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Article: Geek Speak: How To Build A UPnP / DLNA / OpenHome Renderer For Less Than $100


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I'm using an iFi Micro iDSD attached via USB. As I noted, once the stream is started properly, it plays without issue, including all PCM rates I've tried and DSD.

 

I'll give it a try with Minimserver + some other iOS based UPnP solution to see if I have the same problem and let you know - appreciate your help!

 

Jhawlker - I just wanted to let you know I have an iFi Micro iDSD as well and I ran into the same issues. With my X-Sabre I don't have these issues at all, so I definitely think it's related to the iFi Micro.

 

Chris - thanks so much for posting this tutorial. I was really looking for a bedside solution for streaming that didn't require my TV or Laptop to be on. I was using my Fiio X5 but that didn't give me access to my full library and the Coaxial connection on the X-Sabre doesn't seem as good as the USB connection. This guide was great and worked right from my first try. This post sent me on to get a Raspberry PI 2 and another BBB to play with some other options such as Volumio and Rune. I tried burning those images over and over and couldn't get them to boot using a Sandisk 32 GB Class 10 card. After about a week of frustration, I finally ordered a couple of Kingston 8GB cards and now I am trying out Volumio. In case it's helpful to others those 32GB cards seem to be an issue but the 8GB cards are taking the image on my first try. Looking forward to experimenting with these others options. Your solution is awesome and I'm really pleased with the sound quality. Thanks for the education! This tutorial is really fantastic!

 

My new chain - Synology NAS to BBB as outlined in the article - USB to Matrix XSabre DAC - Violectric HPA V281 - HD800 (with Norne Balanced Cable) or PM2 (with Oppo balanced cable) (others headphones on occasion).

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Has anyone compared this setup to an auralic aries. I have an aries on loan at present feeding a Hugo DAC, but am very intrigued by this. Any comments would be helpful. Cheers

 

I compared BB with very good LPS to my PC Audio (PPA USB V2, LPS) and PC Audio sounded better (vocals !) . Auralic Aries sounds similarly to modified PC.

BB is a budget solution. But with LPS it sound better than oridinary PC.

PP AUDIO (PPA USB, LINEAR POWER SUPPLY, DESIGNED FOR AUDIO) + DAPHILE + WIMP HI-FI -> OPPO BD-105D AS DAC -> Musical Fidelity kW500 -> MAGNEPAN MG 1.7 + VELODYNE EQ-MAX10

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I am new to this so I have a few questions. I have used iTunes to my Yamaha RX2020 via Apple TV. So I decided to try JRiver and found that my RX2020 does not support DLNA gapless. Which brings me to the Beaglebone. Can I run the HDMI from the BeagleBone into the RX2020 until I get a DAC? Then it appears I could either get a DACit or a Bitfrost for a DAC. Does this idea work or do I need something else, just trying to understand. The longterm goal is to build a Caps server when funds are availiable.

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So I put the Aries on hold while building your BeagleBone solution. Thank you so much for setting this up! Works like a charm straight away. I was excited to put those engineering skills to use and you almost made it too easy. Any way we could take a look at the source code and play with it? Would be interested in seeing if I can add AirPlay compatibility for the guests... Two questions:

1) Given that you've tested the BBB to be bit perfect, how does the audio compare to the Auralic Aries and the SOtM? I don't want to get you in trouble with your sponsors, but I'm curious as to how close you get.

2) Using your BBB setup with MinimServer on my Synology NAS, what control point would you recommend on the iOS and on the Mac? I know you use JRiver, but if I don't, what would your second favorite be? I'm using Linn Kinsky and Kazoo now and they're okay, but nothing like the iTunes or A2+ I'm used to.

Thank you again for what you do here. You should set up a link to your favorite charity so those of us who want to thank you for what you've done can do so in that way.

