Well, that would be considered the ultimate I2S DAC when it comes to convenience. And that’s exactly what the NanoSound DAC does: it is an excellent sounding i2s DAC (same chip as Hifiberry DAC Plus) but with some uber-interesting extra features.

It features:

• integrated  OLED display for now-playback informations,
• 6 buttons for controls (next, previous, pause\ play, volume + and minus, power on\off)
• handy infrared remote control, with plenty of available control options (you can even turn the player on and off)

Also, thanks to its optional Amplifier, you can use your NanoSound Player to drive your loudspeakers without the need of a second Power supply (it’s so efficient that it can squeeze out 5W from a single 5V power supply, and power the raspberry PI, Display and amplifier with it).

Frankly, as soon as I saw it, I immediately fell in love with it: as you know I am really convinced that a big deal of the music listening experience is how you actually interact with the player, and the NanoSound gives plenty of options to interact with the player without even touching a phone or a PC. I know there are many people out there which would feel more comfortable in interacting with Volumio with physical buttons, or with a remote control.

Not to mention that this is the only DAC for the Raspberry PI which integrates an on\off switch. And it just works, even remotely with the IR control.

Last but not least: an OLED display that reports playback informations in real time.

And what about the sound? Nothing to worry about as it uses the widely adopted TI PCM5122 (the same used by Hifiberry DAC+). It’s not a giant when it comes to sound quality, but it’s indeed an excellent sounding package.

The NanoSound has been launched on Kickstarter (achieving a great success, kudos!) and when I saw it I immediately thought it could be the best all-round complete player with Volumio.

That’s why we partnered with NanoMesher to provide to Volumio users a complete, ready to play device: welcome the NanoSound Player.

You can tailor it to your needs: choose to have it with a case (black or white) and if you want, you can add the Amp to it. It will come to you ready to play and no further software fiddling will be needed: just install the companion plugin and the Infrared button, display and buttons will just work.

Nostalgics of SqueezeBox, buttons aficionados, remote control lovers: the NanoSound Player is the ready-to-play Volumio device for you. And this is the device I can mostly recommend to people curious to try Volumio and Raspberry PI as their audio player but they are frightened about it to be too complicated.

And the good news are not over: you can receive up to a 20% discount on the NanoSound by simply writing an honest review on it

As usual you can find the NanoSound Player on our shop or, if you already have a raspberry PI, you can just have the NanoSound DAC

The post NanoSound Player: the most convenient Volumio complete player appeared first on Volumio.

We’re extremely pleased to announce that the Volumio shop will feature another great piece of equipment: the PI2Design 503HTA – Hybrid Tube Amp!

I clearly remember when I saw it first time on Kickstarter : I immediately liked the idea, being a complete tube Junkie and having waited something like that (for the Raspberry PI at least) for a long time.

When I finally received it, I immediately started listening. And I must say I was really happy with what was coming to my hears. I might sum up my listening impressions to those bullet points:

• A nice and punchy bass, way more present than what you get with ESS 9023
• Great medium presentation. This thing sounds awesome with Rock and Jazz, bass-guitars, guitars and voices are really convincing!
• Average amount of detail, nearly not as good as ESS 9023
• It features an integrated DSP filter for High Frequencies roll-off, I definetely suggest to turn this off (via the plugin)

So, the 503HTA Hybrid Tube Amp sound signature is very euphonic, and I consider it the ultimate setup if you listen to Rock or Jazz. I think that the guys at PI2Design have made a really good job with it, and that is why it’s now featured in Volumio Shop: this is definetely one of the most interesting DACs at the moment. It has also other advantages:

• Can be used also as a line preamp
• Features a good quality Volume Potentiometer
• Has individuals Anode Bias Adjustment Pots and  selectable Series/Parallel Heater Configuration (tube geeks please applaude!)
• It can drive very high impedance Headphones, and has a selectable gain output

It however has just one shortcoming, if used with a Raspberry PI 3: unfortunately its FETs ends up just above the integrated wireless antenna, resulting in lot of noise when Wireless is in use. However, if you have a Raspberry PI3, you can just disable the Integrated Wireless (via network configuration in Volumio) if you don’t need it, or use an external wi-fi dongle.

