MINIBOSS DAC For PI ZERO Review

[JRicoC]

JRicoC,

Glad you worked this out.

The performance is a bit slow with the Pi Zero based streamer but Volumio is a great solution.

As soon as the supply of Zero 2Ws eases up, I plan to upgrade my Mini Allo.

Based on my current, everyday driver - a Zero2W connected to a Topping D30 Pro via USB, driving an Audiophonics S400 Purifi amp, the 2W streamer works really well: it is responsive, unobtrusive, energy efficient and sounds great. I’m sure an Allo Zero 2W will be a great solution as well.

Enjoy your new streamer!

I haven't had any performance problems with the Pi Zero W (Rev 1.1). My older Volumio streamer runs on a Model B Plus, and the Pi Zero streamer is more responsive, and certainly less problematic. It may be the version of Volumio installed on each, but I'm not inclined to tinker with either ...

 

[TheWalkman]

Yeah. In the meantime, the 3A+ does the trick with the same power usage and is widely available. It works with the Allo devices just like any RPi. Even RPi4s are available again:

Find Raspberry Pi computers in stock - rpilocator

Find Raspberry Pi computers in stock - rpilocator

rpilocator.com

Five minutes after posting this, I found a Zero 2W online so it appears I’ll be doing an upgrade sooner than I envisioned!

 

[JRicoC]

Five minutes after posting this, I found a Zero 2W online so it appears I’ll be doing an upgrade sooner than I envisioned!

I have the good fortune of having Zero Ws in stock locally, so I was thinking about buying at least one more, just in case ...

 

[TheBatsEar]

I have the good fortune of having Zero Ws in stock locally, so I was thinking about buying at least one more, just in case ...

Zero W are everywhere. It's the Zero 2 that are rare, sadly.
That's why i propose to get a 3A+ instead, same CPU as the Zero 2, same power consumption, just a bit larger:

What a nice sales video, so soothing

The 3A+ also has the pros that there is a full sized USB-A connector (no adapter needed) and a full size HDMI connector (no adapter needed either). Regular price is less or around $30/30€, just like the Zero 2.

 

[TheWalkman]

Now that Raspberry Pi boards inventories are once again becoming available, spend $20 to upgrade this streamer with a Pi Zero 2W and see the performance increase two to four times for a truly fantastic user experience.

 

[MatthewS]

Now that Raspberry Pi boards inventories are once again becoming available, Spend $20 to upgrade this streamer with a Pi Zero 2W and see the performance increase two to four times for a truly fantastic user experience.

It was a zero 2W he tested.

 

[TheWalkman]

It was a zero 2W he tested.

Matthew,

If you read @amirm 's review carefully, I believe he talks about a 2 Watt Pi Zero not the Pi Zero 2W (the W stands for wireless) so it's not clear at all that this was the upgraded model.

Either way, I'm running several streamers based on the Zero 2W and they work great. Some folks talk about running these on Pi 4s (and I'm sure we'll soon see folks running them on the new Pi 5s but in my estimation, these are really overkill for a Volumio streamer.

 

[MatthewS]

Matthew,

If you read @amirm 's review carefully, I believe he talks about a 2 Watt Pi Zero not the Pi Zero 2W (the W stands for wireless) so it's not clear at all that this was the upgraded model.

Except, I'm the one that sent it to him. It's a Pi Zero 2W. He just had the info wrong.

 

[TheWalkman]

Except, I'm the one that sent it to him. It's a Pi Zero 2W. He just had the info wrong.

Great. I'm sure you'll agree that this is a fantastic solution.

Cheers

 

[NiagaraPete]

I noticed that there are 3 votes for poor. I can only guess those came from people that have spent hundreds or thousands on a fancy box DAC.

 

[TheWalkman]

I noticed that there are 3 votes for poor. I can only guess those came from people that have spent hundreds or thousands on a fancy box DAC.

I just found stock on a Zero 2W and swapped the board in a HiFiZero Berry I've had for a couple of years (straight board swap using the old SD card) and it works great, albeit much faster.

I’m guessing the performance of the HiFiBerry isn’t as good as the Allo, though my ears can’t tell the difference. Perhaps @amirm might want to see if this Zero board suffers from some of the same issues as the Dac+ Pro.

Review and Measurements of HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro

This is a review and detailed measurements of the HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro DAC for the Raspberry Pi boards to build your own low cost streamer. The unit was purchased and drop shipped to me by a kind member. The HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro costs just USD $39.90. So you could have a streamer and DAC for just...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[TheBatsEar]

Either way, I'm running several streamers based on the Zero 2W and they work great. Some folks talk about running these on Pi 4s (and I'm sure we'll soon see folks running them on the new Pi 5s but in my estimation, these are really overkill for a Volumio streamer.

I use Moode, but have the same experience:
RPi Zero W can be sluggish, RPi Zero2 W is fast enough.
The RPi 3A+ has the same CPU and it usually cost the same and is more widely available.
There is no need to buy anything more powerful specific for this application.

 

[foubarre]

I use RoPieeeXL with a Pi Zero 2W + Allo MiniBoss connected to powered speakers and highly recommend it for a hassle free setup.
It is mostly for Spotify Connect and AirPlay over Wifi (I also have a Roon server but dont use it much).
RoPieee is rock solid, simple to configure and updates itself with stable updates on a regular basis.
The MiniBoss sounds great, considerably better than the speakers mushy internal DAC (Kanto YU6)