Tindie

I bought the Pi-CASE+. It's easy to assemble and looks nice. My Pi and DAC+ are well protected now..

Cor | Dec. 1, 2016

Great sound

The Pi-DAC+ is easy to fit on the Pi. I also bought the Pi-Case and it all fits nicely in the box.
The Pi-DAC+ gives you a lot of value for the money. The sound is great. Previously I used the audio output of the Pi, but now with the Pi-DAC+, it gives a much higher sound quality.

Matthias | Dec. 24, 2015

I received the Pi-CASE+ for Pi-DAC+ or Pi-DigiAMP+

For Pi-AMP+ CASE

I received the Pi-CASE+ for Pi-DAC+ or Pi-DigiAMP+ instead of the Pi-AMP+ CASE Project case for Raspberry Pi (B+/Pi2) the Pi-DAC+ and the Pi-AMP+ combination. I just realised this now, also its probably to late to complain about it.

Michael | Aug. 19, 2015

Works perfectly!

I purchased this to drive two 8" speakers in my living room ceiling from a Raspberry Pi 2, and it was straightforward to hook up and get working. The only snag was using the stock Volumio image instead of the preconfigured image by IQaudIO, but that was easily sorted.

(I'm also looking forward to the release of Volumio 2 in October, and I hope IQaudIO will be ready with a preconfigured image for that one, as well.)

Nguyen Trong | Aug. 17, 2015

Toying audio

It is quite please to audition this card and appreciate it till tested same track with a $100 DVD player, found rather disappointed. Sound was less powerful and dynamic.

It was at its own position: a toying audio component.

Response from IQaudIO.com | Aug. 17, 2015

That's a shame. You will find that the audio quality benefits from good quality interconnects.

Gordon

Robert | Aug. 14, 2015

Pi-DAC+ audio card - perfect hifi addition to Pi

Installation dead easy as per documentation, card recognized immediately by Kodi and fully integrates with Kodi. Audio quality 10/10

Martin | Aug. 8, 2015

The Best Sound per Pound possible!

I bought one of these to try in my bedroom system, where I normally use Pi coreplayer with a Pidac into either a Tube Technology Unysis or Cayin Sp10a integrated valve amp, or sometimes various digital amps I have amassed over the years. I've got a bit of a problem in that I hate getting rid of Hifi! I was also aware of the amount of power the valve amps were using for non-critical listening, so I thought I would give the Pi DigiAmp+ a try, having already been very impressed with the sound quality from the PiDac, and also keen to give one of the non-Tripath chip amps a try.
Installing the board to the Pi B+ was easy, and I also bought the IQaudio case for it too which is very smart indeed. I did struggle to unmute the amp initially, but it was down to my lack of linux knowledge and I had got the spacing wrong in the commands. I ended up entering the unmute commands into the startup tab in picore player, so now it automatically unmutes upon startup, which is really handy.
The first time I powered it up the first thing I noticed is the complete lack of any background hiss or noise through my 90db sensitivity speakers, even at high volumes. This means I now use it as my alarm clock which I couldn't do previously.
Anyway, the most important thing is obviously the sound quality, and in this respect, the DigiAmp+ is unbelieveably good! Bass is really taught, deep and tuneful, and the clarity right across the full frequency range is exceptional. It just doesn't seem right that such a small thing could sound so good. Vocals are open and airy, although fractionally less sweet than with my valve amps, but certainly not harsh or sibilant in any way. I had a friend over for a listen, and he was equally impressed. Volume-wise, there is ample power available, although I haven't tried it with any less sensitive speakers.
Overall, for me, the Digiamp+ has rewritten the book on sound-per-pound. To get this level of performance for less than £100 including the Pi is remarkable so hats off to IQaudio for achieving this!

Response from IQaudIO.com | Aug. 8, 2015

Martin, we're very pleased you like the Pi-DigiAMP+ as much as us. Thanks for your custom.

Gordon

Jakub | Aug. 6, 2015

Awesome DAC for RPi synth project!

Great sound this DAC delivers is hard to describe by words. One must hear it.
I've used it in my DIY Raspberry Pi 2 Synthesizer powered by SunVox Virtual Modular Music Studio project. Together with the pre-configured IQ Audio's Raspbian image (and slight overclock) I could get the latency down to 5ms! The sound is full and punchy. Absolute must if you want to do anything audio with RPi. Also the pin outs for master volume knob, L & R and headphones are very welcome feature of the DAC design. Also the support communication with the author was nice.

More info about the project:
http://www.warmplace.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3733

And some photos here:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskgVj3e9

Review Image

Response from IQaudIO.com | Aug. 6, 2015

Awesome project which I have passed on to others via Twitter. Hope you don't mind. Glad you are enjoying it.