Best,

---Pedro

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So I put the Aries on hold while building your BeagleBone solution. Thank you so much for setting this up! Works like a charm straight away. I was excited to put those engineering skills to use and you almost made it too easy. Any way we could take a look at the source code and play with it? Would be interested in seeing if I can add AirPlay compatibility for the guests... Two questions:

1) Given that you've tested the BBB to be bit perfect, how does the audio compare to the Auralic Aries and the SOtM? I don't want to get you in trouble with your sponsors, but I'm curious as to how close you get.

2) Using your BBB setup with MinimServer on my Synology NAS, what control point would you recommend on the iOS and on the Mac? I know you use JRiver, but if I don't, what would your second favorite be? I'm using Linn Kinsky and Kazoo now and they're okay, but nothing like the iTunes or A2+ I'm used to.

Thank you again for what you do here. You should set up a link to your favorite charity so those of us who want to thank you for what you've done can do so in that way.

Best,

---Pedro

 

I'm using Linn's Kinsky on both Mac OSX and iOS 8 as Kazoo broke on my Mac after the last series of updates. Can't find any room while Kinsky works just fine. BTW, I never got TIDAL working with Kazoo before the recent breakage. I also use a Synology NAS and Minimserver.

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Just retested the image and it's still bit perfect. I have no clue what's happening in your system.

 

HI Chris,

 

I am new to this site as a poster. I have been avidly reading CA for years! Great work Chris, and many others. I have had lots of fun and educational reading. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences here.

 

Your recent article on assembling a BeagleBone Black seemed easy enough for me to try the project. I have wanted to take my music storage out of the listening room to hear the advantages for myself. So this past weekend I put a BBB together and placed it into my system. I am listening to my music played by JRiver on the living room system. The music and JRiver are stored on a Windows computer in the office and play via an ethernet wired BBB into an older Emotiva XDA-1. It sounds pretty good.

 

But I am using my older and simpler dac because when I tried to play DSD files through the BBB into my DAC2 HGC, they was down sampled to PCM 24/176. I pulled the DAC2 HGC out of the chain and it plays DSD bit perfect direct from the computer via usb. I did try restarting all pieces without change noted. When I looked at JRiver to be sure I had that set correctly it said I was not using JRiver's engine to play the music. Fiddling with JRiver settings yielded some of the stuttering that's mentioned above. But only when I forgot to stop playback while making the changes. Otherwise the system has played flawlessly, but not bit perfectly. I wonder if there are any suggestions from the very knowledgeable CA readers that I might try to get my DAC2 HGC back in the main listening system and playing bit perfectly? Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks again for a wonderful site!!!!!

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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HI Chris,

 

I am new to this site as a poster. I have been avidly reading CA for years! Great work Chris, and many others. I have had lots of fun and educational reading. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences here.

 

Your recent article on assembling a BeagleBone Black seemed easy enough for me to try the project. I have wanted to take my music storage out of the listening room to hear the advantages for myself. So this past weekend I put a BBB together and placed it into my system. I am listening to my music played by JRiver on the living room system. The music and JRiver are stored on a Windows computer in the office and play via an ethernet wired BBB into an older Emotiva XDA-1. It sounds pretty good.

 

But I am using my older and simpler dac because when I tried to play DSD files through the BBB into my DAC2 HGC, they was down sampled to PCM 24/176. I pulled the DAC2 HGC out of the chain and it plays DSD bit perfect direct from the computer via usb. I did try restarting all pieces without change noted. When I looked at JRiver to be sure I had that set correctly it said I was not using JRiver's engine to play the music. Fiddling with JRiver settings yielded some of the stuttering that's mentioned above. But only when I forgot to stop playback while making the changes. Otherwise the system has played flawlessly, but not bit perfectly. I wonder if there are any suggestions from the very knowledgeable CA readers that I might try to get my DAC2 HGC back in the main listening system and playing bit perfectly? Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks again for a wonderful site!!!!!

