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New Volumio Rivo

franknorris12

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Is it true that Volumio doesn't pull Album Art like how JRiver and most other programs do? Like I'd need to manually add the Jpeg in each album folder? Jeeez
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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Is it true that Volumio doesn't pull Album Art like how JRiver and most other programs do? Like I'd need to manually add the Jpeg in each album folder? Jeeez
It does pull album cover art.
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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What issues have you encountered, I am curious, as a potential Rivo buyer.

It sounds great, just a few quirks. If you have a long track list on say Tidal and want to get to the bottom, you scroll and scroll and scroll. Should be a slider you can “pull” up or down. It will not play that list continuously. Album, continuous, track list, no.

The UI doesn’t display on my 75” LG tv, it flashes on and off at varying frequency. Unwatchable. They have told me they are aware of the issue with LG tv’s with no remedy.

The remote doesn’t always find the unit, causing you to have to restart the remote. I always wait for Rivo to start completely (indicated by a chime) before launching the remote, sometimes go, sometimes no go.

I’ll think of something else after I post….
 

AudioScience Enthusiast

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It sounds great, just a few quirks. If you have a long track list on say Tidal and want to get to the bottom, you scroll and scroll and scroll. Should be a slider you can “pull” up or down. It will not play that list continuously. Album, continuous, track list, no.
Volumio seems pretty responsive, so hopefully they will iron out these bugs.

The UI doesn’t display on my 75” LG tv, it flashes on and off at varying frequency. Unwatchable. They have told me they are aware of the issue with LG tv’s with no remedy.
Have you tested on a different LG TV or other brands? Hopefully this is not some kind of hardware issue.

The remote doesn’t always find the unit, causing you to have to restart the remote. I always wait for Rivo to start completely (indicated by a chime) before launching the remote, sometimes go, sometimes no go
Is the remote compatible with Harmony? If yes, maybe the Harmony would be more stable?
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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Volumio seems pretty responsive, so hopefully they will iron out these bugs.


Have you tested on a different LG TV or other brands? Hopefully this is not some kind of hardware issue.


Is the remote compatible with Harmony? If yes, maybe the Harmony would be more stable?
I am disappointed with the response from Volumio. This is my listening room and the tv I have there is what I have and there were no caveats about certain tv’s (LG) when it was being marketed pre sale. Apparently they were aware when I initially complained saying “we are aware of issues with (some) LG TV’s.”

Harmony is incompatible per their website, it appears it is an infrared remote and Rivo’s is wi-fi.

It streams, and sounds great so I am pleased with that, but my initial enthusiasm has been damped by its shortcomings.
 

AudioScience Enthusiast

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I am disappointed with the response from Volumio. This is my listening room and the tv I have there is what I have and there were no caveats about certain tv’s (LG) when it was being marketed pre sale. Apparently they were aware when I initially complained saying “we are aware of issues with (some) LG TV’s.”
"Aware" is one thing, did they promise to fix or refund you?

Harmony is incompatible per their website, it appears it is an infrared remote and Rivo’s is wi-fi.
I couldn't find any mention of Harmony on their product pages, do you recall where you read it? I will look again.

It streams, and sounds great so I am pleased with that, but my initial enthusiasm has been damped by its shortcomings.
Lack of Harmony support and remote sync issues I would say are deal breakers, not just "shortcomings".

In fact, Volumio emphasizes in their blog that "musical experience is as much as how users interact with the devices, not just SQ."

Since remote is a primary touchpoint, I would like this is quite a big deal.

Having said that, Harmony has discontinued their remotes line, so if they don't want to add Volumio devices we can't blame Volumio.

But at least their own remote should be stable. I really hope Volumio can resolve your issues. Please keep us posted.
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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"Aware" is one thing, did they promise to fix or refund you?


I couldn't find any mention of Harmony on their product pages, do you recall where you read it? I will look again.


Lack of Harmony support and remote sync issues I would say are deal breakers, not just "shortcomings".

In fact, Volumio emphasizes in their blog that "musical experience is as much as how users interact with the devices, not just SQ."

Since remote is a primary touchpoint, I would like this is quite a big deal.

Having said that, Harmony has discontinued their remotes line, so if they don't want to add Volumio devices we can't blame Volumio.

But at least their own remote should be stable. I really hope Volumio can resolve your issues. Please keep us posted.
No promise of refund or “fix” other than suggesting I submit a ticket which I did and there was no resolution provided. They asked for a log from Volumio which apparently yielded no solution.

I looked at the Harmony site per your suggestion and answered questions there to search by man./model, not supported.

The remote is stable, just doesn’t find Rivo every time, and I meant to mention earlier I am sitting about 15 ft away from Rivo and 20ft from my router/modem/wi-fi, so it isn’t from lack of signal. Rivo is a wired Cat 6 connection.

I’m going to reach out again to see what they say.
 

AudioScience Enthusiast

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Another question about Rivo, why does it not 12V Trigger IN/OUT ports?

Even the cheap Wiim Pro streamer or the better-priced Bluesound Node have 12V Trigger Out.

