Rolling Another DAC-Off ~ Elekit PS-3249R vs Schiit Modi Multibit 17Mar25

Ok, the "integrated" Elekit delta-sigma DAC is now optimized to the extent I want to take it (see prior post). But, it's still just an OK DAC serving in a keen system. Can I do better but stay cheap? I was impressed with Schiit's "True Multibit" tech when I did a DAC-off for the NestDesk, that included their Bifrost... it didn't win against the Denafrips Enyo 15th, a true R2R DAC, but it was close. So, keeping with the small and frugal tone of this whole kit, I bought the least expensive "multibit" DAC I've ever seen, the $300 Modi Multibit, to trial it and bake off against the incumbent Elekit DAC. The Schiit seems16bit internally to me but handles 24bit/192KHz (and that's what's advertised for its bit depth/sample rate). I could throw in the miniDSP 2x4HD again with these other DACs, but it's just not as good when EQ isn't needed. The SPL sweeps comparing the DACs were largely indistiguishable ~ as I've seen before. I will use my ears on headphones and from the fab FrugalHorns.

The Schiit ModiMB2 was just better than the "integrated" Elekit 3249R DAC so I'll be adding it to the EleFrugalKit. While listening to key passages on Phoebe's, Molly's, and AJ's works was great on the FH3s, it was a challenge to find sharp differences as I A-B compared the DACs. I liked the low range on the ModiMB2 more but that was about it. On headphones however the differences were more noticeable; the ModiMB2 sounded more defined, was "faster" tracking on decays, and it was more dynamic sounding. Perhaps it's not just the "multibit" nature of the ModiMB2 but also the difference in how the DACs are powered ~ the Elekit is powered from the attached PC USB (which is potentially noisy) and the ModiMB2 has a keen AC wall adapter. 

So, the Modi Multibit 2 is "in" the Blodgett Living Room Kit now.

Upgrading BC20X Battery Awareness ~ Installing the Victron Battery Monitor 15Mar25

Normal stock battery monitoring in an RV typically only provides an instantaneous measure of voltage. One actually needs to draw some on the battery bank to determine it's true state. Plus, once fully charged, it's total amp-hour capacity can be measured and a relative percentage remaining can be derived at any future point. My Victron BMV712 Smart Battery Monitor is the right kit for the job in our Basecamp 20X... it uses a custom shunt to draw and measure current; it even connects to my phone via Bluetooth. I installed it today; that turned out to be more of an issue from a mechanical access standpoint than anything else. Getting to the batteries beneath the front bench, beneath the sealed bonnet in which they reside was arduous and tight and required pulling off the front panel and removing all hookups before doing the install. I did install the shunt on the inside of the panel adjacent to the removable piece ~ tight but doable. I installed the monitor UI on the removable panel after sawing a 2" hole in it. The install was electrically simple after I got some 6 gauge connectors and "stole" some 6 gauge wiring from one of the existing runs. Thank goodness, one 50' spool of 8 strand 6 gauge is $80!

Yeah... charging now after long term lack of use AND older batteries. That's the next step, to see if the current batteries are good enough for the coming season... looking a bit dubious thus far.

Season Starter In 11 Mile Canyon ~ Huge Fish Day, Almost 13Mar25

I headed out to fish the South Platte in 11 Mile Canyon and arrived @ 10am on a crisp & chilly 45° day. I counted 20 cars on the way up the road to the final bridge. I loaded new Ghost Bomber with money midges and maroon PopTops I tied last night and set off. I could see plenty of fish but didn't even get a strike till afternoon. The water was cold but the fish seemed active; many were doing spawn stuff. Ultimately at 1:30pm, the bite came on as I was making my way back to the car to bail. I started catching fish above the hot corner then did plenty right at the hot corner. I caught a half doz fish in the span of just an hour!

