How good are the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi 4?

[abdo123]

I just pre-ordered the Gustard X16 DAC thanks to Amir's excellent review, I have been using the internal DAC of my amplifier (Denon PMA600NE) for sometime now and i wanted a DAC with MQA capibilities.

Right now, I'm using a raspberry pi 4 with the Hifiberry Digi+ Pro (HAT) as an ADC, feeding the internal DAC on the Denon through the coax output on the ADC hat.

With the new DAC i have the option of using the USB ports on the raspberry pi or the coax from my Hat.

There is ALOT i mean ALOT of misinformation in the internet, there are even companies that made a raspberry pi with ~50 capacitors to 'reduce noise' on ONE USB port. (https://www.allo.com/sparky/usbridge-signature-pcb.html)

this forum has been honestly eye opening, objective measurings instead of 'the sound feels more open and more natural'. This is why i come with this question, can i just use the usb port on the raspberry pi? should i continue to use the SPDIF output from my hat? Should i invest in something ridiculous like the pi-based board i linked?

What are your opinions?

 

[tw99]

You can use the USB port without any concerns at all about sound quality. The only possible downside is if you happen to end up with a ground loop, in which case using optical spdif will fix it.

 

[BDWoody]

There is ALOT i mean ALOT of misinformation in the internet,

With that in mind (and not to start the debate in this thread but simply to point it out to you as someone who seems to appreciate cutting through the nonsense), there are a few threads regarding MQA you might want to check out before you spend money to get it.

Here's a 32 pager if you want to kill some time:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/mqa-sounds-really-good.9512/

 

[Sukie]

With the new DAC i have the option of using the USB ports on the raspberry pi or the coax from my Hat.

I use an RPi4 with USB out to a Topping D50s DAC and it works well - no problems. Earlier version of the RPi did have some (potential) issues with USB audio, but that was all fixed with the RPi4.

You could still use the coax out, but I think I'm right in saying that a coax in to a DAC might not be fully compatible with MQA. I don't use MQA so I'm not 100% sure!?!

Also, to add to @BDWoody's point, have you got a way of getting MQA out of your RPi4? I know that there's been quite a lot of chat on here about that topic.

 

[abdo123]

With that in mind (and not to start the debate in this thread but simply to point it out to you as someone who seems to appreciate cutting through the nonsense), there are a few threads regarding MQA you might want to check out before you spend money to get it.

Here's a 32 pager if you want to kill some time:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/mqa-sounds-really-good.9512/

i just like the convenience and quality of Tidal,
it’s not as much as love for MQA but a love for lazyiness. I cannot spend money on purchasing Hi-Res albums and Qobuz masters are honestly worse than Tidal in my experience.

 

[abdo123]

I use an RPi4 with USB out to a Topping D50s DAC and it works well - no problems. Earlier version of the RPi did have some (potential) issues with USB audio, but that was all fixed with the RPi4.

You could still use the coax out, but I think I'm right in saying that a coax in to a DAC might not be fully compatible with MQA. I don't use MQA so I'm not 100% sure!?!

Also, to add to @BDWoody's point, have you got a way of getting MQA out of your RPi4? I know that there's been quite a lot of chat on here about that topic.

The DAC supports MQA natively because it is embedded on the DAC chip itself. It can do a full decode regardless of input.

so even a trashy tidal integration on a media player on the pi (Volumio) as long as the MQA file is passed through, (with or without a first unfold) it will be fully unfolded by the DAC.

 

[Sukie]

The DAC supports MQA natively because it is embedded on the DAC chip itself. It can do a full decode regardless of input.

so even a trashy tidal integration on a media player on the pi (Volumio) as long as the MQA file is passed through, (with or without a first unfold) it will be fully unfolded by the DAC.

In that case, looks like you'd be set up to use either USB or coax out of the RPi4.

 

[G-rig]

Hi guys, rather than start a new thread thought I'd ask here.

I have just built a Rpi4 to replace a CCA, mostly for gapless playback and MQA support. I'm using Volumio and Tidal Connect, all fairly slick.

Just wondering if it's worth getting one of these Pi2AES hats before they are discontinued (although the price has increased to US$200 now, plus case plus power supply). Looking to pair up with an SMSL VMV D1se (which also has I2S), and has some interesting filters that are meant to be good for adapting to different systems/genres, so I'm not worried about warm vs x sound, but appreciate clarity and separation etc. Don't see the point of all these hats and optical when you have USB/I2S etc.

Without wanting to overcapitalise too much on the Pi streamer I wouldn't mind adding worthwhile little upgrades if the source is cleaned up and actually sounds better.

Also is it worth worrying about jitter and noise management? It gets pretty complicated (and expensive) the more you read about Linear power supplies etc. There are a lot of different options for the RPi set ups, don't know what's worthwhile though. I did have a bad ground loop when i had a HDMI plugged into the tv as well, but to be honest don't need that. People seem to recommend the Allo Nirvana, Allo Shanti, TeraDak X2 & iFi Power X power adapters..

Agree with the above sentiments -there is a lot of cost associated with very marginal gains, so want to keep it fairly simple and enjoy the music

THANKS

 

[tw99]

I refer you to my earlier reply in the thread USB will give you perfect results, the only reason to use a HAT with optical is to avoid ground loops (which show up as hum/noises in the audio). I2s, power supplies etc is a waste of time.

 

[G-rig]

I refer you to my earlier reply in the thread USB will give you perfect results, the only reason to use a HAT with optical is to avoid ground loops (which show up as hum/noises in the audio). I2s, power supplies etc is a waste of time.

Thank Christ for that
I've been doing a fair amount of research so it sounds like needn't worry myself with a lot of the high end addons and flim flam..
Edit: I was getting a bad ground loop but turns out the culprit was the HDMI-micro adapter+cable to the TV. Didn't need that plugged in anyway (the Volumio web interface is handy and can shut down using that, not that i'd really bother and just leave the Rpi4 on all the time i think).

So no need to an upgraded USB cable either - a short one would nice for aesthetics, but I think $100 for an audioquest cinnamon is a bit of a flog too.

 

[somebodyelse]

So no need to an upgraded USB cable either - a short one would nice for aesthetics, but I think $100 for an audioquest cinnamon is a bit of a flog too.

Use the site search for thread titles containing the words usb, cable, review to see how much (or little) difference that will make.

See also https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-quality-of-coax-input-matter-for-dacs.27259/ for some recent coverage on digital interconnects. Note that coax spdif is often (but not always) transformer coupled to avoid ground loops - you'll see the transformer on the HifiBerry Digi2 Pro but not the Digi+ Standard for example.