Massdrop: Burson V5i ->Dual !! 24,99$ (Single matched pair +15$)

so folks 😉,
sorry that i had lately not the time (and fun) to write here any further posts (+ time is changing here so fast concerning Pi-audio-distros and so on etc.); also i have to buy here some things first to post here more about “modding” the ES9038Q2Ms..
but i found here right now an interesting offer by “Massdrop“-> some

BURSON V5i as single or dual !! ( Dual!! 24,99$ (or Single matched pair +15$)

so great !! 😉

Link-Massdrop-<

hopp,hopp and get some !!!  😉

only 4 Days left !! (Drop is till March 24. 2019)

(further description:

  • The V5i-Dual is a direct replacement of the following opamps: AD823, AD823AN, AD8066, AD8620, AD712, AD827, C4570, JRC4556AD, JRC4580, JRC5532, JRC5532D, JRC5534, LF353, LM4562, LME49860, LM833N, MUSES8920, NE5532, NEC4520, NEC4570, NJM2068D, NJM2114, NJM2214D, NJM4558, NJM4558D, NJM4560, NJM5532, NJM4558P, OP275, OPA1612, OPA2277PA, OPA2132, OPA2134, OPA2604, JRC4558, RC4558D, RC4558P, TL052, TL072, MUSES01, MUSES02, MUSES8820, MUSES8920, MUSES8832, BA15532
  • The V5i-Single is a direct replacement of the following opamps: NE5534, LT1122, TL071, OPA134, OPA627, AD811,AD829, AD844, OPA604, AD8610, AD711, AD797, LME49990, LME49710

+

  • Lifetime warranty (must be registered on Burson Audio’s site)

greets for now !! 😉

essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com / registering not possible at present..

so folks, 😉
sorry about it; but “registering” is not possible at present; but u can still leave some comments via the comment-“button”..
by that i/we have a great “hack-attack” and so i have to delete a really great amount of “false-user”; it could be possible that your account will be deleted too..
i inform u if registering is functional again..
by that, outgoing mail is also not possible at present (for password-resetting and so on)..i work on it, but it can last a little bit longer..
kindly excuse any inconvenience !!

greets for now !! 😉
SFB2

Little update: Skysong XMOS-USB-Bridge external power supply 5V / interesting discussion “real” DoP

so my dear visitors, 😉
after this little site got so much resonance (which i never expected) and i finally found the “real” reason for the stuttering in my Skysong-XMOS-USB-Bridge – ES9038Q2M combo->it was the power-supply (more shortly) and i have got now such a wonderful/brilliant sound here + a very interesting discussion/topic was coming up concerning “real” DoP (DSD) on the Sabre-boards with the “DSD-lock-light “ON“, i thought i maybe make a new post..
and excuse me, its all very “repeating” here on the blog (said it before), but its a blog, with a little “Life-line” and so we have to live with it 😉 ..
back to the first topic: as said in this post->http://essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com/2018/04/es9038q2mskysong-singxer-xmos-usb-bridge-final-thoughts-settings-tone-optimization/->”..by that to provide the Skysong/Singxer USB-bridge with an external 5V power supply also boosted the overall performance of the Bridge by 10-15% !! absolutely to recommend !!..” i had lately this “stuttering” on the combo again, thought first the ESS-PCB/-chip is damaged, had not enough power etc.. but at present it looks like the wonderful,wonderful usb-bridge is getting a little bit older, and a few days ago in searching for the reason i plugged again the external 5V power supply in and hooray: the stuttering was gone and the tune/sound really improved again, so great, the positioning, the absolutely more exactly tone and so on !!
really,really wonderful bridge !!

(i´ve got the luck that i´ve got the “deluxe”-version with the golden Crystek + some other modifications; absolutely superb !! i´ve read somewhere else that the skysong-bridges are the ones with the “finest” xmos-implementation and so on..i can absolutely confirm it from here !!)

the interesting thing is now that i was/am an absolutely Raspberry Pi-I2S-ESS Sabre-board fan/defender, absolutely superb sound, absolutely jitterless and so on (in comparison to any PC-soundcards or other DACs etc.) i must say, that such a combo with this skysong-bridge + nowadays USB3.0 (which had also a great effect on the “tune” here (vs. the old USB2.0)) is really close/tight to it !!
it is an absolutely improvement via USB3.0 + some external power supply (as said), really close to some Raspberry Pi->I2S connection..

by that “Johnson Wu” had a very interesting question (here in the comment-section on the right) concerning real “DoP”(DSD) sound with DSD-lock-light ON on the Essabre-boards->look at the comments on the right (or at the bottom of this post->http://essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com/2018/09/volumio-now-at-v2-452-did-it-dsd-lock-light-on-es9038q2m-alsamixer-archphile-xmos-usb-audio-etc/#comment-1148

more to come,many greets for now !! 😉

The AD797BRZ arrived -> more “dark”-sound, more in the back/laid-back..

so, 😉
finally the AD797BRZ arrived here (all following is under the “premise” that i´ve got original (or near to) ones and not cheap “crap”)->absolutely more “dark sound”, absolutely more push in the lows/middle-lows..
(as presumed->”the BRZ were the ANZ with all the advantages of an OPA627AU..”,”its like going from digital to vinyl”..)..
absolutely okay, high THD+N, very “exactly” , very good Op-Amp, but for me absolutely too dark, not soo much presence (at all and in the middle-highs/highs..)..


