I have been contemplating an inexpensive, easy, and available HiFi project to ease my mind just a bit during this COVID-19 madness that has been upon us for what now seems like forever.
Lately I had to admit to myself that professional pressures, and just the overall stressful nature of our current predicament did not lend itself to anything complicated, or expensive. I think in being completely honest with myself, I likely don't have a ton of mental capacity for anything complex currently, and spending a lot on anything right now is probably ill-advised for all but the wealthy. We're definitely headed for uncharted waters here.
So I didn't then actually want what could rightly be termed a project. More like easy assembly then plug n' play, that's pretty much my speed right now, in all honesty I'm a bit weary 6+ weeks into this debacle, with no clear end in sight.
So I turned to my comfort zone and opted for yet another DAC, and like many of the DACs I already have, this one receives data and power over USB. Unlike the other DACs I have, this one uses a USB 3.1 Type C connection, and has an SPDIF jack on RCA connector, that can be used as either a digital input or output.
This board has been out since late 2018 or so, very well received by all accounts I've read, and used by at least a few HFH members, including @GaryB. I found it in stock and ready for immediate shipment at Digi-Key, and they only wanted $5.60 for Priority Mail, so I went for it as the Amazon COVID-19 delayed shipping wait time is substantial on this item.
I'm speaking of the $99 Khadas Tone DAC, a product of Shenzhen Wesion Technology Co, Ltd. The company now seems to have renamed this unit Tone1, fueling speculation in some online circles that a Tone2 must be imminent. However the designer of the Tone DAC has since left the firm to form his own venture as I understand it, making it unclear if a Tone2 is actually on the immediate horizon or not.
The close on this deal for me was the recent discovery of a really nice Made in USA case for it, whose assembly involves 5 screws, one spacer, and 3 retainer rings. While I could have made my own case for less scratch, I took the lazy way out and ordered the $69 A-Tech Fabrication T-1000 enclosure. They also sell a fully assembled version for $169, but oddly, they don't sell the board and case as a kit, so that necessitated the separate Digi-Key order. I've been looking for a reason to do business with A-Tech Fabrication for years, they have really nice stuff, and now was the time.
This case is quite weighty for it's size, and has a really nice polished black anodized finish, though I fear that will end up being a dust and fingerprint magnet. Much nicer than anything I could have made myself, and probably heavier too which is a consideration with these tiny DAC boards, as lightweight cases run the risk of getting yanked right off the shelf by any real amount of cable tension/pull.
So after quittin' time today, I spent about 1 minute unboxing everything, and then another 30 seconds assembling the board into the case with the 5 screws, 1 spacer, and 3 retainer rings, then plugged her into a Raspberry Pi 4B running Moode 6.5.0, and opened the JRemote2 player app that controls my server. Instantly there was sweet music.
Warm-up seems pretty darn fast with this board, though I don't yet know if there is any significant longer term break-in benefit, but the initial slightly thin/anemic sound seemed to vanish in literally 5 or so minutes.
So far I've played PCM at 44.1 and 48 kHz, and then both DSD64 and 128. Flawless performance so far, this is a high value piece for sure. I have zero complaints about the sound at all, certainly not in the context of a $99 board. This is extremely well done DIY HiFi on a budget, perhaps this post would have been equally at home in the Giant Killer Doorway DAC? thread.
I'm already tempted to butcher that pretty case with a drill out for a 2.1mm DC input, so that I can split the power and data, as the board has no switching regulators, so use of an LPS would seem ideal. Maybe check on the Las Vegas over/under, and then place your bets on that one. If I had a drill press it would already be done, as the wiring connection to the board is simple, and requires no other modification.
Lately I had to admit to myself that professional pressures, and just the overall stressful nature of our current predicament did not lend itself to anything complicated, or expensive. I think in being completely honest with myself, I likely don't have a ton of mental capacity for anything complex currently, and spending a lot on anything right now is probably ill-advised for all but the wealthy. We're definitely headed for uncharted waters here.
So I didn't then actually want what could rightly be termed a project. More like easy assembly then plug n' play, that's pretty much my speed right now, in all honesty I'm a bit weary 6+ weeks into this debacle, with no clear end in sight.
So I turned to my comfort zone and opted for yet another DAC, and like many of the DACs I already have, this one receives data and power over USB. Unlike the other DACs I have, this one uses a USB 3.1 Type C connection, and has an SPDIF jack on RCA connector, that can be used as either a digital input or output.
This board has been out since late 2018 or so, very well received by all accounts I've read, and used by at least a few HFH members, including @GaryB. I found it in stock and ready for immediate shipment at Digi-Key, and they only wanted $5.60 for Priority Mail, so I went for it as the Amazon COVID-19 delayed shipping wait time is substantial on this item.
I'm speaking of the $99 Khadas Tone DAC, a product of Shenzhen Wesion Technology Co, Ltd. The company now seems to have renamed this unit Tone1, fueling speculation in some online circles that a Tone2 must be imminent. However the designer of the Tone DAC has since left the firm to form his own venture as I understand it, making it unclear if a Tone2 is actually on the immediate horizon or not.
The close on this deal for me was the recent discovery of a really nice Made in USA case for it, whose assembly involves 5 screws, one spacer, and 3 retainer rings. While I could have made my own case for less scratch, I took the lazy way out and ordered the $69 A-Tech Fabrication T-1000 enclosure. They also sell a fully assembled version for $169, but oddly, they don't sell the board and case as a kit, so that necessitated the separate Digi-Key order. I've been looking for a reason to do business with A-Tech Fabrication for years, they have really nice stuff, and now was the time.
This case is quite weighty for it's size, and has a really nice polished black anodized finish, though I fear that will end up being a dust and fingerprint magnet. Much nicer than anything I could have made myself, and probably heavier too which is a consideration with these tiny DAC boards, as lightweight cases run the risk of getting yanked right off the shelf by any real amount of cable tension/pull.
So after quittin' time today, I spent about 1 minute unboxing everything, and then another 30 seconds assembling the board into the case with the 5 screws, 1 spacer, and 3 retainer rings, then plugged her into a Raspberry Pi 4B running Moode 6.5.0, and opened the JRemote2 player app that controls my server. Instantly there was sweet music.
Warm-up seems pretty darn fast with this board, though I don't yet know if there is any significant longer term break-in benefit, but the initial slightly thin/anemic sound seemed to vanish in literally 5 or so minutes.
So far I've played PCM at 44.1 and 48 kHz, and then both DSD64 and 128. Flawless performance so far, this is a high value piece for sure. I have zero complaints about the sound at all, certainly not in the context of a $99 board. This is extremely well done DIY HiFi on a budget, perhaps this post would have been equally at home in the Giant Killer Doorway DAC? thread.
I'm already tempted to butcher that pretty case with a drill out for a 2.1mm DC input, so that I can split the power and data, as the board has no switching regulators, so use of an LPS would seem ideal. Maybe check on the Las Vegas over/under, and then place your bets on that one. If I had a drill press it would already be done, as the wiring connection to the board is simple, and requires no other modification.
