Amazing audiophile DIY music streamer for a dac, and how to build your own

[@iancanada]

You did a good job. Such a great streamer. Congratulations! Ian

[@Gabster1]

Thank you Ian, could not have done it without your amazing work.

[@BogdanWeiss]

Thanks for your incredible attention to detail, design ethos & exemplary PCB layout & workmanship - a true masterpiece & a battleship of engineering & modularity. Ian have you got any plans for a project around the new Pi compute module ? Something simpler perhaps or FPGA based maybe ?

[@grahamstrahle4010]

So incredibly clever to have made this. I can only imagine how great it sounds. Thank your sharing this wonderful video.

[@PlasmaIndigo]

I was just searching "diy flac player" and this is the video im watching but im much happier lol

[@ati7337]

The best DIY setup I've ever seen. Realy. Thanks for your effort.

[@banginghats2]

Amazing job! The good thing about building your own gear is that you can completely prioritise sound quality without any commercial cost , or practicality, pressures that can cause some compromise.

[@Gabster1]

Thank you that is absolutely correct

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

This is an amazing build, truly impressive

[@StealthParrot]

Very nice work, everything looks very nicely laid out and esthetically beautiful. It does not look like a home made piece of equipment. Great work!

[@focusound]

5V = 20000W Li Battery(always for phone) , 12V = 10Ah Motor battery / Car Battery with Deep Cycle, 32V~64V = More Car Battery with input by Solar Power or Wind or Home Battery, but output without pluging in.

[@focusound]

above is my setting for Notebook, DAC, D Class Amp. A Class AMP must change home battery and seated in a big room

[@teddyrasputin3850]

Aesthetics and effective technical details. Insprirational.

[@ironmet5821]

Fantastic work ! I can clearly see an Allo USB bridge and the fantastic Ian Canada PSU.

[@alap_bd]

Wonderful! Looking forward to get detail of the build, so that a non technical user can put the components together. Best wishes

[@gregedwards7791]

WOW!!! I wish I had your skills. Great job. Assume your in Canada. Thanks for sharing. Greg

[@johnmarchington3146]

I can only iterate what Ian below has said. That streamer looks marvellous. I guess the only downside is that at some stage all the batteries will need to be replaced.

[@bdhaliwal24]

Really great video. I like the case as well, it looks very sharp.

[@draloha296]

I just discovered your channel. Everything looks surreal. Nice work

[@Gabster1]

Thank you 🙏

[@MrMftech]

Thanks Ian Canada !

[@MemeScreen]

This is amazing, I saw Ian's video on the DAC a few months ago. I want to get on that but I'm a bit scared of the complexity and the price. It is hard for me to justify going in on this especially since I don't know how it compares to other prebuilt DACs. Videos like this make it easy to get a taste of what DIY audio entails. How do you even know how to put the pieces together, let alone modifying it? It's crazy cool.

[@Gabster1]

I would start with a simple design No ultra capacitors or modifications on a simple wooden plank Having some basic diy skills helps But first make sure you have good speakers and amp a good room and speaker placement or you will not notice a difference.

[@MemeScreen]

@@Gabster1 I have built a keyboard before, so I can at least solder. But I would most likely start with a headphone DAC to start. I have Arya headphones and a Singxer amp. Did you have to learn about this through reading and classes or are there simple guides and kits that people buy to get them started?

[@bulibasha81]

Nice DIY skills! ...but holly @#$ Batman, you are the dark lord of over-engineering! ^^ Kudos!

[@wric01]

I wonder how well it fairs against a Pi2aes with dual linear power supply. Good contender.

[@jochvomberg5541]

Wow,great work.

[@BizzyJumps]

Very impressive, sir!

[@grarea9532]

I look forward to seeing more on this. I have a few of Ian's bits but I get somewhat confused by the range. I have read some on diyaudio, but I get a bit lost and have a bunch more to learn :)

[@Gabster1]

You can try building a simple system on a wood plank with the bits you have, no Ultracaps for now. If you need help post on DIYaudio myself and others would try to help.

[@RealHIFIHelp]

Very neat.

[@presidentpotato222]

Love IT

[@ronniefranks4351]

Absolutely beautiful work! Would you mind stating your profession? I’m guessing you’re an engineer with a background in digital.

[@Qoros542]

Very nice streamer, aesthetic, professional, but some room acoustic treatment problems!