All in all, I really like the 503HTA, it has a great look, sounds very well and it’s suited for tube rolling. So, if you’re like me and love tubes, Raspberry PI and Volumio you’ve just found the perfect toy !

The PI2Design 503HTA – Hybrid Tube Amp can be bought on our Shop and will be shipped directly from PI2Design. Let us know what you think about it in the dedicated thread!

The post A Tube Raspberry PI I2S DAC is finally here appeared first on Volumio.

Welcome the MAMBOBERRY LS DAC+

We’ve promised that Volumio Shop will be the place where curious audiophiles could find the latest and finest products from independent manufacturers, and with today’s addition we’re definetely pursuing that goal. The Mamboberry LS DAC + is definetely a must-have for discerning audiophiles, let’s see why:

First, it can be fed with an external 5V Power Supply, and we all know how critical a good power supply is for sound quality. Pair this beauty with a good PSU like the Ifi iPower and you’ve done all the clever.

Then, it features the Sabre ESS 9023 which is just an amazing DAC, with the highest performance\cost ratio ever… We love its detailed yet pleasant signature, and the implementation on this DAC is indeed very good. Which brings us to third point.

The Mamboberry is made with carefully selected components, and yes they make a difference. Nichicon audio series main filter caps and Susumu low noise resistors, just to name a pair.

To sum it up:

The Mamboberry LS DAC+ is one of the finest implementation of the beloved ESS 9023 DAC, with a a very sophisticated power supply, made with selected high quality components.

A Specific design choice

There’s no doubt that every product is shaped as a consequence of its designer’s philosophy, belief and priorities. Here on Volumio Shop we would like to show a bit of this “behind the curtains” of what’s going on on the audiophile scene, and meet together its fautors. So let’s get to know the heart and souls behind this DAC: Collybia Team, with their own words.

Collybia Team Audio was founded in 2015 by a team of audiophiles including an experienced engineer, devoted to design and build user-friendly high-end music reproduction products at an affordable price. Music is what matters most at Collybia and we like to turning sound into an experience.

OUR AIM

Our approach is to connect the listener with the experience of his and her favorite music. We use technology, our experience as audiophiles, our shared passion for music, and our fair share of hard work, to develop products which help create excitement and inspire emotions in the listener: create a total musical experience.
And to make it all as accessible as we possibly can: affordable and user-friendly.
Mamboberry DAC series are the most vivid example of our approach.

With MamboberryHiFi DAC+ we start the revolution at the DAC-HAT’s market, for Raspberry Pi boards with our special approach to implement, in a unified product (DAC), a very sophisticated power supply.
We continue with Mamboberry LS DAC+ this revolutionary mission by selecting high quality parts for the board and focusing on eliminating the “noise” at the power rail.
The feedbacks are awesome and overwhelming from the Audio community in the planet and especially from diyaudio community and Professional Audio reviewers.
We like to thank you all and we will continue to produce affordable high quality audio products for all.

Because Music is a feeling and at Collybia Team we like to share it with everyone!

GET YOURS NOW

And stay tuned, great times are about to come with lots of new additions and surprises!

The post MAMBOBERRY LS DAC+ on Volumio Shop appeared first on Volumio.

We already talked about the excellent Odroid C1, and its great priceperformance ratio. There was just one thing missing: an i2s DAC.
As you know, I2s DACs are becoming the audio interface of choice for Audiophiles using Volumio on their embedded devices. Both Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black already offer a compelling choice on such field.

Hardkernel just addressed this by releasing their C1+ HiFi Shield, thus making the newly released Odroid C1+ a great valuable choice for Audiophiles. Quoting from them, the new HiFi Shield offers:

1. The DAC chip uses a high-end PCM5102 chip from Burr-Brown company (now part of TI) which utilizes the I2S interface. It supports 16 to 24 bit audio formats with minimal distortion (-93dB) and ideal dynamics (100dB+), plus amazing sampling rates of 192kHz.

