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

[Marco]

Your decision, Dave, to reject it, but the RPi is hardly flavour of the month or represents 'emperors new clothes' syndrome. Many folks have been happy users now for quite some time, and no doubt will continue to be for a long time to come (me included)!

Marco.

[struth]

me too

[lurcher]

Just found this thread at a time when the DAC actually seems to be available and wifey is hoping for a "tidy up" of the considerable number of CDs lying around.

TBH I cannot be bothered to read 149 pages but a quick skim read seems to indicate the usual pattern:
Rave review of new computer audio thingy
An additional couple of seemingly positive reviews
A couple of less positive reviews
Endless discussion of settings and software versions
Emperor is seen to be wearing something but not much

So I decided to get my old SB3 (custom linear PSU) out and have a listen. I also used to own an SB+.
The sound - using the same DAC** and digital cable - is like MP3 compared to my ancient Arcam CDP as transport.
I've also had an Aurender on loan along with a silly price digital cable that needed a battery. This sounded pretty much identical to my Arcam and homemade digital cable as a transport.

Sorry to be so negative chaps, but is this new flavour of the month piece of kit going to be up there with the Aurender and Arcam. or is it going to be a damp squib like the SB3?


** The dac is one of these but with special analogue supplies (and no crappy toroidal transformer):
http://www.audiophonics.fr/en/kits-m...96-p-4993.html

Not sure I understand what you are saying. It sounds like you have found that you dont like the sound of a squezebox feeding (via spdiff maybe?) your £35 DAC. How does that relate to the sound of a Pi connected to a dac via i2s?

[Starterman]

Not sure I understand what you are saying. It sounds like you have found that you dont like the sound of a squezebox feeding (via spdiff maybe?) your £35 DAC. How does that relate to the sound of a Pi connected to a dac via i2s?

My conclusion is that the SB is a poor digital source via SPDIF. The audiophonics DAC has some jitter rejection courtesy of its CS8416 but even so, the SB3 is poor.

I2S is less prone to jitter as as interface, but if the source is jittery it cannot fix it.

The PCM5122 is a voltage o/p DAC generally considered to be less preferable to a current o/p DAC (like the PCM1796).
I have managed to get the Audiophonics DAc to sound as good as the TDA1541A DAC inside the (modded) Arcam, and possibly better. So what I'm looking for a digital source that performs as well as the Aurender (silly money, huge and ugly) and the Arcam.

I could hack into I2S of the PCM1796 DAC so I think the Pi is worth a try.

[Box13]

Well you did last 65,000,000 years!

[Starterman]

You get the T-shirt:

[Starterman]

Your decision, Dave, to reject it, but the RPi is hardly flavour of the month or represents 'emperors new clothes' syndrome. Many folks have been happy users now for quite some time, and no doubt will continue to be for a long time to come (me included)!

Marco.

Thanks Marco, If you followed my erratic logic in the post above I think I'll give it a try, but keep the known-good-DAC.

[Stratmangler]

My conclusion is that the SB is a poor digital source via SPDIF. The audiophonics DAC has some jitter rejection courtesy of its CS8416 but even so, the SB3 is poor.

It's certainly not as good as a Squeezebox Touch.
I've just dug out my old SB3 and given it a whirl. The SB3 sounds OK, but the Touch is easily recognised as being the superior transport.

[NRG]

Not sure about the Touch but both the SB2 & 3 SPDIF is crippled by the use of an inline SMD inductor used to reduced RFI, it screws up the impedance badly. Bypassing it or replacing it with a wire link makes a noticeable improvement.

[The Black Adder]

I've not looked back after getting the Pi/IQdac... it's simply superb!

I do have a cd player but I've not used it since I got this.