Raspberry Pi 2 - Listening impressions

[mwb]

Raspberry Pi 3 w/ Digi+. Just took delivery of the steel case today. Very nice. I have a Pi 2 player with DAC+ w/ the steel case in my bedroom system. HiFiBerry just started making the steel case for the Digi+ in the last week or two. Definitely the nicest case I've come across. Worth the extra $$ over the snap together cases.

 

[tboooe]

Raspberry Pi 3 w/ Digi+. Just took delivery of the steel case today. Very nice. I have a Pi 2 player with DAC+ w/ the steel case as well. HiFiBerry just started making the steel case for the Digi+ in the last week or two. Definitely the nicest case I've come across. Worth the extra $$ over the snap together cases.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]25621[/ATTACH]

 

GREAT to know! I will be getting my Pi 3 on Sat. Once I get it working on my system and depending on how good it sounds compared to my tweaked out pc acting as a renderer using Volumio, I will get the Digi+ and steel case.

 

mwb, may I ask what you have connected the Digi+? Since you have the Digi+ have you compared the sound coming from the USB?

[clipper]

To my ears, and with my equipment, coax S/PDIF out from the Digi+ sounds much better than USB out from the Pi.

[tboooe]

To my ears, and with my equipment, coax S/PDIF out from the Digi+ sounds much better than USB out from the Pi.

Thank you! I am looking forward to comparing the Pi USB to my tricked out Windows machine.

[mwb]

mwb, may I ask what you have connected the Digi+? Since you have the Digi+ have you compared the sound coming from the USB?

 

tboooe -

 

I'm just starting out my investigation of the Digi+. I just got the Pi 3 today (with on-board WiFi) and so far I've only used it with coax to my DAC. Prior to today I only had a Pi 2 and since I need WiFi, I was using a USB WiFi dongle. I've heard that SQ is terrible using USB to connect to your DAC when using a WiFi dongle, so I never really tried it.

 

At this stage I'm primarily interested in comparing the Digi+ to my Squeezebox Touch. I've never been a USB guy and don't have a decent USB cable, so any tests I do probably wouldn't reflect what others might hear with their system.

[tboooe]

mwb, are you going to use RuneAudio, Volumio or Moode? Curious to hear if there are any difference in sound. I see that RuneAudio has some some sound profiles that seems to adjust the performance at a kernel level which could be interesting to use.

[mwb]

mwb, are you going to use RuneAudio, Volumio or Moode? Curious to hear if there are any difference in sound. I see that RuneAudio has some some sound profiles that seems to adjust the performance at a kernel level which could be interesting to use.

 

I'm using piCorePlayer with Logitech Media Server. I've been in the SlimDevices/Logitech ecosystem since its inception and that's really the basis for my initial interest in a Pi based player solution. I tried Volumio very briefly, but didn't do too much tinkering with it.

[TommyBoy]

>are you going to use RuneAudio, Volumio or Moode? Curious to hear if there are any difference in sound.

 

offcourse not, as long as you use uncomprsed files, all they do is to move bytes from one location to another,

and as long as you turn off software volume controll, in case your DAC support hardware volume.

 

But be warned, the RPI3 needs special image versions, the volumio 2 version for RPI3 almost fried mine, d

ue to overheating the CPU, I even use oversized headspreaders.

with the rune and moode, my rpi3 run almost room temperature !!

 

rune 0.4 for rpi3 got a few known bugs, time dial only work on mp3 files (the rest works perfectly)

moode, new cool wifi auto connect feature, great idea, it just dont work to setup mine.

if you got a pi2, all 3 software systems works alot better, since the pi2 have been out much longer

and most of the bugs are fixed. they all work very slow to fix reported bugs.

[tboooe]

offcourse not, as long as you use uncomprsed files, all they do is to move bytes from one location to another,

and as long as you turn off software volume controll, in case your DAC support hardware volume.

 

But be warned, the RPI3 needs special image versions, the volumio 2 version for RPI3 almost fried mine, d

ue to overheating the CPU, I even use oversized headspreaders.

with the rune and moode, my rpi3 run almost room temperature !!

 

Thank you TommyBoy! I've got a RPI3 coming tomorrow. I understand that each player is bit perfect but I am one of those people who believe that the hardware and software of the player, even when it is outputting a digital signal can sound different. This is why on my current pc I run Audiophile Optimizer and Fidelizer.