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

Hi Blu - There is one setting you need to change in JRiver Media Center to enable streaming DSD as DoPE. Here is a screenshot of the setting.

 

DoPE.png

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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Hi Blu - There is one setting you need to change in JRiver Media Center to enable streaming DSD as DoPE. Here is a screenshot of the setting.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18132[/ATTACH]

 

 

HI Chris,

 

I tried those changes tonight, but I will have to move the DAC2 HGC back to the living room set up this weekend when I have more time to find out for sure if it works. The Emotiva dac can not play DSD. So I get a fault indicator in JRiver and music won't play through the BBB at all. Thanks though.

 

Best,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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HI Chris,

 

I tried those changes tonight, but I will have to move the DAC2 HGC back to the living room set up this weekend when I have more time to find out for sure if it works. The Emotiva dac can not play DSD. So I get a fault indicator in JRiver and music won't play through the BBB at all. Thanks though.

 

Best,

 

Blu99Zoomer

 

 

P.P.S. After making the changes you suggested Chris for DSD playback, I am still not getting bit perfect playback through the BBB even when playing 16/44.1 files, which the Emotiva XDA-1 can play. I am able to play files, except for DSD. They sound fine to my untrained ear. But I am not getting a bit perfect blue highlighted Audio Path button. (I have a "not using JRiver engine" warning for both input and output.) I went back to the computer sound card and checked sound devices. The BBB(Which JRiver called NetAudio) doesn't show up there but it does on network devices screen, nor does the Emotiva dac for that matter. I am also not able to play a system test sound via the BBB. I can through the "local player", my DAC2 HGC though. I knew I should have studied those computer books instead of using them to start up the wood stove...:)

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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P.P.S. After making the changes you suggested Chris for DSD playback, I am still not getting bit perfect playback through the BBB even when playing 16/44.1 files, which the Emotiva XDA-1 can play. I am able to play files, except for DSD. They sound fine to my untrained ear. But I am not getting a bit perfect blue highlighted Audio Path button. (I have a "not using JRiver engine" warning for both input and output.) I went back to the computer sound card and checked sound devices. The BBB(Which JRiver called NetAudio) doesn't show up there but it does on network devices screen, nor does the Emotiva dac for that matter. I am also not able to play a system test sound via the BBB. I can through the "local player", my DAC2 HGC though. I knew I should have studied those computer books instead of using them to start up the wood stove...:)

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

 

P.P.P.S.S.(I didn't do well in English in 9th grade so I don't get the order of the P's and S's correctly. Sorry.;))

 

Hi All,

 

I had a chance to put the DAC2 HGC back into the chain with the BBB between the computer outputting the music files and my dac. The BBB is fed from my router via ethernet cable into the BBB. I am using the usb output from the BBB into my DAC2 HGC. What I hadn't done was as Chris noted, tick all the DSD boxes. But I also hadn't specified "NetAudio" as the extra zone player, as Chris did with his "Cortes" in his example. (This is the name JRiver is calling the BBB so I kept the name for now.) So I changed those last night. This morning, I did notice a click once on music start up. JRiver 20 did stop working once and I had to reboot it. I still don't get a blue lit audio path button. I note a "Not using JRiver audio engine" message on both input and output when I mouse over that button to check. But at the moment, the DAC2 HGC front lights indicate I am playing the dsd format for my Abraxas DSD download. I have heard several other clicks, too. The blue usb light on the front of the DAC2 HGC flickers and music is interrupted momentarily with the click. Hmmmm. I am tempted to reformat the micro usb card and reload the BBB's instructions, reboot the system and try again. The music I am hearing for now, coming out of the DAC2 HGC into my Mr. Speakers Alpha Primes has my toes a tappin' and the rest of my day is on hold while I am enjoying Mr. Carlos Santana's fine work!! More on this story later...