(but also said: i have got not the time (and fun) at present to get more in-depth with the BRZs)
after replacing them with the ANZs:->thats for me the right direction..
get so a better idea of the “true/right” sound..(for me)
(i really miss the “brilliance” of the AD797ANZ (in any case from the ones i have here)(although, as said, i also miss the “push” in the low/middle-lows))..
but all this depends very much on your other “gear”, speaker, amplifier, room-size, listen-preferences and so on..
so, conclusion:
i will stuck here with the AD797ANZ for now (on the “blue” ES9038Q2M)(all according to, as said, that i´ve got the original (or near to) OP-Amps..; i would prefer them over the NE5532,LME47920,OPA2134,LME47910,Muses8920,OPA627AU->(in this order)(see this post in the forum->LINK)
but again: it really depends on your personal listen-affections and so on..
in optimizing the ES9038Q2M the next steps will be (without some hw-modding;its too complicated for me at present): connect a -+15V toroidal transformer, buy some (as last op-amp-step) Burson V5/6 and maybe use an AK4137 (see earlier posts)..
and (“quelle surprise”): buy finally some new speaker+amplifier 😉

but many greets for now (+ more to come)!! 😉

“Spare” ES9018K2M arrived / this one in blue / no significant differences..

so, 😉
as i have my old, “green” ES9018K2M in daily use, means behind a Skysong/Singxer-XMOS-bridge connect via USB to my PC, i had lately some little “stuttering” at high khz-rates means 192khz and so on..
thought first it could be an unstable I2S-connection (Bridge to ES9018K2M) or the XMOS-bridge itself (God beware !! 😉 ), but after some re-checks i think the ES9018K2M is meanwhile a little bit “damaged” (daily use since a year or so)..
I´ve helped me a bit in using a greater power supply with now 15V, 2A (before it was 12V, 1,5A) and so its absolutely better, almost no “stuttering” anymore..

despite of this i´ve ordered some ES9018K2M as “spare” (they cost meanwhile 8,50$ incl. shipping) that i still have the full range of ESS-chips here (and which i could afford) means ES9023, ES9018K2M,ES9028Q2M and ES9038Q2M..
by that in testing out some possibilities i´ve relisten to the ES9028Q2M against the ES9018K2M and theres absolutely a huge difference (sound-wise) between them..
IMO the ES9028Q2M sounds way,way,way better than the ES9018K2M (hadnt heard the great differences at first/start)..
so if u are thinking about to buy one (ESS-chip) buy the ES9028Q2M at first (or straight away an ES9038Q2M of course)..
as u see on the picture the old green and new blue ES9018K2M have almost no differences in the PCB-layout..
On the blue one is a NE5532P vs. 5532DD on the green..don´t know if there any differences between them..

soundwise its absolutely almost the same; no improvement nor regression..
(have posted the pictures anyway, maybe its helpful for someone..)

unfortunately no other news from here, stay tuned,
many greets for now 😉

…coming back to the AK4137 SRC / 22€-27$

so, 😉
in still waiting/searching for the right +-15V toroidal transformer and the right case, i was searching yesterday again at these fabulous diyaudio.com-forum->https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/314935-es9038q2m-board-347.html and there is still some AK4137-modding “in the work”..
As said in this post before->http://essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com/2018/09/raspi-ak4137-single-hat-for-2-3b-3b-pi-iso2dsd-v7/ the AK4137 is an digital up-sampler/sample-rate-converter (SRC) with such enormous values like: up to 768khz, DR: 186dB !! ● THD+N: -150dB –
“„..The main function of this board is to improve the quality of the Raspberry Pi I2S signal and reduce jitter..”+”And the AK4137 reconstruction clock reduces the Raspberry Pi output signal jitter enhancement.”..

so and as this raspi-hats, “standalone” boards are meanwhile down to 22€/26$ (Link) respective 23€/27$(Link), u can give it a try..

by that, i have to say that these ES9038Q2M (stock) + some AD797s + raspberry pi (or some xmos-device) already have a superb sound/tune; as posted before i had a Cambridge-Audio-DAC-Magic (150€) here, and it was very well and clean manufactored (Wolfson-chips in it) but it was nevertheless absolutely no comparison to what ESS-chips (ES9038Q2M) are capable of->much better soundstage,3D,positioning,resolution->

Forget about dual Wolfsons, this new unit shows what the ESS Sabre chip is truly capable of..Just fantastically detailed all along the entire frequency range, wide open, huge soundstage and separation, no noticeable coloration, but slightly warm and ultimately spot on timbre. There’s more than sufficient dynamics and air. A very worthy musical experience..

so, back to the theme: i havent got understand it at first right, but with the following pictures its more clear..

