PA5 & E50 & rapsberry - how to get it work :-)

[bh69]

Hi all,

I plan to put together a small but very good hifi setup for listening in a small room, basically near-field (less than 2m distance). In adition I listen only at low volumes (I guess maybe 60-70dB), so I don't need a strong amplifier, but some good at low power (<1W). Based on the reviews here, I am considering the Topping PA5 & E50 and Rapsberry 4B player as source (USB into DAC).

So I have many question

1/ is it optimal choice or would you pick something else ?

2/ what power source ? I have found low noise dual linear power adapter Allo Shanti (5V/3+1A) which can be used for both rapsberry and DAC. Not cheap one, but it seems like very clean power supply.

Or is it a vaste of money and common adapters would make no recognizable difference in sound ?

Third eventuality is power bank, but at cost of the need for recharging and thus uncomfortable operation. And there is a problem how clean this power is, because most of powerbanks use low voltage batteries and 5V reach electronically - probably not without noise.

3/ Power adapter for amplifier - I assume that the original one distributed with PA5 is of sufficient quality and there is no need to solve anything further ?

4/ The only thing that could then bring some noise in the system would be long ethernet cable.
I hope this will cause no real problem, but if there will be some, the solution can be to insert the convertors the optics and back ?

5/ Player conception - how to achieve simple and convenient operation. What software would be best ?
I want to play my FLAC or APE files from local USB disc or from another PC in home network and internet streams/radio.
I don't use wifi at home, so I have to exclude control via the smartphopne apps.

So there are some options left

a/ small touchscreen (placed together with rapsberry near chair with 3m long USB cable to DAC or with 3m long HDMI cable from rapsberry to screen at listening place)

b/ LCD screen (or TV) or alphanumeric display with wireless keyboard or remote controller

I prefer simple solution so b/ looks be better.

What (free) software would be optimal ? I would prefer SW that would allow for custom adjustments (I'm 4GL/JAVA/PHP programmer so I should be able to adapt things to your needs - if necessary ).

Thank you in advance for any advice or experience

 

[abdo123]

2) the power source makes absolutely no difference, and i highly recommend that you don’t buy ‘audiophile’ anything that is related to power, they’re often not tested or rated for safety.

Just use what the manufacturer provides. There are kits on amazon (at least in amazon.de) where you would have Pi kits, a case, a storage card, the board itself, a power supply and

 

[abdo123]

LAN wont introduce noise, but it’s a good idea that you use XLR balanced to TRS balanced cable from the E50 to PA5s to reduce noise and eliminate ground loops.

 

[Triliza]

Seems like a great setup to me, I use something similar (Pi 400) with other components. Don't bother with power sources, for Raspberry use the official power adapter and you are good to go. Unless the ethernet cable is extremely long, you won't have any problem with it whatsoever.

Software wise, you can use Moode (it's what I use) or Volumio (there are some other choices if these don't meet your requirements). They have quite some radio stations by default and it's easy to add your own. You can connect an external hard drive directly to the Pi and it'll work fine without additional power supply. Setup is relatively easy. Not sure 100% about this, but I think the Pi can act as a hot spot and create a wireless network in which you can connect with your phone/tablet to control playback via the provided interface in a browser.

You may need a case of some sort for the Pi 4, I don't own one so I don't know if it's mandatory or not.

 

[bh69]

LAN wont introduce noise, but it’s a good idea that you use XLR balanced to TRS balanced cable from the E50 to PA5s to reduce noise and eliminate ground loops.

yes, there is balanced TRS-TRS from PA5 to E50

 

[bh69]

2) the power source makes absolutely no difference

Just use what the manufacturer provides

There is no adapter with E50 provided, some 5V USB should be used

 

[bh69]

Unless the ethernet cable is extremely long, you won't have any problem with it whatsoever.

it's pretty long in my case (at least 35m, 20m under ground)

 

[abdo123]

There is no adapter with E50 provided, some 5V USB should be used

It’s okay as long as not too many devices are plugged in to the Pi.

You can also get the Shanti later in this case, just use the Pi for few months first because it would be quite the waste of money if you ended up not using the Pi at all.

 

[bh69]

Not sure 100% about this, but I think the Pi can act as a hot spot and create a wireless network in which you can connect with your phone/tablet to control playback via the provided interface in a browser.

As I wrote I use no wifi at home. But I hope it's possible to connect to Pi over ethernet from PC (Windows) to make some setup comfortably ?

I have found another player - Pi Core player

 

[bh69]

It’s okay as long as not too many devices are plugged in to the Pi.

so E50 can be powered only by USB from Pi, no need to add another power supply for E50 into it's barell power connector ?

 

[abdo123]

so E50 can be powered only by USB from Pi, no need to add dedicated power supply for E50 into it's barell power connector ?

I thought the E50 didn’t have a barell power connector?

 

[bh69]

Both PA5 and E50 are very small and light, if I want to mount them on wooden base plate, is it possible to unmount their rubber feet ? are there screws or is it only glued ?

 

[bh69]

I thought the E50 didn’t have a barell power connector?

 

[abdo123]

But you said it was USB bus powered?

Either a power supply comes with it or it doesn’t need one and can be powered via USB.

 

[abdo123]

Just a heads-up warning, the raspberry pi is not a streamer, it's a board computer that can be utilized in many different ways.

there are linux-based distributions out there that can be installed on it that can give it some streaming capabilities, but these features are usually very basic and aimed towards the general audience (a local media player + Spotify connect, Airplay and DLNA). These distributions are usually not open source, and are not usually maintained by someone who gets a paycheck for that maintainance the end of the month.

your use-case seems very niche (no internet access, a LAN access to another computer, playing music off a different device), I don't know if DLNA is enough for that (on Windows, right click on a music file and cast to device). All I'm trying to say is that it's a very versatile choice, just not necessarily the most stable or the perfect fit for you from the very begining of your journey.

As a result i would recommend that you don't buy niche power supplies and invest heavily into this until you're sure that a raspberry pi based streamer is the best choice for you.

 

[EdW]

If you purchase the RPI4 it is advisable to be buy a heatsink case in order to prevent the CPU running at a high temperature. A frequent recommendation is the FLIRC case which performs well, protects the RPI4 from mechanical damage, and is quite neat.

 

[bh69]

yes, I know what Pi is. I only have never tried to play with yet.

I want to have internet access, but over ethernet cable not over wifi.

If it would be able to play FLAC/APE from local USB HD or flash and to play internet radios, it will be ok.
DLNA or files from another PC would be nice, but if not, no problem.

 

[bh69]

But you said it was USB bus powered?

I don't know, I asked. Power supply is not there (eshop info), only instruction tu use some 5V USB one.

 

[Foxenfurter]

Suggest that you install picoreplayer and as you have a Pi 4 install LMS (logitech media server). This does require some tinkering but LMS can do everything you want and this is probably the simplest way to get the installation working.

Head over to https://forums.slimdevices.com for all the advice you will ever need.

 

[JamesYeomans]

I don't know, I asked. Power supply is not there (eshop info), only instruction tu use some 5V USB one.

I use an old Apple phone charger with my Topping D50S that has similar looking power connector. Works great. Can't see any reason to use anything more expensive: https://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html