2. The output ports include gold-plated stereo RCA terminals and a 3.5mm audio jack.3. An ultra-low noise dropout regulator is coupled with two solid capacitors for the power supply, significantly reducing power supply noise and greatly increasing the signal to noise ratio.4. The I2S interface allows for direct decoding of the digital input to analog output using master clock synchronization.

3. An ultra-low noise dropout regulator is coupled with two solid capacitors for the power supply, significantly reducing power supply noise and greatly increasing the signal to noise ratio.

4. The I2S interface allows for direct decoding of the digital input to analog output using master clock synchronization.

5. The PCB surface is comprised of gold-plating on top of 2 oz. of copper, ensuring signal continuity and reducing signal reflection and refraction.

And here it is:

Hardkernel provides also instrumental measurements:

• Signal Noise Ratio (SNR): 111,8
• Noise Level: -107 dBm
• Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise Ratio (THD+N): 0,007

(average, my calulations from their data)

Aside from such measurements, my listening impressions are more than positive. I’ve been listening this combo (on Volumio 1.55) for some time now, and results are really good (you know I’m not used to make comparisons, nor making sommelierish statements about how something sounds to my ears).

There is however a clear miss on this DAC: the absence of an Hardware Mixer. This means that in order to change volume the Software Volume mixer on Volumio should be selected, resulting in a small but audible sound degradation.

Volumio 1.55 is compatible with Odroid C1+ HiFi Shield, let’s see how to enable it:

• First, prepare Volumio SD Card as usual and connect everything (LAN, USB memory if any and power). Then, enable the HiFi Shield from Settings Menu.
  

• Then, reboot the player. Once restarted, select C1+ HiFi Shield from Playback MenuTo enable remote volume control, just enable software mixer

• Done! You’re now set and ready to enjoy. If you wish, you can now enable Spotify from Settings Menu (requires a reboot to take effect.

The HiFi Shield is available from Hardkernel Store and Volumio 1.55 for Odroid C1+ can be downloaded as usual from the Download Page.

The post Volumio and the new Odroid C1+ HiFi Shield appeared first on Volumio.

Let’s take a moment to review what the benefits are with this new board iteration:

• Quad Core ARM v7 CPU @ 900MHz (Foundation claims it to be 6x more powerful)
• 1GB of RAM instead of 512 MB
• Full compatibility with Accessories and Software of V1.

The new Raspberry Pi 2

What they basically did was replace the BCM2825 SoC with a newer and more powerful BCM2836, and adding a 1GB elpida DDR2 RAM module on the bottom of the board. The remaining parts of the board remain unchanged.

You can see an interesting performance comparison here.

For those of you wondering if the new Raspberry Pi 2 will suffer from the same USB issues: yes, the Ethernet is still over USB (like every single board computer out there) so we’ll need to test the new drivers behaviour extensively to see if the notorius #1 bug on PI has been solved.

Now, let’s see what you can get using Volumio and Raspberry Pi 2 as a music player:

• 35 dollar Hardware, the most inexpensive one
• Way more power than Volumio needs
• Full compatibility with I2s DACs (Hifiberry, IQ-Audio and others) up to 24\192 playback
• Extra RAM for RAMPlay function

I’ll cover a bit more extensively the hardware capabilities of the Raspberry PI 2 in a future post

And here is what you get with Volumio 1.55:

• Compatible with Raspberry Pi, Rasbperry Pi B+ and Raspberry PI 2
• I2s DAC compatibility with Raspberry PI 2 (Hifiberry Dac Plus, IqAudio Dac Plus and others)
• Better Spotify handling: new Spop daemon version and search by Name or Artist
• USB DAC hotplugging is now supported
• USB Storage can be used on the fly, and you’re not required to reboot any more

As usual, you can download the new version at the DOWNLOAD PAGE and leave your comments and feedbacks on the Specific Forum Thread

And while downloading, take a look at the great Android Companion Apps for Volumio!

Enjoy!