Emmanuel | July 31, 2015

excellent product

Easy to fit, nice box (a bit expensive though), excellent hardware support, excellent communication with the maker !

Marc | July 19, 2015

Bit fiddly to assemble, but great looking and functional

If you have a Pi-DAC+ or similar product, you'll need this (unless you want to make your own case with cutouts for the audio connectors). I found it a little fiddly to assemble, but easy enough following the instructions included with the Pi-DAC+. Looks good when finished too so hard not to recommend!

Stuart | July 14, 2015

DAC+ AAA+

Perfect I2S DAC for the RasPi
Works like a charm with minimal fuss to setup, quick config for ALSA and we're in business
Using with Pi 2 running Squeezelite and Shairport
Very very happy with the results and would highly recommend

John | July 13, 2015

Very good

I was on the lookout for a headphone amp as my amp doesn't have an output. I stumpled across this by accident, as I already use five raspberry pi 's for streaming audio and watching TV, I had already purchased the hifiberry digi plus to output to my dac, and was very happy with the sound.
On receiving this I set up a raspberry pi with OSMC and pointed it to my NAS drive connected it to my amp, I was very impressed with the quality of sound, but I love my Rega Dac and amp to much to replace it, but this does have an impressive sound very smooth.
I bought this as a headphone amp project as I've just had an operation and off work for a few weeks, I had already ordered AKG k550 headphones so using the Raspberry pi 2 with a wireless usb adapter I now have a high quality wireless headphone amp streaming music from my nas drive, the sound is way better than phone or tablet output, and using a mobile phone power bank, it plays for hours, maybe down the line I may purchase the Rega ear to match my hifi, but this is definitely impressive for the money Review Image

Pierre | July 11, 2015

Qaudio Pi-dac+ ans runeaudio

Hey, i bought this product for listen my music with à Hi-Fi quality. I have a raspberry 2 with à hdd where is m'y music ans thé pi dac+ ans all on runeaudio make by qaudio. I'm very happy about thé quality of sound of this. Thanks!

Steven | July 9, 2015

Superb bit of kit.

I have this running with a raspberry pi2 and the volumio distribution. Works like a charm and sound is fantastic. I highly recommend it!

Jeffrey | July 9, 2015

Nice board, great service

This is a great alternative to buying a high end DAC for your stereo. We looked into all the options, but quickly decided on the DAC+. Service and shipping were fantastic. Here in about a week, questions quickly answered. The Texas Instruments documentation on the chipset is recommended reading, especially for understanding dsp modes.

We started with an updated raspbian image. We used mpd and a music collection of lossy and lossless mounted via cifs. Alsamixer and kernel version yield a mixer control of "Digital" as opposed to "PCM". Works great, sounds great...even on that old Sanyo 50w/ch integrated amp from the 80s, Bose headphones, or Soundlink Mini. We have modest hopes of eventually connecting this up to a pair of refoamed original Advents from '69 powered by a kit tube amp.

Currently using IQaudIO pre-configured Volumio 1.55 image since you get a nice webui. Don't run check updates though. We broke the webui. Otherwise, great out of the gate image for enjoying your DAC+.

Like many others, highly recommended... Great board and service.

Stoyan | July 1, 2015

Probably the best audio equipment I've ever bought!

This nice DAC + Amplifier board makes the best money/performance network player ever!
Installed with Raspberry Pi 2 and Moode on sd card in minutes.
Sound quality is the same like much more expensive audio equipment.
Plays music from my home NAS and internet radio.
Works great with High-Res audio files up to 24/192.
I have 4 ohms speakers connected to PiDigiAMP+ and sound performance is great.
Tested with low-end speakers and bass is not so loud like with my high-end speakers.
Good job Gordon!
Thank you.

Stoyan | July 1, 2015

Probably the best audio equipment I've ever bought!

For Pi-AMP+ Class D amp for the Pi-DAC+ (up to 2x35w)

This nice DAC + Amplifier board makes the best money/performance network player ever!
Installed with Raspberry Pi 2 and Moode on sd card in minutes.
Sound quality is the same like much more expensive audio equipment.
Plays music from my home NAS and internet radio.
Works great with High-Res audio files up to 24/192.
I have 4 ohms speakers connected to PiDigiAMP+ and sound performance is great.
This is small little gem which makes network and computer audio much more accessible and geeky.
Good job Gordon!
Thank you.

