SPDIF questions

[toneboy1]

Hi,

I got some more inside to this topic meanwhile. Unfortunately I am not allowed to post links, but I will try my very best.

• I found a block diagram for the Tinker Board S, that shows S/PDIF is derived from the Realtek ALC4040 sound codec and not from the processor itself
  
• In the same block diagram I found evidence, that the pad marked PWM is connected to a PWM output from the processor and not to Ground as stated elsewhere
  
• There is no further datasheet available for the ALC4040, so we don't have a chance for further insight on what kind of S/PDIF is supplied on the pad
  
• There is no schematic available for the Tinker Board S that gives a hint on the output stage of the S/PDIF pad
  

In total we are facing hard limits for serious tinkering with the tinkerboard. Let's try to investigate further.

Connecting my Digital Sampling Oscilloscope to the S/PDIF while playing some music to S/PDIF with Volumio I end up in

• Finding the expected HF signal on a frequency around 20MHz
  
• The signal has an asymetric Vpp of 3.8V as far as I can measure --> it is a TTL signal in fact
  
• Screenshot in the attachment
  

Conclusion

• The S/PDIF pad does not supply an S/PDIF signal
  
• The S/PDIF pad provides a signal that can be used to drive an optical transmitter like like Cliff types
  
• The S/PDIF pad provides a signal that must be conditioned with an adaptation network to connect a RCA jack
  
• The S/PDIF pad does not provide the needed ground connection to handle a HF signal in that range
  

Just connecting an RCA jack likely destroys your equipment as provided signals widely exceed the specified voltage!

Summary:
Asus does not provide S/PDIF on the S/PDIF pad. Standard conform connectivity involves an adaptation network of the, what we have is just a TTL raw signal and nothing more. The board does not have the needed HF design to provide proper connectivity. Just connecting an RCA jack will have an inferior sound quality as much of the bit information will very likely not be transmitted in a way that a receiver will decode it in a meaningful way. Jitter is preprogrammed. The voltages provided are far above the range of S/PDIF and very likely destroys a receiver.

Asus information on this and hardware documentation is literally non-existent.
How should tinkering work with such a baseline?

BR
Uwe

Hi,

Very interesting. I'm not an audio bloke, but what TTL voltages does it work at? Could I connect it directly into a pre amp?

Only just reading about S/PDIF, bought a tinker board yesterday, haven't even put an OS on it yet, there isn't much explanation as to what the actual pinout pins are, as they have all sorts of really long names.

Cheers,
R