Jump to content
IGNORED

Best inexpensive streamer solutions


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, beerandmusic said:

OK, thanks for this information...yea, i never really looked at rpi solutions...

curious why so many rpi users if they acknowledge it doesn't have great usb...and x86 is laying around free everywhere these days? 

is volumio the only linux distro w/web gui you know of that works on x86, as i personally don't want to look at going rpi unless there is an obvious reason over x86?

Not sure about x86 with others than Volumio...

My reasons why I like RPi (vs PC), first its very cheap - 35USD  (+15for power + 15 for case), when you buy good HAT its 100-250 USD more, but still very reasonable price. 

2. Its fanless - this is major point for me, I can put all my music on SD card and use it as server (and now Volumio can play Tidal directly- great)

3. it consume very little energy

4. I like to tinker :), try different OS, sometimes I use it as movie player...you can change it to tube headamp or whatever...its like LEGO :)

 

Its not perfect solution for everyone (it has DIY look, some knowledge of computers and linux is very useful) but with those 502DAC or Allo HATs one can have serious sound quality, for reasonable price in very small and quite form factor...And Im very interested how far can this be pushed- few years ago there was only basic HATs and software (for “audiophile” playback) was lacking seriously. There is constant development there, both in hardware and software side...But If you are happy with x86 and dont find any benefits with those HATs thats perfectly fine...I would not say that RPi platform is better than x86 platform for music, it just different way of doing it.

 

Im looking forward to your findings about Volumio on x86. BTW when on x86, did you ever tried Roon? While Im fan of Volumio, Roon is in different game - not in sound quality department but in the way how it can transform little bit dull digital playback in to fun (with its metadata, reviews, artist profiles, social networks and media connection...Im not aware of any other software that offer this kind of experience )  

 

Link to comment
1 hour ago, qwak said:

how it can transform little bit dull digital playback in to fun (with its metadata, reviews, artist profiles, social networks and media connection...Im not aware of any other software that offer this kind of experience )  

 

?My Chrome browser does all this, especially when I go to allmusic.com or wikipedia. 

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

Link to comment

May be I like "boring" when it comes to all of hardware, my RPI3(not even +) with Volumio does its thing for the last 3 years, sounds great. I have tried a few much more expensive solutions but every time came back to my simple Volumio RPI3. Have tried Roon with it, again no overclocking here, it sounded just as great and played any rate I sent to it without a hitch, even tried upsampling in Roon to 768Khz, the highest PCM my dac supports with USB input, no hiccups there either.

 

my > overly > fancy > system > with > directional > interconnects > powered > by > ego & linear fusion reactor

Link to comment
6 hours ago, qwak said:

Not sure about x86 with others than Volumio...

My reasons why I like RPi (vs PC), first its very cheap - 35USD  (+15for power + 15 for case), when you buy good HAT its 100-250 USD more, but still very reasonable price. 

2. Its fanless - this is major point for me, I can put all my music on SD card and use it as server (and now Volumio can play Tidal directly- great)

3. it consume very little energy

4. I like to tinker :), try different OS, sometimes I use it as movie player...you can change it to tube headamp or whatever...its like LEGO :)

 

Its not perfect solution for everyone (it has DIY look, some knowledge of computers and linux is very useful) but with those 502DAC or Allo HATs one can have serious sound quality, for reasonable price in very small and quite form factor...And Im very interested how far can this be pushed- few years ago there was only basic HATs and software (for “audiophile” playback) was lacking seriously. There is constant development there, both in hardware and software side...But If you are happy with x86 and dont find any benefits with those HATs thats perfectly fine...I would not say that RPi platform is better than x86 platform for music, it just different way of doing it.