 

Anyway, I will first try Rune because it has sound signatures that is interesting to try. I am only using the RPI3 as a renderer receiving music from Minimserver so I am not sure if the signatures have any impact.

[TommyBoy]

lets just imagine what they all claim is really true ??

they all say they dont modify the bytes the music is made of,

so it is only the transport of bytes, if you dont change your hardware setup,

but only swap the SD cards with the different opperating systems, this is what I did during all my tests,

I also double checked the I2S timings, they all do exactly the same, and it is perfect margin as the datasheet require for I2S

so there is tons of margin to each side of data to clock rise, and to L/R latch, exactly as expected,

I can not hear any kinds of difference,

what I did not do (yet) play a known test file, capture the I2S data, and perform verify, this will once and for all

prove if they add or sub anykinds of stull to the music :-)

The DAC is where to look for sound differences, lets say they are not defective :-) as mine was, did you see the shi-t-storm I made at rune forum ?? about noise from P1FI,really a bad design, with switchmode supply, what a joke, be sure to take a large pill, before reading that thread, so you dont die laughting.

 

PS: add headspreader to RPI3, and double check its temp, while testing, it reveal very clearly how well the system works, take extra care when you test volumio 2 !!! dont kill your new pi.

[master]

I am only using the RPI3 as a renderer receiving music from Minimserver so I am not sure if the signatures have any impact.

 

Interesting.

 

I'm assuming you are running MinimServer on a Windows PC or a NAS.

 

Unless you are into high res, the Chromecast Audio will serve as an excellent renderer. It's limited to 96/24 and Toslink only, but its plug and play easy and in addition has a ton of streaming services... and costs less than the Pi (you need to pay for a mobile charger, SD card, case, cables, etc.).

 

PS: I'm a huge Pi fanboy and its what I use and recommend, but its more as a streamer and not as a renderer. I've seen it used as a renderer too, especially in an LMS environment with the likes of piCorePlayer, Max2Play, etc. for a multi room audio setup.

[tboooe]

The DAC is where to look for sound differences, lets say they are not defective :-) as mine was, did you see the shi-t-storm I made at rune forum ?? about noise from P1FI,really a bad design, with switchmode supply, what a joke, be sure to take a large pill, before reading that thread, so you dont die laughting.

 

PS: add headspreader to RPI3, and double check its temp, while testing, it reveal very clearly how well the system works, take extra care when you test volumio 2 !!! dont kill your new pi.

 

Yes, I agree that DACs make more of difference. I am going to have to check out your thread on the Rune forum. I need a good laugh today! Does Volumio 1.55 also have the heat issues?

 

Interesting.

 

I'm assuming you are running MinimServer on a Windows PC or a NAS.

 

Unless you are into high res, the Chromecast Audio will serve as an excellent renderer. It's limited to 96/24 and Toslink only, but its plug and play easy and in addition has a ton of streaming services... and costs less than the Pi (you need to pay for a mobile charger, SD card, case, cables, etc.).

 

PS: I'm a huge Pi fanboy and its what I use and recommend, but its more as a streamer and not as a renderer. I've seen it used as a renderer too, especially in an LMS environment with the likes of piCorePlayer, Max2Play, etc. for a multi room audio setup.

 

I have Minimserver running on both my QNAP NAS and Audio PC. I prefer the sound from my Audio PC but its not a fair comparison since the QNAP NAS I have does not have an Intel processor so I cannot run SOX on it. The difference is not night and day but I still prefer Minimserver on my Audio PC.

 

I actually think Pi works better as a renderer due to its lower computing power. For me, I prefer to have all the processing heavy work like upsampling, converting to DSD, library management, etc done in a separate PC. This allows a small device like the Pi to just do a simple task and theoretically not "pollute" the sound with computing overheard.

 

I am excited to get my Pi3 tomorrow to try all this out.

[TommyBoy]

>Does Volumio 1.55 also have the heat issues?

 

no heat issues found, since that version dont work on RPI3, does not bootup at all :-)

[tboooe]

>Does Volumio 1.55 also have the heat issues?

 

no heat issues found, since that version dont work on RPI3, does not bootup at all :-)

HA HA HA! Well I guess I will be running Rune then!