[@redjr16]

Great job Gabster. I've build a couple of streamers using Ian's boards and I'm delighted with design flexibility they offer and the ultimate sound quality. I'm been very pleased with what Ian has offered to the DIY community. What DAC board are you using, or is it external?

[@Gabster1]

Thanks you, I am planning another build with a dual mono Dac board for this one the I2S signal goes to a Denafrips terminator. It all started when I got the Denafrips dac and could not hear a difference from my Node2i so I decided to improve the streamer and speakers. Now I hear a big difference in sound between the Node2i and this streamer.

[@WelkySchullin]

Very interesting video. In the future I want to built something simpler based on allo usbridge sig. with lps. Now I´m using audio-gd DI-20He ist great.

[@2ChannelAudio]

Say my hiii to your meaow.... 😊.. Thanks for the video 👏🏻👍🏻

[@gavinbirss4625]

@Gabster Your build surely provides great inspiration and much needed motivation to build a DIY streamer and DAC. Perhaps better efficiency (with regards to potential power losses) can be achieved by removing need for the number of linear regulators/regulation? (this may give longer running time from LifePO4 supply) As I am using a eRED-DOCK (OEM module) to Soekris DAM1021 (dual-mono) [newer V7 board can be powered by DC] and I am soon to tie it to Ian's LIFEPO4 supply (without Supercaps for now). My thinking is with a 5V eRED-DOCK having a low power BEAGLEBOARD/TI CPU the power draw would be less, though the DAM1021 boards require 3W on the positive voltage rail (around 12V DC but can work with a little less). You had any plans DIYing the Soekris boards?

[@net_news]

beautiful! Where did you get the case?

[@alfcon61]

Complimenti,ottimo lavoro

[@zeusodin581]

Amazing work! Kudos to you. From where did you get the case? I can see all parts are available except the batteries and Allo USBridge. Raspberry Pi 3 has been supplanted by 4. Are there any other items in the parts list that need updating? Is it possible to use a LPS in addition to/instead of batteries? The battereis and Ultra Caps have me nervous seeing as though I've never done any electrical work. I do plan on making this. Quite an accomplishment. Thanks so much! Wow

[@Gabster1]

Thank you I would use my newer streamer in your case It uses newer parts and less batteries also a lot easier to build and sounds the same if not better kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipTCgpmIiceVbLcsi=yyqpcehv96AW6SUg

[@waynesankey6065]

Hey Gabster what an excellent job you've done, very impressive. If you're not an EE, even more so because that's a huge amount to learn. Hey I'm wondering about the shielding in your chassis, it's not resolved well in the video: how do you have those copper shields connected into your chassis? Because if it's copper on aluminum I think that's bad from a galvanic point of view and if it's isolated then the shield is kinda weird - it's not a ground plane and there can be induced currents at the edges which means noise. Cheers and again you should be very proud, it's an incredible product for DIY ! OK I watched the construction video and that one shows the connection to the shields, it looks good. I asked an EMI expert where I work and he said the shielding is fine for the energy levels and frequencies. So no issues. I have another question though - you're using Roon, it supports MQA for quite some number of tracks now, does the SW running in this streamer support MQA? Thanks!

[@Gabster1]

Thanks Wayne appreciate the compliments. The shield is weird the copper sits on the aluminum and is not the best way. Refer to my new design Dac D11 you can see it on part 3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHrZc6ygmsmXe6s at 6:30 and on, a much better way to properly shield it I have a plan to revamp the old streamer once I am don with the D11

[@sc0or]

I see a room for improvements. For example you could split 8 cells into 4x4, and while one of them feeds Pi, another one is charging. The same could go with the cells for hats. I also try to minimize an amount of debug information visible in the console on a startup. But it's not possible just to show some picture with a standard GNU Linux. A deep modification is needed. Kernel reports infos and warnings, and this is unavoidable even with a config. So, I decided to turn a display off until a signal appears on GPIO pin. In a future I'd like to switch the display to a simple $1 ES/STM that will show some fancy picture meanwhile.

[@Gabster1]

Great Ideas I am still learning the RPI software side I know there are ways to not show the debug info but has not mastered that area. I am also having issues with the touch screen going in save settings mode minor issues to work on. Flip floping 2 banks of batteries is great but not sure if it is worth all the trouble it can run 8h non stop and shuts down and auto charges as is but would be nice to keep the system warm 24/7.

