IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

Name: IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card
SKU: 2099
Price: 38.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.52 (22 reviews)

(22 Reviews)

The best sounding audio accessory for the original Raspberry Pi - Designed and made by audio experts

Designed by IQaudIO.com in United Kingdom

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The best sounding audio accessory for the original Raspberry Pi - Designed and made by audio experts

Pi-DAC - FOR USE WITH THE PREVIOUS GENERATION RASPBERRY PI (model B) WITH P5 CONNECTOR The IQaudIO Pi-DAC audio card for the Raspberry Pi delivers outstanding sonic performance and full-HD (24/192) a…

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.93)

Documentation: (4.21)

Shipping: (4.43)

Communication: (4.50)

Henry | Nov. 13, 2014

Great DAC

Although I am quite familar with the phenomenon of streaming music (I play with the Marantz NA7004 which received excellent reviews).

But I also like tinkering with the Raspberry Pi (I also have one with XBMC installed serving my TV with video content). So, why not give it a try as music streamer? There are lots of audio distros available and pricewise it's no risk at all, right?

To cut a long story short: I am amazed by the performance of this DAC! It's somewhat less detailed than the Marantz, but produces a full picture with an astonishing sound stage.

Gordon, keep up the good work! Please keep me informed about new product introductions.

Timothy | Nov. 2, 2014

Excellent product, great sound quality

This is a fantastic little board and excellent value for money. I am no great electronics wizard but after some fiddling about I managed to solder the header onto the Raspberry Pi. The rest of the assemble was very straightforward.

I then used the piCore player software which could not have been easier. I did try an alternative before this but couldn't get to work at all. piCore worked first time and the web interface is so simple. I am delighted with my low cost player which I have attached to my main stereo in the dining room. The sound quality is absolutely first class.

Jibu | Oct. 19, 2014

Great Product & Great Service

The IQaudIO DAC+ worked perfectly.

Downloaded the volumio for B+, fixed the DAC and it worked great.

Page 17 of the DAC+ manual fixed the volume control issue. Great music and a great DAC.

I had a philips music player but the same mp3 plays much more better on this DAC.

Highly recommended. Give this a try.

Richard | Oct. 18, 2014

Great audio quality

The improvement in audio makes this a must buy for anyone building an audio systems. I have my RPi playing musing in my bathroom but even with this modest speaker and amp setup the audio quality improvement was very noticeable. No more hiss on the quite tracks.

Ian | Oct. 4, 2014

The best of the i2s DAC's for Raspberry Pi.

I use my PiDAC in a 2 box streaming system based on a Raspberry Pi Server running Squeezeplug OS which manages a 1TB USB library running Logitech Media Server. It runs 24 hours consuming only a few watts of power. My PiDAC is connected to a separate Raspberry Pi running PiCorePlayer OS. The current version of this magnificent OS is only 60MB and runs Squeezelite player which is configured via a PC. Setup is simplicity itself. With PiCorePlayer 1.18 the analogue output can be custom set to any voltage to match amplifier input. I have mine set at about -3dB to match my Icon Audio valve amplifier. Controlling the output can be done by any number of iOS or Android devices and apps. I use my old Logitech Squeezebox Touch set to Squeezelite Player which reads the network LMS server and controls playback - I use the SBT because it is a familiar interface and was made redundant when I started this project. My system does lot lag and new additions to the music library are available instantly on the player.

My two box Raspberry Pi Streamer was developed because I didn't like the idea of a single Raspberry Pi running both server and player software ( as with the Wolfson application which requires considerable overclocking). Server and player run 24/7 and consume very little power.

The sound quality is nothing short of remarkable considering it's relatively low cost it easily performs as well as many DAC's costing £ 00's. I play 16 and 24 bit flac audio files up to 192Khz and the system never skips a beat. This system could easily be extended with the addition of extra players located around the house connected to the server either by ethernet or wi fi over my home network.

Before I started this project I had no prior knowledge of Linux and only basic knowledge of home networking. I have thoroughly enjoyed this project and would recommend the Raspberry Pi/PiDAC project to anyone considering streaming audio from network server.