 

and so you can select via the K1-K10 jumper/bridges the appropriate sample-rate/DSD-PCM-options, like with with the different filter-settings on the ES9038Q2M par example..

such a “standalone” PCB with I2S-in and I2S-out is better for a XMOS-usb-bridge for example (or the expensive versions of these have a spdif-input too (to directly connect to a transporter CD/Blu-ray))..

would be very interesting if these AK4137 have such a great impact on the tune (less jitter and so on) also on 44,1khz/16bit (Redbook)..

another thing is that some user, also in the diyaudio-forum, means that these “upsampling” by the AK4137 in general or in special this “PCM to DSD” conversion have enormous advantages noise-wise..the noise will be moved in some inaudible frequencies or better completely removed (through this sigma-delta-extra extrapolation/conversion).

anyway, as we have now different possibilities to “pimp-up” the already very good “sounding” ES9038Q2Ms->soldering some other voltage regulators on it (keyword “AVCC” etc.), use another,cleaner power supply (toroidal +-15V), use other OP-Amps (AD797,Muses) + upsample/reduce jitter with the AK4137, we must now see whats the best cost-performance relation..

so, back to the top, these 22€ for some AK4137 could be also a very good alternative but as i had yet not such a hat here, i unfortunately cant say anything to the benefits..

(if anybody has some experiences with the AK4137 and with a ES9038Q2M please share your experiences here in the comment-section !!)

many greets for now !! 😉 

 

New Dual ES9038Q2M out !! + new Volumio ES9038Q2M-plugin !! (HW-Vol. + DPLL etc.)

so, 😉
in visiting this great,great, diyaudio.com-forum (as said a million times before and link also in the “sidebar”)->https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/314935-es9038q2m-board-338.html we have now here first a new “Dual ES9038Q2M-DAC/board“; it has also “a lot of shit” as a bluetooth-receiver and such on board, but has also an HDMI-I2S-input, see post before..(the board itself is also from “SMP CB” (like “our” green-ones))


160-200$ roundabout->Aliexpress-Link..

by that, and thats most important, someone over at the diyaudio.com-forum “DID IT” 😉 , means software-control on some internal register, HW-Vol, DPLL-settings and so on / unbelievable !!..

i dont want to write here too much about it (NDA and such), just head over to the forum->https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/314935-es9038q2m-board-338.html and u will be absolutely fascinated !!

also i found just now by chance a github-repository for a driver/.dtbo for the AK-4137 on a ES9028Q2M (hifibunny-driver) or ES9038Q2M->also just discussed in the forum..->Github/TuziUsagi->https://github.com/TuziUsagi/ak4137

more to come, merry christmas and many greets for now !! 😉

HDMI I2S LVDS to I2S /-modules / incompatible XMOS-driver V4.45 Win-10 / new ESP32s

so, 😉
in waiting/looking for a toroidal 15V-0-15V transformer and the right case and thinking about the “maximum” 😉 DIY-DAC + connections i came back again to some HDMI I2S LVDS to I2S-connections/modules..

Audiophonics has some there (25€+shipping)->https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/diy-interfaces/hdmi-i2s-lvds-to-i2s-input-module-hdmi-i2s-lvds-to-i2s-output-p-12422.html (u can get the same here for 21$ without shipping (costs)->https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-HDMI-to-IIS-I2S-Receiver-Board-Conversion-Board-Module-With-I2S-Switching-/332651861540
interesting by this “Audiophonics”-module is the selectable dual-I2S-input option ->

(u can get single “ones” here for 15$->https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/diy-interfaces/interface-module-hdmi-lvds-input-to-i2s-p-12683.html?search_query=hdmi%20i2s&fast_search=fs)

meanwhile i think u have to include such a “I2S-HDMI”-option because we got more and more USB-bridges with I2S-HDMI-out like the Gustard U-16 (see some earlier posts, LINK ) or some Singxer SU-1 for example..

Audio-GD also made equipment with this connection and interesting would be if it has great benefits in modding a “transporter” means CD/DVD-Audio/Bluray-player and so on to bypass the spdif-connection/conversion and directly connect the transporters internal I2S-connection to an I2S-HDMI output module like this:(Link)

by that it is recommend only to use (hdmi-)cable shorter than 50cm->”..which needs to be kept as short as possible to uphold decent signal integrity”..
Kitsune for example has some there also by only 30cm (as example)(9,90$)->LINK
by that, i´ve faced some incompatilibity issues with the XMOS-USB-driver V4.45 (on my Skysong (Singxer)-USB-bridge) since the last Win10-updates (stuttering); reverted back to V4.36 (but still not “optimal”)..(link to the driver in the forum->Forum)

also i´ve got some new (Geekcreit Doit.am Devkit V1-36pin) ESP32 from banggood (to have a spare)->Link 

it looks a little bit different and i also think there´s a “fresher” Wroom32-module on it (newer revision)..

more to come, greets for now 😉

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