S/PDIF and/or USB > TC-7520 (Gator + LM4562NA) > Quad 306 > AVI Neutron 3
    2. Rotel RCD 965BX > TC-7520 ( Gator + LM4562NA) > Hd595
    3. Rpi B+/HifiDigi B+ (with isolation transformer) Running "SqueezeOnArch" - https://github.com/SqueezeOnArch
    Nonsense
    1. Belkin Pure AV (white) phono, Belkin Pure AV (silver) USB, QEd 79-strand speaker cable.
    2. MG belden digital co-ax

  3. #13
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

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    Thanks Chris... that's cool but I simply don't understand that at the moment.. lol

    Could you explain that a little?
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


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  4. #14
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

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    !!!FOOOOKIN' NORAH BATTY'S PAJAMAS!!!


    Just plugged it direct in to the amplifer.... Oh my!... Marco, you are a bloody star!!!! - I see what you mean now!
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


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  5. #15
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Newcastle UK

    Posts: 3,745
    I'm Rich.

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    Well I spent the last day or so toying with mine and I can say with confidence that running the Pi through USB to an MF Vlink and then to my Rega DAC gives the best results by far. No messing with any settings or tweaking of volumes on the device required.

    As such I'll be offering my IQ DAC and case for sale here and putting the Pi in a case in its own. Fancy one of those wooden ones actually. I just can't get away with the sound of the IQ DAC... definitely not my cup of tea.

    Anyone interested in an IQ DAC and case is welcome e to PM me...
    One of these days... I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

  6. #16
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

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    Fair enough. lol

    I don't mind a bit of tweaking.

    You had best get it in Private Exhibitions then.
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


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  7. #17
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Krisbee View Post
    There was a discussion about volume control in the rune audio forums "Volume control; Linear or logarithmic?" , see:

    http://www.runeaudio.com/forum/volum...hmic-t254.html

    Someone claimed to have found a best fit curve from data put into Excel, integer=rounddown(120*log(volume)+15).
    Gordon of IQaudio got involved.
    Ah the Rasberry Pi...plug and play computing for the Everyman.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  8. #18
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: London UK

    Posts: 529
    I'm Chris.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Black Adder View Post
    Thanks Chris... that's cool but I simply don't understand that at the moment.. lol

    Could you explain that a little?
    OK, did you read the discussion in that thread? My understanding is it was started by users who were controlling their sound volume via the widget on the web interface. They found dialling it down from 100 to 50 did not halve the perceived sound volume, but reduced it to very low levels. Hence the following discussion about the nature of the volume control ( linear or logarithmic ) and how the underlying software was working and the interaction with any in-built hardware volume control that might exist on their DACs.

    A fair comparison would be with controlling the volume on a HiFi amp which used a classic potentiometer. Turn the knob of your hifi volume control from maximum to halfway, and has the volume halved, or is it some other reduction in the volume that you hear?

    For audio applications, logarithmic rather than linear potentiometers are preferred, as the variation in loudness as you go from a min to a max setting is closer to the way the ear behaves in its response to loudness. This diagram summarises the two scales:



    The formula I quoted was someone's attempt to establish if the volume control dial on the web interface matched a linear or a logarithmic scale. The census seems to be be it was the latter.

    The discussion then revolved around how this volume control dial on the web interface was actually linked to the MPD (Music Player Daemon) internal volume control and not the volume control that can be done via the use of either the “alsamixer” or “amixer” command line programs. There is also the added complication of what, if any, type of volume control is built into the DAC hardware, and how this can/should be harnessed in software. This is where Gordon of Iqaudio came in.

    What can you take from this technical discussion? I think you have two viable options.

    1. Set DAC levels using alsamixer that suit your hifi setup and disable volume control via the web interface. Then control volume via your hifi controls.

    2. Set DAC levels using alsamixer that suit your hifi setup. Set volume control via the web interface to use “mixer_type” of “hardware”. Then you can either control volume via the web interface or via via your hifi controls.

    If you use option 2 above, then you can calibrate the volume control on the web interface yourself. Just connect to your RPI via SSH as root, start the “alasmixer” program at the command line and watch how the levels change in the “alsamixer” display as you vary the volume dial on the web interface.
    Chris

    Stuff

    1. Linux PC with onboard HDA SB/ALC892 24/192 optical S/PDIF and/or USB > TC-7520 (Gator + LM4562NA) > Quad 306 > AVI Neutron 3
    2. Rotel RCD 965BX > TC-7520 ( Gator + LM4562NA) > Hd595
    3. Rpi B+/HifiDigi B+ (with isolation transformer) Running "SqueezeOnArch" - https://github.com/SqueezeOnArch
    Nonsense
    1. Belkin Pure AV (white) phono, Belkin Pure AV (silver) USB, QEd 79-strand speaker cable.
    2. MG belden digital co-ax

  9. #19
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: London UK

    Posts: 529
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RichB View Post
    Well I spent the last day or so toying with mine and I can say with confidence that running the Pi through USB to an MF Vlink and then to my Rega DAC gives the best results by far. No messing with any settings or tweaking of volumes on the device required.

    As such I'll be offering my IQ DAC and case for sale here and putting the Pi in a case in its own. Fancy one of those wooden ones actually. I just can't get away with the sound of the IQ DAC... definitely not my cup of tea.

    Anyone interested in an IQ DAC and case is welcome e to PM me...
    Maybe one of these might suit you : https://www.pi-supply.com/product/hi...ormer-version/
    Chris

    Stuff

    1. Linux PC with onboard HDA SB/ALC892 24/192 optical S/PDIF and/or USB > TC-7520 (Gator + LM4562NA) > Quad 306 > AVI Neutron 3
    2. Rotel RCD 965BX > TC-7520 ( Gator + LM4562NA) > Hd595
    3. Rpi B+/HifiDigi B+ (with isolation transformer) Running "SqueezeOnArch" - https://github.com/SqueezeOnArch
    Nonsense
    1. Belkin Pure AV (white) phono, Belkin Pure AV (silver) USB, QEd 79-strand speaker cable.
    2. MG belden digital co-ax

  10. #20
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Newcastle UK

    Posts: 3,745
    I'm Rich.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gazjam View Post
    Ah the Rasberry Pi...plug and play computing for the Everyman.
    One of these days... I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

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