IQaudIO.com

1,647 orders since Mar 29, 2014

Cricklade, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Ships from United Kingdom.

Custom Work Available

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Sorry, we're no longer selling on Tindie. Come over to www.Pi-Shack.com to buy IQaudIO products.

Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.89)

Documentation: (4.37)

Shipping: (4.56)

Communication: (4.66)

All Reviews

Andrew | Feb. 14, 2015

One of the best sounding DACs out there

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

This product is fantastic. I have a highly tuned set of ears due to my profession and can't find fault with this DAC. The fact the manufacturer leaves options for the user to expand it is fantastic. Documentation expands the usability and it also has great software support. I can't reccomend enough..

Aaron | Feb. 10, 2015

great sound!

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Hi there, got my IQaudio DAC+ and Cear case in two weeks sent to Australia. I connected it up with my Pi-2 following the instruction, took about 5 minutes, its as easy as putting together LEGO, and tried Volumio 1.55...It
all booted up nicely (first go), I was impressed with the 'beefy' sound the DAC produced via my PrimaLuna Integrated valve amp...

The headphone amp sounded pretty good as well, not as spacious as my PONO player, it would be good if the headphone amp switched off external speakers when you plug in headphones, but I imagine thats a software thing...?

All up an excellent product, highly recommended!

Tim | Feb. 8, 2015

Simply fantastic and hope this will encourage others

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Objective was to have my music files ripped to FLAC format play through my amplifier, although Sony have a device that caters for this it costs over a £1000, I did all what that can do for £80.
OK, I’m old school and have listened to my music for the last 40 years when it used to be a celebration playing an album. You would read the sleeve from front to back and place the vinyl on a state of the art turntable connected to a quality amp pumping the sound out of speakers that you had lied to your wife about the cost of. Those days have gone and the compulsion seems to be listening to tracks and not albums, it was in the early days of this technology listening to Bowie converted to MP3 format I could not understand why instruments were missing and the sound was very basic, I could not believe how much MP3 strips out so now only play FLAC lossless formats and I tend to listen to albums not just tracks.
So how was I going to playback all this stuff stored on my hard drive.
What I wanted was to see all my albums listed on my phone, select an album and playback starts through my amplifier, so this is what I did to achieve this

Listed Components:
• Raspberry Pi DAC+ HAT Full-HD audio card by IQaudIO.com (tindie)
• IQaudIO.com Pi-CASE+ (For Pi B+ and DAC+) (tindie)
• Raspberry Pi B+ Desktop (700MHz Processor, 512MB RAM, 4x USB Port) (Amazon)
• Raspberry Pi UK Micro USB Power Supply (Amazon)
• Edimax EW-7811UN 150Mbps Wireless Nano USB Adapter (Amazon)
• HDMI Cable (Already got)
• Ethernet Cable (Already got)
• Samsung 32 GIG Micro SD Card (Already got)
• Voyager Air 1TB powered Hard Drive (Already got)
• Audio Phono Cable (Already got)
• HTC One Android Phone (Already got)

Software:
• Operating system image flashed to memory card ‘5_OpenELEC-RPi.arm-5.0.0_iqaudio’
(Free and supplied by IQaudIO.com with support written in for Pi DAC+)
• SD Formatter
(Free and used to format your card correctly)
• Win32DiskImager
(Free and used to flash image to memory card)
• Yatse Remote Control app for XBMC/Kodi
(Free but paid for pro version to support developer)

Process Steps:
1. Build your Raspberry PI and Pi DAC+ HAT Full-HD audio card enclosing all in the case (help from IQaudIO.com and tindie is fantastic)
2. Download all relevant software listed above
3. Insert memory card to PC and format with SD Formatter
4. Flash operating system image using Win32DiskImager to memory card
5. Now insert the card into your pi, connect to a monitor with HDMI, USB a powered hard drive holding all your media, attach Wireless Nano USB Adapter, attach Ethernet cable straight from router.
6. Now connect the power to the pi and turn on, just sit back and wait, in my case it took less than 30 seconds to boot up, I’ve read while researching that in some cases it can take a long time.
7. Once booted up you will see the XBMC/Kodi home page and this will now need setting up, loads of good Youtube videos showing how to do this, such as telling the system where your media is, setting up a wireless connection, setting the sound output to Pi DAC. As I’m running a blind system (no monitor) I double checked everything before removing from TV display. Install Yatse on your phone and it should detect your pi automatically, make sure your connected and use the app to shut down the system.
8. Now connect the pi to your amp and turn hard drive on first and then the pi and wait 5 mins or so, boot up Yatse on your phone and press and hold the Music icon and it should update and display all of the media, done

Tips:

• Set up the option to scan media library on boot up from within XBMC/Kodi

• Make sure all you music folders are properly tagged as this stops media software flirting tracks out of folders and also help’s display album art work on your phone, I used TagSanner free to download and use

• If like me you only wish to play music from your system choose to not show weather, video, photographs menus from within XBMC/Kodi and the Yatse app, this will give everything a cleaner interface