The post Volumio for Raspberry PI 2 appeared first on Volumio.

This is a quick showcase of the best creations of  Raspberry Pi audio player projects with Volumio. I feel really proud that Volumio is powering lots of brilliant Audio Players Projects, made by equally outstanding music lovers around the world. I stumbled on some, on Volumio’s Forum. Here are some carefully crafted creations, enjoy!

AN ELEGANT RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER

It looks as elegant as it could be, and it doesn’t really look a DIY Raspberry Pi audio player, but a more expensive one. Joni Ive would have made it this way, just with little more gradients

But then look at the interior, and you see how much care has put into this… Rectifier with ultrafast  diodes, linear  regulated power supply and Audiophonic’s ES9023 I2S DAC (For some infos visit the Raspberry Pi i2s DACs list..) Love it. Nothing more and nothing less the same Raspberry Pi audio player I will build …

Here’s the BOM:

• Raspberry Pi model B (Amazon)
• Inter-Tech Mini ITX Q-6 (Ebay)
• Audiophonics DAC Sabre ES9023 I2S (Audiophonics)
• 2x 7V 10VA Toroidal Trasformer
• Audiowind A-270 regulator

Kudos to Gerry_222 for his creation!!! You can see the project thread @ volumio.org/forum/volumio-project-t1522.html

BOOMBOX Raspberry Pi audio player

Simple, straight to the point. Gives a new life to an old appliance, just the way I adore. Look at it

Could you ever imagine it will feature this?

This interestin build is a brilliant work of Volumio community member Pondidum, I really encourage you to look at the Project’s forum thread @ https://volumio.org/forum/boombox-cassette-deck-replacement-t1420.html

A STEAMPUNK STYLE RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER WITH VOLUMIO

I’m a great fan of Steampunk. Love the baroccan way of building stuff this way. And this creation ranks 10\10 on my Nerdgasm scale. Period.
And didn’t mention I just crave for Tubes?

I just love it. Insanely! Kudos Oratius! You can find a detailed instructable on how to build this piece of art @ this Instructable Project Page

HI-END RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER AND STREAMER

For those of you with Fancy Audio Gear to showcase, here’s the proper companion to it. Not only the enclosure is a perfect example of “Overstatement”, but also the care that has been put into the PSU is considerable. Sure you saw something similar sold somewhere, for the price of a car.

Besides from its look. What I really approve is a dedicated power supply both for the Raspberry PI and the I2S connected S\PDIF transport.

The classy touch, for those who haven’t noticed, is a filtered IEC power connector. Digital Sources may benefit a lot with this addition, depending on your home’s power network and system. Unluckily its creator ptiboubou didn’t share so much about this on the Forum Thread. However, you may have spotted an Hifiberry-DIGI that will take care to stream music to an External DAC. The DIGI has its own power supply, even if it can be an overkill for just a trasport interface. Overall, nice creation indeed!

PORTABLE RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER

For those on a run, or those on a car (I’m both, really often) here’s a simple yet effective solution.

A Pi, Volumio, USB Thumb Drive, Wi-Fi dongle, a mobile phone battery pack  and your favourite headphones. Serve chilled. You can obtain even better result adding a i2s DAC which can drive adequately headphones. And live fast while enjoying all of your music’s nuances.

These was just examples, the one that got me more interested of the many published on Volumio’s Forum by its awesome community members. There are also technically clever projects showcased in that section, and we’ll have a look at them in another post. As of now, you have some ideas more on how to build an Amazing DIY Raspberry Pi Audio player with Volumio. Less bucks for more Rock.

How will you make your Raspberry Pi Audio Player with Volumio? Which of these projects you prefer? Join the discussion on the Forum or drop few lines via comments below!

The post Amazing DIY Raspberry Pi audio player with Volumio appeared first on Volumio.

