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Article: Geek Speak: Raspberry Pi HiFi Is Here


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Is it possible to control the media player (raspberry pi) without a network- example if I want to carry this around in an offline environment- how do i control it ?

 

Yes, but I suspect it leads to many potential compromises. You can connect a monitor to the hdmi connector and a keyboard and mouse via USB and use a command line interface with some players and possibly load a browser to use web interfaces, but as many people say, the additional IO loads plus the added software involved may degrade the sound quality. There are wifi adapters and bluetooth adapters which might work well with an IOS/android phone if a 2 node network could be configured (no router). I would pursue that approach first.

 

Some folks have attached small touch screens to RPIs, so that might be a good choice. The availability of doodads for them seems to be endless and your eagerness to become the integrator is the factor here.

 

Skip

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I have both an RPi 2 and BBB and have played with both of Chris's guides (thank you). While I can get the M2tech (xmos version) working with either, nothing I do has lead to the Audiophilleo/PP working with either of these setups. I am a total linux newbie but have experimented quite a bit with different settings in MPD and alsa, with no luck.

 

On the BBB I get music but lots of stuttering. On the Pi, I get a few seconds of garbled music then silence.

 

I really want to get the AP/PP/Pi or BBB combo working to see if it beats the Mac Mini/Audirvana. The M2tech/Pi or BBB definitely does not beat the MacMini.

 

Any thoughts?

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Did you see that a Volumio 2.0 is hopefully coming out soon. Looks promising: https://volumio.org/introducing-volumio-2/

 

Very encouraging -- Sounds like they're addressing the very issues I mentioned earlier:

 

"Volumio sounds noticeably clearer to me than OpenELEC, with better depth of sound-field. On the other hand, OpenELEC has a much richer media interface and broad support base. It also seems to be a lot more robust: I hardly ever have a problem connecting with it or using it, whereas with Volumio I often lose connection to my Synology DS-411 NAS. Volumio also seems to have a slower, and more variable, command response time."

 

Regards,

Grey_Friar

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I'd like to install the USB version of this in my system. I plan to connect the Option 3 (USB) Raspberry to an external usb hard drive. With all the talk about running multiple usb devices on a single bus and stuff, is running hard drive and high rez files both over usb a problem?

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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I'd like to install the USB version of this in my system. I plan to connect the Option 3 (USB) Raspberry to an external usb hard drive. With all the talk about running multiple usb devices on a single bus and stuff, is running hard drive and high rez files both over usb a problem?

 

I haven't tried high rez but cd quality works ok if the hard drive is powered by its own psu. I tried running a USB powered HD and that didn't work well. But, my first preference is to stream it via wired ethernet connection and second option is to stream via USB WiFi dongle. I connected my external drive to my WiFi routers USB input and used it as a simple NAS.

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I haven't tried high rez but cd quality works ok if the hard drive is powered by its own psu. I tried running a USB powered HD and that didn't work well. But, my first preference is to stream it via wired ethernet connection and second option is to stream via USB WiFi dongle. I connected my external drive to my WiFi routers USB input and used it as a simple NAS.

My router does have a ReadyNAS function so that may work well. I plan to pickup the wifi dongle suggested in the write up.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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I'm stuck at the opening volumio.local stage. My Raspberry Pi doesn't show up on my network at all, either with the USB wireless card or an ethernet cable. Is there anything I need to do before I load the operating system on the microSD card and put it in the slot?

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I'm stuck at the opening volumio.local stage. My Raspberry Pi doesn't show up on my network at all, either with the USB wireless card or an ethernet cable. Is there anything I need to do before I load the operating system on the microSD card and put it in the slot?

I would try using an IP network scanning application to find its IP address and enter that into your browser rather than the name.

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

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I would try using an IP network scanning application to find its IP address and enter that into your browser rather than the name.

 

Good advice. It is also possible to see what IP address has been assigned by connecting the RPI to a monitor and looking through the text output for the "Bound to..." address. Once you do connect, it's probably best to use a fixed IP address, as your router may periodically reassign addresses.

 

I've also observed that when you type "volumio.local" on an iPhone control point, for example, the resultant output may also include suffixes from the previous connection that may be inappropriate and will cause Volumio to hang.

Grey_Friar

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pardon this question but in your description of the construction you mention connecting an ethernet cable to the Raspberry Pi board but not where to connect the other end of the cable. To the router? Thanks for all the information and help.