 

BTW, I saw your thread. Very interesting. I am going to try and supply linear power to both the Digi+ and Pi3 separately to see if I can get better sound. I posted on the HiFiberry forum my questions:

 

https://support.hifiberry.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/206543509-Digi-Linear-Power-and-DAC-Suggestions?page=1#community_comment_207627869

[amolan]

Hi Tboooe,

 

I'm really interested in your test with power supplies, let us know.

[tboooe]

Hi Tboooe,

 

I'm really interested in your test with power supplies, let us know.

 

Definitely! I just need to verify the steps first to make sure I dont fry anything. I think supplying the Pi3 and Digi+ from a single linear power supply is easy. I just need to solder a terminal block to P3 on the Digi+ board. I dont like this because the Digi+ is still getting 3.3V from the Pi3. I think the better approach is to supply 5V and 3.3V separately to the Digi+ and 5V to the Pi3. This is where I am not sure what I need to do. I think I need to cut pins 1, 2, 4 from the GPIO header on the Pi3. Anyone know for sure how to completely isolate the power between the Pi3 and Digi+?

[BobSherman]

HA HA HA! Well I guess I will be running Rune then!

 

BTW, I saw your thread. Very interesting. I am going to try and supply linear power to both the Digi+ and Pi3 separately to see if I can get better sound. I posted on the HiFiberry forum my questions:

 

https://support.hifiberry.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/206543509-Digi-Linear-Power-and-DAC-Suggestions?page=1#community_comment_207627869

Powering both from the digi+ is the way to go IMO. I think you will be impressed. I would also suggest trying Moode.

[tboooe]

Powering both from the digi+ is the way to go IMO. I think you will be impressed. I would also suggest trying Moode.

Have you tried this? If so , can you please confirm that all I need to do is supply 5V to P3 on the Digi+ board?

 

As for Moode, is it capable of acting as a renderer? I need to investigate.

[TommyBoy]

>HA HA HA! Well I guess I will be running Rune then!

 

rune works quite good, I am actually mostly happy for rune, just this time dial bug V0.4 that makes me a bit sad.

it worked perfectly in 0.3, but that version dont run in a RPI3.

 

>BTW, I saw your thread. Very interesting.

>I am going to try and supply linear power to both the Digi+ and Pi3 separately

>to see if I can get better sound. I posted on the HiFiberry forum my questions:

 

EXACTLY, a good audio system always starts with a noise free powersupply :-)

 

PS: Moode released just 10 mins ago, new version for RPI3

Moode 2.6 Test Release 2 (TR2) is available for download at moodeaudio.org under the TEST CODE button.

 

so be sure you also remember to test that one,

I suggest to have a few SD cards arround, so testing several systems is easier.

[mwb]

I've got a RPI3 coming tomorrow.

 

Are you going to use the built in WiFi or are you using it wired? I've been really struggling with the built in WiFi on the Pi 3.

[mwb]

PS: I'm a huge Pi fanboy and its what I use and recommend, but its more as a streamer and not as a renderer.

 

What's the difference between a streamer and a renderer? I'm not doubting you that there is a difference, I honestly never knew there was a difference.

[BobSherman]

Have you tried this? If so , can you please confirm that all I need to do is supply 5V to P3 on the Digi+ board?

 

As for Moode, is it capable of acting as a renderer? I need to investigate.

With a pi2 B not a p3 but that should not matter.

 

Yes I power them that way, sounds pretty good really. Bryston is doing something similar. Moode is versatile, what are you planing on doing?

 

 

 

[TommyBoy]

>Are you going to use the built in WiFi or are you using it wired?

>I've been really struggling with the built in WiFi on the Pi 3.

 

YES the internal is a few feet of range, that is it, look at lits compleetle useless tiny antenna.

I ran a few disable internal wifi commands

and enable usb wifi stick, then perfect range and all is super :-)

the rune support dudes in the forum told me exactly how, I am not a command line know-how kind of user.

[mwb]

>Are you going to use the built in WiFi or are you using it wired?

>I've been really struggling with the built in WiFi on the Pi 3.

 

YES the internal is a few feet of range, that is it, look at lits compleetle useless tiny antenna.

I ran a few disable internal wifi commands

and enable usb wifi stick, then perfect range and all is super :-)

the rune support dudes in the forum told me exactly how, I am not a command line know-how kind of user.

 

Do you have the commands to disable the onboard WiFi? Or a link? Thanks in advance!

[TommyBoy]

check rune forum :-)

 

(solved) PI3 0.4 beta, wifi not ok : Raspberry Pi • RuneAudio Forum