• Update Mechanism. You’ll be able to backup your settings and library and restore them when a new version is released. After this has been achieved, I’ll work on an update system which won’t force you to download a new image every time. It’s quite a tricky part, but is definetely in my top priority list.
• Integration with Radio directiories, such as Jamendo and more, to retrieve easily new songs. What about Spotify? yes I’m still looking for a viable solution (hope to achieve that very soon).
• Better I2S DAC handling, allowing to use Hardware Volume control for capable devices (like IQaudIO PI-Dac)
• Playlist management and general UX improvements
• Social sharing and better connection with the forum and help sections.
• Raspberry PI B+ compatibility and I2S DACs patch.
• Improving Sound Quality: this is not to be forget, as is the real core feature of Volumio.
• Various little tweaks and additions (such as starting volume, OhMedia support for UPNP and more)

Then I have plenty of new gizmos to play with:

Takazine’s IrBerry DAC

The New IrBerry DAC, from Takazine. It works out of the box with Volumio, and features a carefully designed layout. Plus it comes with an handy IR Receiver which can be used with an Apple Remote to control playback. You just have to lauch a little script which will handle IR signals and send them appropriately to MPD’s backend. The website is in Japanese, but just hit translate to your language and you’ll understand how much care has been put into this. Unfortunately, it seems that this DAC comes in a kit and you’ll need to solder it by yourself, hope that something ready to use will be considered in the future. I’m really eager to try it (need days with more than 24 hours)  and write here my thoughts. And why not, integrate the Remote Control script into Volumio for the IrBerry Profile, thats’ really worth it!

Sellarz DAC-24192-ABR for BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi

It’s a long time I’m delighted with Sellarz electronics products, you may remember my Reference DAC build. This guys makes outstanding products, nothing to say about it. Now he released a new I2S DAC for Raspberry PI and BeagleBone Black. This are the features (quoting from Kim Itself):

• Input Voltage : 5Vdc from R-Pi and Beaglebone Black.
• Low Pass Filter for Power Supply( for noisy switching power as USB)
• Ultra Low Noise Regulation Circuit : 8nV/√Hz  @1KHz(0.25uV)
• High Precision and Low Jitter Noise Clock : +/-0.5PPM / 0.08ps RMS

The DAC chip itself is the beloved ES9023, and it can be used both with Raspberry PI and BeagleBone Black. The Power Section of the circuit is quite remarkable (that’s a distinctive feature of Kim’s design) and you’ll have an onboard low phase noise oscillator for the DAC (mandatory with this chip). Since it’s compatible with not just the Raspberry Pi, don’t expect this to be a snap-on solution, you’ll need to wire it up propery, but that’s a little price to pay and allows lot of flexibility if you mind to box your creation.
You can find the DAC-24192-ABR on EBAY.

Such great additions to the Raspberry PI and Beaglebone I2S DAC family

That’s it, guys. Hope for you a very good summer and enjoy your listening!

The post Volumio updates and new gizmos appeared first on Volumio.

And, as everybody seems to know, today the new Raspberry Pi Model B+ has been announced. Let’s examine this from an Audio-centric perspective.

What has changed

First thing we notice: almost everything has changed its position: Power Connector, HDMI, Camera Connector, Analog Jack, USB Ports, GPIO Pins. And now the bad news: that means lots of Pi oriented accessories are not compatible with Raspberry Pi model b+.
Cases, Expansion headers, I2S DACs and lot more stuff will simply not fit. So, if you plan to use Raspberry Pi model b+ with your existing accessories, you’re just out of luck.

But, as always, the solution is just waiting for us at the end of a tunnel. I catched this tweet today from Gordon of IQaudIO, and what this clever scottsman is showing is that we can simply use connector cable to use i2s DACs also on Raspberry PI model b+.

Of course, 5 or 10 cm of i2s interconnect are less preferable than a soldered one, but it may have been worse. So, if you can accept such connection, you’ll be safe also with Raspberry Pi model b+.