Hats off to Gordon and all at IQaudIO for producing an excellent i2s DAC which ticks all of the right boxes as far as value for money and sound quality go.

Matt | Sept. 11, 2014

Great product, sounds great.

First things first. The sound is great. So small but really nice sound when driven by my old NAD amp.
Installation was dead simple. I used an old plastic container that had screw's in it to house it. It now lives out of sight behind the amp.
Hardware volume control from BubbleUPnP is great. Volumio needs to get the scaling right though.
The only downside is the shipping. It's expensive, slow, and once it leaves the UK there is no more shipping information. There needs to be more options here.
All in all. Very happy and would definitely recommend. Review Image

Response from IQaudIO.com | Sept. 11, 2014

Hi Matt, glass you like the sound quality.

Really sorry about the post but it's pretty much outside our control. We use signed for and tracked where the destination country supports this. We are looking at using FedEx/UPS or similar so you can get the product quicker but this will only increase the price.

If you know of anyone who would like to act as a distributor for our products in APAC then please let me know.

Once again, thanks for your custom.

Gordon@iqaudio.com

Alex | Sept. 9, 2014

Good sounding product with a tidy case

Using this with Squeezebox systems. Together with a Rpi model B, a copy of picoreplayer and the acrylic case provided by IQaudio it makes a good sounding player which doesn't look out of place in the domestic environment. I can't distinguish the sound quality between this Pi-DAC player and my expensive CDplayer. Soldering the connector on isn't too difficult.
I've built two of these so far and have orders from friends for 2 more. Waiting for the new DAC+ to arrive so I can try it with a Rpi B+ model - of course this will eliminate the need for soldering..

Alain | Sept. 8, 2014

Wow ! Just wow !

I wouldn't have imagined that this little DAC could sound so nice on my Arcam FMJ A19 for such a low price ! Just let it warm up and then just feed it with your favourites !

Beau | Aug. 26, 2014

very nice sound good product

It's so nice to put in the work and get a very good resalt i could not be happer with my networked sound system now I have fitted pi-dac to all my nodes (rpi-model B) iqaudio makes good stuff.

Alexander | Aug. 12, 2014

Great addition to the Raspberry Pi

In my opinion the sound quality is superb. My own music is encoded in FLAC format. I usually use an 'audiophile' stand-alone DAC made by Meridian in the early 1990s to play streaming audio. I prefer the Pi-DAC's sound quality, which I find subtler and sweeter.

Shane | Aug. 7, 2014

Great in theory but compatibility issue

I have discovered that my Raspberry Pi isn't compatible with the Pi-DAC card. It's not a B+, but it is a very early model. I pre-ordered it before any were released back in 2011. It looks like a model B, with two USB ports and an ethernet port, but it doesn't have the holes to solder on the 2x4 female header.

However, I was able to pick up a model B locally, and I'll put it together tonight, hopefully for a happy ending.

UPDATE : All soldered, installed in case, looking and sounding terrific!

Response from IQaudIO.com | Aug. 7, 2014

Shane, sorry to hear you have an incompatible Pi. We try to make it obvious to our customers that you need a pi with the P5 header ("The IQaudIO Pi-DAC is suitable for all Raspbery Pi’s with the P5 Header.")

This is something which effects all i2s based audio solutions for the Pi not just the Pi-DAC.

If you've now got a more recent pi you are only a few hours away from enjoying great sound quality going forward.

Btw, you should be able to pick up a usb sound card for your old pi - will not sound as good but will get you going.

Anyone reading this review - make sure your Pi has the P5 header. If unsure drop us an email at info@iqaudio.com

Best regards,

Gordon

Pedro | Aug. 4, 2014

Very good product, right documentation and communication

Installing it was easy except to solder the connector, the sound is really good to my ears and the connivance with Volumio is excellent

Oluwole | Aug. 1, 2014

Overall experience with product and service

I was really impressed by the speed of response by support.

It was prompt, helpful and concise.

Product information contained in the documentation on the site is easy to follow even for a Linux noobie like.

The only point of struggle for me was with soldering the DAC board connector to my Pi (my resident expert (thanks Ayoms) took care of that for me).

The sound quality from the addon board is on par with the HDMI connection.

