2012-07-18

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD Sound Card RMAA test report

"Audiophile Performance, Convenient Connectivity, USB Simplicity" - that is Creative Sound Blaster Digital Music Premium HD (X-Fi HD).

Below is a RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) audio test.
See also a 96 kHz test here.


Testing chain: line-out (24-bit, 48 kHz) -> line-in (24-bit, 48 kHz).
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB : +0.02, -0.07
Noise level, dB (A) : -102.0
Dynamic range, dB (A) : 102.0
THD, % : 0.0031
THD + Noise, dB (A) : -87.0
IMD + Noise, % : 0.0043
Stereo crosstalk, dB : -97.2
IMD at 10 kHz, % : 0.0064


Frequency response


Noise level


Dynamic range


THD + Noise (at -3 dB FS)


Intermodulation distortion


Stereo crosstalk


IMD (swept tones)

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD Sound Card inside

"Audiophile Performance, Convenient Connectivity, USB Simplicity" - that is Creative Sound Blaster Digital Music Premium HD (X-Fi HD).

See also an RMAA audio test of this sound card.


CA0189 - highly-integrated, high-performance system-on-chip.
STM 33078 - dual operational amplifier.
...
Can be used with a little hard driven headphones.


X-Fi USB HD

2012-06-27

FTP service rising up by CentOS 6.2

Get the minimal ISO image from
ftp://mirror.xxx.yyy/centos/6.2/isos/x86_64/CentOS-6.2-x86_64-minimal.iso
where mirror.xxx.yyy can be checked from mirror list http://www.centos.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=30

have installed...


# yum update
# reboot
# yum remove kernel-2.6.32-220.el6.x86_64
# yum install man
# yum install traceroute

# yum install ntp
# vi /etc/ntp.conf
(edit)> server <X.X.X.X>
(edit)> restrict 192.168.1.0 mask 255.255.255.0 nomodify notrap
# chkconfig --level 3 ntpd on
# service ntpd start

# vi /etc/rsyslog.conf
(uncoment)> $ModLoad imudp.so
(uncoment)> $UDPServerRun 514
# kill -HUP $(cat /var/run/syslogd.pid)

# yum install cronie
# service crond start

# yum install logwatch

# chkconfig --level 3 iptables off
# service iptables stop
# chkconfig --level 3 ip6tables off
# service ip6tables stop

# service --status-all
# chkconfig --list | grep '3:on'
( # find /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/ -name 'S*' | sort )

# chkconfig --level 3 nfslock off
# service nfslock stop
# chkconfig --level 3 rpcbind off
# service rpcbind stop
# chkconfig --level 3 rpcidmapd off
# service rpcidmapd stop
# chkconfig --level 3 rpcgssd off
# service rpcgssd stop
# chkconfig --level 3 netfs off
# service netfs stop
# chkconfig --level 3 fcoe off
# service fcoe stop
# chkconfig --level 3 lldpad off
# service lldpad stop
# chkconfig --level 3 iscsid off
# service iscsid stop
# chkconfig --level 3 iscsi off
# service iscsi stop

# adduser -c "<User Name>" -m -u 1001 -g users -G wheel <login>
# passwd <login>

# vi /etc/aliases; newaliases

# vi /etc/pam.d/su
(uncoment)> auth required pam_wheel.so use_uid

( if sudo installed
# vi /etc/sudoers
(uncoment)> %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
)

# vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
(edit)> PermitRootLogin no
# kill -HUP `cat /var/run/sshd.pid`

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network
(del)> GATEWAY=<X.X.X.X>
# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
(del)> DNS1=<X.X.X.X>
(del)> DOMAIN=x.y
...(less /etc/resolv.conf)
# service network restart

# vi /etc/hosts
(edit)> 127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.yyy.local
(edit)> ::1 localhost localhost.yyy.local
(edit)> 192.168.1.1 xxx xxx.yyy.local

# yum install telnet
# yum install bind-utils
# yum install ftp
# yum install elinks

# yum install vsftpd
# chkconfig --level 3 vsftpd on
# setsebool -P ftp_home_dir 1
(“vsftpd 500 OOPS: cannot change directory: /home/<login>” error for local users with SELinux)
# touch /etc/vsftpd/chroot_list
# chmod og-r /etc/vsftpd/chroot_list
# vi /etc/vsftpd/chroot_list
(edit)> <login>
# vi /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf
(edit)> xferlog_std_format=NO
(edit)> ftpd_banner=Welcome to My Nightmare...
(edit)> chroot_local_user=YES
(edit)> chroot_list_enable=YES
(edit)> session_support=YES
(edit)> local_umask=002
# rm /var/log/xferlog
# mkdir /home/ftp
# chcon -h unconfined_u:object_r:user_home_dir_t:s0 /home/ftp/
# mkdir /home/ftp/pub
# vipw
(edit)> ftp:x:14:50:FTP User:/home/ftp/pub:/sbin/nologin
# vi /home/ftp/pub/robots.txt
(edit)> user-agent: *
(edit)> disallow: /
# service vsftpd start

