Kategorie: DACs

so, 😉
the long promised “Allo Katana“, a “monster triple-dac” hat->controller+psu/dac/output and with 6 Op-Amps from Allo is appearantly in the last stage..
(picture is from here-> http://www.forum-hifi.fr/thread-7848.html and relatively “fresh” and/but i don´t know if this is exactly the promised Katana-DAC/HAT, but looks so..(95%))

by that if u really want some fresh/new audio-(dac-hat) info 😉 go to the phenomenal board diyaudio.com/forums..
absolutely superb there; there are sooo much super interesting threads->for example this http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/310338-dac-allo-ess9028q2m-rpi-35.html or http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/317577-allo-boss-dac-1-2-performance-4.html and so on and on..(some Link is also in the sidebar on the right->links)
this site is absolutely “low-mo” 😉 in regarding/comparison to the super interesting infos there..

by that, as said, the “allo-katana”-.dts was accepted by the rpi-mainline-kernel maintainer->(link maybe later) and i first thought:”yeah, then we finally have our es9038q2m.kos for the chip”, but they said, this .dts adresses the special mcu by Allo which adresses then the ess9038q2m-chip..

anyway, here is (imho) a super interesting excerpt of the code for the .dts file: (sound/soc/codecs/sabre-ess.c and sound/soc/codecs/sabre-ess.h) from here:->https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/pull/2519/commits/e67122b366f539713cf6ef91c63ab00cb269113d
it shows the different register of the es9038q2m (or in this case the allo-mcu but the basics are the same i think) + the adressing->

some user over there is also a few steps before reading out the mcus on our chinese-9038q2m-boards (i tried something similar a few months ago in trying to read out the mcu on a ES9028Q2M via the onboard SWIM-interface and with a ST-Link V2 but with no success)..
so, as said, very interesting, but go and visit these phenomenal diyaudio.com forums !! 😉

so, 😉
because i´ve got now the possibility to change the 7 different-filters “on the fly” (on the ES9038Q2M), means no annoying jumper settings, and via BT or web-control, i can say/state a little bit to my impressions about it:

I tested it via jumper (manually) a few weeks ago and at that time i´ve got the feel that it makes a huge difference, up about to 20%, and i really loved the “linear phase fast roll-off filter” (JP3+JP6)..
but, now, yesterday, i didnt feel it was such a huge difference, only about to 1-2% !! the other “circumstances”, quality of the source, the right op-amp, the quality of the power-supply (15V and or +/- 15V) have absolutely a really greater impact of the sound/tune..
The filter here on the ES9038 are really on the digital/sample-site, there is no more 3D, spacious or something and had almost no effect on the “true original”-tune..
if u really like the bitperfect, faithful, “true to original” tune, u have to improve your hi-fi in another place..
with the different filter u hear something more expressed (or decreased) but the overall “sound/tune” stays the same..
so, in this case, i/u have to work more on the power-supply-side, onboard voltage supply on these Chinese-ES9038Q2-boards/cable/source-material and so on (as said).
On the other hand are there a few differences in the “sound/tune”->here is a very interesting picture from stereo.net.au->https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/81435-ak4490eq-filter-adjustment/, its about filter settings on an AK4490EQ, but the basics are the same..(i´ve also posted a few month ago an article about different-filter-types and the impact on the sabres from resonessence-labs (“Invicta-Mirus”)->
http://essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=21

and i got/have almost the exact feel about it !!

very interesting is also this “Sound Source Positioning”->had the exact impression in changing from one filter to another->also thought “..this voice/guitar/something is more in the back or in the front..” and so on (normal hi-fi experience) !!
Summary: u can hear/have differences, the filter on this board have not soo much impact (imo), but also try to improve your hi-fi in another place !!

(filter/jumper settings ES9038Q2M “Blue”)