It was a great hour except when I hooked into a huge ~24" 5#er and fought for about 10mins. I had him close to net on several occasions but he'd go on another run. He ultimate got downstream of me, but I kept up, and was headed for a party of fishermen in the hole below the hot corner. All were watching the match between me and the chunkster; a woman from the party chose to "help" with her big net but attempted to scoop from the tail side... when he splashed she hit my line and he and my rig were gone. Bummer. Kind of a reminder to do your own netting, not knowing the skills of others.

Stopped at Trinity on the way home and got a gift for Scott... maybe it was about my lost fish too.

Rolling OpAmps In The Elekit DAC ~ In Search Of Cheap Best 12Mar25

I renamed the living room stereo to EleFrugalKit and relocated its amp to a more secure location... and now there is plenty more experimental rolling fun afoot.

Rolling DAC Op Amps... The Blodgett Living Room (BLR) stereo based on DRC FH3 FrugalHorns is awesome, but is any audio guy ever done? Next up toward "DIY cheap best" is rolling the opamps in the Elekit PS-3249R 16bit/48KHz DAC. The op amps in this circuit are the gain stage to drive the line out. This DAC includes a 8 pin DIP socket for a 2 opamp circuit 8pin IC... the circuit layout is the same for all these ICs, as shown for the OP275. I bought some appropriate alternatives to the stock NJM4580 for about $8 each in single quantities...  Analog Devices LT1364, TI OP2132, TI OP275, Analog Devices AD8512. I looked for low noise, pinout equivalence, and solid audio frequency performance and linearity. For the last AD one I needed to also buy a 8SOIC to 8DIP package converter as it didn't come in a PDIP pkg. Here I will characterize and hopefully measure the differences that these alternatives make in the sound from the whole kit, and settle on the best opamps.

The discernible differences among contenders was subtle. Frequency sweeps and distortion plots don't offer much ~ with the exception of the re-packaged 8512. It was noticeably noisier with higher distortion than the other opamps. Who knows if it is my repackaging to a viable carrier to plug in the socket, or the IC itself. Whatever, it was the 1st to be eliminated. The room, cabinets, and drivers dominate the SPL frequency sweeps and distortion measurements. My ear is the guide here both from the FH3s and from headphones, and LT1364 and OP275 were just better than the stock 4580 and OP2132. The 2132 though is quite good but with higher noise & distortion (the distortion graph below is the 2132); it is the 2nd eliminated. The LT1364 & OP275 were clearer and sparklier in voices and and strings, they each sizzled nicely across the freq range. The ultimate winner is the Linear Technologies LT1364 ~ it was just more coherent and rounder sounding to my ear ~ and it delivered a smidge more thump from the FH3s.

A Couple Of Nice Days Fishing ~ BobR Came Out 10Mar25-11Mar25

Fishing is good on the PT @ NC recently... as the cold snap ended and I returned to the Front Range, while fighting off strep, I headed down to Pueblo to fish the Arkansas tailwater on some gorgeous 70+° days there. It was a blast with the cutbow spawn begun, large and strong fish are more available. Fish are colorful with males sporting hook jaws and females loading eggs. On the first day down there, likely due to the nice day and reasonable 120cfs flows, it was pretty crowded all along the Nature Center section. I toted the 8.5' 5wt Rodfather Ghost Bomber to cheat the wind a bit and get it some more experience. GR8 fun. My GoPro was dead from lack of use so I one-handed with the camera. I landed a half dozen or so very strong fish, the biggest of which was 19" ~ blood midge, sunny side up egg, and midge larvae & emergers were all effective. My Perdigon weight took nothing; it's too early for mayflies... best weighted fly is the egg; best fly overall was my "maroon" PopTop. I enjoyed a Space Force hazy at Red Leg on the way home. Fine day.

I decided to head down again while I can and cajoled BobR to come out for an outing. We had another good day with Bob getting into some fish and my having another ~2/hr day there on the NC section. Bob used the RF Bombadeer most of the day and I again was wielding the Ghost Bomber. I neglected to get the duo selfie but at least I had the GoPro charged. The same bugs were effective with likely the blood midge as the major producer but emergers like the Awesome and PopTop worked well too. No 20"ers yet though.

