RPi HAT and USB -- Linear PSU

[stlocin]

I enjoy tinkering with the Raspberry Pi and I have been able to get good audio quality from RPi and HAT. My current system uses RPi 3 B+, Kali Reclocker, Audiophonics DAC ES9028Q2M. I have a PSU hooked-up to the Kali Reclocker (which has a barrel power input) and this powers everything: RPi, Kali, Audiophonics. I am getting good sound quality from this set-up. I have read many positive remarks about the Topping DAC's, so I am curious if a DAC such as the E30 or D50s may be an upgrade to my current set-up. I have a few questions.

First, do you feel the RPi / Topping DAC would offer an upgrade over RPi / Kali / Audiophonics? If the consensus is "yes", I can purchase and test...but if the consensus is "no", I will not worry about it.

Second, if yes, what is the best way to hookup the RPi and Topping. USB out of the RPi to USB in on the DAC? And what about my PSU. Would it be best to use it with the RPi or DAC? It has a barrel connector, so that raises a few more questions.

1) For RPi, I could leave the Kali on my DAC so I can use its barrel power connector to power the RPi or (b) I could get a barrel to micro-USB adapter so it will work with the RPi micro-USB power input.

2) For Topping, I could either (a) power it via USB through the RPi (b) use the PSU directly with the DAC and power RPi with the power supply it comes with. I could also get another PSU and power the RPi and Topping separately w/ PSU, but that comes at an additional cost, and I am not sure if that would be worth it or not.

Any thoughts / feedback is appreciated.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I enjoy tinkering with the Raspberry Pi and I have been able to get good audio quality from RPi and HAT. My current system uses RPi 3 B+, Kali Reclocker, Audiophonics DAC ES9028Q2M. I have a PSU hooked-up to the Kali Reclocker (which has a barrel power input) and this powers everything: RPi, Kali, Audiophonics. I am getting good sound quality from this set-up. I have read many positive remarks about the Topping DAC's, so I am curious if a DAC such as the E30 or D50s may be an upgrade to my current set-up. I have a few questions.

First, do you feel the RPi / Topping DAC would offer an upgrade over RPi / Kali / Audiophonics? If the consensus is "yes", I can purchase and test...but if the consensus is "no", I will not worry about it.

Hard to say without measurements. I doubt there will be audible differences.

Second, if yes, what is the best way to hookup the RPi and Topping. USB out of the RPi to USB in on the DAC? And what about my PSU. Would it be best to use it with the RPi or DAC? It has a barrel connector, so that raises a few more questions.

I have a RPi with Moode and it's connected using USB to a E30. I also connected my TV to the E30 using toslink. Works fine.

1) For RPi, I could leave the Kali on my DAC so I can use its barrel power connector to power the RPi or (b) I could get a barrel to micro-USB adapter so it will work with the RPi micro-USB power input.

Sure, you could do that, allows you to switch between the two DACs fast.

2) For Topping, I could either (a) power it via USB through the RPi (b) use the PSU directly with the DAC and power RPi with the power supply it comes with. I could also get another PSU and power the RPi and Topping separately w/ PSU, but that comes at an additional cost, and I am not sure if that would be worth it or not.

I power the E30 directly from the RPi. It uses a second USB connection (one is data, one is power). The power comes only on when the RPi is running.

If you don't have a concrete problem, like high background noise, i wouldn't waste time with DACs.

Instead, get into DSP, if you aren't already, and focus on improving your speakers/headphones. It's cheap, since DSP is pure software, your cost is basically some time, but possibly far outshining any DAC replacements. Get a measurements microphone if you want to buy hardware.