I have decided to try out Class-T-Amps and went with the Topping VX1 (tpdz.net/en/products/vx1.htm)
with its integrated DAC to use it with my Volumio setup on a Raspberry Pi
mainly playing FLACs via AirPlay.
Its Tripath TA2021B is a delight.
So far i am really happy with the sound via a macbook over usb,
right now i’m driving two Technics SB-HD310 speakers with it, 6 Ohms.
But with Volumio 1.2b running on my Raspi B i am experiencing
lots of pops and clicks (i am using shairport AirPlay),
especially in the low frequency spectrum.
lsusb:
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 040d:3400 VIA Technologies, Inc.
dmesg:
[ 6.092916] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[ 6.240440] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=040d, idProduct=3400
[ 6.256345] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 6.274828] usb 1-1.3: Product: VX1
[ 6.280020] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: TOPPING
[ 6.826799] input: TOPPING VX1 as /devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input0
[ 6.853194] hid-generic 0003:040D:3400.0001: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [TOPPING VX1] on usb-bcm2708_usb-1.3/input2
[ 6.092916] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[ 6.240440] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=040d, idProduct=3400
[ 6.256345] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 6.274828] usb 1-1.3: Product: VX1
[ 6.280020] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: TOPPING
[ 6.826799] input: TOPPING VX1 as /devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input0
[ 6.853194] hid-generic 0003:040D:3400.0001: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [TOPPING VX1] on usb-bcm2708_usb-1.3/input2
[ 7.151344] usb 1-1.2: driver API: 1.9.6 2012-07-07 [1-1]
[ 7.172341] usb 1-1.2: firmware API: 1.9.6 2012-07-07
[ 7.460954] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
with RaspyFi 1.0 it works with less clicks & pops.
i see shairport has a cpu usage of roughly 55% instead of 36% on volumio.
I’m going to configure the box using RaspyFi.
Now I’m wondering why i have the shairport / hairtunes daemon running three times. two times is okay since i can stream via my iphone and my macbook simultaneously (sound gets added up).
Thanks for submitting your sound issue with the Topping VX1 DAC.
I purchased the VX1 several weeks ago, and I am really happy with it.
I just installed Volumio 1.4 yesterday on my Raspberry Pi to get the most of it, i.e. using the USB Dac instead of analog audio output.
As you experienced a pops&clics issue with the VX1, I checked my alsa-base.conf after Volumio installation, in order to prevent the trouble.
On my 1.4 Volumio version, VX1 was already recognised as a default USB audio output device:
options snd-usb-audio nrpacks=1
I don’t use AirPlay, and haven’t tried yet Flac files but so far I didn’t experience any audible issue.
The detection and installation Topping VX1 DAC may have be improved by the 1.4 Volumio release, which is rather a good news for users reluctant to access and modify linux files…
although the file i play via airplay (shairport / hairtunes) is only 44.1khz / 16bit. and it sound a bit pitched up if i am correct, like 44.1khz pressed into 48khz. how do i disable resampling?
I am considering getting a Raspberry Pi 2 with Volumio and connecting it to my Topping VX1. I would like to control Volumio from my iPhone.
Have all of the issues been worked out? Are there any default settings I need to change?