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pardon this question but in your description of the construction you mention connecting an ethernet cable to the Raspberry Pi board but not where to connect the other end of the cable. To the router? Thanks for all the information and help.

The other end would connect to a spare port on your router (or another switch as part of your network).

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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I notice on the Volumio site there is a link to a program for Mac OS called PiWriter. It evidently allows for writing the Volumio OS to the Micro SD card without using terminal commands. Have I got that right? Any problem using it?

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Is anyone familiar with these folks: https://audio359.eu? Based in Belgium they're selling a system composed of a

Raspberry Pi 2/HiFiBerry DAC plus Audioengine A5+'s w/speaker stands. Price, current euro/dollar conversion, is ~$765.00/$831.00 depending upon the speaker cabinet type.

 

Looks like a good value-based system for those not DIY-inclined. (Website indicates they use a Raspberry Pi-B+, not Pi 2.)

Grey_Friar

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got the Rasberry Pi2 installed but upon boot up I see that the local file system is corrupt which causes processes to fail. I believe it's the SD card that is getting corrupted and it couldn't load volumio. The items I have connected to the device are:

 

usb keyboard

usb mouse

hdmi tv monitor

wireless card or ethernet cable to router

4gb Sd card inserted into rasberry micro sd slot

 

Steps I've taken to resolve issue:

Reformatted SD card

Re-Wrote Volumio back to sd card

Waiting to reinstall

 

Any ideas on how to resolve it?

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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Finally got the Rasberry Pi2 installed but upon boot up I see that the local file system is corrupt which causes processes to fail. I believe it's the SD card that is getting corrupted and it couldn't load volumio. Any ideas on how to resolve it?

 

I have found (as many reported) that certain types or brands of SD card simply will not work in a RPi, even though they may work in a camera, for example. I've had good luck with SanDisk and MicroCenter-branded cards. There are lists of trusted cards available on several Raspberry help sites.

 

It has also been reported that USB power converters must put out at least 5 Volts under load for the RPi to function reliably.

Grey_Friar

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Finally got the Rasberry Pi2 installed but upon boot up I see that the local file system is corrupt which causes processes to fail. I believe it's the SD card that is getting corrupted and it couldn't load volumio. The items I have connected to the device are:

 

usb keyboard

usb mouse

hdmi tv monitor

wireless card or ethernet cable to router

4gb Sd card inserted into rasberry micro sd slot

 

Steps I've taken to resolve issue:

Reformatted SD card

Re-Wrote Volumio back to sd card

Waiting to reinstall

 

Any ideas on how to resolve it?

 

 

Maybe a larger capacity SD card (6 or ten speed) also increase the usb power of the rpi (google is your friend)

 

stick to Ethernet If you can.

 

A headless install is possible with Volumio and Moode (I prefer the latter OS)

 

 

atb

 

Ronnie.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm having a problem getting wifi connected. Raspberry Pi 2, Edimax USB adapter, Roon and Volumio OS's. I'm able to get on the Internet using Ethernet connection. Both Roon and Volumio show the wifi adapter connected but there is no light on in the USB and it won't connect to the Internet if I remove the Ethernet cable. Any suggestions would be appreciated

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I'm having a problem getting wifi connected. Raspberry Pi 2, Edimax USB adapter, Roon and Volumio OS's. I'm able to get on the Internet using Ethernet connection. Both Roon and Volumio show the wifi adapter connected but there is no light on in the USB and it won't connect to the Internet if I remove the Ethernet cable. Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

 

 

 

This is from another forum

 

A brief follow up on what Peter has said and the ref to his post at theaudiostandard forum. Once you have worked out how to connect to your RPi via SSH, you can log in as the "root" user with password "volumio" (unless your're not using Volumio).

 

Two points - (a) commands do not need to be prefixed by "sudo" , (b) the following single command will append the appropriate line of text to the "/boot/config.txt" file:

 

 

 

 echo max_usb_current=1 >> /boot/config.txt

 

Then reboot your RPi either via the Volumio web interface, or via the command line:

 

 

 

reboot

 

The usb dongle takes a while to reboot, watch until you see the blue light flashing on the dongle before opening the WEB GUI of Volumio.

 

 

atb

 

Ronnie.

 

Edit:

 

Good info available here

 

How to Build a Raspberry Pi Based Audio Streamer |

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