a piece of cake....er.....ahhh....Pi

[wkhanna]

somewhat fitting, but totally coincidentally....

my Raspberry Pi 3 & HiFi Berry Dac Pro arrived today, 3.14.

my goal for this project is to build a portable music server system that i will use mostly at work.
basic capabilities include:

power for both headphones & efficient DIY speakers.
run music server aps for redbook & higher res
use a portable HD.
access to wifi & Ethernet for control & music streaming.

to start with, i purchased a low noise linear power supply here

so today i started assembly of the PS.

[Alaric]

That's an ambitious list of wants. I'll be following this project, mostly because A) It looks like a very useful idea, and B) If anyone besides Jon can pull this off my money is on you.

[wkhanna]

i do appreciate your confidence & hope it is not totally unfounded 8O

it is a low-cost solution to a problem i do not have.

main purpose is just to build something & possibly learn a new thing or two.

but others may be interested since it does provide a quite affordable & flexible little digital platform that is easily ('easy' being a relative statement here as i have no experience with Linux or programming) customized & tailored to one's specific desires.

one of the areas i have spent a fair amount of time researching is how significant low noise is for digital music systems.
the first challenge was to find a power supply that could exceed what is commonly used in commercial equipment.

as per our Maestro, Jon Marsh, the UltraCap LPS-1 is one of the best currently available.
i may get one later, after i upgrade the DAC board to the Soekeris 1012-12 board.

the PS board i have chosen to start with is fairly cheap & uses chokes for common mode noise reduction.
it is actually two PS's on one board, so i can use separate PS's for the Pi & the DAC board.

i will be making some noise measurements once i get it completed.
my goal is to get better performance than the ifi Audio iPower.

total costs so far:

DIYNHK Power Supply	67.95
Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Media Center Kit	59.99
HiFiBerry DAC+ – Pro	47.97
Total	175.91

[Finleyville]

opcorn:

[Alaric]

i do appreciate your confidence & hope it is not totally unfounded

It's based on your engineering background, your fine taste in audio equipment, and your remarkable taste in motorcycles. That last being one of my reference points for quickly identifying the "good guys" for many years.

[wkhanna]

..... based on [a] remarkable taste in motorcycles. That ..... being one of my reference points for quickly identifying the "good guys" for many years.

a litmus test which i too, always apply & have found to be quite reliable over many years of use

[wkhanna]

some geek porn:












so i booted up the Pi3 with Volumio & everything seemed ok.
still some work to do on software loading / settings.....so no music yet.

[Alaric]

Nekkid PCB!

[wkhanna]

here is my little desktop project so far.....
still need to finish up my low noise linear power supply, so just using a standard wall wart for now
1/2 gig drive feeding the HiFi Berry Pro DAC
Using Volumio as an OS platform for now.
I can access WiFi streaming via the raspberry Pi3 so long as i am hooked into our company network.

[wkhanna]

further update:

short term solution for powering speakers......

just ordered this from MassDrop for $99 including shipping

yes.
i know.
odds are high that this thing will be DOA.......
if it does work, i will be putting in the new sockets & tubes i just ordered for it.

hardly at the level of how our Maestro does things.....
.....but hey, this is all a learning exercise, so......
......when i break shit, i will not be crying.....well, not for too long, anyways.....

[Alaric]

They actually don't sound horrible, at least not the one I heard playing through Mirage speakers.

[wkhanna]

encouraging news, Lee.

[PewterTA]

You know when you get this all done, we have to have a listening party with it!!!!

[wkhanna]

I finished soldering up the power supply on thursday.
i will hook it up to one of our lab power supplys on monday to see if it runs without me having to put any magic smoke back into it.

[wkhanna]

ordered two of these transformers for the PS.
will be on vacation for a few days, then returning to some critical deadlines at work.
maybe get some testing done in two weeks.....

[Evil Twin]

Ah, one of my favorite concepts in audio....

it is a low-cost solution to a problem i do not have.

At least it is not a high cost solution, the path I usually take... :B

[Evil Twin]

ordered two of these transformers for the PS.
will be on vacation for a few days, then returning to some critical deadlines at work.
maybe get some testing done in two weeks.....

Substantial progress... may the Force be with you for successful completion when you return from this, what did you call it, "Vacation" - what is the meaning of this word?

[PewterTA]

Bill, did you try out that tube amp yet?!?!?!?

[wkhanna]

got side-tracked.......

my new car is my new obsession......been planning, performing & spending on performance upgrades......


too many hobbies, so little time!

[Evil Twin]

Another pretty bauble...

Well, it is quite understandable how this will prove a powerful distraction for you... but to master the true power of the Force, you will need to harness the power of single minded focus...

You may note that I have not been discussing land speeders or new atmospheric fighters for some time... there is a reason for that.

OTOH, you may well enjoy life a little more this way... Being a Sith Lord is not always all it's made out to be...