Best raspberry pi dac

[somebodyelse]

I think those limitations are down to the configurations Volumio, HifiberryOS etc. are using to get the combination of features they want rather than limitations of the underlying drivers or hardware. You could try filing a bug report / enhancement request where you feel they've got it wrong - if you're lucky it'll get fixed, and if you're unlucky you'll find out what tradeoff they've made that requires it to be that way. I've not looked at the HDMI details, but I imagine the audio side may be affected by the changes on the GPU driver side, and could be more of a moving target.

 

[zacster]

I have both the HifiBerry DAC+Pro and the Allo Boss and I like the Boss better, but the Hifiberry is also good. That said, I also just got a Topping E30 external USB/SPDIF DAC and it is really good and has replaced the Boss in my main system.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

I think those limitations are down to the configurations Volumio, HifiberryOS etc. are using to get the combination of features they want rather than limitations of the underlying drivers or hardware. You could try filing a bug report / enhancement request where you feel they've got it wrong - if you're lucky it'll get fixed, and if you're unlucky you'll find out what tradeoff they've made that requires it to be that way. I've not looked at the HDMI details, but I imagine the audio side may be affected by the changes on the GPU driver side, and could be more of a moving target.

I did compare Hdmi 96khz/24 bit via Oppo into NanoAVR and Volumio RAAT - Hdmi 48/16, using Qobuz 96/24 bit Material via Roon. The winner is.... Volumio. So yes, downconversion seems bad, but there is more..

 

[ex audiophile]

I recently put together a Pi 4 running picoreplayer into a Topping D30 (USB interface). It's OK except there is pop/click when switching sample rates (i.e., 16/44.1 track followed by 24/96 track). Do the other Toppings have that problem? I'm thinking it's something about the USB/DAC but I didn't find clear info anywhere.

[Pi 4 -> Benchmark DAC3 via USB was fine, and a miniDSP with squeezelite -> Topping 30 via coax was fine, too]

Is it important to avoid a fan when building a raspberry pi for audio streaming use? If so, do the "cooling cases" do the job?

 

[Silver1omo]

Is it important to avoid a fan when building a raspberry pi for audio streaming use? If so, do the "cooling cases" do the job?

Are you using a hat DAC or USB? A hat would limit the case options.
I have a fan in the pi 3b+ and do not hear a difference with or without it. But my amp is a bit noisy.
Without the fan I had to restart the pi every week or so, with it I have not needed to in over 3 weeks.

 

[ex audiophile]

Are you using a hat DAC or USB? A hat would limit the case options.
I have a fan in the pi 3b+ and do not hear a difference with or without it. But my amp is a bit noisy.
Without the fan I had to restart the pi every week or so, with it I have not needed to in over 3 weeks.

thanks, it would be USB.

 

[Silver1omo]

thanks, it would be USB.

I'd go with a fan + heatsink, most 5v fans will work well out of 3v and be fairly silent.
But for merely music streaming a passive cooling case should be enough.

 

[sychan]

I'd go with a fan + heatsink, most 5v fans will work well out of 3v and be fairly silent.
But for merely music streaming a passive cooling case should be enough.

You can also underclock your RPi, basic streaming isn't very compute intensive. No reason to really run your clock faster and generate waste heat.
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/11/musings-raspberry-pi-3-b-touch.html

 

[Sukie]

Is it important to avoid a fan when building a raspberry pi for audio streaming use? If so, do the "cooling cases" do the job?

If you're just streaming then you shouldn't need a fan. I have an RPi4 with a FLIRC case. I run it 24/7 and it isn't too hot.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

I'd go with a fan + heatsink, most 5v fans will work well out of 3v and be fairly silent.
But for merely music streaming a passive cooling case should be enough.

I have the Argon One case on two RPI4s. Awesome case. It has a fan. I programmed the fan to run at 55, 60, and 65 degrees. It never comes on. The temperature rarely gets about 40 degrees. If I run a stress test, it might get to 50 degrees.

You don't need a fan, but it is nice to have if it is needed.