 

Im looking forward to your findings about Volumio on x86. BTW when on x86, did you ever tried Roon? While Im fan of Volumio, Roon is in different game - not in sound quality department but in the way how it can transform little bit dull digital playback in to fun (with its metadata, reviews, artist profiles, social networks and media connection...Im not aware of any other software that offer this kind of experience )  

 

Thanks for sharing...I can see that rpi may be for many.  I personally am not a tinkerer.  My x86 boxes are fanless (vivo vm60 i5, have about 6 of them here).  I have looked at and even tried roon...it is not for me...i like using file browsing and roon does not support that...and not willing to pay subscription or $500, but i understand it may be for many.  I use foobar, jriver, audiogate, HEOS, and HQP....i have put volumio on my "todo" list.  For SQ, i like audiogate and HQP, for gui, i prefer the other 2.  For alexa support, i use HEOS.  Most people that have tried roon and HQP prefer SQ of HQP, and configure ROON intfc to work with HQP for improved SQ...again ROON is not my cup of tea, and I certainly wouldn't buy into subscription based or high price.  If they ever supported ALEXA AND file browsing, then it would be worth the $500, but not before then.

Link to comment
3 hours ago, Bikutoru said:

May be I like "boring" when it comes to all of hardware, my RPI3(not even +) with Volumio does its thing for the last 3 years, sounds great. I have tried a few much more expensive solutions but every time came back to my simple Volumio RPI3. Have tried Roon with it, again no overclocking here, it sounded just as great and played any rate I sent to it without a hitch, even tried upsampling in Roon to 768Khz, the highest PCM my dac supports with USB input, no hiccups there either.

 

I prefer 'boring' too inre music player...i really think i will enjoy volumio...have you ever tried recent versions on x86? 

When i download the software on my windows 10 box, do i make a bootable usb that can then be installed on ssd of a new box that i boot into from the usb?  Probably takes just an hour to set up?  Can you control it from it's desktop too, or only remote?   I understand it likely be much better to use as headless, but just curious if i have the option?

Link to comment

A used microRendu?

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

Link to comment

The OP didn't mention audio formats, resolutions, etc - so for up tp 24-bit/96kHz LPCM, the $30 (optical audio cable extra) Google Chromecast Audio deserves a mention.

 

The Logitech Media Server software can provide the CCA with the required web browser controller user interface, as well its audio sources (including from internet radio & online services such as Qobuz, TIDAL, Spotify & Deezer), via the Chromecast bridge LMS plugin & relevant online music service LMS plugin(s). The Chromecast bridge plugin can even overcome the CCA's issue of lack of gapless playback support, if you engage the plugin's transcoder with the Flow option set to provide a continuous lossless FLAC stream.

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

Link to comment
7 hours ago, beerandmusic said:

 

I prefer 'boring' too inre music player...i really think i will enjoy volumio...have you ever tried recent versions on x86? 

When i download the software on my windows 10 box, do i make a bootable usb that can then be installed on ssd of a new box that i boot into from the usb?  Probably takes just an hour to set up?  Can you control it from it's desktop too, or only remote?   I understand it likely be much better to use as headless, but just curious if i have the option?

All you need to know about Volumio on X86 ...
http://bfy.tw/L5Ap
Good luck, Tom

Link to comment
6 hours ago, beerandmusic said:

+1 can't beat the price....

 

Chromecast Audio supposedly has a really awesome implementation as a Roon endpoint with optical out. Without Roon it does not support gapless playback. If you like classical music it might be a really bad experience.

 

I have not tried Volumio on x86. 

As far as control, it is mainly controlled though a web page so it can be done on x86 if it has a monitor, there are mobile control apps too . As far as playback, Volumio has a few modes. It can play local files, play files on a NAS with a samba mount, play from DLNA server somewhere or have music pushed to it with AirPlay and as I already mentioned, you can install Roon bridge on the same RPI, but it has really nothing to do with Volumio. Roon install has to be done with logging on to it with ssh and executing a couple of commands.

 

my > overly > fancy > system > with > directional > interconnects > powered > by > ego & linear fusion reactor

Link to comment
On 11/27/2018 at 10:06 PM, qwak said:

 

From my experience, sound quality of Raspberry Pi streamer depend greatly on what HAT you use, as Dmitre mentioned 502 DAC is great (I haven't heard it personally). I like very much Digione Signature powered by batteries.

