Orchard Audio has launched an $800 “PecanPi Streamer Ultra” that adds a 5-inch touchscreen to the Raspberry Pi 3-based audio streamer. Orchard is also prepping a “PecanPi USB/SPDIF” DAC and amp that overrides your computer or phone audio.

Last year, Orchard Audio found success with a well-reviewed PecanPi DAC Raspberry Pi add-on and PecanPi Streamer device based on it. Now, the company has returned with a PecanPi Streamer Ultra, a larger, 195 x 120 x 100mm variant of the Streamer with a 5-inch, 800 x 480-pixel touchscreen. Orchard Audio also teased a PecanPi USB/SPDIF (see farther below).

PecanPi Streamer Ultra
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The Ultra is available on pre-order for $799.95, a discount from the $849.95 retail price, with shipments “in time for the holidays.” Along with adding the touchscreen, the PecanPi Streamer Ultra is redesigned so that all the Raspberry Pi and DAC ports are available on the back of the unit. It also upgrades to higher quality RCA components.

Otherwise, the PecanPi Streamer Ultra offers the same functionality as the Streamer, with the same PecanPi DAC Raspberry Pi add-on card and the same Raspberry Pi 3B. The standard PecanPi Streamer now sells for $500, up from the earlier $400 pre-order price. Like the Streamer and DAC, the PecanPi Streamer Ultra defaults to pre-loaded Volumio software , with optional Rune Audio, Roon end-point, moOde Audio, and PiCorePlayer.

PecanPi DAC (left) and original PecanPi Streamer
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The PecanPi DAC, which replaced Orchard Audio’s earlier ApplePi DAC, now sells for $275, up from $225. As before you can essentially build your own Streamer by adding a la carte accessories including a volume control POT (potentiometer) to the DAC and a WiFi/BT equipped Raspberry Pi.

The PecanPi DAC inside the Streamer and Ultra features dual TI Burr-Brown PCM1794A PCM1794A DAC chips configured in monaural mode. There is also a Crystek CCHD-575 oscillator, among other components.

The DAC offers up to 192kHz sampling rates and up to 24-bit bit rates. With XLR output, the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is 130dB and the Dynamic Range (DNR) is 125dB. With RCA output, the specs are 127dB SNR and 121dB DNR. (For more details, see our earlier PecanPi DAC and PecanPi Streamer report.)

 
PecanPi USB/SPDIF

The PecanPi USB/SPDIF will launch over the next month at an undisclosed price. Equipped with a USB port and digital SPDIF (or S/PDIF) interface, the device is designed to bypass the DAC inside your PC, laptop, tablet, or phone to offer higher quality audio.

PecanPi USB/SPDIF
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The appears to offer a version of the PecanPi DAC that is controlled by the USB connected device as a peripheral rather than with a built in Raspberry Pi. The device uses an XMOS asynchronous USB interface chip to decode high-resolution data streams “with up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution through its USB connection, so you can enjoy better-than-CD audio quality,” says Orchard Audio.

 
Further information

The PecanPi Streamer Ultra is available on pre-order for $799.95 if you use the discount code “preorder50” at checkout. The retail price will be $849.95. Shipments should arrive in late November. The PecanPi USB/SPDIF, meanwhile, should go on sale within the month at an undisclosed price. More information may be found on Orhcard Audio’s PecanPi page.