PI2AES Digital Audio Shield for the Raspberry PI

[odessamarin]

If levels are not carefully matched by precise measurements of voltage levels you will inevitably hear differences. Match them properly and the differences will disappear as if by magic. So here you have your explanation.

No, this explanation did not work.
I measured output levels.. both boards demonstrate identical levels.
Here is the results.
I played this file
Audio test - 99 - Max Level Tone _ 1kHz sine wave at 0dB FS.wav
Measured DAC amp output levels at three different attenuation levels.
- 10dB 1.27 VAC
- 5dB 2.26 VAC
0dB 4.09 VAC



Seems, this is not the reason why they sound different. Unfortunately. Not that easy.

 

[Michael Kelly]

Hello!!!
What do you think PI2AES will work with the latest version of Raspberry Pi 4, I want to install Raspberry Pi 4, because it has 4K video output, that is, Raspberry Pi 4 will output video to TV, and with Pi2AES I will take SPDIF for DAC. I wrote on the manufacturer's website www.pi2design.com
but they are silent

I won’t have a pi4 to test for a few weeks. I will report once I have results.

 

[odessamarin]

Hi @odessamarin , did you try the TOSlink output of PI2AES? With all other DAC inputs plugged...

Yes I did. From PI2AES I prefer sound from AES and SPDIF over TOSlink. (subjective opinion of course)

 

[odessamarin]

If my DAC already supports USB, how much difference does such device makes?

I am sure you will have many different opinions here.
Time ago I moved from USB to AES/SPDIF inteface and not looking back.

 

[Michael Kelly]

I have sent Amir a PU2AES amounted on a pi 3 in a case. It is running ropieee as a roon end point. I don’t know when he will get to testing it, but he has assured me that he will. I hope this will give the folks here a better feeling for the relative performance of our board versus other options.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[amirm]

Yes, the unit arrived today. I have boatload of other gear to test though that has been here for weeks...

 

[Michael Kelly]

Yes, the unit arrived today. I have boatload of other gear to test though that has been here for weeks...

Totally understood. Keep up the great work!

 

[Michael Kelly]

We are now taking orders for the PI2AES. Lead time is 2-3 weeks after order.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[TimW]

Hope @amirm receives one of these for review.

 

[DonH56]

Hope @amirm receives one of these for review.

Look up a couple of posts...

 

[Michael Kelly]

Hope @amirm receives one of these for review.

I already sent him one. But, as he has mentioned, his backlog is pretty big. In the mean time we have a good set of test results on our web site.

Michael

 

[Michael Kelly]

http://www.pi2design.com/uploads/4/8/5/3/48531975/pi2aes_plots.zip

 

[Michael Kelly]

Quick clarification on lead time. On our website it indicates two weeks, it should say 2 to 3 weeks, also it was reflecting an initial date of June 7, which was from the previous batch. It has since been updated, but anyone who has ordered expecting the unit to come essentially now, I apologize. If anyone wishes to cancel the order we will immediately refund their money.

Michael

 

[SilverEars]

Hi, I have some questions regarding Pi2AES.

I'm wondering if you can have the music library on a separate computer and have the Pi2AES be able to access it to send the music files to the DAC unit. Can you control the Pi2AES from the windows computer as in playback through Foobar2000 in windows? Also, can you stream Tidal on windows through pi2AES?

I understand it's based on raspberry pi, and I have no experience with pi. I'm having difficulty finding any instructions in how to set it up to for my use cases mentioned.

 

[headshake]

@SilverEars

You run a music player software on the PI and that server will connect to your music. I use Volumio to play local content, internet radio, and spotify.

So, yes, you can use a browser on your windows machine to connect to the Pi server and play music.

 

[Michael Kelly]

Hi, I have some questions regarding Pi2AES.

I'm wondering if you can have the music library on a separate computer and have the Pi2AES be able to access it to send the music files to the DAC unit. Can you control the Pi2AES from the windows computer as in playback through Foobar2000 in windows? Also, can you stream Tidal on windows through pi2AES?

I understand it's based on raspberry pi, and I have no experience with pi. I'm having difficulty finding any instructions in how to set it up to for my use cases mentioned.

This is a good resource to start:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/raspberry-pi-music-projects/

Note that our PI2AES uses the same driver ass the Hifiberry Digi+ Pro. Once you have your music player working you can add our board using that setting.

 

[SilverEars]

@SilverEars

You run a music player software on the PI and that server will connect to your music. I use Volumio to play local content, internet radio, and spotify.

So, yes, you can use a browser on your windows machine to connect to the Pi server and play music.

So, what I'm understanding here is that you run Volumio on raspberry pi, and you access Volumio via network through the browser to control Volumio from a windows computer on the same network. And Volumio works with streaming services such as Tidal.

I'm wondering if there is any reliable software that you can stream Tidal in bit-perfect mode through raspberry pi? In the highest streaming mode setting 'master' in Tidal. Is the streaming output on raspberry bi in bit-perfect by default?

I do wish I can use Tidal under windows to control the Pi2AES as I prefer interface of the Tidal windows software (with the options included). Is that not possible? I'm mainly interested in the AES/EBU interface, but want to stream Tidal through it, and prefer windows Tidal interface.

Anybody know what other options there are to stream Tidal through this Pi2AES?

I am sure you will have many different opinions here.
Time ago I moved from USB to AES/SPDIF inteface and not looking back.

Have you tried Tidal with it, and how do you go about it? Detailed instructions would be nice, thanks.

 

[amirm]

Your player needs to somehow support a remote protocol running in the Pi. Volumio for example supports 16-bit Airplay. So any player that supports that can "see" and push content to it.

Ropieee image I have been using supports Roon endpoint so it shows up in my Roon player as a networked device and supports 24 bits.

So if you are using foobar, see what plug-ins there are for remote networked playback. If there is none, then you can't use these devices.

 

[headshake]

I'm wondering if there is any reliable software that you can stream Tidal in bit-perfect mode through raspberry pi?

There is a paid version of volumio that does Tidal. The copy says it does bit-perfect. My searching says MQA messing things up.


https://volumio.org/my-volumio-overview/

So many choices- isn't it nice on a single platform?

I should add one thing I like about volumio is the DSP plugin. They made a nice update to the beta plugin a few months back and it runs nicely. The setup is a little complex for newbs- but brutefir rocks. So volumio is like a streamer with a DSP if you set it up right.

 

[SilverEars]

There is a paid version of volumio that does Tidal. The copy says it does bit-perfect. My searching says MQA messing things up.


https://volumio.org/my-volumio-overview/

So many choices- isn't it nice on a single platform?

I should add one thing I like about volumio is the DSP plugin. They made a nice update to the beta plugin a few months back and it runs nicely. The setup is a little complex for newbs- but brutefir rocks. So volumio is like a streamer with a DSP if you set it up right.

Annual fees are turning me off, and if this is the only solution to stream Tidal through Pi2AES, I've lost interest in Pi2AES as Tidal streaming is important to me.

No alternatives for bit-perfect Tidal?