This is a review and detailed measurements of itead's PiFi DAC+ Version 2 Raspberry Pi sound card (DAC). It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs US $40 but company has it on sale for US $36.50. It competes with the HifiBerry DAC+ whose pro version I recently reviewed. Unlike that unit, the PiFi DAC+ does not have independent clock source and must be using I^2 S clock. It is said that this clock has more jitter so will be interesting to see if that is the case in measurements.
Here is what it looks like:
The common TI PMC5122 DAC chip is used which retails for $2.40. So not hard to imagine how these things sell so cheaply. There are a few extra bits on this such as a post regulator an IR input port and a 3.5 mm jack. The latter is just mirroring RCA connectors and as such, has high impedance. While it will make sound, don't be tempted to use it as a headphone jack as it will likely have anemic bass and low power levels.
DAC Audio Measurements
As with the other Pi DACs I have tested, I used Ropieee OS image to stream content to the DAC over the network using Roon media player. Here is our dashboard view when playing a 24-bit, 1 kHz tone:
The output level is a hair higher than HifiBerry DAC at a little over 2 volt which is fine. What is not so fine is the much lower SINAD (signal over noise and distortion). While the HifiBerry DAC+ PRO achieved 92 dB, we have a shortfall of 7 dB. This places the PiFi in our bottom tier of all DACs tested to date:
Multitone test likewise shows a step down in performance:
I like to see 95+ dB here and we are way short of that at just 78 dB.
Jitter response while again worse that HifiBerry DAC+ Pro, is still quite good:
So not sure what all the screaming is about regarding the I^S Clock. The DAC chip's PLL is likely cleaning it up good.
Filter response is different flavor of bad from HifiBerry:
As with Jitter, probably not an audible concern though.
Conclusions
Using the same recipe as the HifiBerry DAC+, the itead PiFi DAC+ falls short in measurements. We were barely good enough with Hifiberry but now are behind the game with some 7 dB higher amount of distortion. Seeing how itead PiFi DAC+ is more expensive anyway, I see no reason to recommend it over HifiBerry offerings.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
I know it is still summer but the panthers are already making their Christmas list and there are some really high dollar gifts in there! No way would I want to spend so much of my own money on them. So please donate generously to make sure we don't have angry panthers come end of the year! https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Here is what it looks like:
The common TI PMC5122 DAC chip is used which retails for $2.40. So not hard to imagine how these things sell so cheaply. There are a few extra bits on this such as a post regulator an IR input port and a 3.5 mm jack. The latter is just mirroring RCA connectors and as such, has high impedance. While it will make sound, don't be tempted to use it as a headphone jack as it will likely have anemic bass and low power levels.
DAC Audio Measurements
As with the other Pi DACs I have tested, I used Ropieee OS image to stream content to the DAC over the network using Roon media player. Here is our dashboard view when playing a 24-bit, 1 kHz tone:
The output level is a hair higher than HifiBerry DAC at a little over 2 volt which is fine. What is not so fine is the much lower SINAD (signal over noise and distortion). While the HifiBerry DAC+ PRO achieved 92 dB, we have a shortfall of 7 dB. This places the PiFi in our bottom tier of all DACs tested to date:
Multitone test likewise shows a step down in performance:
I like to see 95+ dB here and we are way short of that at just 78 dB.
Jitter response while again worse that HifiBerry DAC+ Pro, is still quite good:
So not sure what all the screaming is about regarding the I^S Clock. The DAC chip's PLL is likely cleaning it up good.
Filter response is different flavor of bad from HifiBerry:
As with Jitter, probably not an audible concern though.
Conclusions
Using the same recipe as the HifiBerry DAC+, the itead PiFi DAC+ falls short in measurements. We were barely good enough with Hifiberry but now are behind the game with some 7 dB higher amount of distortion. Seeing how itead PiFi DAC+ is more expensive anyway, I see no reason to recommend it over HifiBerry offerings.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
I know it is still summer but the panthers are already making their Christmas list and there are some really high dollar gifts in there! No way would I want to spend so much of my own money on them. So please donate generously to make sure we don't have angry panthers come end of the year! https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/