Experimental setup: RockPi S + Vacuum Tube Hybrid Headphone Amplifier

Diy and Tweaks Diy Volumio Projects
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I got a couple of RockPi S upon suggestion from @ashthespy, today I spent some time testing them together with Volumio and a Vacuum Tube Hybrid Headphone Amplifier.

I got an experimental build of Volumio for RockPi S (thanks @ashthespy), internal DAC works fine so I wanted to perform a subjective listening test. I quickly made a 3.5" jack PCB using a breadboard, to wire out LINEOUT pins of the RockPi.

Here the result:

IMG_20200613_215045
IMG_20200613_2150453120×4160 3.37 MB

I am positively impressed by the quality of the internal DAC, this setup (Tube Headphone Amp + Bose AE2w) is particularly sensitive with quality of the source. I really enjoyed listening music for a couple of hours, this board is a great fit for tiny Volumio projects, UI responds fast and smooth.

Sooner or later I’ll design a proper HAT for this board, I see great potential.

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There is indeed quite some potential with this device. With a quad core A35, it should indeed feel quite snappy! :slight_smile:
The RK3308 has quite some audio interfaces (8ch I2S), but I never managed to finish the port and get the outputs working. I did order some I2S microphones to test the inputs as well, but then got sidetracked! But yeah, I need to spend some more time with this board to get the I2S outputs working!

PS: This was my last attempt at getting the i2s outputs up and running.

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