• If your hard drive is not powered use a powered USB hub

Hope this has been some help to anyone thinking of doing all this and may I stress the service and quality of hardware from both ‘tindie’ and ‘IQaudIO.com’ was great!

tj

Tim | Feb. 8, 2015

Looks very hi-tech

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

Once built it looks very good quality and reminds me of the old hi-tech very expensive Hi-Fi components sold in the 80's. Review Image

Mikael | Feb. 7, 2015

Working well

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

We are using it for a potential new client. Will keep you posted :)

Stephen | Feb. 3, 2015

Amazingly hardware for an awesome price

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Delivery 100% as promised.
I bought the DAC+ and the matching AMP+ from IQaudIO and first impressions were of superbly designed and solidly build pcb's with top quality components. Incredibly easy to load up software and test on a RaspPi B+ and over the last month I've been constantly blown away by just how good this combo sounded. Its almost shocking how well these units are comparing against my real hi-fi setup considering the vast difference in price. I'm already looking at my next project that I can use more of these units with and can 100% recommend these units. Gordon from IQaudIO also responded to any email questions I sent in super quick time so top marks for after sales service too.

Niels | Jan. 14, 2015

Great sound, good fun, small money

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

The Pi-DAC+ HAT audio card is dead-simple to install onto your RaspberryPi+, very fairly priced and excellent fun for your DIY-hifi-system-project.
I own a Lead Audio LA-100 DAC/amp wich was rated 'Product of the year" by the swedish magazine 'Hi-Fi & Musik' in 2010. It cost me about 500 dollars back then, at it was (and still is -if you can get it) a bargain, in my opinion.
Priced at less than a quarter of the LA-100, the Pi-DAC+ compares favorably to the LA-100, in terms of detail and soundstage. Not so favorably in terms of what I subjectively would describe as 'overall roundness of the sound'. I miss the smooth bass and the mellow midrange that I get from my LA, but these days I prefer, and enjoy, the Pi-DAC+, in spite of the very dry (could actually be 'more precise' bass) and the somewhat harsher treble, because it can reveal details in the music I listen to, that I have not previously been aware of. And that's great fun! Note though, that the LA-100 also sports an asyncronous usb, a coax and an optical connector, making it a very versatile hifi component.
Thanks Gordon.

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.

Alan | Jan. 6, 2015

Forms an amazing all-in-one system, potent for the size!

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

Please read my review of the Pi-DAC+ for my thoughts on it, as to use the Pi-AMP+ you'll be using the DAC as well.

The amp is dead simple to install and use, like the DAC it just plugs in and four 12mm standoffs brace it very securely. Attach your speaker wires and you're set. To avoid popping through your speakers on power up it starts muted, and an LED on the board shows this clearly. Either bridge two pins on the board with a jumper/switch, or run the commands provided on the support pages to unmute it and then the amp will sing whatever the DAC outputs.

I am frankly amazed with the quality of the output. Previously I ran the Pi-DAC's output to a Topping TP-21 amplifier and I was very happy with the sound, but there is a world of a difference with this amplifier. Most obvious is the power on tap, there is plenty for my floor standing speakers, enough so that I hope the RuneAudio software has a maximum volume setting implemented in future!

After getting past the power level, the quality of the sound impresses. Bass is defined and controlled, gaining proper detail and "texture". Through the mids and treble, everything sounds detailed and smooth, with none of the harshness that has put me off the bulk of the mid level consumer HiFi amps I've heard previously. Vocals sound amazing. I'm spending way too much time just digging through the old collection to listen to favourite tracks again.

The combination of the Pi, Pi-DAC+ and Pi-AMP+ forms a "perfect source unit" for my needs. It is tiny with a single power supply required. In the right enclosure and with a $10 USB wifi adapter plugged into the Pi, this will disappear on a shelf and produce sound that would otherwise take multiple components, power bricks and interconnects to provide. Instead of sacrificing sound quality to do this, it will likely sound better. While admittedly not having much other gear to compare it to directly, I would expect it embarrasses most entry level and mid level consumer audio components.

Obviously I'm happy with the purchase, best dollars I've spent for a long while!

Scott | Jan. 1, 2015

Pi-DAC+ w/ Volumio and Pi

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Love it. It just works and it sounds awesome. It's as big as it needs to be and not a millimeter more. Took 7 days from Scotland to Vancouver - not bad at all. There was bit of confusion on my part related to the + versions' compatibility with Volumio, but a quick search of their forum fixed that.
I would order this product again in a second.
Thanks!

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

Balraj | Dec. 17, 2014

Pi-Dac Great Dac

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

The DAC worked as advertised. Very good build quality. Has both RCA and 3.5mm jack for output. Sounds great after I run for a few hours (might have been the quality of the music I played earlier). I'm running Volumio on the Pi + Dac. Now the kids and wife can use the tablet to play their songs.

Balraj | Dec. 17, 2014

Very nice looking case

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

I have the clear case and it looks good. Case is a little tricky to put together. Only minor issue is the Pi in the case is not super secure, one end slight droops in the case.

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!

Damiano | Dec. 17, 2014

Instant installation

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Really easy to add to the Raspberry card, in a minute you get a really audiofil player.

