A Raspberry Pi as a music server

[Berwhale]

At another forum, someone gave me this list of OS to try:
Moode
Volumio
Archphile
CollybiaOS
PiCorePlayer/LMS
Gentooplayer
Rune
I might test them all

Also...

https://ubuntu.com/appliance/plex

 

[somebodyelse]

Also...

https://ubuntu.com/appliance/plex

Not previously mentioned because Ubuntu's appliance line have only just appeared I think. Plex has been around for some time. Can't comment on what it's like as I've never tried it.

 

[Berwhale]

Not previously mentioned because Ubuntu's appliance line have only just appeared I think. Plex has been around for some time. Can't comment on what it's like as I've never tried it.

Yes, that's why I thought i'd mention it. I've run Plex for many years (I bought PlexPass Lifetime in 2013) and the music side has been enhanced significantly over the last few years (integration with Gracenote, separate music app, etc.). I don't use Plex often for music, but when I do, it seems to work fairly well.

 

[somebodyelse]

Yes, that's why I thought i'd mention it. I've run Plex for many years (I bought PlexPass Lifetime in 2013) and the music side has been enhanced significantly over the last few years (integration with Gracenote, separate music app, etc.). I don't use Plex often for music, but when I do, it seems to work fairly well.

I always got the impression from the web site that you needed to sign up for an account to use it, which put me off. Is that correct, or did I just misunderstand? When I looked I was using LMS and MythTV anyway, and it looked like I'd have to pay to get equivalent capability so I didn't bother trying it.

 

[JRM_PT]

Thank YOU ALL! I'm connected to the Pi!

 

[JRM_PT]

I always got the impression from the web site that you needed to sign up for an account to use it, which put me off. Is that correct, or did I just misunderstand? When I looked I was using LMS and MythTV anyway, and it looked like I'd have to pay to get equivalent capability so I didn't bother trying it.

You're right about the sign up, it's necessary.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

Let me try this here: ADC and R4.
I like to add a ADC board (like from HiFiBerry) to digitize Vinyl and send it out of the HDMI port, to be fed into a Dirac DRC unit. It seem that only Volumio can do that, HifiberryOS can not. But Volumio charges 60€/a for that! Are there other options? Via USB?

 

[somebodyelse]

Let me try this here: ADC and R4.
I like to add a ADC board (like from HiFiBerry) to digitize Vinyl and send it out of the HDMI port, to be fed into a Dirac DRC unit. It seem that only Volumio can do that, HifiberryOS can not. But Volumio charges 60€/a for that! Are there other options? Via USB?

You could try PiCorePlayer running LMS with the WaveInput plugin. I haven't had cause to try it so can't say for sure that it would work.

 

[JRM_PT]

Good news. Configuration has progressed well. I've also installed Squeezer 2.1.0 and was able to establish connection between my Nokia 7.1 and the Pi4. Tomorrow I'll setup the USB HDD. Than I'll have to make the small oled display to work and to check SSH connection. Oh! and check that Material Skin Plugin!

 

[JRM_PT]

Material Skin: Running (a tad slower to load than the Squeezer app)
SSH connection: perfect on my mobile
Missing: the setup of the USB HDD
Driving me nuts: make the oled to work properly.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

I just changed my Raspberry Pi 4 over to running PiCorePlayer from Volumio. So far, I like it better. I had issues with Volumio suffering dropouts glitching the sound. It hasn't happened with PiCorePlayer so far.

I am using RPI4 -> USB -> Topping D50s -> Parasound 200 Preamp

 

[TheWalkman]

Not one to leave well enough alone, I couldn't resist building a Raspberry PI 3A+ based Volumio server. This is a neat option.

I'd never really found much use for the Pi 3 A+ - it always seemed like a bit of a step child revision - but this may be a perfect application. The quad core processor seems to be much more responsive and well suited to the task.

I'm storing all of my music on an internal 64gb high endurance sd card. It uses an Apple USB C DAC with a USB A to C converter to connect to my stereo input. I'm connecting to my network with wireless.

I had issues on the Pi Zeros when trying to copy additional music files to the internal card - I received memory error messages even though I had nearly 30 gb available - but no issues so far on the Pi 3.

Power consumption is low and the form factor fairly small. It's all mounted mounted in a C4 case.

This 3A+ version may be the keeper!

Postscript: I have noticed that unlike the PiZero which has a green power LED, the 3A+ has a very bright red power LED that stays lit all the time which is a bit annoying in a bedroom at night. Other than that, I really like this setup.

 

[endrus]

Which Pi to buy in 2020?

My system plan is to feed the signal into the Topping E30 DAC (DAC only bypassing the internal pre-amp) via USB or coaxial.
The RCA out from the DAC would go into the Musical Fidelity power amp via a tube pre-amp and eventually to the three-way speakers.

So the question I am mulling over is which Pi device to buy?

Pi3B is powerful enough to to the streaming job, feed on half the power, generate half the heat and electric noise / interference?
Pi4B is more advanced (is it really needed for music application?) need a fan, better power brick, better implemented USB, however can be equally configured to choke.

So if I am to use the USB connection to Topping E30 DAC which device choice is better? Pi3b or Pi4b?
Would the allo Digi+ One HAT improve sound quality having it connected via coaxial to the same E30 DAC? And should I make a different Pi purchase in this case?