Overall a very pleasant experience from purchase to installation.

Kerry | July 29, 2014

Great sound and works out of the box

My first experience of high res audio... and it was great! Took 10 mins to solder (it's been 20 years since I picked up a soldering iron). It worked straight away with both picoreplayer and volumio. The sound of Norah Jones at 192Khz / 24 bit played through my cambridge audio 840a amplifier was truly amazing. I'm hooked. Can't wait for a version that works on the Raspberry pi B+ (presumably without soldering) and I'm also eagerly awaiting IQaudio's Pi amplifier. These things are forming the core of my multiroom audio experience!!

Patricia | July 16, 2014

Superb piece of kit

My husband put it on the RPi with solder and said it was straightforward. We have an open sided case from Camac which adapted well to the new board once we cut off the plastic screw holder above the phonos.
I use squeezebox so picoreplayer is a good match for the hardware.
It recognised the DAC immediately and sounded good.
Definitely recommended. Review Image

David | July 15, 2014

Well designed product

Very good sound with a very low noise floor
Buy the case as well - the clear one so you can see all the Rpi indicators.
It doesn't come with instructions but these are available on the IQAudIO website.
The delivery was very quick - mine came with a few bent pins - A couple of pieces of the pink anti-static foam would protect the connectors during shipment.
Works very well with Volumio 1.4 as the I2C drivers are preinstalled.

There is a section in the documentation about getting the Volumio volume control to operate. Do this first before using otherwise everything will happen at full volume - as I found out!

Mario | July 14, 2014

A great product

Nothing much to say except "it works as advertised". My soldering skills are very rusty, but it was easy to solder the included 8-pin header and do the physical mounting. After that it worked out of the box in Volumio, and also in XMBC, after some minor tweaking. The sound quality is excellent.

The one suggestion I would have is regarding the metal spacer and two short screws, because while it does much in terms of mechanical sturdiness, it occupies one of the Raspberry Pi mounting holes, leaving only one free so it's impossible to fix it with only one screw. It would be much better to include only one screw, but much longer, which would reach down both through the spacer and the Raspberry Pi board, so it could be used to fix all at once.

Response from IQaudIO.com | July 15, 2014

Hi Mario, we use standard M screws for the spacer so any custom lengths you need should be easily found on your favourite auction site :-)

Best regards,

Gordon@iqaudio.com

William | July 12, 2014

Great Audio. Great Price. Just perfect!!

I am very happy with the IQauduiO Pi-DAC. I have been running Xbmc since the original xbox. I just replaced the Xbmc/Linux box that ran our home audio system with a Raspberry Pi/IQaudiO Pi-DAC/Raspbmc and it is just great. It is so good it inspired me to go back and re-rip my entire CD collection into a no loss format. Thanks so much. I expect I will buy another one for the office. This is probably the best and most stable media server I have had and certainly the least expensive. Thank you very much IQaudiO.

Richard | July 4, 2014

Real nice for the price

Installed it today and its playing away as we speak. very impressive, easily as good as the usb dac its replacing and the HiFiberry in my other unit

Andrew | July 2, 2014

If you can solder you're there

The DAC arrived promptly as promised, I even had a phonecall from the supplier to confirm delivery details. I have soldering skills and the right tools so fitting this item was straightforward for me. Make sure you have a soldering iron with a very small tip before you get started.

Once installed I powered up, made the appropriate selection on the Volumio web GUI and everything just worked. Sound quality is way above that of the Raspberry Pi analogue output and, with Volumio 1.4 installed, stability is much improved (only 1 reboot since installing - following a power outage).

In summary, excellent service, excellent product, excellent sound quality.

Can't wait for the cases to be in stock!

Ivan | June 18, 2014

Quality sound: 10/10

I'ts a great sound card, the sound is amazing, i use a volumio distro and is easy the installation and configuration :) thanks for this DAC

Andrew | May 1, 2014

Awesome DAC for your Raspberry Pi

This little DAC has an amazing sound quality. Sure enough, it won't replace a $1K setup, but it also comes at a fraction of the price.
Combined with a Raspberry Pi and Volumio this guy fills my house with music every day.
Thanks Gordon!

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