Given the absence of trigger, how is the auto-on and auto-off functions on the Rivo? Does it turn on when input is detected? Or turn off after lack of signal for a specific period of time?

Since this is designed and built in EU, it should be energy conscious to begin with.
 
Last edited:

Pablo Cano

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Apr 15, 2021
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Nice to read about Rivo here. I just came in to provide a few clarifications, hoping that they are useful. First, there's not much chatter about it since the official launch and release (with all bells and whistles) is due in September, and we just made a closed sale to our community and aficionados.

IMHO comparing Rivo (or any other ready-to-use product) with Raspberry PI has many caveats, and is usually not a fair exercise. Our goal, when we develop and release an audio product is to offer a level of sound quality much higher than a PI, and ready to play (no tinkering needed). Long story short, my take is: Rivo is a ready-to-play product, with its primary purpose of delivering the highest quality via its digital outputs, meant to be used by anyone independently of their IT skills.

In a nutshell, Rivo features:
- S/PDIF and AES/EBU with galvanic isolation and dedicated power filtering
- USB out (dedicated to DAC) with a dedicated HUB with high precision external clock and dedicated power filtering
- All hosted on a Carrier board which hosts a custom version of VIM3L designed to maximize the efficacy of ground planes and several filtering stages
- All the above in an antimagnetic case (designed by a Red Dot Winning design studio) and ready to play with all Volumio Premium features for life (no need for a subscription to use TIDAL, TIDAL Connect, QOBUZ and all premium features).

If you are interested to read about our design philosophy (and what kind of principles we follow when we design and deliver products) there's a writeup here:

So, all in all, to reply to your question: if you already have a good-sounding DAC and you want to pair it with an adequate streamer, Rivo is for you. And it will deliver a substantially better experience and SQ than PI, and in a nicer and tinker-free package.

Hope I provided interesting and useful insights and glad to reply to any questions
Hello there,
I want to buy this Volumio Rivo.
If I’m in America, where can I buy?
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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I have one gently used for sale. PM if interested.
 

Barrelhouse Solly

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Aug 13, 2020
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I've tried just about all of the Raspberry Pi streaming software. My favorites are Moode, and LMS with the combination of Squeezelite and Jivelite. All of the Pi streaming software is equally good in terms of sound quality. For me the best Pi setup is a Pi 4 with a USB DAC or any Pi including a Zero W with a transport. I've tried Volumio off and on over the last 10 years plus. It's not as open to tweaks as Moode. It does do DLNA/UPNP very simply. The better versions of Volumio are not free. Whether or not that matters to you is a matter of personal choice.
 
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ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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So my protestations have struck a nerve.

After requesting and being granted a refund, Volumio leveraged their position with conditions, by stipulating I absorb return freight to Italy, and AFTER they receive the unit and I remove any comments they deemed objectionable they would refund my money.

I said I would remove anything that was less than truthful post haste, which could not be demonstrated. At this point they have ended communication with me, reduced TeamViewer session time from 30 minutes to 15 minutes and then cancelled TeamViewer sessions entirely that were previously scheduled.

I will eat the $1000 if Volumio wants me to make a spectacle out of what should be a simple customer service issue rather than standing behind their product.

Caveat emptor
 
Last edited:

MaciejB

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Oct 27, 2023
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I am using it with Gustard X18, connected via USB. Powered by SBooster.
Should I consider adding a galvanic isolation? Gustard doesn't have this feature, on the other hand, Rivo USB signal seems to be "clean" based on the on the vendor comments above.
 
OP
ol_mcdonald

ol_mcdonald

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Feb 8, 2020
Messages
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Nice to read about Rivo here. I just came in to provide a few clarifications, hoping that they are useful. First, there's not much chatter about it since the official launch and release (with all bells and whistles) is due in September, and we just made a closed sale to our community and aficionados.

IMHO comparing Rivo (or any other ready-to-use product) with Raspberry PI has many caveats, and is usually not a fair exercise. Our goal, when we develop and release an audio product is to offer a level of sound quality much higher than a PI, and ready to play (no tinkering needed). Long story short, my take is: Rivo is a ready-to-play product, with its primary purpose of delivering the highest quality via its digital outputs, meant to be used by anyone independently of their IT skills.

In a nutshell, Rivo features:
- S/PDIF and AES/EBU with galvanic isolation and dedicated power filtering
- USB out (dedicated to DAC) with a dedicated HUB with high precision external clock and dedicated power filtering
- All hosted on a Carrier board which hosts a custom version of VIM3L designed to maximize the efficacy of ground planes and several filtering stages
- All the above in an antimagnetic case (designed by a Red Dot Winning design studio) and ready to play with all Volumio Premium features for life (no need for a subscription to use TIDAL, TIDAL Connect, QOBUZ and all premium features).

If you are interested to read about our design philosophy (and what kind of principles we follow when we design and deliver products) there's a writeup here:

So, all in all, to reply to your question: if you already have a good-sounding DAC and you want to pair it with an adequate streamer, Rivo is for you. And it will deliver a substantially better experience and SQ than PI, and in a nicer and tinker-free package.

Hope I provided interesting and useful insights and glad to reply to any questions
 

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