Jeremy | July 1, 2015

Ridiculously good amplifier for a $70 board

I've been using a Raspberry Pi with the IQAudIO DAC and Amp boards running Picoreplayer in my main living room stereo system for some weeks now. With speaker wires connected to the amp board via alligator clips, it sounds better than the collection of high end audio amplifiers I have in there. It may be that the lower damping factor caused by higher series resistance from the alligator clips boosts the lower midrange/upper bass where the system was a little lean, or it may just be that good an amplifier, but things sound great. This stack plus a pair of speakers and you have a one-box stereo system front end. Highly recommended.

Jonas | June 8, 2015

A great sounding DAC with a prominent bass boost

A great sounding DAC at a great price! I normally listen to music through studio equipment that work well down to around 45 Hz. Switching out the source for a Pi2 and a Pi-DAC+ I notice a significant bass boost in the lower frequencies. Great, clear sound that goes well with headphones that struggle below 100Hz, but the bass is definitely on the stronger side when paried with a speakers that themselves are capable of good bass response.

Chris | June 5, 2015

The best piece of audio kit I've ever bought!!!

This wonderful DAC has revolutionised my listening experience. I bought it to replace a Roku M1001 Soundbridge as I needed something to stream FLACs. Paired with a RPi B+ running PiCorePlayer with audio streamed from another RPi B+ running Logitech Media Server it performs brilliantly. I was really blown away by the quality of sound.... it far exceeded my expectations. Even lower bitrate MP3s have an added depth and improved overall sound. It's quite simply amazing - do not hesitate in buying one - it will make you smile!!

Mladen | May 31, 2015

Perfect

The sound is great. Using it with Volumio and everything just works. The shipping was very fast to Sweden.

David | May 31, 2015

Beautiful sound

I am using this card with a raspberry pi 2 in squeezebox replacements. One system feeds into a stereo amplifier or headphones, another has the AMP+ from IQaudio to drive a pair of speakers. Both systems are outstanding.

David | May 31, 2015

Sturdy case

Sturdy with good access to all the ports that I use--principally the pi's USB and audio from the DAC+. Held together with 4 large heavy bolts. Good feet--doesn't slip around. Only problem was that I didn't take the SD card out of the pi while I was assembling it into the case and managed to break it--my bad. So take the SD card out while you assemble it and it's perfect.

Neil | May 31, 2015

Does what it says on the Case

A very neat, well made case for the Raspberry Pi2 and iQaudio DAC+. All components were present and piecing it all together was very simple. Once constructed the casing is robust as the hardware fits snuggly inside without any space for "wobbles".

I'll be buying a second when the DAC+ are back in stock.

Mark | May 30, 2015

Incredible, up there with high end hifi dac/streamers.

I bought the PiDAC+ after reading a few interesting and positive threads on various forums and im so glad i did.
I set it up running RuneAudio to stream flac files from my NAS, connected to a classic 1980's marantz pm4 amp and a pair of tannoy precision 6.4 floorstanders, the sound produced is nothing short of astounding. For the price, you cannot go wrong with this little gem !!

Mark | May 30, 2015

Excellent quality case !!

An excellent quality case that really adds the finishing touch to the pi-dac+. The smoke/tint effect shows off the circuits & led's nicely.

Dean | May 28, 2015

Great product, made my inner geek smile.

Loved the idea of the PiDAC from the moment I saw it, so I was über excited when it arrived.

Attached to Pi and loaded volumio, which wasn't quite so plug and play as I'd hoped but works well now (and I learned loads about configuring the Pi).

I have my PiDAC hooked up to my existing stereo amp and the sound quality is great. I'm playing stuff from my NAS drive and through Spotify and there's a noticeable improvement compared to playing through my iOS devices. I'm also loving that it works with Airplay.

The set-up is not quite as user friendly as SONOS f'sure but at less than £60 it's a great upgrade to my trusty old stereo separates, and it's definitely cheap enough to make me consider placing more around the house and one at my desk at work.

Ingo | May 27, 2015

Nice case with perfect fit

I use this box with the DAC+ and the PI 2. All cuts fit perfect and the box is looking very good. A really must have for this small audio system!

Ingo | May 27, 2015

Great sound and easy installation

I have the Pi-DAC+ is running with a PI 2 and volumio. Install went out of the box and the sound quality is really amazing. I use it mostly with a Fidelio X2 headphone and it is a fun to listen. Really a nice product without any problems so far!

Massimo | May 27, 2015

Good product and good service for Tindie

I'm using it with Raspberry B+ and A+
The sound quality is perfect for both the Raspy and the cpu is generally below 45% with sampling and bitrate to max.
The new black version is stilish and it's perfect for the Raspberry A+ with the same dimension.
I'm satisfied with it and a ggod work done by Tindie

Mike | May 13, 2015

Brilliant Sound quality.

Absolutely brilliant sound quality that stands up proudly in comparison with my $4000 Naim DAC. Build a music streamer for $150.

