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How simple can an audio computer be?
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Feb 2023 at 8:38pm

Old Intel NUC NUC5i5MYBE motherboard. 2-core 4-thread 15W CPU with 2x8GB DDR3 1600MHz SO-DIMM RAM. 12V barrel jack and has a SATA3 port which I will likely use for a Blu-Ray optical drive. Going to use a TP Link USB network adapter for wifi and will use a USB 3 flash drive for storage and operating system, which can be Linux or Windows. I have converted the two M.2 slots using adapters to provide two PCIe slots, which should be capable of two lanes of bandwidth each, more than enough for the Pink Faun soundcards. Much more connectivity options than a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and this mobo only cost me £79.99. PCIe access is so much more ubiquitous than 40-pin GPIO so is always a more attractive option.
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Feb 2023 at 7:18pm
Not made any conclusions yet as I have been distracted by different types of computers over the last few months. I have bought several mini PCs recently along with various M.2 adapters so that I can use both the Pink Faun S/PDIF and USB cards with tiny Intel and AMD computers. I will upload some content soon. I am thinking of modding a HP Z240 server case to accommodate a Ryzen mini-PC like the Minisforum HX99G if I want to upgrade the guts of the computer.

I have USB-C OTG adapters for Bitzie and Majestic. I have so much great stuff at my disposal but very limited space to keep it set up. In a way, money rich but space poor. I have over half a dozen PCs from Dell Optiplex 7010 SFF to Up Xtreme i11 0000 version to UP Squared V2 to UM690 to an older NUC too. Need to sell some PCs over the coming weeks to clear some space. Going to settle on AMD Ryzen over Intel I think, especially once I can get a cellular module working via an M.2 adapter. I have gone on quite a tangent due to my interest in computer hardware. I will probably stick with PCIe over GPIO for the digital transport as PCIe hardware is more universally available on almost all computer platforms.


Edited by Ash - 08 Feb 2023 at 7:31pm
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CageyH View Drop Down
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Points: 1678 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CageyH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Feb 2023 at 6:16pm
Originally posted by Ash Ash wrote:

Pink Faun S/PDIF card arrived today. Cardboard box is a little beat up but the contents are fine. Plugged it into my motherboard powered by Molex and it is recognised as a sound device in Windows 10. I look forward to hooking this up to the Majestic DAC over the coming days.

P.S Graham, CMI8888 Wink

What do you think of the PF card? Did it make a difference?
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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Points: 16298 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Nov 2022 at 11:04am
Yes, although we did have up to a foot long flying leads between rudimentary prototype sections built up on veroboard using little adaptor boards for the chips, and fastened down to a plywood base, just to demo that we got the functions and connections right, when it came down to making the product itself, the warnings on the datasheets were observed. From memory I think it said one inch.
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Nov 2022 at 7:14am
Pink Faun also offer an i^2s PCIe bridge with HDMI-socket output. Are you curious Graham as to what sound quality could be obtained if you prototyped a Bitzie-size streamer that accepts i^2s at the back with dual analogue outputs at the front? You said that i^2s is not a durable transport medium over longer distances and is intended as inter (between) integrated circuit sound data transmission on a PCB. The cable between PCIe card and proposed streamer would have to be very short then; less than 1.5m, so can't have a Lautus ferrite? Perhaps even 0.6m is in theory too long? What if the proposed streamer mounts directly onto the card with PCB stand-offs and the jumper wires are less than 10cm? Morning daydream...
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Ash View Drop Down
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Points: 4334 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2022 at 10:09pm
I've bought a few more things Graham. A small fanless handheld single board computer; UP Squared V2, Intel quad-core Pentium with 16GB RAM so a capable Windows PC. Just received a 12V Beetronics 12 inch industrial touchscreen as well. Shall set it up tomorrow. Waiting for a Pink Faun USB bridge PCIe card to arrive for comparisons against the S/PDIF card. DAK 5V 3A supply will be implemented. Also waiting to re-buy a Bitzie from John C. Going to use it with Power Wire and the USB bridge to take Bitzie to the max. Photos will follow.
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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Points: 16298 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2022 at 4:40pm
If one circuit can modulate another circuit through a common power supply, then steps should be taken to isolate them from each other, and this has been the practice since the beginning of electronics.

Separate voltage regulators are often used for that purpose, but in the computer world that doesn't seem to be entertained.

For a start, the bulk power supply would need to be at higher voltage for each voltage regulator to drop sufficient volts for each to work.

But all that can be done at radio frequencies now, so as we don't turn the earth into another Venus...

(Just by shifting the crap out of your back yard to somebody else's doesn't make the crap go away)

In the Majestic each digital IC is supplied by its own linear voltage regulator from a much higher voltage supply. In fact, one IC has a dedicated "digital" supply voltage regulator, and a dedicated "analogue" supply voltage regulator (and then there's a separate double regulated supply for the analogue circuit).

But, being able to implement it in a tiny Pi + hat, would require it to be in a much larger box.

By the way, a Windows update revealed that my beloved SPDIF sound card is really a USB to SPDIF card, just like the Pi is. So I might as well use my Bitzie instead. LOL
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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