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Best raspberry pi dac

Xombul

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I discovered this raspberry hat, based on a AKM-chip, by chance ( my previous hat didn't like coffee ). The cost is less than 60 USD and the sound is very good. May be it could be worth to have it tested?
 
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Ras Pi

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PiCore is the fastest OS so far that booted very fast and I’m testing OpenWRT will keep you updated.
 

L33T

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I use ALLO BOSS v1.2 on all my PI`s, it`s a plugin hat, very simple to install and I use them with Volumio and it discovers all devices so then you can manage them all in one place in a web browser so available on all phones, computers etc. Output is amazing, i`ve stopped using my Audiolab and Naim DAC now, ripped all my cd`s as 320k FLAC and even the wife can use it easily.

Oh if you do order one get the PSU that they offer, theirs an upgraded one for a few pounds more, well worth it.
 

GeorgeWalk

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I use ALLO BOSS v1.2 on all my PI`s, it`s a plugin hat, very simple to install and I use them with Volumio and it discovers all devices so then you can manage them all in one place in a web browser so available on all phones, computers etc. Output is amazing, i`ve stopped using my Audiolab and Naim DAC now, ripped all my cd`s as 320k FLAC and even the wife can use it easily.

Oh if you do order one get the PSU that they offer, theirs an upgraded one for a few pounds more, well worth it.

I have the Allo Boss 1.2 on RPI with Volumio also. It sounds great. I just tried my Topping D50s on the RPI/Volumio last night I think I may use that as my main listening setup.
 

L33T

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I have the Allo Boss 1.2 on RPI with Volumio also. It sounds great. I just tried my Topping D50s on the RPI/Volumio last night I think I may use that as my main listening setup.

Oh also, i`m testing Moode Audio on a spare pi/boss and i`ll be honest it`s better than Volumio. Lately ive been getting fed up with Volumio crashing and then subsequently killing my Library index. Moode doesnt seem to have any stability issues and so far no re-indexing :) It has fewer features than Volumio but i only use radio occasionally, Air Play but most of the time i`m just running audio straight from it. Have a look if you get a chance, theirs a newer build available as i think the original dev stopped working on it.

Cheers,
 

cryptout

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Oh also, i`m testing Moode Audio on a spare pi/boss and i`ll be honest it`s better than Volumio. Lately ive been getting fed up with Volumio crashing and then subsequently killing my Library index. Moode doesnt seem to have any stability issues and so far no re-indexing :) It has fewer features than Volumio but i only use radio occasionally, Air Play but most of the time i`m just running audio straight from it. Have a look if you get a chance, theirs a newer build available as i think the original dev stopped working on it.

Cheers,
I also switched from Volumio to moOde and although the feature set is a bit less the focus is clearly on stability and that's much more important imho. Also the community and the main developer(s) seem very friendly and interactive. http://moodeaudio.org/forum
 

Blackfear

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I have the Allo Boss 1.2 on RPI with Volumio also. It sounds great. I just tried my Topping D50s on the RPI/Volumio last night I think I may use that as my main listening setup.
Hi George, can you briefly describe sound difference between Boss and Topping, I suppose that topping should be different league ?
Thanks
 

GeorgeWalk

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I haven't done any detailed comparisons, but it sounds to me like the 50s has more dynamic range which gives me the sense of more detail to the music. To me, the music sounds cleaner, crisper, and better defined than with the Allo Boss. I still like the Allo Boss, I just think for my main room system, I like the 50s better.
I am planning on doing a comparison with my headphones this weekend.
 

mkt

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Picoreplayer to Topping D50s via USB has none of the pops that I was getting with the D30 between tracks with different samples rates (all FLAC).

D50s gets my vote for best RP DAC.

EDIT: I find the ability to connect by Bluetooth neat, too. And having a volume control is handy.
 
