Reviews
David Blumenstein – Dagogo
Review in the works.
Srboljub Stojanovic – Is it Worth it (iiWi) Reviews (May 2023)
“It sounds very detailed, open, and neutral.” and “The sound fidelity is absolutely great.”
Gene Hopstetter – Secrets of Home Theater & Hi-FI (April 2023)
“I started hearing a surprising depth of inner detail and a vast soundstage from FLAC files I did not think possible with my system…” and “The sound quality of the new DAC with the AKM chips alone makes the PecanPi+ a great deal. This component does quite a few things, and it does all of them well.”
Paul Cash – Hi-Fi Trends (March 2023)
“The result is a clean, detailed, and dynamic sound that should impress even the most discerning audiophiles. I haven’t heard a streamer (or DAC) under $1000 that sounds as organic as the PecanPi+.” and “The transparency and richness of the various textures in the music I was listening to were off the charts.”
Specifications
XLR Output (including headphone driver):
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 133dB (A-weighted)
Residual Noise: 1.174uV (A-weighted)
Dynamic Range (DNR): 129dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) @ 0dBFS: -116dB or 0.00016%
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) @ -6dBFS: -119dB or 0.00011%
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 22kHz @ 48kHz sample rate
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 44kHz @ 96kHz sample rate
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 88kHz @ 192kHz sample rate
Output Voltage: 5.22Vrms (+16.6dBu)
RCA Output (including headphone driver):
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 128dB (A-weighted)
Residual Noise: 1.308uV (A-weighted)
Dynamic Range (DNR): 124dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) @ 0dBFS: -112dB or 0.00025%
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N) @ -6dBFS: -116dB or 0.00016%
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 22kHz @ 48kHz sample rate
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 44kHz @ 96kHz sample rate
Frequency Response: DC (0Hz) to 88kHz @ 192kHz sample rate
Output Voltage: 2.61Vrms (+10.6dBu)
Balanced Headphone Output:
Power into 32Ω: 1.7W peak
Power into 150Ω: 363mW peak
Power into 600Ω: 90mW peak
Output Impedance: < 60mΩ
Regular Headphone Output:
Power into 16Ω: 851mW peak
Power into 32Ω: 425mW peak
Power into 150Ω: 91mW peak
Power into 300Ω: 45.5mW peak
Output Impedance: < 550mΩ
Input Power:
Input Connector: Barrel Plug, 2.1mm I.D. x 5.5mm O.D. x 9.5mm
Input Voltage: 9VDC
Input Power: 20W Max (w/ Raspberry Pi)
S/PDIF (coax) Input
See General section below.
General:
Sampling Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, and 384kHz (S/PDIF limited to 192k)
Bit Rates: 16, 24 and 32-bits (S/PDIF limited to 24-bits)
Formats: Supports all formats. DSD is converter to PCM before playback.
DAC Compatible Rpi Models: 1B+, 1A+, 2B, 3B, 3B+, 4B, Zero, & ZeroW
DAC Compatible Asus Models: Tinker Board & Tinker Board S
Size:
Streamer / Ultra: 195 x 120 x 100mm (7.7 x 4.75 x 4.25in)
DAC: 97mm (3.82”) x 78.5mm (3.09”) x 38.1 mm (1.5”)
Implementation
DAC chip:
— Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) flagship AK4499EXEQ combined with AK4191EQ
Clocking:
— Crystek CCHD-575 oscillator — ultra-low clock jitter of 82fSec
S/PDIF Receiver
— Cirrus Logic CS8416
Output stage: True balanced, fully differential output stages
— Uses OPA1612s
— Low Noise Panasonic Resistors
— Proprietary filtering topology
Ultra-low noise linear power supplies:
— LT3045 (0.8uV noise) for positive op-amp power supply
— LT3090 (18uV noise) for negative op-amp power supply
— LT3042 (0.8uV noise) for DAC Chips
Headphone driver:
— Dual parallel OPA1622s (regular headphones)
— Quad parallel OPA1622s (balanced headphones)
PecanPi+ Test Results
SNR (A-wt) XLR Output 
Dynamic Range XLR Output 
Jitter Spectrum and Noise XLR Output 
THD+N vs Level XLR Output 
THD+N Ratio vs Freq XLR Output 
Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) XLR Output 
Multitone XLR Output 
SNR (A-wt) RCA Output Dynamic Range RCA Output 
Jitter Spectrum and Noise RCA Output 
THD+N vs Level RCA Output 
THD+N Ratio vs Freq RCA Output 
Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) RCA Output 
Multitone RCA Output
