Improve Raspberry 4 streamer

[somebodyelse]

I had also seen that one, but I think the fact it only takes m.2 is quite limiting. Music doesn't necessarily require the speed of an SSD (though the quietness is convenient), so a high capacity HDD would also be an option.

It absolutely doesn't need the speed of the SSD. I don't think a 2.5" drive quite fits in their footprint which is a shame if the HDD is quiet enough.

 

[aandres_gm]

It absolutely doesn't need the speed of the SSD. I don't think a 2.5" drive quite fits in their footprint which is a shame if the HDD is quiet enough.

The one I posted does have enough space for a 2.5" drive, which made it very attractive to my eyes.

 

[Gekel]

Then you don't need a fan at all. Even a Leopard II tank is totally quiet as long as you don't start the motor...

 

[officialsm]

In order to give you feedback my Moode 7.2 uses less than 300 GB memory ram to play a 24/192 streaming song. So you can use Raspberry 4 with 1 GB ram

 

[Phorize]

Hi, with room 21-22° C the RAsp cpu temperature is around 55-58° C

You can get that down to high 40s with a good passive heatsink case, like one from akasa. Mid 50s is still ok though. Do you use camilladsp?

 

[Phorize]

Do you think something like IFI PURIFIER added on usb could helps?

No, any decent dac (ie most) will handle noise from the usb without issues.

 

[Phorize]

Moode Audio sounds promising and it looks like I can read locally stored files as data source.

Do I need a Pi 4 with 8GB RAM or is 1/2/4GB enough?

One gb will be fine for an audio application.

 

[Phorize]

If i can do something to have better audible improvements.

Using dsp will improve things if done right. You can’t improve the sound of a device that doesn’t have a sound in the first place.

 

[officialsm]

You can get that down to high 40s with a good passive heatsink case, like one from akasa. Mid 50s is still ok though. Do you use camilladsp?

I cannot change case because i have a custom one with power on/off management board and custom oled display. I can only add heatsink into my one.

 

[officialsm]

Using dsp will improve things if done right. You can’t improve the sound of a device that doesn’t have a sound in the first place.

Is not clear to me how use Camilla DSP. Could you helo me posting link to how-to?

 

[Phorize]

Is not clear to me how use Camilla DSP. Could you helo me posting link to how-to?

This is a highly simplistic hint to get you going. Doing you own custom configuration is a bit more involved; I’ll find a link:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/moode-7-1-and-camilla-dsp.21609/

 

[somebodyelse]

Then you don't need a fan at all. Even a Leopard II tank is totally quiet as long as you don't start the motor...

Correct - for typical audio use it's a little overspecified, and a model variant without the fan would be adequate if they made one. For me it's the other features that make it a good overall package - the power switching, IR receiver, full size HDMI sockets and directing connections to the back. I'd prefer a slightly larger version that could run flat out without a fan, but for audio use that's not necessary.

 

[Gekel]

One gb will be fine for an audio application.

Didn't find one and the price for a 2GB version also wasn't too high - especially when comparing the total cost of the pi4 plus alu case plus high end sd card vs an All USBBridge plus case (plus potentially a shanti power suplly)

 

[Tangband]

I am using too a RPI 4 running PiCorePlayer with Topping D10s feeding SPIDF AES into my Genelec 8340 active speakers. So far, I am pretty happy with the outcome especially considering what I spent in comparison to 4-5 times more expensive streamers.

Can you use the volume software in RPi4 so that the spdif output is working with variable volume control ?

 

[Raindog123]

So you are suggesting to put a heat sink on top of Rasp with good thermal paste. Correct?

This integrated enclosure/heatsink from Flirc works well for many of us.

 

[gvh1234]

If you are only streaming music then a Pi4 is overkill and a 3 or even a 3a will do fine and run much cooler. I've built players with all 3 types. (squeezebox and LMS)

 

[SolderSurfer]

Off the shelf USB power packs use a switching regulator to make 5V from the battery voltage. Many of the DAC boards use multiple regulators, including a switching one to make the -ve voltage rail for the output opamps. You need to look at the specifics to see if a separate PSU will improve anything.

Good point,

Off the shelf USB power packs use a switching regulator to make 5V from the battery voltage. Many of the DAC boards use multiple regulators, including a switching one to make the -ve voltage rail for the output opamps. You need to look at the specifics to see if a separate PSU will improve anything.

Off the shelf USB power packs use a switching regulator to make 5V from the battery voltage. Many of the DAC boards use multiple regulators, including a switching one to make the -ve voltage rail for the output opamps. You need to look at the specifics to see if a separate PSU will improve anything.

Good point, "Off the shelf USB power packs use a switching regulator to make 5V from the battery voltage", which could reintroduce noise that you were trying to reduce. You would need the battery directly connected to a linear power supply and bypass the switching regulator.

 

[robca]

If you are only streaming music then a Pi4 is overkill and a 3 or even a 3a will do fine and run much cooler. I've built players with all 3 types. (squeezebox and LMS)

Not really. It depends on the DAC you use. If you use an I2S DAC, then yes, RPi4 is overkill

If, on the other hand, you want to use a (usually better) USB DAC, then there are quite a few well documented cases where the RPi3 USB implementation (shared with networking) can cause audible glitches. Given that the cost differential of a RPi4 over an RPi3 is negligible, especially once you add everything else you need to make it work, including your time to setup things, using an RPi3 is a bad tradeoff, IMHO. A lightly loaded RPi4 doesn't need cooling

A 1Gb RPi4 costs exactly the same as a 1Gb RPi3, and 1Gb is more than enough. Why would anyone buy an RPi3? You need a case anyway, and a cooling case costs just a little more over a non-cooling case. And you have better future proofing

 

[gvh1234]

Absolutely.
My kitchen Pi is a 3a and hifiberry DAC. Super compact. Office Pi uses a 4 to a Khadas tone Pro

 

[Sprint]

Can you use the volume software in RPi4 so that the spdif output is working with variable volume control ?

Yes, I can either use the volume control either in my iPENG app or Material skin or LMS. All work very well. However what I do is that I keep the digital volume to max and use my wireless volume controller of my Genelec 9101B to lower the volume. I do this so that the Genelecs get max volume and the amps inside my Genelecs do not have to work very hard. I find the resolution also better this way.