 

Best,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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P.P.P.S.S.(I didn't do well in English in 9th grade so I don't get the order of the P's and S's correctly. Sorry.;))

 

Hi All,

 

I had a chance to put the DAC2 HGC back into the chain with the BBB between the computer outputting the music files and my dac. The BBB is fed from my router via ethernet cable into the BBB. I am using the usb output from the BBB into my DAC2 HGC. What I hadn't done was as Chris noted, tick all the DSD boxes. But I also hadn't specified "NetAudio" as the extra zone player, as Chris did with his "Cortes" in his example. (This is the name JRiver is calling the BBB so I kept the name for now.) So I changed those last night. This morning, I did notice a click once on music start up. JRiver 20 did stop working once and I had to reboot it. I still don't get a blue lit audio path button. I note a "Not using JRiver audio engine" message on both input and output when I mouse over that button to check. But at the moment, the DAC2 HGC front lights indicate I am playing the dsd format for my Abraxas DSD download. I have heard several other clicks, too. The blue usb light on the front of the DAC2 HGC flickers and music is interrupted momentarily with the click. Hmmmm. I am tempted to reformat the micro usb card and reload the BBB's instructions, reboot the system and try again. The music I am hearing for now, coming out of the DAC2 HGC into my Mr. Speakers Alpha Primes has my toes a tappin' and the rest of my day is on hold while I am enjoying Mr. Carlos Santana's fine work!! More on this story later...

 

Best,

 

Blu99Zoomer

 

As far as I know if you're playing music from jriver to the bb you won't get any bit perfect intidcator in jriver. Once it leaves jriver there's no way for it to know how the bb is processing it.

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As far as I know if you're playing music from jriver to the bb you won't get any bit perfect intidcator in jriver. Once it leaves jriver there's no way for it to know how the bb is processing it.

 

 

Hi gabeg,

 

I am new to the bb and Raspberry Pi platforms. I am also not sure how JRiver reads the information on the bbb. Does the bbb hide the signal from the dac that JRiver would normally receive? I am familiar with how JRiver plays into my DAC2 HGC through a usb cable. I am able to see a bit perfect indicator. So the dac and JRiver must have a handshake, no? Shouldn't the bbb, as a dlna device, also handshake with the computer and thus JRiver?

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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Chris,

Thanks for the Beaglebone set up. I now have Jriver across the house to my linksys range extender to the BB and into my new Schitt Uber Bitfrost into my Yamaha receiver. Without your website I would not have figured this out. It's a great improvement. Thanks again for the website.

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How would a newbie increase buffer size of alsa in the beaglebone? I'm getting little gurgles occasionally. Thanks!

 

Were you able to determine if increasing the buffer size of alsa would cure your "gurgles"? I will occasionally have to restart JRiver when I hear just garbled noise on start up. Same thing maybe?

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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Were you able to determine if increasing the buffer size of alsa would cure your "gurgles"? I will occasionally have to restart JRiver when I hear just garbled noise on start up. Same thing maybe?

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

 

I haven't figured out how to make the adjustment yet.

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Hi gabeg,

 

I went to a Head-Fi meet over the weekend in NYC. One of the attendees mentioned a "Botic driver" with regards getting BBB to operate its sound smoothly. Don't know if that will help you. I am still looking into it.

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi dennis_85,

 

What kind of equipment are you using and in what order do you turn on the pieces?

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

 

I have a PC and the beagle board. The PC is always on. I boot up the beagle board. I can connect to it with a upnp control point, and that works great. I now want to connect with an MPD client application. But it won't connect even though MPD is running on the beagle board.

 

Dennis

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I have a PC and the beagle board. The PC is always on. I boot up the beagle board. I can connect to it with a upnp control point, and that works great. I now want to connect with an MPD client application. But it won't connect even though MPD is running on the beagle board.

 

Dennis

 

dennis_k85,

 

Which player software are you using on the PC? Or is the PC acting as a NAS library only?

 

Best Regards,

 

Blu99Zoomer

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