March Music Appreciation ~ YT/YTM History Month 09Mar25

I've been able to do some listening on the new EleFrugalKit 2 channel stereo here in COS ~ so good & so much fun. For this month I just plucked some notable recent drops of many new but a few older artists. The offers are listed chronologically but notable for sure is that "I'm With Her" dropped their first single from their next album AND announced a new tour stop in Denver at the Paramount on 15Oct25 ~ we have row 7 center VIP tickets! Also, I just heard Gabe Quinn; wow, spectacular alt-country. Enjoy.

• Katie Gavin “Casual Drug Use” & “Inconsolable” On WFUV 15Feb25 ~ Knew her first in leading Muna and collab with Phoebe Bridgers; she’s very good.
  
• Gabe Quinn Various on OurVinyl 17Feb25 ~ First session I’ve seen; spectacular alt-country… great musician, beautiful voice, stellar writing.
  
• Soul Asylum - Various On The Current 18Feb25 ~ Back to MN; they’re old now but still cool; raised on The Replacements… another killer alt northern tier alt band.
• Catbite - Die In Denver OV 24Feb25 ~ Love ska punk pop; great band with everybody on hockey skates… go Philly.
• BIIRD “The Rollover” OV (but live) 22Feb25 ~ 11 piece all female Irish band; mad skills.
• Cory Wong & Sammy Rae “Bennie and The Jets” cover 03Mar25 ~ Cool combo from Wong of Vulf with Sammy’s keen jazz voice.
• I’m With Her “Ancient Light” OV 04Mar25 ~ 1st single from new album ‘Wild and Clear and Blue.’
  
• Hannah Wicklund Various Live @ The Troubadour 06Mar25 ~ Straight ahead rock ’n’ roll and blues; good guitar and voice.
• Anni DiRusso “Good Ass Movie” OV 07Mar25 ~ Cool music and songs and sometimes good voice… more Nashville.

Blodgett IoT Upgrades & Extensions ~ Zooz Gear @ Home 08Mar25

I wanted to add especially flood sensors to the Blodgett IoT network, for the dishwasher on the main floor and the H2O heater on the lower level. The Fibaro stuff I've used before is old, ZWave 400, and expensive. I discovered a new vendor, Zooz, with a bunch of good sensors, strong support for SmartThings, and all having the most modern and secure ZWave 800 chips/support alongside their older versions. They are a tad expensive on Amazon but I bought it all from Smartest House for 60% of that. Their stuff is not only modern & secure but very well designed & packaged... and all the stuff is absolutely tiny with long lasting & larger batteries. Great job product design. So, I not only got the moisture sensors but a temp sensor, an open/close sensor, and a motion sensor, for next steps in other Blodgett situations, and to test their range. My experience thus far on these sensors is 5 stars for size, user manual, and operation (including "add device"). The product part of this company is well run. Of course the biggest issue with all this automation, whomever the vendor, is batteries ~ sure every sensor provides alerts when they are low on battery but do you have the right one and do you even remember where you put the sensor? With 2 houses I tend to use a lot of this stuff, so the tasks are doubled, but I need the insights. I appreciate the progress and compatibility, even though I know Samsung knows which room I am in and when, and at what temperature I take a spa and when, but I need the insights.

I get appropriate and timely alerts from my IoT installs and despite my general paranoia, my system is not harvesting bitcoin against my knowledge, nor sending data to China, nor participating in ganged robotic DoS attacks ~ it is just doing as I've asked, alerting me to issues. And, while I've expunged Google from the domicile (except for YouTube, can't do that), my biggest risks are likely from Apple, who is listening on the spy pucks and likely every search. Heck, disappointingly, even Mozilla/Firefox have given up the mantle of data privacy under the current administration... they'll sell what they know about you... grrr.