# groupadd --gid 50000 ftpadmin
# groupadd --gid 50001 ftpusers
# useradd --comment "FTP Admin" --uid 50000 --gid ftpadmin --groups ftpusers -M --home /home/ftp --shell /sbin/nologin admin
# passwd admin
# useradd --comment "FTP User1" --uid 50001 --gid ftpusers -M --home /home/ftp/user1 --shell /sbin/nologin user1
# passwd user1
# mkdir /home/ftp/pub/pub
# chgrp ftpadmin /home/ftp/pub/pub
# chmod g+w /home/ftp/pub/pub
# mkdir /home/ftp/user1
# chown user1 /home/ftp/user1/
# chgrp ftpusers /home/ftp/user1/
# chmod o-rx /home/ftp/user1/
# chmod g+w /home/ftp/user1/

...

2012-06-01

AudioCodes MP-112 inside

AudioCodes MP-112 analog VoIP gateway inside images.
  • 2 FXS ports
  • G.711, G.723.1, G.726, G.729A, EG.711, G.722
  • MGCP (RFC 2- 05), H.323 (V4), SIP (RFC 3261)

Chips:






2012-05-11

MEIER-AUDIO CORDA ARIETTA headphone amplifier inside.

MEIER-AUDIO CORDA ARIETTA headphone amplifier inside - pics, chips and schematic...
The middle switch is for a low level crossfeed filter.
See also an audio RMAA tests here.


CORDA ARIETTA


Chips:
  • IC1-IC4 - LM6171 (High speed unity-gain stable voltage feedback amplifier)
  • IC5-IC6 - BUF634T (250mA high-speed buffer)
  • IC7-IC8 - DB107 (Bridge rectifier)
  • IC9 - LM7815 (Voltage regulator)
  • IC10 - LM7915 (Voltage regulator)





Schematic of the amp is similar to that shown below are taken from earler article of Jan Meier named "A DIY Headphone Amplifier With Natural Crossfeed by Jan Meier".


A DIY Headphone Amplifier
With Natural Crossfeed


 Power supply


Some info from Meier's site:
  • $240,- outside EC.
  • The CORDA ARIETTA is a small budget-amp with a big sound. It has a detailed and natural sound. There is a touch of warmth that makes this amp slightly forgiving. A very nice entry amp for a really nice price!
  • Maximum amplification factor 3.0 (+ 10 dB).
  • Maximum output voltage 13V.
  • Maximum peak output current 250 mA.
  • Crossfeed filter (stereo, low).
  • Gold-plated input jacks.
  • Silver plated headphone jack (Neutrik).
  • Silver plated heavy duty switch.
  • Alps Blue Potentiometer.
  • 3.2 Watts toroidal transformer.
  • 110V and 220V selectable.
  • Power uptake 2 Watts.
  • Built-in groundloop breaker.
  • Low impedance electrolytic buffer capacitors. Total Buffer capacity 28.000 uF.
  • Ceramic bypass capacitors in the power supply.
  • Polystyrol and polypropylen capacitors in the signal path.
  • Metalfilm resistors in the signal path.
  • Double sided PCB.
  • LM6171 opamps biased into class-A.
  • BUF634 buffer amplifiers at each output channel.
  • Star-ground and ultra short signal paths.
  • Signal paths and signal path components at the bottom side of the PCB for maximal shielding.
  • Sturdy aluminium enclosure.
  • Weight: 0.8 kg.
  • Size: 18.0 x 10.7 x 6.1 cm.


P.S.
Outdated product.

2012-05-10

LG BD600 Blu-ray player

LG BD600 inside.


Specifications:
  • 2TB USB HDD support
  • HDMI output 1080p 24/60Hz
  • BLU-RAY / BD-ROM / BD-R / BD-RE
  • DVD+-R (DL) / DVD+-RW (DL)
  • CD-R / -RW
  • DVD-Video / CD-DA
  • MKV / DivX HD / MPEG4 AVC (H.264) / MPEG2 / SMPTE VC1 / AVCHD / ...
Chips:
  • CPU - ?
  • NAND Flash - SAMSUNG K9F1G08U0D-SCB0
  • 1Gbit DDR3-1333 (9-9-9) - 2 x SAMSUNG K4B1G1646G-BCH9
  • Dual low noise operational amplifier - 4580M E1
  • 1A Low-Voltage Low-Dropout Regulator - 2 x LM37102
  • Synchronous Step Down Dual Buck Switcher - TPS65252
  • ? - BD7175FS
  • ? - 1848
  • ? - 125 5555
  • ? - 125 R2A3



2012-05-06

ZyXEL Keenetic Lite

ZyXEL Keenetic Lite Rev.B