RasperiPi + MiniDSP 2x4 HD as a streaming DAC

[maxime.levesque]

I am considering using a MiniDSP 2x4 HD, fed by a Raspbery Pi, to feed a 4 channel amp, for powering a pair of 2 way speakers, in an active configuration.

I this setup, the MiniDSP would function simply as a (USB fed) DAC, and I was wondering how it compared with other DACs. I don't see any reviews of the MiniDSP HD used as a DAC,

 

[maxime.levesque]

Ok, I just found this review of the MiniDSP HD, and the DAC isn't so great. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-and-minidsp-2x4-hd-dsp-and-dac.2674/

 

[abdo123]

Yes it's a great plug and play option.

However if your only input is USB you might want to consider having the raspberry pi do the digital processing itself and just plugging an audio interface to it

guide here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/rpi4-camilladsp-tutorial.29656/

 

[abdo123]

Or buy the MiniDSP Flex, with a superior DAC implementation.

 

[maxime.levesque]

Yes it's a great plug and play option.

However if your only input is USB you might want to consider having the raspberry pi do the digital processing itself and just plugging an audio interface to it

guide here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/rpi4-camilladsp-tutorial.29656/

Camelia looks awesome !

I suppose the only downside of running DSP functions on the RPi, is the need to add a few seconds of delay to prevent stream starvation, which means in practice, to wait a few seconds between the moment you press start and the moment where sound actually comes out of the system. I can very well live with that !

It appears that filtering 8 channels occupies only 55% of cpu: https://github.com/HEnquist/camilladsp/blob/develop/README.md#system-requirements

Not sure if it's 55% of the 4 cpus, or of a single one, in the worst case, it should still leave plenty of cpu to run the typicall services needed for a streamer.

I especialy like that it's written in Rust, I just find that language to be much superior than C and C++.

I think I will be trying this, I just need to chose a 4 channel (or more) USB DAC. Is there a list of such (USB DAC) reviews done by Amir ?

I find that Amir's reviews are not easy to find on this site, with only the search function

 

[abdo123]

Camelia looks awesome !

I suppose the only downside of running DSP functions on the RPi, is the need to add a few seconds of delay to prevent stream starvation, which means in practice, to wait a few seconds between the moment you press start and the moment where sound actually comes out of the system. I can very well live with that !

It appears that filtering 8 channels occupies only 55% of cpu: https://github.com/HEnquist/camilladsp/blob/develop/README.md#system-requirements

Not sure if it's 55% of the 4 cpus, or of a single one, in the worst case, it should still leave plenty of cpu to run the typicall services needed for a streamer.

I especialy like that it's written in Rust, I just find that language to be much superior than C and C++.

I think I will be trying this, I just need to chose a 4 channel (or more) USB DAC. Is there a list of such (USB DAC) reviews done by Amir ?

I find that Amir's reviews are not easy to find on this site, with only the search function

Amir mainly reviews Hi-Fi boutique brands that focus mainly on Stereo without any processing.

you might wanna check Julian Krause's channel which reviews mainly professional audio gear and interfaces (that usually have more than two outputs) https://www.youtube.com/user/JayKayRause

 

[mdsimon2]

Camelia looks awesome !

I suppose the only downside of running DSP functions on the RPi, is the need to add a few seconds of delay to prevent stream starvation, which means in practice, to wait a few seconds between the moment you press start and the moment where sound actually comes out of the system. I can very well live with that !

It appears that filtering 8 channels occupies only 55% of cpu: https://github.com/HEnquist/camilladsp/blob/develop/README.md#system-requirements

Not sure if it's 55% of the 4 cpus, or of a single one, in the worst case, it should still leave plenty of cpu to run the typicall services needed for a streamer.

I especialy like that it's written in Rust, I just find that language to be much superior than C and C++.

I think I will be trying this, I just need to chose a 4 channel (or more) USB DAC. Is there a list of such (USB DAC) reviews done by Amir ?

I find that Amir's reviews are not easy to find on this site, with only the search function

MOTU M4 is a decent 4 channel DAC -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/motu-m4-audio-interface-review.15757/ although the design has been updated since the review to use an ES9026pro DAC chip instead of the older ES9016.

I really like CamillaDSP but for 4 channel applications I think the miniDSP Flex previously mentioned by @abdo123 is probably a better option.

55% is on one CPU, Henrik stated that resampling runs on one CPU and the rest of the processing runs on another. See this post -> https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...overs-room-correction-etc.349818/post-6637817 for more info.

Michael

 

[maxime.levesque]

MOTU M4 is a decent 4 channel DAC -> https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/motu-m4-audio-interface-review.15757/ although the design has been updated since the review to use an ES9026pro DAC chip instead of the older ES9016.

I really like CamillaDSP but for 4 channel applications I think the miniDSP Flex previously mentioned by @abdo123 is probably a better option.

55% is on one CPU, Henrik stated that resampling runs on one CPU and the rest of the processing runs on another. See this post -> https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...overs-room-correction-etc.349818/post-6637817 for more info.

Michael

It seems that the MOTU M4 is cheaper than the miniDSP flex, and if it uses the same DAC as the 2x4HD, the specs measured by Amir are inferior, so the main (if not only) advantage of the Flex, is that's it's more real time, and plug&play ?

 

[mdsimon2]

It does not use the same DAC as the 2X4HD, it uses the same DSP chip as the 2X4HD, we do not know what DAC it uses. However spec'd DAC performance is -112 dB THD+N and 121 dB(A) SNR which is much better than the 2X4HD.

It really depends on what you want, if you just want to add a MOTU M4 to a RPi4 and use the CamillaDSP web interface for volume control then that will be quite a bit cheaper than the Flex. However if you want to add a display, case and IR receiver then you are going to end up very close in cost to the Flex if not exceeding it.

Michael