If you plan to use straight path from raspberry USB to your DAC I dont think you will hear benefits compared to NUC...

With great S/PDIF transport you should beat regular PC or NUC or even a lot of commercial streamers easily...

Also it is very easy to change operating system in Raspberry Pi- you just swap micro SD card in few seconds- so you can very easily try Volumio, Mood audio, picore player, ropieee etc and choose one you like most.

Volumio is great, probably best UI and feature set of all RPi systems - you can stream Tidal and Qobuz (but this is with 2,99€ subscription) but I was experiencing dropouts regularly with higher than CD quality streaming...

So with Volumio you have best UI but regarding sound quality I would try picore player or Moode...

 

Just FYI, MoodeAudio (now in version 4.3) supports direct stream from Tidal or Qobuz through upmpdcli and without the need to pay an extra 3€ monthly subscription. The "UI" for Tidal or Qobuz will be the one of the controller app you are going to chose (eg Linn Kazoo or Lumin App).

 

You will use Moode UI directly for accessing your library, maybe through the album view
 

MoodeAlbumView.png
 

...or the pre-configured web radios (you may add yours)

MoodeRadio.png

 

or maybe to pause/play or move to next/previous playlist item or  change volume from the playback "cover view"

MoodeCoverView.png

 

These are all just examples... maybe have a look at moodeaudio.org for a better desc of all features

 

Link to comment
On 11/27/2018 at 10:31 PM, beerandmusic said:

 

Most, if not all, would disagree with spdif...it reportedly has more jitter...it may be better if you have "noise issues" but my understanding is that it is not the ideal transmission method provided everything else is ok.

 

I may try volumio anyway, because i like the idea of web interface!!  plus it will also install on x86 hardware.  I will see if i experience any issues with native DSD on x86 and volumio.

You might have a look at these measurements for Allo DigiOne Signature

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-measurements-of-allo-digione-signature-and-diyinhk-pro3z.4660/

I'm not sure how it compares directly to other devices, but in my understanding, it shows that jitter is definitely not an issue on the Spdif output of this device

Link to comment
On 11/17/2018 at 7:05 PM, beerandmusic said:

ack, forget rune-audio...i just read last release was 2015...must have had a short life...but it did look promising?  The web interface looks a lot like volumio...maybe they sold it to volumio, or joint effort with volumio?  The interface resembles it too closely for it not to have a relationship between the two.

 

I am sure volumio is still being developed as the pro-ject streamer was just recently made available for sale, and it is using volumio.

 

Just for info, Volumio and Rune Audio derived from the same project (a group of people initially working together and they choosing different paths), Moode also derived from this work, as can b seen from Moode own contributors page (see Original Code):

Contributions to moOde audio player

User Interface

@swizzle: moOde Adaptive UI and many other contribs
http://moodeaudio.org/forum/

Feature and Technical

Walker Boyd, Brendan Pike: MPD/PHP configs for improved Library capacity
diyAudio moOde thread
Steve Bennett: UPnP configuration
diyAudio moOde thread @Serverbaboon
Ralf Braun: UPnP album art and metadata parsing
diyAudio moOde thread
Bob Daggg: Clock radio and Playback history log
diyAudio moOde thread @DRONE7
Alan Finnie: Logarithmic volume control (pre-MPD 0.20 series)
moOde Twitter Feed
Dr. Panagiotis Karavitis: Playback panel with integrated Playlist
Part-Time Audiophile - Contributors
Kent Reed: Numerous contributions to improve moOde and overall usability
diyAudio moOde thread @TheOldPresbyope
Klaus Schulz: Numerous contributions for improved audio quality
soundcheck's - audio@vise
@lazybat: Inspiration for Album Panel, Chinese utf8 character filter
https://github.com/moode-player/moode
@jesset: arm64 detection and reporting
https://github.com/moode-player/moode
Mike Thornbury, Gordon Garrity: Access Point (AP) mode
diyAudio moOde thread @Zootalaws (Mike)
http://iqaudio.com (Gordon)