Upgrades Overview

Quoting from the Foundation:

• More GPIO. The GPIO header has grown to 40 pins, while retaining the same pinout for the first 26 pins as the Model B.
• More USB. We now have 4 USB 2.0 ports, compared to 2 on the Model B, and better hotplug and overcurrent behaviour.
• Micro SD. The old friction-fit SD card socket has been replaced with a much nicer push-push micro SD version.
• Lower power consumption. By replacing linear regulators with switching ones we’ve reduced power consumption by between 0.5W and 1W.
• Better audio. The audio circuit incorporates a dedicated low-noise power supply.
• Neater form factor. We’ve aligned the USB connectors with the board edge, moved composite video onto the 3.5mm jack, and added four squarely-placed mounting holes.

Here’s what I think:

• More GPIO: Good move. I was short of GPIOs with Model B. And keeping the first 26 exactly the same was just the right thing to do.
• More USB: I can see this upgrade will benefit almost exclusively the ones using their PI as a Desktop Replacement (it clearly isn’t BTW). No need for a USB Hub, and final operating costs decreased for such targets. I just have one little, silly doubt. Since I struggled a lot with USB bus issues on the little PI I am quite worried about the performances of using multiple USB ports and Ethernet altogether. We are in the right direction with the USB fiq split fix, but this issue is still unresolved and its the main Pi’s design flaw. I don’t think people using their Pi for Audio purposes will benefit of that upgrade (unless you’re using a wlan stick, a USB Hard Drive and a USB DAC, but this is the kind of situation I’ll desperatly avoid with the little PI).
  However, a valid addition no doubt about it. I’m just curious to see if internal power regulators can deliver a total of 2 A for 4 USB devices. I’ll investigate about that.
• Micro SD: Yes, love it. Lot of times SD was just not working. Re-inserting it did the trick, changing to a push-push connection is the way to fix this.
• Lower Power Consumption: We are talking of 50% off. Ok, PI’s power consumption were already ridicoulously low, but knowing that Raspberry Pi model b+ has less power requirements is something to plaude.
• Better Audio: That was easy. Really, doing worst was the real challenge here. Raspberry Pi’s onboard jack was described with the worst words human has ever created. However, since we are choosy audiophiles we shouldn’t care lot about that. This can be interesting for something really cheap to play music and doesn’t really worry about Sound Quality.

Conclusions

Is this an upgrade? No, I would rather call it a sidegrade. But this adds flexibility to one of my favourite platform of all times (along with Sega Mega Drive) and could be an intriguing options for some Raspberry Pi owners. But, we should also consider that Raspberry Pi model b+ has several contenders (none really serious tough). So, if you really are looking for something more, you can have a significant upgrade just adding few extra bucks, without waiting for Raspberry Pi 2. I can think on the upcoming Hb-1 (or HummingBoard) from SolidRun. It has a substancially faster CPU and different from Raspberry PI model b+ is compatible with all Model b  accessories (that’s quite ironic, isn’t it) [except i2s DACs, sadly]. Or UDOO, if you feel you’re a demanding maker and were using Arduino with the PI. Not to mention the Cubietruck, which has a massive set of I\Os.

So, if you’re looking for accessories compatibility, you’ll better stick with your current model b. If instead, you’re interested in the additional USB Ports and don’t care to wait for cases and accessories the Raspberry Pi model b+ could be your best bet.

That being said, someone in Florence will be ordering its Raspberry Pi model b+ in a matter of seconds.

The post Raspberry Pi Model B+: upgrades overview appeared first on Volumio.

INTRODUCTION: WHY RASPBERRY PI I2S DAC IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

I may be aware there could be also other stuff worth of our joy, but this time I’ll concentrate only on that magic word, which audiophiles should have heard somewhere, sometime… So, what are we talking about?

I2S is a communication protocol specifically designed to carry digital audio data. To quote from Wikipedia

I²S, also known as Inter-IC Sound, Integrated Interchip Sound, or IIS, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is used to communicate PCM audio data between integrated circuits in an electronic device. The I²S bus separates clock and serial data signals, resulting in a lower jitter than is typical of communications systems that recover the clock from the data stream.

