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Review and Measurements of WesionTEK Khadas Tone Board DAC

democles

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I see the DIY gear in the background. Props to you.

Thanks,

Yes diy gear , pre amp 6N16-EV tube, Soekris DAM1021 dac (silver box),AD1865 dac/network music streamer and GU-50 tube monoblockes.

I have tried feeding Khardash and Odroid C1+.seppared .
at1.jpg


Trying SPDIF with RPI 3B and Allo DIGI ONE.

d voeding.jpg
 
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democles

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Salas shunt supply.
salas1.jpg


Differences in sound are small.

So I settled with one power supply (the most open sounding supply)and USB feeding the music.

t3.jpg
 
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NemoReborn

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if i understand , if i only need a Dac , I just need to buy the Tone board ... but what exactly is the Vims ? they sell vims1 and vims2 .. what is that for ?
 

Cidious

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if i understand , if i only need a Dac , I just need to buy the Tone board ... but what exactly is the Vims ? they sell vims1 and vims2 .. what is that for ?

SBC boards single board computers.

VIM1 comes with quadcore Amlogic S905X and 2GB of ram and VIM2 with octa core (big little) S912 a newer gpu, 3gb ddr4 and upgraded wifi. Performance between CPUs is not that different. The extra 4 cores are low speed cores mostly useful for energy saving.

I ordered myself a VIM1 pro. So CE it supports Android Oreo where the VIM2 still doesn't and still is stuck on nougat with all security dangers that come with it... It should arrive tomorrow. For media playing the VIM1 will do as fine as the VIM2. If you want to play games or do other more Intensive tasks then VIM2 could be interesting at quite a higher price. But my plan is to buy the VIM1 now and VIM3 when it comes out in March/april. It will have the higher clocked quad core S905D
 

gvl

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What are the options for turning a VIM to a network streamer? Of particular interest is the official Spotify Android app, can it be made to bypass Android mixer to avoid resampling?
 

Aibo

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I was listening over S/PDIF these days and I thought it sounded just a bit better compared to USB - a bit punchier. I asked my girlfriend to help me with a blind test - it was a simple matter of her choosing different outputs in the player while DAC was connected to PC both ways... and I chose S/PDIF every time as being a bit livelier and punchier. So I'm using it that way now.

Difference is not really that big and important for the real life listening experience and I wouldn't care if I had to use USB for any reason. It's just interesting to notice that it is audible which I didn't expect it to be, and no - you don't have to be a bat to hear it.

Anyways, it sounds so good that I'm pretty sure it will stay with me for quite some time, so I ordered this nice case with thick front plate and I'll drill and file holes myself, hoping I can make it look half decent. :)
 

BYRTT

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@Aibo,
Thanks sharing blind test USB verse SPDIF, please let us know if it moves something when its boxed in metal and notice you have up to five screw holes that can bond PCB ground potential to a metal box and also in USB mode one can terminate SPDIF input with a false plug that bond tip and ground a low impedance short.
 

gaooo

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Would this be a better pick than the Grace SDAC? I don't know how long it will take for the SDAC to drop again, but if it's better, I don't mind waiting, especially since I still don't have an amp to feed these into.
 

NemoReborn

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SBC boards single board computers.

VIM1 comes with quadcore Amlogic S905X and 2GB of ram and VIM2 with octa core (big little) S912 a newer gpu, 3gb ddr4 and upgraded wifi. Performance between CPUs is not that different. The extra 4 cores are low speed cores mostly useful for energy saving.

I ordered myself a VIM1 pro. So CE it supports Android Oreo where the VIM2 still doesn't and still is stuck on nougat with all security dangers that come with it... It should arrive tomorrow. For media playing the VIM1 will do as fine as the VIM2. If you want to play games or do other more Intensive tasks then VIM2 could be interesting at quite a higher price. But my plan is to buy the VIM1 now and VIM3 when it comes out in March/april. It will have the higher clocked quad core S905D


so if i gt this right , in my case i need a dac for computer to feed my jds atom .. i just buy the Tone board generic ?
 

NemoReborn

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Thats what I have and it works great


yes , i have the d50 atm ... work really great , sound good , but i have no use for all the input/output ... i only use dac for my Pc to atom . So i think i could save 200$ there !
 

gaooo

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so if i gt this right , in my case i need a dac for computer to feed my jds atom .. i just buy the Tone board generic ?
Yes. The VIMs edition is only if you want to pair it with the VIM boards they sell as well.
 

Veri

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Would this be a better pick than the Grace SDAC? I don't know how long it will take for the SDAC to drop again, but if it's better, I don't mind waiting, especially since I still don't have an amp to feed these into.
Khadas with case is probably a slightly better performer than the SDAC, but the SDAC is fine really. Depends how far you want to go in this measurement game :)
 

Megatronic

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Hello. Im planning to buy tone board, but have one question. In this thread someone mentioned about some loud pops when board on and off. Is this dangerous for headphones? Can these pops damage the headphones? Im planning to use hifiman he400i, and my atom amp still in transit. Maybe i need some other dac?
 

BYRTT

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Mine is not a pop rather a gentle bizz at power on and a little louder buzz at power off, you know a little as when bit perfect player change trakcs native sampling rate, although in comparison power on/off is a little louder. That test is with head phones on ears and amps analog volume is freezed about 86dB SPL area using players volume to also be able use players dynamic equal lousness curve correction filters. Mine is no problem and enormous far away from levels that damage any head phones or ears.
 

Cidious

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Got my VIM1 it's totally smooth and snappy. Going to put Oreo on it. And solder the VIM headers on my generic version. Ordered a new pair of QMS M5HA active speakers so my Q5s can go to the bedroom.

I think it will be a very potent bedroom setup. Won't need the case anymore.

I'm curious if mounting it onto the VIMS board it will change audio performance compared to when mounted standalone in my alu made box.
 

PaulCoddington

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I'm hearing a modest thump/pop/crackle combination on power cycle.

It sounds quiet compared to normal music levels at the same volume setting.

It's the possibility of frequencies at severe amplitude that cannot be heard that concerns me.

I would feel more reassured if someone on this forum would measure the power cycle noise to make sure it is safe.

In the meantime, I have a smoke damaged pair of HD 598 on hand that I might try opening up to see if there is any visible driver movement when this happens.
 

verkion

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For technically diy'ers i'm pretty shure this ESS controller kit shared by member iancanada over at diyA site could be used to display current activity for Khadas TB plus possibility to shift between the seven times ES9038Q2M low pass filters not to speak of volume controll via knob or Apple remote or Web UI.

View attachment 22222

Had a read at iancanada's manual from here (LINK: https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pc-...i2s-dac-hats-raspberry-pi-73.html#post5703052) and in one of its head lines it tells "Possible to work with external ESS DAC" and for that technically it looks job is to wire interface connector J3 10 pins marked above with Khadas TB connector J9 FPC 10 pin marked below. For more info suggest read the manual from link, and to join the group buy over there follow link at buttom of iancanada's posts or send him a note via mail.

View attachment 22223

Did any of you guys get verification from Ian that the external controller would work, or at least has a good chance of working with the Khadas board?

Thanks!
verkion
 

ngs428

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I am in the US and ordered the TB from the Khadas website. It shipped and I have tracking...

Just curious how long it will stay at this status:

“Leaving parcel center Shenzhen (China)”

It has been about 8.5 days with this status now. I got the shipping confirmation on 2/13.

Thanks!
 

daftcombo

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Hi,
I plan to get a Khadas Tone Board to use in S/PDIF.
I didn't understand how it would be powered: via S/PDIF? or should I need a USB power supply?
Cheers.
 
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