Mark | Dec. 15, 2014

its good

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I bought two Pi B+ and one HiFi Berry+ and one IQaudio DAC+.
The IQaudio beats the HiFiBerry in terms of clarity and "air" and "spaciousness" around the music.
Identical PSU and interconnects to a NAD amp into NS1000M speakers.
Its a few more bucks than the HiFiBerry but for the extra euros you get a headphone amp and better sound quality.
Just need to get a case to jazz it up make it all beautiful :)

Thomas | Dec. 15, 2014

Excellent Product

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I'm using this DAC on my raspberrypi over ssh with cmus, in my opinion the best cli audio player out there. I love the setup and the sound quality. Thank you for this .

Guillaume | Nov. 17, 2014

very good product

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

Works as expected
Good shipping

Simone | Nov. 15, 2014

A little jewel

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Easy to mount, it plays very well all my hd music, also 24/192! A must have for all rpy audiophilies!!

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!

Franz | Nov. 10, 2014

PiDAC+ against a NAIM streamer - or David against Goliath..

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I could not believe what I heard - fed from an upnp server in my local net and attached to a densen full class-A-amp driving two audio physics speakers: incredible good !

The software in use is Volumio from Italy - the boards Raspbi B+ (!!!) , attached PiDAC+ from Scotland and a 2AMP power supply. At the beginning it took me some time to install and configure the Linux-based Volumio - but after bringing the board to sound via the earphone-interface I attached the PiDAC+, reconfigured the Volumio interfaces - worked!

Highly recommended. Now I am thinking on giving the boards as a gift to my 16 year aged nephews to onboard then to DIY electronics world ...

Matthew | Nov. 8, 2014

Very nice product

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Sounds fantastic. A++

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.

Luke | Nov. 6, 2014

Great protective housing for the Pi/Pi-DAC+

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

A little on the pricey side perhaps for what it is, but it is the only bespoke case available for the Pi/Pi-DAC+!

All-in-all, a very well made and easy to assemble bit of kit, looks great and will last forever. Really like the matt black acrylic.

Luke | Nov. 6, 2014

An amazing bit of kit, sounds wonderful.

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I was looking for a small footprint audio solution that would allow me to do away with all my CDs and have instant access to my whole music collection without sacrificing sound quality. Enter the Raspberry Pi, which I had not previously been aware of. Without any add-on, the sound from the Pi would not be exceptional, so I discovered. This Pi-DAC came highly recommended, and it has even surpassed my expectations - it amazes me that music can sound this good from something so small! Top marks to Gordon and all at IQaudIO for making such a quality product and keeping it affordable. A very satisfied customer.

Timothy | Nov. 2, 2014

Nice little case for my piCore player

For IQaudIO.com Pi-CASE (ONLY suitable for previous Raspberry Pi and Pi-DAC)

Simple to assemble. Nice and neat. Does the job nicely.

Timothy | Nov. 2, 2014

Excellent product, great sound quality

For IQaudIO.com Pi-DAC audio card

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.

Chris | Oct. 22, 2014

Pi-Dac+ sounds wonderful and is a snap to install

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

I purchased the Pi-dac+ to go with the raspberry pi b+ and volumio 1.41 (beta)
I live in the USA so, as expected it took a little while to arrive, but once it got here things went really well.
The "HAT" configuration is very easy to install. My 4 year-old daughter and I did it together.
I followed the PDF instructions which were emailed with the order and the volumio 1.41 beta thread in the forum and it worked fantastically. I'm now happily listening to my CD collection or to my iTunes via airplay or Amazon collections via android over UPnP. It even plays the high bandwidth recordings sampled at 96kHz or 192kHz and 24bits.

Gordon, the gave super fast responses on email as well.

John | Oct. 21, 2014

Great sounding DAC - I'll probably buy a few more

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

This is a fantastic DAC for your Rpi B+- I've got mine set up using Rune Audio, and I really enjoy the difference in sound quality this DAC has to offer. I have some 256kbps AAC files that you can hear "jitter" in the backing guitars on many devices; not so with the Pi-DAC+. The AAC files sound much closer to the source material (CD) with no detectable digital artifacts. FLAC files sound awesome.

I've got an idea for a car audio player using the Rpi as a base, so I'll be picking up another one or two in the near future.

Shipping to the US is a little scary - I'm sure the Royal Mail is just fine, but my local USPS carrier is a bit of an idiot. I'd love alternate carrier options if they become available.

I wholly recommend this DAC.

Mika | Oct. 19, 2014

Really recommend

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Only used for a little time but was really impressed with the quality of the sound and was of installation. I use it for squeezelite.

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.

Nikodemus | Oct. 19, 2014

Great sound and quite easy installation

For Pi-DAC+ Full-HD audio card

Great sound and easy installation, didn't found any instruction for how to install, but on the other hand it was very easy to figure out on you own!

Thanks!

Response from IQaudIO.com | Oct. 19, 2014

Hi Niko, all user documentation is on the website www.iqaudio.com, let me start adding pointers in each shipped product as a few people have missed this. I do link to the documentation on every ship notification email. Glad you were up and running quickly.

Gordon@iqaudio.com

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