Hello
Been watching this community for a while but just installed Volumio for the first time this weekend.
I’ve got volumio running on my pi3B+ > Griffin iMic (I know, it’s all I had to hand) > yamaha rxv377
I’ve got a new (and better) amp arriving soon so I don’t have to go through my AV receiver. I need to upgrade my DAC.
Hi Aardwolf, welcome to Volumio & the Community :). How’re things going with your new Volumio installation?
I’m loving it thanks. After poking around in this community I found a nice DAC to order. I chose an Abacus AroioDac and a hifiberry case to put them in.
I just found out today that the nice amp I ordered has been cancelled. I thought the price was too good to be true.
So will have to stick with my av receiver for now. But I’m interested to see if the DAC improves the sound. A friend has a pi 7" touch screen he’s not using so tomorrow I will get that and try adding that into the mix. So, all in all, it’s keeping me busy 
I foresee lots of little research projects in the coming weeks/months.
Update: got an Abacus AroioDAC and it sounds great!
Sourced a Cyrus 3 for the amp, hoping to have that later today.
The free 7" touch screen I had was not the best solution, as it was usb and hdmi instead of dsi connections. It worked fine but did not sleep. I’ve ordered a 5" and a 4.3" touchscreen to compare, will keep the winner and return the loser. Advantage of the 4.3" is that I’ll be able to fit it on the front of a box which is the same height as the Cyrus, which will look neat.
Now investigating power options for my pi and DAC setup - any tips here would be greatly appreciated.
Bonjour Aardwolf,
i’m glad to see you happy with the AroioDac.
Now your are looking for a PSU upgrade?
you know, i find out, that this dac is also playing well with cheap psu’s - and that’s good.
Better PSU can upgrade audible the soundquality.
Here are my recommdations:
1 https://volumio.org/product/ifi-ipower/
2 https://ifi-audio.com/products/ipowerx/
or if you are planning to separate powering the dac and the rpi
using a dual LPS like these:
3 https://www.osaelectronics.com/product/ulps1225a/
4 https://www.osaelectronics.com/product/ulps1225b/
(this can be done with the jumper on the backsite of the dac board.)
@Josh2000 did you do to power separate the AroioDAC. how is your experience?
And curious about your experience with this dac , Aardwolf
judydudi
Merci @judydudi
This is very helpful.
For the power supply, I think I should go for option 3.
I plan to put everything in a box one day (the final step ) so a dual LPS will allow me to have a professional looking connection at the back with an integrated on/off switch.
However, I’m curious to know how much difference this would have over simply upgrading the power supply to the pi (as you suggest in examples 1 & 2) and whether that would be worthy of the additional investment now.
Fine.
option 3 and if you are planing a own box for this you can also try a isolator https://www.osaelectronics.com/product/bi-directional-digital-isolator/ for separating the power.
I have one of these and will try it next week if it works.
Another thing i have not tried is using the reclocker https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-and-interfaces-for-raspberry-pi/ian-canada-fifopi-q2-ultimate-reclocker-module-fifo-pcm-32bit-768khz-dsd1024-dop-p-13823.html this is a future project.
Hi Judydudi and Aardwolf,
Yes i did it - i took 2 pieces of LT3042 boards from China, replaced the capacitors against Nichicon types and fed the Digital and Analog supply from external.
I experienced no real big difference on standard setups ( Sony TA-F444ES + Dynaudio MSP110, 2xDynavox Tube Monos and T&A Criterion 160 ) but on my best Setup (2x Denon POA4400 + Dynaudio MSP400) the sound is significant better.
The power design of the Aroio is very good out of the box - i recommend investing in good speakers and amp before improving the Aroio’s power supply with expensive power supplies.
Best Regards
P.S. Last friday i got a pair of Dynaudio Focus 220 MKII that need a little repair. I will test with these too as soon as they will be ready to go. These speakers are the best in my house and i expect to get more details with them…
Wise advice, thanks.
I look forward to seeing the results of this test. I see you’ve set a date already