Watch this space, I’ve bought a Raspberry Pi Tube Headphone Amplifier. I’m building it as we speak, I have NOOBS issues at the moment, should be fixed this afternoon!
I ordered this crowd-funded project in June ’16 on Kickstarter, see this link. My amp came last Friday. I’m using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. Total cost so far, $119, plus £33 for the Pi (the second Pi in the household), plus a new micro SD, £5. I’m looking for a serious sound at a budget price, we will see. The Pi HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) I am fixing to the Pi features a THD PCM5102 DAC that supports 24 bits, to 192kHz.
My plan is to see what I can do to get Tidal streamed on the Pi, then through my Tube amplifier. I’ll get a line into Mr Z and see what can be done.
Anyway, it is fun and I think it will sound good. Any comments (or help) welcome.
Technical Specifications
Raspberry Pi ® HAT Compliant Size w/40-Pin mating connector
24-Bit DAC – The well regarded -112db THD PCM5102 is used to convert the I2S Stream to drive the Single Triode Tube Stage at 24-Bit up to 192Khz Frame Rate
Tube Rolling – The 503HTA supports both 12AU7( ECC82) or 6922/6DJ8 (ECC88) type tubes. Individual Anode Bias Adjustments plus selectable Series/Parallel Heater Drive ensure the perfect setup for virtually any tube!
Headphone Out – Rugged 3.5mm Jack plus selectable output resistance between 1.5, 32 and 100 ohms.
Gain Select Switch – 3 Gain settings allow the user to select the output voltage to the optimal level for each Headphone. Settings (based on 12AU7) provide approximately 2V, 4V and 6Vrms.