Buffalo II - Assembly for the Electronically Bewildered.

[Bemused]

Looks like your well on the way Tony
Btw my advice is that of an amateur of course, I am not in the same league as our experts

I have a 24/96 failure at the moment in so much as my SBTouch insists on down sampling to 16/44, I may have to start a new thread on that one.

Just recieved my single sp/diff level converter btw so that is Transceiver one strug supply that I can get rid of.

Tony

 

[shoom]

Hi All
I’ve been using the Teleporters with the WAVEIO on my Buffalo3 for a few weeks now and as Tony has commented the sound is superb.
Here is my build (excuse the reclaimed cases).

Front end with WAVEIO

Teleporter and Buffalo3

Tony (Suffolk)
I think that Tony (bemused) may be right and the Placid is running out of juice as the WAVEIO is a little bit of a hungry beast in that respect.

I’ve powered my WAVEIO with a 6V transformer, LT1085 based regulator (keeps the heat down nicely) with a JLH ripple eater. Seems to work well and makes for a good start point but I’m planning to try a Salas shunt in the future. Yours looks like a really nice build but it might be good to rotate the WAVEIO to get the I2S lines closer to the Teleporter.

I also have had a few drop out issues but found that this was being caused by my Freezer (yup strange but true) and plugging it into another socket cured the problem.

Great work

 

[Bemused]

shoom welcome

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Hi shoom!

That looks like a very neat arrangement. As far as shortening the I2S lines on mine, in the present enclosure it's difficult to rearrange things because then the network and USB sockets will be too far inside the case. The wires are only 4 or so CM long so should be OK. I will (probably. Maybe. At some stage...) put it all in a better box.

Interested in how you cured your dropout problem. Was it the fridge or the Buffalo you moved the plug on?

I've got an LM 1086 5V reg. kicking about here - would that be better to use than a 317 do you think? I've ordered a Velleman regulator like the one I use to power the Teleporter. Can I just remove the pot that varies the voltage if I use the 1086??

 

[shoom]

Hi Tony’s

Thanks for the welcome

On the drop out front

I was getting intermittent drop outs on my set up and believe me I tried everything.

Different grounding schemes for the buff and front end, different CAT cables, stripping my dedicated music PC down to the bare minimum. Nothing made the slightest difference.

Then I switched a light on and ‘’drop out’’. I switched it on and off and ‘’drop out’’. The buffalo seems to be sensitive to the mains supply. So I tried isolation transformers and various filters with no luck.

I did some net research and noticed a post from Russ about DC on the mains.
So I had a quick tour around the house switching things off and listening. No luck until I got to the freezer. Switched that off and the drop outs stopped and I’ve not had any since.

I live in a partly old house which was rewired recently. The freezer is in the utility room which has one set of sockets on the kitchen ring and the other on the living room ring (Audio). So I moved the freezer plug to the kitchen ring from the living room ring.

Hope that makes a little sense

So strange but true

Switching on some of the lights still causes a drop out but I’m not going round the house constantly switching them on and off so no big deal on that.

The 317 should be fine just remember to use an appropriately sized heat sink. For the WAVEIO I’d prefer to use an adjustable reg because its voltage requirements are quite tight (I like mine @ dead on 5V). Using the low drop out 1085 allows a 6V transformer to be used and results in a little less heat dissipated by the reg.

317 should be fine though and I’ve used the Velamen Regs plenty with no issues. If you find the heat a little too much then go for the 1085 which is a drop in replacement and a with a 6V trafo should run a little cooler. The WAVEIO is a pretty well regulated board and Lucien has paid a lot of attention to that aspect so I’m not too sure if fancy off board regs are going to make much difference to the SQ.

I did not notice a huge leap in SQ but I had the regs and that’s DIY.

All of the above are just opinions and others may have a different take.

Forgot to mention

I have the Legato 3.1 with buffers and have installed the volume pot/HP socket.

Drives my K701 very nicely and does a great job of driving my power amp directly.

I’ve been using the WAVEIO for about a year with my DIY 9023 DAC and it’s never sounded anything less than superb.

Great VFM IMHO.

With the Buffalo/Teleporters things just got a whole lot better.

I’ve really enjoyed reading though the various builds here

Looks like you’ve all had fun

Nice thread

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Thanks shoom. I've just ordered a couple more of those Velleman regs & some chunky heatsinks so that should do the trick. I reckon our fridge/freezer's the culprit although so far today the Buff's only dropped out twice so it's not a huge problem.

I might try putting a mains filter on the fridge/freezer 'cos there's nowhere else I can plug it into.

 

[Bemused]

Hey shoom, looks like your a useful guy to have around for sure, you gonna stay a while?

Without doubt there are some clever guys here but most of us I think, and certainly including myself, just manage to get by.
We struggle a little and ask a lot and occasionally smoke a little kit.

Anyway your first post here and accompanied by diy pr0n so I thought I ought to add a little.

Started wth the Chinese Gigaworks DAC
Currently has eight various supper regulators, some that will be pulled and stuffed into the Buffalo.

