Non-oversampling TDA1541(A) Raspberry Pi Streamer with "PeppyMeter"

Diy and Tweaks
1

My latest streamer with a “physical” Peppy Meter based on TDA1541(A) (non-oversampling). As the signals come from the DAC, the VU meters are not affected by the streaming services. It took me hundreds of hours to develop. Supports both Pi 4 and Pi 5 (Pi 5 has no sound improvement BTW). Running DietPi (LMS and Squeezelite).

  • Dual VU meters

  • Dual TDA1541(A)

  • Dual power transformer – one is always-ON and the other is switched

I2S signals are galvanically isolated with NVE IL715. VU meters are driven by the square-law compression op-amp BA6138. Output signals are buffered by an op-amp LM358 (works as a voltage follower). The sound from dual TDA1541(A) is significantly better than a single TDA1541(A) (note that I’m using passive I/V, not necessarily true for other ways of output stages)

YouTube demo:

Front panel:

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Back panel with HDMI display out:

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Motherboard:

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Back of motherboard, with I2S galvanic isolation:

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Top view:

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Dual TDA1541A in parallel (supports both TDA1541 and TDA1541A):

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HDMI output to TV:

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5 Likes
2

Very nice work, Vincent!
Does the streamer work with Volumio?
Can you discribe the sound compared to the TDA1387 (Gi) Version?
Best, jens

3

Thanks Jens.

Objective observation: TDA1541(A) has a more rounded mid and high, vocal density is higher than TDA1387. On the other hand, TDA1387 has a slightly punchier bass, and with more details and layers. You can easily tell how deep and strong the bass is with different songs. That is said, the bass is well controlled with TDA1387.

Subjective observation: TDA1541(A) sounds more musical than TDA1387. In fact, TDA1541 sounds better than TDA1541A in my ears.

1 Like
4

Thank you Vincent. Interesting!
But

I did not find english subtitles in your video. Will they come?
Thanks.

5

Yes, like TDA1387, TDA1541(A) also supports I2S protocol. So almost all Raspberry OS supports TDA5141(A) including Volumio.

Regarding the subtitles, I have typed in everything but forgot to publish, now should be working fine.

6

I watched all of your video. That’s is amazing work that you have done to a very professional standard, very impressive!

7

Thanks for watching :smile: