PA5 & E50 & rapsberry - how to get it work :-)

[Foxenfurter]

Have they given you a barrel to usb connector? I suggest buying a a cheap (<20 GBP) multi port usb PSU, Anker seems to be a decent brand or anything you already have that works. It just needs to be electrically safe and not buzz.

 

[bh69]

What remote controller would be best for Pi in case I would not use touchscreen ?

 

[MCH]

b/ LCD screen (or TV) or alphanumeric display with wireless keyboard or remote controller

I am trying to build this one (link below) with a 1.5" oled screen that costs 3 euros in aliexpress. Works with moode, volumio...

mpd_oled/doc/install_moode7_deb.md at master · antiprism/mpd_oled

MPD, Volumio, RuneAudio and Moode OLED status and spectrum display for Raspberry Pi (and similar) - antiprism/mpd_oled

github.com

Hope it helps

 

[bh69]

Probably hard question but can somebody compare sound of Topping E50 vs Audiolab M-DAC (old first version) ?
I know that M-DAC has only 24/96 and no MQA, but it doesnt's bother me. I only need to know if there would be some difference in sound.

I have M-DAC and I'm considering whether to buy only the PA5 or also the E50. If there would be no the difference in sound, it's probably useless and I can stay with the M-DAC.

 

[JamesYeomans]

I’d just use the M-DAC: https://nihtila.com/2018/10/29/audiolab-m-dac-measurements-part-1-base-performance/

 

[JamesYeomans]

Unless you’re having ground loop issues & need the balanced connection of the E50

 

[bh69]

Unless you’re having ground loop issues & need the balanced connection of the E50

M-DAC has variable balanced output too (XLR)

 

[kchap]

I use the E50 with with standard (out of the box) USB A to barrel connector cable plugged into an AC power board equipped with a pair of 5 V USB power outlets. The RPi 4B uses the standard recommended 5 V USB plug pack. I do not have any issues with noise. The suggestion of using a heat sink or a metal case for RPi is a good one, I use an Argon40 case

Regarding your Ethernet cable, 35 m is no problem at all but when you said 2 m underground that suggests outdoor cabling. Most Ethernet equipment is not rated for outdoor use. If use you live in an are prone to lightning I would use fibre. Do not spend your money on expensive linear PSUs buy a pair of cheap Ethernet media converters and fibre.

 

[bh69]

Regarding your Ethernet cable, 35 m is no problem at all but when you said 2 m underground that suggests outdoor cabling.

It leads from the neighboring house to mine, 20m away, all the way in a plastic pipe at least 0.5m underground

 

[Triliza]

There is no adapter with E50 provided, some 5V USB should be used

Haven't tried it but I suppose Pi 4 would be able to supply power to E50 |(usb 3) and an external hard drive, assuming you are gone to use the official power adapter or an equivalent one. How did Amir connected it during testing, I suppose to his laptop. Or just use any spare 5V/2A usb charger with the provided barrel adapter.

it's pretty long in my case (at least 35m, 20m under ground)

If you have already an ethernet cable at your place and it's working, just use a ethernet splitter to connect Pi also. If it works now with youtube for example, it will be fine for streaming music. Then you can create a wi-fi hotspot on the Pi and connect with your phone or tablet to it, same way you'd connect to a router.

 

[kchap]

It leads from the neighboring house to mine, 20m away, all the way in a plastic pipe at least 0.5m underground

I meant to say 20 m not 2 m. Standard consumer enterprise grade electrical Ethernet ports are not rated for outdoor use and may be considered a safety hazard. I would not recommend running Ethernet Cat 5/6 cable underground.

 

[bh69]

I meant to say 20 m not 2 m. Standard consumer enterprise grade electrical Ethernet ports are not rated for outdoor use and may be considered a safety hazard. I would not recommend running Ethernet Cat 5/6 cable underground.

what hazard ? do you mean if lightningh would hit the house directly it would induce big current into ethernet despite it's under ground ? I think this risiko is similar as cable indoor near lightning conductor outside on wall, isn't it ?

 

[bh69]

What about USB isolator Topping HS-01 ? It seems to be best solution to eliminating all noise from Pi. In case it really works

 

[MCH]

What about USB isolator Topping HS-01 ? It seems to be best solution to eliminating all noise from Pi. In case it really works

I don't think you need it

 

[bh69]

I don't think you need it

I think so too, but if we have discussed possible noise problems (power supply, ethernet, PC), this seems to be best solution (?)

 

[MCH]

I don't know, i have used different pi, from the zero to the 4, with different dacs, from very cheap dongles to topping D30pro and different power supplies, from official raspberry pi to throwaway phone charger and never ever detected any noise.
Maybe you do, my recommendation before buying a 60 euros filter is wait and see

 

[pma]

I don't know, I asked. Power supply is not there (eshop info), only instruction tu use some 5V USB one.

Topping says this:

and there is no specification of current consumption at their web page. In case of Topping, many parameters are missing and some look suspicious. Try to ask @JohnYang1997 here or ask Topping technical support.

 

[kchap]

what hazard ? do you mean if lightningh would hit the house directly it would induce big current into ethernet despite it's under ground ? I think this risiko is similar as cable indoor near lightning conductor outside on wall, isn't it ?

I'm in telecommunications. At some small sites the equipment may be in multiple huts, sometimes shipping containers. Except in situations where we are using special "ruggedized" equipment we cannot run CAT5/6 cabled between the huts. It's your decision, but I would not do it.

As an observation, most lightning damage is caused by induction. Direct hits on cable usually vaporize the cable.

What about USB isolator Topping HS-01 ? It seems to be best solution to eliminating all noise from Pi. In case it really works

I would not worry about noise. When it was a genuine concern it was more likely a problem DAC HATs not external USB DACs. In the unlikely event that you do have a noise problem then investigate.

Topping says this:

View attachment 174226

and there is no specification of current consumption at their web page. In case of Topping, many parameters are missing and some look suspicious. Try to ask @JohnYang1997 here or ask Topping technical support.

According to the manual the E50 uses less than 2.5W. A standard 5V 2A supply will have plenty of power.

 

[JayJay]

I'm using a similar setup. Raspi 4 running Moode --> Topping D10 Balanced --> PA5 (via balanced TRS cables). My 2 Cents:

- No need for extra power for the DAC, the PI runs it from it's integrated 5V via USB. One should not worry about noise etc.
- "Clean" Raspberry power supply is more important for the Raspberry itself. The Raspberry boards (starting with 3B) are sensitive to low voltage. You'd see a "low voltage" message in the kernel ring buffer in Linux ("dmesg" as root user) or it would not be stable at all. So don't worry about some magic power supplies that do better than others. If the Raspberry does not complain, you're good!
- Stay away from "audiophile" hardware like power supplies, cables etc. What you need is a 5V/2A Raspberry-rated power supply (they're cheap on Amazon and someone in this thread pointed out that there are nice bundles for a few bucks), a "normal" TRS (=balanced) cable from your trusted supplier (no extra super expensive gold-plated whatsoever magic cables).
- I've even run it on Raspberry PI 3 and 2 without any issues. I mention this because Raspberry 4 are hard to get these days and there are messages about jitter etc from older Raspberry boards due to USB and ethernet sharing the same bus. Not saying this can't happen but I've not experienced any issues ever.

Here's my setup:

P.S. the first pic has no Raspberry board inside the case and is not wired as you can see . The second one is fully loaded and it sounds great!

 

[bh69]

Is there some good amplifier on market (or DIY) that

1/ has XLR input for 4V signal level

2/ has lowest gain possible (10-15dB or less, even 0dB would be OK)

?