Recently got the Buffalo-III, SP/diff Transceiver and legato 3.1, Placid HD single rail + BP.

Just had the single SP/diff level converter this morning and have dumped the Transceiver

Tony

 

[Bemused]

Thanks shoom. I've just ordered a couple more of those Velleman regs & some chunky heatsinks so that should do the trick. I reckon our fridge/freezer's the culprit although so far today the Buff's only dropped out twice so it's not a huge problem.

I might try putting a mains filter on the fridge/freezer 'cos there's nowhere else I can plug it into.

Fresh foods the answer Tony



Better on the teeth. lol

 

[Suffolk Tony]

I'll tell SWMBO!

 

[Bemused]

Thanks shoom. I've just ordered a couple more of those Velleman regs & some chunky heatsinks so that should do the trick. I reckon our fridge/freezer's the culprit although so far today the Buff's only dropped out twice so it's not a huge problem.

I might try putting a mains filter on the fridge/freezer 'cos there's nowhere else I can plug it into.

Perhaps something like this

ESR maybe, and on the fridge motor terminals to be best

 

[James Evans]

Tony, which velleman regs did you get? I could do with some simple 317 regs.

Cheers, James

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Hi James. It's this one - http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/products/index_kit.htm/

A K1283 From ESR. Very neat, good price too.

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Well done indeed Tony!
Looking forward to pics of that.
I think you need to speak to Mr Hynes about hi Mac Mini service
ABout to order the wave board from Lucian, who I have also contacted.
Casework is about to be ordered as well. Not cheap but three large case was never going to be!

You won't regret getting the Wave board Mr Sonority, it's a lovely bit of kit.

I've been in discussions with Mr Hynes over one of his regulators to power the Wave. Might give it a try - his guarantee's pretty good!

Any idea when you're likely to get your mammoth project up & running?

 

[shoom]

Hi Tony’s

Staying a while? Well I really hope so.

I’m another of the not to technically gifted types but I’ve been building for some time and find that I have a gift for following instructions.

So yes I struggle along and hope for the best as most of us do but that’s part of the fun of DIY. Cooked boards hell yes I’ve done that also but that’s a good way to learn what not to do.

What I really find hard sometimes is that a thread starts of err understandable and then drifts slowly upwards into the ether of incomprehensible babble. I found it quite refreshing to have a thread that concentrates on getting the job done and encourages people to have a go.

Tony You’ve some great builds there and super pictures.

That bench reg you have under the Buffalo looks interesting. ? What’s the low down on that?

I have the gigaworks DAC large and small lurking somewhere in my parts box but I ended up building an ESS9023 DAC instead which is how I arrived at the Buffalo3. The 9023 is pretty impressive for the price and a great first build.

Super regs.

Yes I’m thinking of trying the Paul H ones at some point and I have my tridents on male and female pin headers to allow a quick swap to allow some experimentation.no rush on that as the Buffalo 3 is just singing at the moment so I’ll let it be for now.

a little OT

So just to introduce myself fully here is my Alex Kethel Silicon Chip 15W fully regulated Class A build which I use into PMC FB1+.i’ve played with tubes quite a bit which I guess shows in my low power high sensitivity style.

Psu first

Power amp

I even managed to etch my own PCBs for this one which was a first for me.

Front end I have a dedicated Intel D510 mini ITX 4 Gig with Foobar or MP3toys with JPLAY.

Tony (Suffolk)

Those regs should be fine and that number of drop outs is not a big problem. I was getting 4 or 5 per CD length which was more of a problem.

Are you still using the Dual Mono Buffalo? If so I’d be interested in seeing how you’ve connected the Teleporter that end.

Just as an aside I found that with the 6M of USB cable I was getting slight sibilance on all of my DACS but not with the Teleporters. I’ve also tried WAVEIO directly into the Buffalo as well as the Teleporters and could hear no difference SQ wise.

They work pretty well OMHO.

i'm looking forward to hearing your impressions on the Ts

 

[James Evans]

Hi James. It's this one - http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/products/index_kit.htm/

A K1823 From ESR. Very neat, good price too.

Thanks Tony. Thought it would be that one.

Cheers, James

 

[Bemused]

That bench reg you have under the Buffalo looks interesting. ? What’s the low down on that?

Super regs.

Yes I’m thinking of trying the Paul H ones at some point and I have my tridents on male and female pin headers to allow a quick swap to allow some experimentation.no rush on that as the Buffalo 3 is just singing at the moment so I’ll let it be for now.

a little OT

I even managed to etch my own PCBs for this one which was a first for me.

Bench rig is something I made perhaps thirty years ago when I had my first play with electronics as a lad, its real crappy, just a variable dc psu with current limit, no linear regulators just big old transistors, a huge capacitor which depleted many moons ago and the rectifiers are selenium plate jobs. Had the circuit from an old book or magazine. Most parts pulled from old broken televisions and radios. The whole thing is bug wired but its a useful bit of kit. Those Velleman 317 boards would make a better job with a second board modified as a current limiter. It is real handy to have a brick wall limit when playing around with new builds. Oh and a negative rail would be handy +/- 30v.
As I started my Buffalo build with the SP/diff transceiver I needed a strug 7.5V to power it so I wheeled in the old bench psu. Advantage of having a spare bedroom as a listening room i I am 'allowed' a little leeway on what crap I wheel in
Just fitted the SP/diff single level converter so the bench unit is back in the workshop.