Sources and Configs

Jean-Francois Dockes: upexplorer utility
http://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli
Andreas Goetz: Moode3 Prototype, Coverart module, Airplay metadata engine and many other code improvements
https://github.com/moodeaudio
Rusty Hodge: founder of Soma FM, Soma API
http://somafm.com
Yvon Landriault: Graphic Equalizer feature
Select from a variety of preset curves
Clive Messer and Martin Sperl: Experimental Advanced Audio Kernel (4.4.y-simple branch)
https://github.com/moodeaudio/linux
Klaus Schulz: Adv Kernel builds, RT/LL audio tunings, Squeezelite, Bluetooth and many UI improvements
soundcheck's - audio@vise
@Koda59: Moode OS Image Builder
diyAudio Moode thread
Richard Parslow: System config settings for keyboard and layout codes
diyAudio Moode thread

Core Components

Raspberry Pi by Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang, Alan Mycroft, David Braben, and Pete Lomas
https://www.raspberrypi.org/about
Raspbian by Mike Thompson (mpthompson), Peter Green (plugwash) and the entire Raspberry Pi community
https://www.raspbian.org/RaspbianAbout
Debian Linux created by Ian Murdock in 1993
http://www.debian.org
Auto-Shuffle by Josh Kunz
https://github.com/Joshkunz/ashuffle
BlueZ Bluetooth protocol stack by Johan Hedberg
http://www.bluez.org
BlueZ ALSA backend by Arkadiusz Bokowy
https://github.com/Arkq/bluez-alsa
Bootstrap by @mdo and @fat
http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap
Bootstrap-select by caseyjhol
http://silviomoreto.github.io/bootstrap-select
Eq10X2 Graphic Equalizer by Tim Goetze
http://quitte.de/dsp/caps.html#EqFA4p
EqFA4p Parametric Equalizer by Tim Goetze
http://quitte.de/dsp/caps.html#Eq10
Crossfeed by Boris Mikhaylov
http://bs2b.sourceforge.net
Dnsmasq by Simon Kelly
http://www.thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html
Flat UI by Designmodo
http://designmodo.github.io/Flat-UI
Font Awesome by Dave Gandy
http://fontawesome.io
Hostapd by Jouni Malinen
http://http://w1.fi/hostapd/
jQuery Adaptive Backgrounds by Brian Gonzalez
https://github.com/briangonzalez/jquery.adaptive-backgrounds.js
jQuery Countdown by Keith Wood
http://keith-wood.name/countdown.html
jQuery Knob by Anthony Terrien
https://github.com/aterrien/jQuery-Knob
jQuery Lazy Load by Mike Tuupola
http://www.appelsiini.net/projects/lazyload
jQuery MD5 by Sebastian Tschan
http://pajhome.org.uk/crypt/md5
https://blueimp.net
jQuery Pines Notify (pnotify) by Hunter Perrin
https://github.com/sciactive/pnotify
jQuery scrollTo by Ariel Flesler
http://flesler.blogspot.it/2007/10/jqueryscrollto.html
jQuery TouchSwipe by Matt Bryson
http://www.github.com/mattbryson
Lato-Fonts by Åukasz Dziedzic
http://www.latofonts.com/lato-free-fonts
MiniDLNA by Justin Maggard
https://github.com/azatoth/minidlna
MPD by Max Kellermann and Warren Dukes
http://www.musicpd.org
MPD Audio Scrobbler by Henrik Friedrichsen
https://github.com/hrkfdn/mpdas
PHP by the PHP Team
http://php.net
Qix color-convert by Heather Arthur and Josh Junon
https://github.com/Qix-/color-convert
Shairport-sync by Mike Brady
https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-sync
Shellinabox by Markus Gutschke, fork by Luka Krajger
https://github.com/shellinabox/shellinabox
SQLite v3 by the SQLite Team
http://www.sqlite.org
Squeezelite by Adrian Smith and Ralph Irving
https://github.com/ralph-irving/squeezelite
Udisks-glue by Fernando Tarlá Cardoso Lemos
https://github.com/fernandotcl/udisks-glue
Upmpdcli by Jean-Francois Dockes
http://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/
WiringPi GPIO access library by Gordon Henderson
http://wiringpi.com