[@wattimena]

Amazing build quality! I'm just wondering how much did you spent building it and how many hours working time on it? Thanks for sharing it! Very good job!

[@Gabster1]

Thank you, Around $1800 about 3 month of on and off work

[@chrisbarber8839]

Do you ever sell any of your creations? 😊

[@mingchan2037]

👍

[@trubadyr99]

I have no doubts this streamer sounds amazing: on par with the most highly-rated and much more expensive streamers available today. When I watch videos like this, I frequently ask myself: "can this brilliant man build such a marvelous thing for me?" Most likely, the answer would be: "sorry, I can't." And that's what makes me ... If I only had his contacts, I would have asked Gabster myself, but there is none.

[@Gabster1]

Thank you it takes a lot of time to build something like that and it becomes cost prohibited but the info is there you or a handy friend could build one.

[@wrthchld]

Where did you get that case?

[@ducefichnix]

Hello, nice build! How to you feed AC-Power to this? I can not see any transformers.

[@Gabster1]

The lifepo4 Battery system takes a 12 to 19v DC supply a regular Computer power supply works it plugs on the back of it just like a computer Charger.

[@garemz]

What was the total $cost$ of the streamer?

[@friedmule5403]

What a great video and build! What remote do you use? May I ask where you got the cabinet from? :-)

[@Gabster1]

It runs on Roon so controlled via Roon App The case was from eBay I don’t see it listed now but there are a lot of choices if you search for cases I also replaced the front with wood I cut and shaped it. I wanted a vintage look The dimensions are External dimensions: Width 430mm Height 80mm Depth 330mm Internal dimensions: Width 414mm Height 72mm Depth 314mm

[@friedmule5403]

@@Gabster1 Thank you for spending time on answering, what a great reply and job with the front.

[@Imran-CH]

Hi I need your fair opinion i gona get denafrips terminator plus dac. Want use streamer over usb DSD to dac. Will this diy make the denafrips terminator shine or i need to spend some more grands on streamer 🤔😶

[@Gabster1]

Both the denafrips and this streamer sound better on a I2s connection ( a simple short high quality hdmi cable) if you are comfortable with advanced diy this will get you the best sound and I would use Roon you can start with a stripped prototype on a wooden plank Ian has a couple examples on his small Chanel Also keep a eye on my upcoming d11 Dac/streamer using pure ultra capacitors

[@DustinDonohue]

First off, this is beautiful. You should be proud. If I may ask, what were the material costs for this roughly?

[@Gabster1]

Thank you Dustin. I would say roughly close to $1500 USD you could do a scale down version with a regular Rpi versus USbridge and no ultra capacitors ´for around $800 and still have 85 percent of the performance.

[@DustinDonohue]

@@Gabster1 It looks worth every penny.

[@СергейТепляков-э2о]

Здравствуйте! Отличный обзор и все понятно, спасибо. Подскажите есть хороший внешний ЦАП есть ли смысл использовать линейный блок питание стримера малинки с платой только цифрового выхода hi-fi digi+?

[@Gabster1]

I use a denafrips Terminator but the cheaper Pontus is also good Yes I would the better the power supply the better the sound

[@eremas]

May i get the project diy?

[@divertiti]

Great looking build, can this run roon core?

[@Gabster1]

Yes, absolutely it is actually running on Roon

[@LewisCostin]

dont forget to suspend it mid air with string. total isolation.

[@arcsound]

I can't tell if you designed this or if you are presenting this as something that is available, to be replicated by your audience. Basically, how much of a "kit" is this? I went to the link provided, and there were just a bunch of parts, with no overarching documentation on 1) what to order and 2) how to assemble, to re-create what you did in this video. So, did you "design" this machine using Ian's boards and parts, or was the integration already available somewhere? There is a giant gap between the information provided on Ian's website, and building the system shown in the video. I'd like to try replicating what you accomplished here, but there doesn't seem to be sufficient information available.

[@Gabster1]

This machine is using mostly Ian's boards and parts and some of my own, it is my integration this is a older build I suggest you build a simple streamer first like the one you commented on first then you can go from there I was lost like you at the beginning that is why I made the videos so I can help but you still need to do a lot of research on your own and may be one day you can post your own creation and help others.

[@adewolf]

What chassis did you use?