To better explain, i2s is used in all your fancy CD players, connecting the reading mechanism to the DAC and\or the S\PDIF output. Most important, i2s is used also on every standalone DAC you may encounter. If it’s USB, i2s is the pathway from the USB receiver to the very DAC chip, if it’s S\PDIF the same as above. Starting to smell why we are talking about this?
As straight as we could be: I2S is the protocol of choice when talking about digital audio signal transmission. I could also add that using USB as connection, in the Audio domain, is way far from being an ideal situation. And even if it was, an I2S direct connection has one great advantage: the signal path is shorter. See those examples:

Scenario 1: My little Raspberry Pi (powered by Volumio, of course) is hooked up to a zillion dollar USB DAC, which feds my interstellar amplifier. 

My precious one and zeroes are facing this path:

Raspberry Pi -> USB Bus -> USB Cable -> Zillion Dollar USB receiver -> I2S -> Zillion Dollar DAC -> Interstellar Amplifier

Quite a long way, isn’t it? Add to it all the intrinsic issues affecting connection interfaces, and you got quite a good idea of what is happening here.

Scenario 2: My little Raspberry Pi (you know what comes here…) has a tiny DAC hooked on it, via I2S connection, feeding my full-of-common-sense amplifier

The flow of my zeroes and ones?

Raspberry Pi -> I2S -> DAC -> Full-of-common-sense-amplifier

I’m sure now you feel the truth deep in your heart, and the force is with you. But there’s more to come, to sum up and make it shorter, these are the main advantages of having a raspberry pi i2s DAC setup:

• Ideal signal path: shorter signal path and interfaces (USB, S/PDIF) avoided
• We’re not using the troublesome USB bus of the Raspberry PI, consider pop and clicks a thing from the past
• Cheap yet good sounding setup: 80 bucks for a staggering price/quality combo

UPDATE

This article was written in 2014, and since then newer and better i2s DACs have emerged. Luckily, we now have a selection of the best among them right here on Volumio shop. So, to save you the fuss of research and comparation, you’ll find listed below my personal choice of the best 4 I2S DACs for Raspberry PI.

[products skus=”BOSSDAC, MBLSDAC, Pi-DAC+, DACPLUS-RCA, JBM-001″]

And of course the Allo Bundles with the little miracle which is the Kali:
[products skus=”KAP21PS, KAPHFDPS”]

THE OPTIONS

Now that you’re enlighted about raspberry pi i2s DAC wonders, let’s see the options we have:

RPI-DAC : THE DIYER CHOICE

[EasyGallery id=’rpi-dac’]

This is an exquisite work of Audio Engineering. Let’s make it clear, this is a no-compromise solution, even if we are in the DIY domain. What Torsten Jaekel  created is a double layered addon raspberry pi i2s board, which has pretty amazing specs (quoting) :

• 24bit DAC, Opamp I/V Conversion, Stereo Headphone Amplifier
• State-of-the-art components on small footprint PCB
• Single DAC solution with I2S Interface, On-Board Low Noise LDOs
• Best in class parameters [1]:
  

  SNR:	> 120dB
  THD+N:	< 0.0006%
  Low Noise:	< 5µV/sqrt(Hz)
  PSRR:	< -82dB

• No additional Power Supply, just AC transformer required
• no heat sink needed (PCB used)
• external filtering possible (connecting a FPGA)
• Dual DAC (Dual-Mono) available (even higher SNR)
• Upsampling, Dynamic Range Expansion … in planning (with FPGA)
• cap-free transmission path

Hook it to the PI and you’ll have a fine-tuned Heaphone oriented Digital Music Source. The boards consists of a Audiophile grade PSU paired with PCM1794A DAC. You can also have a dual mono version, which will raise SNR of 3db. What I really like about it? It’s designed with only one goal in mind: Audio Quality. I really wish to congrats with Torsten for what he achieved, and for the fact he published everything you need to build this at home. The culprit of raspberry pi i2s RPI-DAC is the price: it is quite an expensive solution, ranging from 120 to 255 USD. But as you know, quality has its price.

