IQaudIO.com

1,647 orders since Mar 29, 2014

Cricklade, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Ships from United Kingdom.

Custom Work Available

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Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.89)

Documentation: (4.37)

Shipping: (4.56)

Communication: (4.66)

All Reviews

Alan | Jan. 6, 2015

Amazingly versatile, well designed, brilliant sound quality.

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I previously used the Pi-DAC that fits the plain old model B Raspberry Pi and I was very happy with it. To my ears, I could not fault the sound at all. Combined with Runeaudio on the Pi, the DAC was natively supported and there was no technical issues to worry about. Less time fighting with cryptic software issues means more time listening to tunes of course!

I've since upgraded to this Pi-DAC+ for the model B+ Raspberry Pi. It brings the same sweet sound via the RCA sockets, but in addition it brings a headphone amplifier and the headers required for the Pi-AMP+ to connect with if you choose that option. With the four 12mm standoffs (provided) it forms a very strongly braced unit.

The headphone amplifier is clean and clear, and seems to have plenty of power. I tested with only basic headphones, and I genuinely look forward to listening with more demanding phones later. All indications are that it will be equally impressive as the RCA outputs.

An audiophile quality DAC with strong output, hardware controlled volume, a quality headphone amplifier, and seamlessly integrates with the Pi-AMP+... It's really an amazingly versatile device especially considering the price. I would buy again and recommend to it anyone chasing an quality source for their system.

To boot, Gordon is active on the Volumio, Runeaudio and likely other forums, helping users and taking in feedback. He clearly stands behind his gear.

Thomas | Dec. 28, 2014

Works as expected

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Attaching the audio card to my PI was as easy as promised and the sound is as good as I expected.
Some questions I had concerning the card were answered fast and exhaustive by IQaudioIO.

John | Dec. 24, 2014

IQAudio DAC Review

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I'm a huge fan of audio and Raspberry Pi's. Nothing better than combining the two hobbies. I have fiddled around with the "other" HAT boards and they are okay but prefer the sound of the IQAudio DAC+. Then to add to the story I started getting into higher resolution audio and bought some 192/24bit music and realized that it choked on the other HAT board. I literally tried everything and just couldn't get higher resolution files to play via MPD.

Then I installed the IQAudio DAC and to my surprise 96/24bit stuff played perfectly. Then I played 192/24bit stuff and it worked pretty great except for the occasional hiccup. I then added a buffer command to my mpd.conf file and overclocked the Pi just a hair and it plays back the high res stuff perfectly.

If you are just ripping CD's at 44.1/16 bit just about any DAC will do but if you want higher resolution music on a Raspberry Pi music server this is the ONLY suitable choice and again it sounds better than the other guys.

Just buy this DAC. It's easy to set up, the sound quality is better, and it plays high resolution music CORRECTLY. The other guys claim to but I'll be darned if I could make it work.

Response from IQaudIO.com | Dec. 25, 2014

John, thanks for the kind words.

192/24b is a large amount of data - so if you find that music stutters you may want to look at hard wiring via ethernet rather than using wifi.

Best regards,

Gordon

Nicolas | Dec. 17, 2014

Great extension to your Raspberry Pi B+

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I got very impressed with such a small device.
Not as good as a high-end audiophile DAC (200x more expensive), but awesome for what it can deliver.
Works brilliantly with piCorePlayer, used in conjunction with a dedicated VortexBox PC!
Can natively play tracks up to 24/192KHz without a glitch.
Highly recommended.
Quick delivery too.
Thanks!

Guillaume | Nov. 17, 2014

very good product

For Pi-CASE+ for Pi-DAC+ or Pi-DigiAMP+

Works as expected
Good shipping

Henry | Nov. 13, 2014

Great DAC

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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.

Niels A | Nov. 12, 2014

Great product and service

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

A bargain. Just awaiting the amp now!

David | Nov. 7, 2014

IQ Audio DAC for Raspberry PI

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

There's not much to say. Installation is easy, Once on the Pi it works as a Squeezebox touch. Today I A/B compared it to a £400 highly rated Arcam Air DAC that's getting rave reviews in the HI-FI press. I, and the owner of the DAC could discern no difference.
It's a no brainer. Just buy it.

Jibu | Oct. 19, 2014

Great Product & Great Service

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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.

George | Oct. 16, 2014

Spectacular audio card for the Raspberry Pi b+

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Not only is the IQaudio Pi-DAC+ a spectacular audio card for the Raspberry Pi b+, but the level of support is excellent. The do it yourself audio player offered by Volumio is my choice as it is not only easy to use, but the community of members supports a quality forum with answers to questions and an area to contribute directly to it's success. Everything is open source! The IQaudio PiDAC+ has a built in headphone amplifier along with line out to feed external amplifiers and speakers. The audio is HD quality. Shipping is from Scotland via Royal Mail. Delivery was fast all the way to Hawaii, less than one week. Do make sure that an adequate power supply and cable is used to power the Raspberry Pi b+, 5V @ 2 amps is recommended. That way USB hard disk drives and USB WiFi adapters will operate properly. Technical audio analysis is available on the IQaudio web site. This product receives my WoW award!

George | Oct. 16, 2014

Spectacular audio card for the Raspberry Pi b+

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Ezio | Oct. 12, 2014

Very nice case

For Pi-CASE+ for Pi-DAC+ or Pi-DigiAMP+

This case is very nice and well built and sturdy.

Ezio | Oct. 12, 2014

The best dac for Raspberry PI

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

The best dac for Raspberry PI, I use it with MacIntosh and Magneplanar, Yamaha and B&W, at last with Sennheiser Momentum. The sound is beautiful!

Jason | Oct. 7, 2014

great product

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

The DAC is super easy to install, and sounds great. I am using it with Volumio 1.41 without any problems. I currently have the DAC connected to an external t-amp and I control the volume on that device (I did lower the volume a tad in ALSA as suggested by a few online forums). If you want to control the volume of the headphone amplifier you will have to get hardware volume control on the DAC up and running, and instructions are provided in the documentation to do that.

Emailing the developer results in a speedy and very informative response. I feel this support (as well as the sound) may be the killer feature for this DAC.

I look forward to trying out the IQaudio amp in the future.

Alain | Sept. 8, 2014

Wow ! Just wow !

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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 !

Pedro | Aug. 4, 2014

Very good product, right documentation and communication

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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.

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