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

[struth]

I am using a 1amp linear psu(an aqavox type) and it seems fine using that as the hdd has its own psu. Think I found out why my image of Volumio went ape. RichB had unfortunately left his spotify account details inc password on it. I deleted it and think when I switched off then on again it went pair shaped.lol. seems fine now and I have found a way to rip new albums and transfer them to the hdd connected to the pi over the network. seems to work fine so thats a big bonus.

[Marco]

Nice one, dude. Glad you got it sorted

Marco.

[Paul Hynes]

Hi Marco,

You have listed the normal retail price for the SR3DR (Double Regulated) power supply including the DC lead as £550, which is correct. Shipping costs and any funds transfer costs also add to this.

However, for an SR3DR-05 set up for the Pi and Pi-DAC+ with a DC lead and micro USB adapter I have attached an AoS forum member discount (in a similar way to the SL1200 power supply forum member discount) and the AoS member price is £450 plus shipping and any funds transfer costs like Paypal fees.

Regards
Paul

[Marco]

Ah, thanks for the clarification, Paul.

Since you're here, mate, could you also outline the design of the SR3DR and in what way it's been designed to improve the sonic performance of the RPi (and IQ-Audio DAC), including how its final iteration will differ again from the current circuit (i.e the one I'll eventually end up using)?

Marco.

[cyclopse]

Hi Richard,
Use the arrow keys on your Mac to navigate the various mixer options. The currently selected one will turn from white to red text in the options at the bottom of the screen.
PCM is your master volume - 86 is the 0dB level, anything into the red is boost. I have mine set to 96 which matches the output of my CD player. If you set this much higher you'll likely start to hear distorion. Most people seem to settle around 92-97 I think, but it's handy if you have another source (apart from vinyl) to compare it with.
Move to the right with the arrow key and you'll select 'DSP Prog'. This allows you to select one of the different filter profiles built into the DAC chip. Use up and down arrow to change the value as you would with the volume levels. I've settled on Low latency IIR with de-emphasis. There are changes in presentation for all profiles. You may find another one works better for you, so it's worth having a listen to them all. This one is definitely worth playing with.
The next one along - Playback - gives you a -6dB attenuation if set to 0 and no attenuation if set to 100 (these are the only two values). I can't really see a reason for setting this to -6dB if you have your PCM level set correctly.
The next one along is Playback Boost, which gives a further 0.8dB of gain. This one is subtle and again is an on/off switch. Mine is on, but I don't think it makes much difference.
The rest of the options are mostly concerned with muting periods and how things are handled if there is a problem. Leave these set as they are.

Once you exit (Escape key), it's best to do a soft reboot of the Pi, either from the Web interface or just type:
sudo reboot
from the terminal. This ensures your settings have been saved. If you remove power rather than do a soft reboot, the previous settings will return after the next reboot.

I was thinking a sticky would be a good idea....

Many thanks for the Low Latency IIR with de-emphasis tip. Sound stage wider now and greater separation.

Regards

Stephen

[Marco]

Hi Stephen,

Another tip (if you're using Volumio) is to play around with the 'Sound Quality Tweaks', in the system settings menu. My preference is for 'ACX'. The others also differ slightly from the default setting, so it's worth having a play

Marco.

[mikmas]

The biggest stress put on any electrical equipment is that induced when it's switched on
Marco.

Possibly, certainly if their switched on in loaded state (i.e. connected tuner already on or CD playing with volume open)
Components have a calculated operational life; leaving amps on 24/7 (or PCs for that matter) is potentially wasting 2/3 of that life and IMV effectively negates any stress incurred switching them on once a day by a long chalk.

I guess an 'agree to differ' situation

[struth]

Only pieces of gear I leave on are my Monarchy dac, as its designed to remain on and doesn't even have a switch, and my regenerator which seems to be happy enough on tick over. Everything else is running through the Belkin and goes on and off in order when it's switched on.

[Marco]

I guess an 'agree to differ' situation...

Most definitely

My view, based on considerable experience, is that hi-fi equipment works better (i.e sounds better) and lasts longer, when left in 'operational mode', doing what it's been designed to do, than constantly being switched on and off.

As testament to that fact, my CDP and DAC are 28 years old (both bought second-hand), and for the last ten years I've owned them, they've been switched on 24/7 - and they're still working! The previous owner did the same as me. I have plenty of other equipment like that, too....

Mind you, they don't make 'em like they used to!

Marco.

[RichB]

I am using a 1amp linear psu(an aqavox type) and it seems fine using that as the hdd has its own psu. Think I found out why my image of Volumio went ape. RichB had unfortunately left his spotify account details inc password on it. I deleted it and think when I switched off then on again it went pair shaped.lol. seems fine now and I have found a way to rip new albums and transfer them to the hdd connected to the pi over the network. seems to work fine so thats a big bonus.

Doh apologies for that Grant, should have reimaged the SD card for you but pleased you got there in the end.