I know there are numerous ways to skin a cat but either way you would need that poor cat.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

Which Pi to buy in 2020?

My system plan is to feed the signal into the Topping E30 DAC (DAC only bypassing the internal pre-amp) via USB or coaxial.
The RCA out from the DAC would go into the Musical Fidelity power amp via a tube pre-amp and eventually to the three-way speakers.

So the question I am mulling over is which Pi device to buy?

Pi3B is powerful enough to to the streaming job, feed on half the power, generate half the heat and electric noise / interference?
Pi4B is more advanced (is it really needed for music application?) need a fan, better power brick, better implemented USB, however can be equally configured to choke.

So if I am to use the USB connection to Topping E30 DAC which device choice is better? Pi3b or Pi4b?
Would the allo Digi+ One HAT improve sound quality having it connected via coaxial to the same E30 DAC? And should I make a different Pi purchase in this case?

I know there are numerous ways to skin a cat but either way you would need that poor cat.

I am using the PI4 now with my players. You don't need a fan; just a good aluminum case that acts as a heat sink. My PI's never get over 45C. I have the fan programmed for 50C @35% and it never comes on. The PI also split the network and USB interfaces for better performance. I have two player setups with PI4 using PiCorePlayer:
RPI4 -> D50s->Atom Amp
RPI4 -> D10s-> Parasound 200 Pre Amp

 

[somebodyelse]

I'd get the Pi 4 - the only down side I see is the extra heat, and there are several cases that provide more than enough passive cooling for audio streaming (Flirc and Argon notably, but plenty of others on amazon, ebay etc.) and it's improved since initial release thanks to software updates anyway.

The digital hats will work around the potential USB glitch issue for Pi <4 but will have a lower maximum sample rate than the USB connection to the E30. Note that most of the heatsink cases won't accommodate the hat.

 

[mnemonix]

Which Pi to buy in 2020?

Pi4 + Moode -> Topping DX3 pro over USB.

There's no need to scrimp on the Pi, you're barely saving any money, but don't buy a plastic/official case, the Pi4 runs warm and needs at least a good metal heat sink case.

Darko would have you believe the Pi USB sounds "metallic" compared with the Allo DAC. Needless to say this only further convinced me to go USB because... Darko; and as somebodyelse said, a hat limits your choice of cases.

 

[Sukie]

Which Pi to buy in 2020?

A great harmony has broken out as we all sing from the same hymn/song sheet.

RPi4 made improvements on the RPi3 regarding USB audio functionality. For my money, that alone means that the RPi4 is the right choice. It also means that you don't need to worry about a Digione or other SPDIF-out HAT. Of course you can get one of these, but the general consensus appears to be that they're not necessary.

Complete agreement on the case. No fan needed, although some might disagree. I have the FLIRC aluminium case and this keeps things cool enough. Using an RPi4 as a music streamer means that you're not running it at full capacity.

Darko would have you believe the Pi USB sounds "metallic" compared with the Allo DAC. Needless to say this only further convinced me to go USB because... Darko; and as somebodyelse said, a hat limits your choice of cases.

In total agreement with this. We need to put to bed the nonsense that an RPi configuration alters sound quality. Issues in functionality are not issues in SQ, they are about whether or not things work! When connected to a good DAC (which the E30 definitely is) you will have no problems with SQ whatever set up you go with. Rule of thumb with an RPi - if it costs a lot, it's probably unnecessary (but spend a tiny bit extra on a decent case!)

 

[endrus]

Darko would have you believe the Pi USB sounds "metallic" compared with the Allo DAC. Needless to say this only further convinced me to go USB because... Darko; and as somebodyelse said, a hat limits your choice of cases.

I was ruminating on the videos of Hans Beekhuyzen who sounds more knowledgeable than other paid preachers...
...and the info found on archimago.blogspot.com.

In general what I found a bit misleading in RBP streaming topic is the mix-up of information. There has been a progressive evolvement in technology and software over the years and what worked well in 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 is not the best solution in 2020. When you read through forum posts they are diluted with urban legends or historic information that is irrelevant in today.

 

[Martin]

I replied early on in this thread; at the time I was running Volumio on my 2GB Raspberry Pi 4. I finally got fed up with the slowness and lag trying to run a full server on the Pi. My music is on a Synology NAS and I had Logitech Media Server installed on it from when I used a Logitech Touch. I replaced Volumio with piCorePlayer and could not be happier. I use iPeng to control it from my iPhone. Having a client on the Pi and the server running on the NAS does not have the slowness and lag I suffered trying to run a server (Volumio) on the Pi.

Synology discontinued support for Logitech Media Server but that's been picked up by pinkdot: https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?111876-LmsUpdate-and-LmsRepack-Synology-8-0-*-packages.

I'm running Logitech Media Server (LMS) 8.0 on my NAS and could not be happier with the performance and stability of the server, piCorePlayer client and iPeng app. As a bonus I can use SoX on the LMS to run equalization.

My DAC is a Topping DX7 Pro. I'm quite happy with my setup.

Martin

 

[endrus]

A great harmony has broken out as we all sing from the same hymn/song sheet.

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.

What is the preferred and recommended route to connect local music library with Pi + MoOde?

USB HDD into Pi
USB HDD into router
NAS drive
anything else?