[@Gabster1]

It was from eBay I don’t see it listed now but there are a lot of choices if you search for cases I also replaced the front with wood I cut and shaped it. I wanted a vintage look The dimensions are External dimensions: Width 430mm Height 80mm Depth 330mm Internal dimensions: Width 414mm Height 72mm Depth 314mm

[@adewolf]

@@Gabster1 thanks

[@ducefichnix]

Hallo, welche software läuft auf den Raspberry und wie sind die Einstellungen in Roon? Danke

[@Gabster1]

Ropieee Normale Einstellungen folgen Sie einfach den Anweisungen ropieee.org/xl/

[@Gabster1]

siehe auch mein zweites ausführliches Video kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGW1k4CXh5Kqgac

[@davidchen8001]

good looking and nice sound artist job！ and is that your diy floor standing speaker？

[@Gabster1]

Thank you , Yes it is will be a video about it once all final.

[@davidchen8001]

@@Gabster1 can not wait to see it soon!

[@alaingingras7224]

So a computer + DAC with a preamp...What is the best sound?Your output device.I.E.headphones or speakers.Making simple into complicated.

[@digianalogy4444]

how can I send u mail? I am distributer I want buy from u

[@Psyphonyx_Life]

My first questions was: " omg .. why soo many capacitors? "

[@Gabster1]

Great observation. They are not in there just for looks :) Listening tests by many in the Audio community found big sound improvements with a battery power supply and further improvements adding Ultra capacitors. You can read more about it in this link. www.diyaudio.com/forums/power-supplies/327105-develop-ultra-capacitor-power-supply-lifepo4-battery-power-supply-124.html

[@Psyphonyx_Life]

@@Gabster1 ... Love it. Thank you for sharing and going through the details. Much appreciated depth. 🙏🙏

[@finmaker1]

The case looks a lot like the PS audio streamer and dac case

[@mangalmaybiswas3506]

Hi Gabster, I have just now subscribed your channel. U have done a great job 👍 I am from India. Can you please build a streamer like this and send me? I will pay u the cost u incur. Waiting for your reply.

[@Gabster1]

Hi Mangalmay thank you, glad you like it It takes a lot of time to build this, it took me over 4 month but mostly researching for parts But a good couple month building it it is something you would have to build as if you factor time it would make it too costly. But at least you do not have to do the research I have a list of the parts in the description. I will be adding another Video in the future in more details how to build it and also a simplified version.stay tuned.

[@mangalmaybiswas3506]

@@Gabster1 Thank u so much Gabster. It will be very nice if you help me build it. I will wait for the new video. Thank you once again 😊

[@richsmith9063]

There is no way the current requirements of those little circuits require that much reservoir capacitance.....

[@Gabster1]

You are correct from a traditional sense they will function fine without. But listening tests by many in the Audio community found big sound improvements with a battery power supply and further improvements adding Ultra capacitors. You can read more about it in this link. www.diyaudio.com/forums/power-supplies/327105-develop-ultra-capacitor-power-supply-lifepo4-battery-power-supply-124.html

[@JorgeCordero]

I'm an electronic engineer. Same observation and curiosity about if you measure the noise of the power supply. Like your design it's overkill to solve the problem of a stable power supply. Like all this stuff makes you go from 99.999 to 99.9999 and the improvement is negligible in how it sound.

[@giangianni503]

lol, a separate rasp for video? nonsense. I use two rasp too: one for right channerl, one for left channel. total separation. :v

[@goozlo]

correct me if I am wrong but the main principle behind DIGITAL and data algorithms , is that even if you have noise and you loose part of the information , you are still able to recover or reconstruct the signal 100%. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed%E2%80%93Solomon_error_correction Reed Solomon is the basis of CD reading algorithm, that's the reason why CDs can be read even if scrached or damaged. All this noise treatment seems irelevant especialy since there is no DAC inside , so no analog signal anywhere. Evev if the signal you send to the DAC has noise , part of it is lost (packet loss) the algorithm can recover the signal , plus the speed is so much more than needed that there is plenty of time transmit again.

[@Gabster1]

you have a partial point the file gets transferred without errors unless poor WIFI The timing of the streamer clocks is what is important and Yes the dac is very imp

[@coldfinger459sub0]

Question how is it noise floor ? It seems like there’s some good power isolation from different components. Have you experienced any problems with noise when plugging in other exterior components or trying to control them.?

[@Gabster1]

There is no noise nothing that can be heard. I2s Streamers in general do not introduce noise but rather jitter. Most noise in a system originate from the preamp and amp or dacs that have cheap op-amps.