Audio player using VIM 3L + Tone board

Hello Everyone,
I am completely new here, new to Khadas, and also not into programming and code writing. So kinda noob.

I was tinkering with the idea of building a Stand alone HD audio player for my analogue amp which ill be connecting via RCA.
Ive read that the tone board DAC’s are well balanced and have good reviews.
The audio file formats that I intend the build player to play are mostly MP3’s and Flac’s and occasionally I may stream from the internet either using spotify or other music streaming app.
This audio player will be connected by wifi to my LAN and will be playing the audio mp3’s and flacs that are stored elsewhere.
For that I was looking at the VIM 3L + Tone board + Touch screen. The screen housing I plan to CNC machine out of aluminum.
The touch screen will be mainly to browse thro files and for play functions, thats it - not really for videos)

So what do you guys think of this project?
Is the VIM 3L + tone board good for this. ( I feel it should be as I wont be running videos)
I also had read that currently the VIM 3L comes out of the box with Andriod 9 pre loaded which is good, but doesnt support all android apps ?
So what media player app can be supported? Or can I side load most of the media player apps? What bout server applications running on VIM3L ?

Hi @Ro_Ro:
Actually, we also recommend the VIM3L for KTB for DAP(Digital Audio Player) and we will develop Audio friendly OS like Volumio on VIM3L.

Personally, I will not recommend the Android OS for DAP due to the SRC limited.

Have fun!

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Hi @Gouwa
Thanks for your suggestion.
Im a bit confused. Then if not android OS for the DAC, then which OS do you suggest ?

I need to run a server application so the player can play files from the LAN. ?

Volumio OS based on Linux.

Yes, it’s quite common features for DAP.

Thanks @Gouwa for your quick replies.
As I said before, im a complete noob. Just taking the plunge in this DIY and I dont know much on Linux.
So I trust If i run volumo as the OS it will be able to pull files across the LAN.
How do i do this? Is there a discussion in the forum on this that i can read up on?

There are some topics on Khadas Forum and you can search Volumio on Khadas Forum for some information:
https://forum.khadas.com/search?q=volumio

You can also check the Volumio website for further details:

3 Likes

Hi,

Thanks, I looked at some topics on Volumio which looks good.
But most of the versions are for the older VIM’s.
Although the versions has issues and I couldnt find versions for VIM3L

Are you’ll planing to release a VIM3L board specifically with Volumio?
May be then I can wait for the release of that board.

Yes, we will official do support for Volumio on VIM3L.

2 Likes

Hi Gouwa,

Thanks, I have one more question on this… will you be releasing the VIM3L boards with Volumio installed on it ?
Cause then I mite as well wait for the release of those boards instead of picking them up now?
Whats your suggestion on this ?

Thanks

Still not sure at the moment, as the Volumio OS on VIM3L will be slightly later then Android / CoreELEC OS on VIM3L.

@hyphop will work on the Volumio OS soon.

On Android I use an app called USB Audio Player Pro.
It allows to bypass Android SRC with the self developed driver and in addition integrated with Tidal and MQA for de-compressing and hi-res streamming.
Once you purchased it in Google Play, you can use it on any of your android device. Either on DAP or VIM.
I am not sure how KTB will behave with it though.

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On my andriod I use PowerAmp which is made for devices with HiRes DAC’s since my device has a dedicated DAC. But it is a single player for single device.
Even Im not sure about the Toneboard.
Ive heard good reviews of the Toneboard and hence Im trying to build this network player device.
Not sure when will the Volumio for VIM3L and Toneboard be out and how will it perform though. Theres no word out as yet.

Tone board is an excellent candidate for this project. Its the best I have heard and has now replaced my Mamboberry board in my main system. Its simple to setup and good value for money compared to similar performance cards.

Shoog

i think we can see VolumioOS soon ! we cooperate with volumio team already !

at this moment im testing vim3+tone on another special audio OS, and check all hardware for best compatibility - i will share them soon same

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Ive ordered the Tone board, will have to wait till it arrives.
Many other DAC’s use seperate Reclockers as a buffer to accurately match the clock frequencies to minimize jitters.
How is the Tone board when it comes to recreation of hi fi audio. I dont see a reclocker in this board and I dont know if it is really required. Whats your take on this ?

Hello Khadas team.
I will be designing an Aluminum housing for the VIM3L+tone board audio streaming endpoint player.
Since there is a Al. housing, I guess the supplied antennas wont be effective, so I was thinking of using an external mounted antenna screwed on to the housing and connected using the Ipex connector.
Do you have the antenna specifications ?

It achieves better objective measurements without the need for a reclocker. Bare in mind that almost all of these boards are designed to work with a pi which has very unstable clocks as standard. So my opinion would be that these are solutions for another product not the VIM. Also bare in mind that those who have tried to improve on the performance with expensive external DC power supplies have actually degraded the sound - which should tell you that this is a top flight engineered product with a attention to detail seldom seen in the class.

It stands up against hifi products costing a grand so I would say its going to do your job.

2 Likes

I was actually thinking of using a Linear power supply instead of the smps that comes with the VIM3L.

There is an extensive thread discussing using a external 5V supply with the results people achieved.
However since moving over to a digital amplifier with built in digital smtp power supply - I am no longer afraid of using a “good” smtp.

Shoog

What will be the power requirement for the VIM3L+Tone board+ Touchscreen +wifi?
I had read on some threads that the VIM3 boards can take from 5V to 20 V- and recommended is 12V
But the power supply that is being sold with the VIM3L boards is a 5Vx 2A =10W power supply.
So what will be the peak power drawn with all the components in use?
Should I go for a 12V or a 5V ?