Not tried PH regs myself preferring to build my own and a little cheaper.

Also done a little etching using Eagle, a laser printer and that blue stuff, also had a go at milling boards but it was not successful.

Also fitted my Tridents on male / female headers, I understand they come like that now.

Nice kit you have.

Tony

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Are you still using the Dual Mono Buffalo? If so I’d be interested in seeing how you’ve connected the Teleporter that end.

Just as an aside I found that with the 6M of USB cable I was getting slight sibilance on all of my DACS but not with the Teleporters. I’ve also tried WAVEIO directly into the Buffalo as well as the Teleporters and could hear no difference SQ wise.

They work pretty well OMHO.

i'm looking forward to hearing your impressions on the Ts

Good morning shoom. sorry, can't take a photo of the Teleporter in the Buffalo at the moment 'cos it's all put away in the rack with the lid on. The first time I've actually managed to make it look like finished kit! (for the time being anyway)

Yes, still using the dual-mono. The Teleporter sits between the two Buffs with siamesed equal-length wires going from that to the board connections each side.

Last night I managed to get SWMBO to sit down & listen to the system for the evening. She selected her favourite tracks with the iPad remote (Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Rainbow etc.) & I got to listen to a few tracks of my stuff.

What's immediately obvious with my current Buffalo setup is how shockingly transparent and revealing it is, and how ruthless it is with poor, compressed recordings. Her music with one or two exceptions sounded pretty dreadful at decent volume levels but the better-recorded material was truly wonderful. There's a tremendous sense of presence and a multilayered, three-dimensional effect that's unique to this source in my system.

The upshot was we ended up listening to well beyond our bed-time.

I'm very impressed with the Teleporter; such a neat device and it works perfectly. Going from USB - Teralink USB/ SPDIF convertor - 12M long digital co-ax to SPDIF into Buffalo to USB - Wave IO XMOS board - I2S - Teleporter - CAT6 - Teleporter - I2S into Buffalo's quite a profound change and it's difficult to know what elements in the new change have upped the sound quality so much.

I'm going to press the button on a PH regulator to power the Wave board. Expensive maybe, but not if you compare its value with a decent interconnect or a case of cheap wine...

 

[Bemused]

So your feeling quite pleased with yourself Tony, well done.

But
gRRRrrr, so I am going to have to tear my SBTouch apart to find the I2S?
I had better wait a while until funds liquify again after this spree of spending and gt myself a spare SBTouch to play with.

 

[shoom]

Hi Tony (Suffolk)

Thanks for your insight

It sounds like you’ve had an interesting listening session with someone that takes an interest in your passion.

My wife is also pretty interested in my audio endeavours and also my harshest critic. Yup she tells it how it is which is mostly helpful in getting past that first built relief that it works so it must sound good thang that we all have I’m sure.

I had my first taste of I2S with a Teralink board and then went on to the WAVEIO which is loads better IMHO. I’ve tried:

SPDIF from PC sound card
USB into Teralink SPDIF
USB into JK highface

Now the JK sounded best but not a patch on the WAVEIO I2S but for me all of the SPDIF sources had one thing in common which I had not noticed until going I2S.they all had a kind of ‘’spot lit’’ sound and slightly harsh top end.

So I’ve stayed with I2S through Lucian’s lovely board and never looked back.
that board is a real bargain IMHO.

The down side on that was the need to run a long 6M USB cable which is
not ideal for the WAVEIO or any other USB DAC I have at the moment (latancy). I had a slight sibilance thing going on even though the SQ overall was much better.

I noticed the Teleporters when I purchased my Buffalo 3 and thought ‘’if they work then it’s going to be a result’’. So I gave them a try.

I had the same jump up in clarity that you mentioned and for me it does a better job of letting the music through than my long john USB cable. I now have the WAVEIO connected with a 0.5m Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable does it sound better than standard USB? Well I’m not certain that it does but I thought I’d give it a go.

One of the big plus points is it isolates the PC from the DAC and mine is now running uber quiet even with the Vol maxed out it’s still hard to tell if the system is on even with ear to the speaker (yup no PC noise (whine)at all that I can hear).

It’s all sounding pretty effortless and musical right now.

Tony your Naim rig looks pretty impressive but now I’m curious to know what speakers you have.

I’ll be interested in your thoughts on the PH PSU for the WAVEIO. Expensive well as you say it’s all relative.

 

[hacker]

This is great news - I've already got a Buff III, Legato 3.1, Placids, and a WaveIO on order They'll be replacing my Squeezebox3, S/PDIF, Buff v1.0 and Ivy 2 (both powered by ALWSRs).

Music will be from a Mac running Music Player Daemon (MPD) and controlled via iPad using the mPad app. I'm looking forward to it, and you guys have certainly put my mind at rest regarding the sound upgrade!