My x86 + Khadas TB Volumio implementation

Good evening,

I wanted to build a standalone player + dac for my bedroom system to pair with either a power or integrated amplifier and my B&W DM12 speakers.

I had an Intel NUC DE3815TYKE (ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en … tykhe.html) which I got from an ad for 50 euros in brand new state. As you can see from the photos there is a metal stand that hold the ssd case in place. There’s plenty of room underneath for a dac.

This NUC has a couple of extra USB headers on the motherboard plus a custom solutions header. The best dac for my case was the Khadas Tone Board: credit card sized, only 13mm in height if you remove the RCA’s and can be connected through usb (power and data) and I2S. In order to fit the TB and the new RCA’s I had the ssd stand and the VGA plug removed from the case. I did a bit of drilling to make the RCA holes larger and I used three layers of 2mm carton to fill the hole.

I de-soldered the TB RCA’s but I kept a small part of their pins because I found it easier to solder on them than trying to fit the interconnect cable on these small holes. I used silver plated cables to make the interconnection between the 40pin header from the TB to the USB header on the motherboard (don’t ask me why, I just did). The spacers that come with the TB were perfect for this case! I drilled four holes on the bottom of the case and used the small ones to hold the dac. I had to cut the top mounting screws a bit to fit perfectly and on top of them I placed four hollow plastic spacers to hold the ssd since I had the metal bracket removed. A bit more soldering and that’s it!

I updated with the new 1.02 firmware and installed the latest Volumio x86 version (2.565) and connected to my amplifier. I love the sound of it, I think it’s fuller and brighter than the ESS 9018 dac that my amplifier has but I have to do some more listening to be sure. I’m very happy with the result!

Total cost was:

  • 50 euros for the NUC + 13 euros for power supply
  • 105 euros for the TB
  • 15 euros for cables, RCA’s, etc

Total cost: 170 euros for a standalone Volumio player with integrated dac and up to DSD256 native support. Not bad…

Pros:

  • This particular NUC case is perfect for the cause! No fans, HDMI, fast ethernet, USB 3.0 and more USB 2.0’s than you’ll need, plenty of space to add more RCA’s at the back (for the SPDIF), small dimensions and can be placed vertically or behind a monitor with it’s vesa adapter
  • It has a 4GB eMMC that you can use to install a Linux OS or even Volumio (on a newer kernel I suppose) and drop the ssd. Then you can add a larger dac.
  • The Khadas TB is very small and has a very good sound quality for the money. It can also be ordered on request without the RCA’s as I’m told in the Khadas forum (forum.khadas.com/t/connecting-t … ?u=koozoop)
  • Hardware volume on the TB. Can be used directly with a power amp. I think of a Parasound ZAMP v3.0 or an Emotiva as a perfect match for small rooms mainly because of the audio sense trigger they implement.

Cons:

  • Not the fastest cpu but it gets the job done. Response is slower than my Odroid C1+ but it is more compatible.
  • The leds on the the NUC and are too bright for me, mainly because I keep it in my bedroom.
  • DSD stutters on 256 if played by 10/100 ethernet. Otherwise it is perfect.

I would like to hear your opinions and ideas.

Thank you for your time!

Photos:

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