'Analog Dinosaur' succumbs to the joys of FBA : enter Raspberry Pi 2/IQ-Audio DAC+!!

[Marco]

Dunno, dude. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who do

Any reason why you like that specific device?

Marco.

[vacdac]

Just one question.

Would it be possible to use a High Resolution Technologies streamer with this Raspberry Pi 2 instead of the IQ DAC?

http://www.hirestech.com/product/?pid=128

Dunno, dude. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who do

Any reason why you like that specific device?

Marco.

Bit of a misnomer in the name of the HRT streamer it is in fact a straightforward USB DAC. So yeah quite suitable for use with a Pi I'd have thought.

Thank EFF you got there with setting the H/W output correctly Marco so you could use it with your pre. Surprised it took over 500 posts to realise that you were prolly throwing bits*(* losing resolution as you dial t' vol down) away with S/W vol control. A few people touched on this & I was surprised that your rather scrummy Pre was not delivering with the Pi. I'm sure it sounds great now.

[Marco]

Hi Chris,

It was essentially a gain issue, as I'd disabled the hardware setting in Volumio, without applying a high enough setting, making the Croft sound 'soft' and lacking in dynamic impact, which of course wasn't happening when I was using only the digital volume control itself. Increasing the gain levels has completely sorted that out, and now through the Croft, the Pi/DAC sounds stunning.

Trouble is, nowhere does it tell you that's what you have to do when using an active preamp. Apparently, you're just supposed to 'know'!

Marco.

[vacdac]

Nice one Marco, yeah I knew it was a gain structure thang, but not being a Pi user didn't know how to adjust this, although from the Pi threads on t' Wam I knew a lot of folks were using active pre's quite happily.

It's a whole new learning curve, but you seem to be taking to it fine. I find a tablet makes for a nicer control interface than a lappy, so this could be summat to consider too.

[Marco]

Yeah, I suppose it could. However, I'm quite happy using my Apple Macbook Pro (with 15" Retina screen), which is both a joy to use, has superb screen resolution, and is always 'by my side' at home!

Marco.

[The Barbarian]

Dunno, dude. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who do

Any reason why you like that specific device?

Marco.

Because i tried a lot of DAC's & streamers with FLAC's . I thought the HRT sounded best, i have one of the very first ones to come into the country after borrowing a friends in New York.

[The Barbarian]

Ok ive bought a: Raspberry Pi B+, CAMAC Mini WiFi Wireless USB Adapter Dongle, Sandisk 8GB, Class 10 Micro SD card, CAMAC Clear Transparent top and bottom Case Box Enclosure.

Can someone point me to a good power supply till i get around to making one?

No way on earth will this ever be a main Source for me.. I bought it for a reason..

[Tim]

Goodness André, didn't see that one coming

[Marco]

Because i tried a lot of DAC's & streamers with FLAC's . I thought the HRT sounded best, i have one of the very first ones to come into the country after borrowing a friends in New York.

Fair do's.... Although, bear in mind that one of the major advantages of the IQ-Audio DAC (apart from the fact it sounds so good) is that future updated/upgraded DACs will be retrofittable directly into the Pi. They will simply clip in, and so you'll just pull the old one out and pop the new one in. Simples!

Therefore, as new technology is constantly evolving, and sound improvements gained as a result of that, you're future-proofed and guaranteed always to have the best sounding DAC.

With any other set-up (using a fixed DAC), as technology advances, you'll be left with an obsolete DAC pretty quickly, which as an aside, is one very valid reason for folks not to spend silly money on some overpriced 'audiophile badged' FBA source (fitted with a fixed DAC), which similarly will very quickly become obsolete!



Marco.

[Marco]

Ok ive bought a: Raspberry Pi B+, CAMAC Mini WiFi Wireless USB Adapter Dongle, Sandisk 8GB, Class 10 Micro SD card, CAMAC Clear Transparent top and bottom Case Box Enclosure.

Can someone point me to a good power supply till i get around to making one?

No way on earth will this ever be a main Source for me.. I bought it for a reason..

Excellent - and like Tim, I didn't see that one coming!!

However, unless I've missed it, I can't see a DAC in the kit you've listed, so what are you using for that?

Marco.