HIFIBERRY: THE BANG FOR BUCK KILLER

[EasyGallery id=’hifiberry’]

Here we have the most successful Audio accessory for our little PI: I want to applaude crazyaudio for creating such a simple, good sounding and straight to the point device. What makes the HIFIBERRY special is its price\quality ratio. With 30 euros you have a device which will skyrocket your Raspberry PI’s audio attitude. This means that for a mere 80 euros (50 for the PI in full working order + 30 for raspberry pi i2s Hifiberry) you can have a really good sounding Digital Audio Music Player. What I really like? It’s simplicity: few components, DC taken from Raspberry’s 5v rail. Simplicity is the ultimate sophisticacy, we may say. Culprits? You may want to isolate the 5v rail from the PI’s and use a dedicated PSU, this will raise the bar even more, but you need to mess around a little with the PCB. I would have liked to have that option already prepared, with a switch and a connector.

RASPYPLAY3: THE VERSATILE CHOICE

[EasyGallery id=’raspyplay3′]

You know, Raspberry PI can be hooked up to a wide variety of Accessories. I really do like to have a little Display attached to it, to show current title playback (coming soon on Volumio!) and so on. This clever raspberry pi i2s DAC has it capabilities, since it offers a GPIO connector, to easily hook a display on it. Not to mention that this little board offers the same advantages of raspberry pi i2s connected DACS. RaspyPlay3 is developed by a serbian community of DIY and audio lovers, just browse their website to find out they really interesting articles (use google translate and be prepared for some lost in translations…). This raspberry pi i2s dac can be customized with your preferred Capacitors, meaning you can really tailor it to your personal tastes. Plus, you can find all the documentation you need to find out how to build this raspberry i2s cad on your own. Thanks Nebojsa!

Some specs:

• SNR: 112dB
• Dynamic Range: 112dB
• THD+N @ – 1dB FS: –93dB
• Full Scale Output: 2.1VRMS (GND center)
• LCD + keyboard connector on board

ESS SABRE 9023 + MCLOCK GENERATOR : THE THIRD WAY

As most of us believe, ESS SABRE 9023 is one of the most interesting pieces of silicon around. I always wanted one hooked directly into my little PI. As raspberry pi i2s dac solution however, there is one technical issue preventing us to do that: Raspberry PI cannot deliver a Master Clock, which this DAC needs. So, let’s give it one! What you need is just get a ESS 9023 I2S DAC:

• 24Bit/192KHz ES9023 DAC with I2S input From DIYINHK
• DAC-24192-ULN, 24Bit/192KHz DAC from Sellarz Audio

And pair it with a Master Clock Generator:

• HPRC-331: High Precision & Low Jitter Audio Clock

Then, feed both with DC voltage (you can use the same rail if you wish, the range is from 7 to 20 Volts DC). This should be a very effective solution, more pricey and complicated from the ones above, but you’ll be rewared with premium sound quality. And if you really want to get to higher levels, and also higher pricetags, you can choose to hook other fancy semiconductors:

• DAC-32192-DSD, 32Bit/192KHz WM8741
• DAC-32384-DSD, 32Bit/384KHz ESS 9018 DAC

CONCLUSIONS

Now you should have a comprehensive idea of why raspberry pi i2s dac is the way to follow if you want to achieve pretty good sonics performances, while  slightly emptying your pockets. I am really reccomending to use this solution if you want a really valuable Audiophile Music Player withouth spending too much, furthermore Volumio + PI + raspberry pi i2s DAC is a solution you can tailor to your very own needs. And as Volumio development will progress, you’ll have also more functionalities available.

The last step is enable raspberry pi i2s DAC support from Volumio’s WEBUI, just go to settings -> I2S DAC -> I2S ON . Then reboot your PI, and enjoy the subtle joy of your one and zeroes flowing via i2s.

I’m going to publish soon a complete overview of every raspberry pi i2s DAC mentioned in this article, and hopefully show some measurements of their performances. So, stay tuned and support these amazing engineers, that not only are bringing exciting stuff to us, but they are also sharing their hard work!

You can also discuss about raspberry pi i2s DACS on Volumio’s Forum

Enjoy!

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