Keith | April 5, 2015

Simply Stunning Audio and Product

I received my Pi-DAC+ from Gordon on 10/31/14. I built my Pi that day, tried Volumio first, then switched to RuneAudio.

First off...if you're going to get a Pi-DAC+ RuneAudio provides by FAR the best support out of the gate for the Pi-DAC+. Bar none. Period. Use it. I've been so happy with RuneAudio I've contributed a total of $100 since starting to use it. Aside from a power outage in January and an unexpected need for a reboot last month the Pi has run continuously with the Pi-DAC+ and RuneAudio, and that's with multiple hours per day of streaming. One thing, If you are going to stream 24/192 don't fight it...just go wired Ethernet. Trust me. Gordon will tell you the same.

My point of comparison sonically for the Pi-DAC+ is my Denon DVD-5900 reference disk player...cost $2000 in 2002 or so. Multiple Burr Brown PCM1704 DAC chips...a truly stellar piece of equipment on so many fronts. I have to say that the Pi-DAC+ gives it a true run for it's money. I can setup for the Pi and the Denon on two different inputs and synchronize FLAC and CD. If there is a difference it's VERY slight...and honestly probably inaudible to my ears. The one thing that would shift me back to a Denon product would be if I could come across a DVD-9000, which has digital *inputs*...I would stream from the Pi to it. I do love the sound of my Denon :)

The Pi with the Pi-CASE+, Pi-DAC+, power supply, and SD card all totalled cost me $130. Combined with RuneAudio I simply can't imagine a better playback system for the money...or several times it honestly. If you're on the fence about a Pi-DAC+ don't be. Just order the DAC and the Pi-CASE+, install Rune Audio and don't look back. Seriously.

Thanks Gordon...for your support and the products. I couldn't be any happier with them.

Victor | March 31, 2015

Phenomenal audiophile experience

I purchased two sets of the PiDAC+/ PiAmp+ /PiCase+ (using two Raspberry Pi B+ boards) for two separate locations driving floor standing speakers (Denon SC T33 and my old faithful Musical Technology Kestrels).

Unpacking the IQAudIO boards and mounting them onto the Pi was satisfying and enjoyable, it all fits together beautifully and the case gives it a very solid feel. Make sure your speaker cables are thin enough to fit into the PiAmp's tiny connectors. It's strangely beautiful to see large floor standing speakers connected only to this tiny box - and it takes a while to get used to not seeing a huge amplifier and separate components.

The software installation and configuration was a breeze too. IQAudIO's provided images of Rune Audio and OpenElec (Kodi) are pre-configured to utilise the PiDAC+, so there's no need to be a Linux expert to get these working. There are plenty of instructions on the support page should you need to tweak the device at the command line, and Gordon is incredibly helpful if you have questions (thanks Gordon!). I've settled on Rune Audio as my software of choice, it's simple web interface is a joy to use on a wide variety of devices. Max2Play (connected to my LMS Squeezebox server) also works well at my second location and can be controlled easily with a Logitech controller.

The true enjoyment was sitting back and listening. Or should I say sitting back and feeling? The sound quality is jaw dropping. Every genre I played though this silicon sandwich sounded astounding: progressive rock, acoustic guitar, electronic dance, classical, jazz. I don't even like jazz! But the PiDAC+ has an ability to open up your ears to music you never thought you'd like ! Even my daughter's Taylor Swift album sounded unashamedly delightful! Sigue Sigue Spuntik anyone? Before I could congratulate myself for having over the years ripped all of my albums to FLAC, I discovered that even my lowly downloaded MP3s sounded astonishingly good! Calvin Harris' Sweet Nothing (Dirty Loud Remix) threatened to stretch and pull this tiny device to infinity and back, but never once did this tiny powerhouse lose it's footing whilst delivering a beautifully detailed wide, deep and clean sound scape. My Kestrel's are seemingly enjoying the workout from their new instructor as Primal Scream (another great Scottish invention) take music to unimaginable places on Vanishing Point. My oh my....that bass! My speakers haven't sung so sweetly since the good old days of the Linn Sondek LP-12 turntable. Could this mini-digital setup finally trump vinyl? It certainly gives it a run for it's money. Hearing your favourite albums on the PiDAC+/PiAmp+ is like hearing them again for the first time on a newly pressed 180 gram vinyl LP (sans crackles).

This setup looks great too, with it's sturdy bolts and transparent case, LEDs winking inside, you'll not want to hide this away behind your TV - it has to be seen and heard. It's unfathomable that something this tiny, for this cost, can produce such joyous sound quality across all genres. Kudos Gordon and long may your success continue!

Vic

Giorgos | March 27, 2015

Amazing sound, good construction.