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0bs3rv3r

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Oh also, i`m testing Moode Audio on a spare pi/boss and i`ll be honest it`s better than Volumio. Lately ive been getting fed up with Volumio crashing and then subsequently killing my Library index. Moode doesnt seem to have any stability issues and so far no re-indexing :) It has fewer features than Volumio but i only use radio occasionally, Air Play but most of the time i`m just running audio straight from it. Have a look if you get a chance, theirs a newer build available as i think the original dev stopped working on it.

Cheers,

Yeah, Volumio crashes all the time here. I leave the pi powered on, and I'd be lucky if it stays working for more than a day or two. Moode, on exactly the same hardware, has never crashed yet - not even once!
 

0bs3rv3r

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Picoreplayer to Topping D50s via USB has none of the pops that I was getting with the D30 between tracks with different samples rates (all FLAC).

D50s gets my vote for best RP DAC.

I get no clicks or pops with a lowly Topping D10. Maybe it's because I upsample everything to 24 bit 384 kHz?
 

xxiii

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There are many streaming options, depending on your exact requirements and detailed in assorted Pi-related threads on this site. If you're more specific we may even be able to point you to the details.
Hi! I listen to music through a web browser on the site Yandex Music on a laptop with windows (https://music.yandex.ru/users/*username*/tracks). Tidal doesn't listen much. I am looking for a device to listen to music through the browser without changes (без пересжатия). Just as the operating system of the hi fi player (for example fiio m6) does. I'm not sure that windows gives this feature (bit perfect [без пересжатия]). And Pi -- compact \ inexpensive \ can be carried at home. For Pi there is a system or a way to output the bit perfect from any program to the DAC (external-usb or special for Pi dac ? 2020-01-11_200215.jpg
 
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JoachimStrobel

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This a bit besides this thread but: I tested a Rasp4 with Volumio feeding a NanoAvr (with Dirac) via the R4’s Hdmi port. I tried it as a stand-alone player and as Roon bridge. While streaming via LAN to such a small silent box is a great technology, I concluded that a HDMI cable straight from the PC to the NanoAVR via Wasapi sounds better, both for 2Ch but also for Mch (Ok, the PC has a nice housing and sits in an isolated enclosure with just a small hole for all the cables)
I hope that one of these I2S add-ons will eventually have a decent HDMI implementation, until then I move my R4 elsewhere.
 

0bs3rv3r

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I run Volumio on various flavors of Raspberry Pi and have not had a crashing issue.

I know some people do not have the problem. Unfortunately that gives the developer an excuse to never fix it. Hence I moved on to Moode. Tim seems to fix problems in Moode, even if they only occur for a minority of users. Much better attitude.
 

gfx_1

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Picoreplayer to Topping D50s via USB has none of the pops that I was getting with the D30 between tracks with different samples rates (all FLAC).
Was the D30 on the same system?
In a terminal window one can see what bitrate is send to the DAC with ALSA, when using PulseAudio it just resamples.
$ cat /proc/asound/card*/pcm*p/sub*/hw_params

Ah I see now that the D50s has a display for bitrate.

On topic: I have this one not a DAC just an optical/coax out https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32641236759.html
 
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mkt

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Picoreplayer to Topping D50s via USB has none of the pops that I was getting with the D30 between tracks with different samples rates (all FLAC).

D50s gets my vote for best RP DAC.
EDIT: I find the ability to connect by Bluetooth neat, too. And having a volume control
Was the D30 on the same system?
In a terminal window one can see what bitrate is send to the DAC with ALSA, when using PulseAudio it just resamples.
$ cat /proc/asound/card*/pcm*p/sub*/hw_params

Ah I see now that the D50s has a display for bitrate.

On topic: I have this one not a DAC just an optical/coax out https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32641236759.html
Exactly the same system and setup. (I double checked now, and with the D30 it's not a gentle pop either!)
Thanks for the new command to see the bitrate. The D30 has no display, but the info is in LMS too.

My impression is that there are fewer problems with optical/coax out, and I thought about adding one of those boards. However, it didn't seem to fit in the touch screen case that I'm using, but I could be wrong. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0153R2A9I
 
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