 

[ex audiophile]

I have the Argon One case on two RPI4s. Awesome case. It has a fan. I programmed the fan to run at 55, 60, and 65 degrees. It never comes on. The temperature rarely gets about 40 degrees. If I run a stress test, it might get to 50 degrees.

You don't need a fan, but it is nice to have if it is needed.

Thanks a lot. I’m just learning about these devices to serve as a streamer and Roon end point. It would have to be wireless and as I understand it these require an Ethernet connection.

 

[rkbates]

Thanks a lot. I’m just learning about these devices to serve as a streamer and Roon end point. It would have to be wireless and as I understand it these require an Ethernet connection.

I have a Pi 4, standard case with no fan or heatsink, and it runs at 76 degrees (Volumio, only 2-3% CPU load when playing) due to bad location and zero airflow. A Pi 3 in the same location (Rasplex) runs at 48 degrees with 38% CPU load. The Pi 4 throttles back automatically at 80 degrees, so next time I'm buying Pi stuff I'll order a heatsink (they seem to be good for about 5 degrees reduction) but wouldn't worry about a fan because of the noise.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

I have a Pi 4, standard case with no fan or heatsink, and it runs at 76 degrees (Volumio, only 2-3% CPU load when playing) due to bad location and zero airflow. A Pi 3 in the same location (Rasplex) runs at 48 degrees with 38% CPU load. The Pi 4 throttles back automatically at 80 degrees, so next time I'm buying Pi stuff I'll order a heatsink (they seem to be good for about 5 degrees reduction) but wouldn't worry about a fan because of the noise.

The fan on the Argon One is programmable. I only hear it when I make it run at 100%. At 35% and 65% it is nearly silent.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

Thanks a lot. I’m just learning about these devices to serve as a streamer and Roon end point. It would have to be wireless and as I understand it these require an Ethernet connection.

You don't need a wired ethernet. They work fine with WiFi.

 

[rkbates]

The fan on the Argon One is programmable. I only hear it when I make it run at 100%. At 35% and 65% it is nearly silent.

Thanks - looks like a better option

 

[sychan]

You don't need a wired ethernet. They work fine with WiFi.

Some people claim that running the WiFi on your RPi degrades audio performance and they recommend ethernet or an external dongle. I had noise after setting up a PecanPi streamer, and tried it wired (wifi disabled entirely) vs using WiFi and it did not effect the noise I heard. Ultimately the noise I heard seemed to be EMI coming off the PecanPi streamer getting picked up by my amp. A different amp, with apparently better shielding eliminated the noise. You might be able to hear the difference, or maybe you have equipment that can detect the difference, but I didn't notice an issue with running wireless, just an issue with EMI.

 

[Silver1omo]

You can also underclock your RPi, basic streaming isn't very compute intensive. No reason to really run your clock faster and generate waste heat.
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/11/musings-raspberry-pi-3-b-touch.html

So even after underclocking/undervolting my pi3b+ is hitting ~60C. Not critical by any means.
Adding a Noctua NF-A4x20 5V on top of the hifiberry DAC+ gets it to ~45C.

I guess the hat is acting as a heat trap.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

But do components not age faster when heated?

 

[Silver1omo]

Should depend at what temperature they are rated.
In any case, the fan is silent enough for me, so it will stay there.

 

[GeorgeWalk]

Some people claim that running the WiFi on your RPi degrades audio performance and they recommend ethernet or an external dongle. I had noise after setting up a PecanPi streamer, and tried it wired (wifi disabled entirely) vs using WiFi and it did not effect the noise I heard. Ultimately the noise I heard seemed to be EMI coming off the PecanPi streamer getting picked up by my amp. A different amp, with apparently better shielding eliminated the noise. You might be able to hear the difference, or maybe you have equipment that can detect the difference, but I didn't notice an issue with running wireless, just an issue with EMI.

There where complaints that earlier RPIs (before RPI 4) had issues because the USB and networking shared some common components/bus that there was a performance degradation. I did have a problem with a cheaper headphone amp HAT that WiFi EMI would get into it.

This is one of my current rigs. The RPI4 is in the middle running WiFi only. No problems and no noise. It is running PiCorePlayer which I really like.