Original Code

Andrea Coiutti: WebUI design, HTML/CSS/JS coding
Simone De Gregori: PHP/MPD/JS coding and OS optimizations
http://runeaudio.com
Michelangelo Guarise: RaspyFi/Volumio enhancements, OS image build
- One and a half year of work more than Raspyfi's WebUI made by ACX and Orion
- Work has been performed by me, Jotak and other Volumio community members
http://volumio.org
Joel Takvorian (jotak? Library Loader and Panel v1
volumio forum post
Jan Sandred (jansandred? Radio Station PLS Files (original set)
volumio forum post

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
On 11/28/2018 at 1:51 PM, Cebolla said:

The OP didn't mention audio formats, resolutions, etc - so for up tp 24-bit/96kHz LPCM, the $30 (optical audio cable extra) Google Chromecast Audio deserves a mention.

 

The Logitech Media Server software can provide the CCA with the required web browser controller user interface, as well its audio sources (including from internet radio & online services such as Qobuz, TIDAL, Spotify & Deezer), via the Chromecast bridge LMS plugin & relevant online music service LMS plugin(s). The Chromecast bridge plugin can even overcome the CCA's issue of lack of gapless playback support, if you engage the plugin's transcoder with the Flow option set to provide a continuous lossless FLAC stream.

...and LMS is running where?

To my understanding, you should factor in the price of another SBC for that (say a raspberry or the like)

Link to comment

The OP did actually state that a computer would be used at all times to control the device (ideally via a web browser) - so the implication is that LMS would run on that computer.

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

Link to comment
On 11/27/2018 at 5:26 PM, Possum Jenkins said:

Pi use doesn't necessarily mean using its usb, there are a few i2s dacs which are pretty decent that slot on top, darko reviewed a few recently.

I2S is available directly off the board too, although it should get reclocked somehow.

Forrest:

Win10 i9 9900KS/GTX1060 HQPlayer4>Win10 NAA

DSD>Pavel's DSC2.6>Bent Audio TAP>

Parasound JC1>"Naked" Quad ESL63/Tannoy PS350B subs<100Hz

Link to comment
13 hours ago, franz159 said:

 

Just FYI, MoodeAudio (now in version 4.3) supports direct stream from Tidal or Qobuz through upmpdcli and without the need to pay an extra 3€ monthly subscription. The "UI" for Tidal or Qobuz will be the one of the controller app you are going to chose (eg Linn Kazoo or Lumin App).

 

The upmpdcli TIDAL & Qobuz access works perfectly with Linn Kazoo. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Lumin app - the upmdpcli's  'direct stream' / Openhome Streaming Services (for TIDAL & Qobuz access) feature needs to be switched off, otherwise the Lumin app cannot see upmdpcli (& therefore any devce that uses it, such as MoodeAudio) for some reason yet to established by its developer.

 

So you cannot use the Lumin app's normal TIDAL & Qobuz screen views with upmpdcli and are restricted to the more cumbersome upmpdcli's (indirect) online services media server feature.

 

 

BTW, did you factor in the potential cost of the hand held device, for running apps like Lumin, that the OP clearly wasn't happy using anyway? ☺️

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

Link to comment
21 hours ago, Cebolla said:

 

The upmpdcli TIDAL & Qobuz access works perfectly with Linn Kazoo. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Lumin app - the upmdpcli's  'direct stream' / Openhome Streaming Services (for TIDAL & Qobuz access) feature needs to be switched off, otherwise the Lumin app cannot see upmdpcli (& therefore any devce that uses it, such as MoodeAudio) for some reason yet to established by its developer.

 

So you cannot use the Lumin app's normal TIDAL & Qobuz screen views with upmpdcli and are restricted to the more cumbersome upmpdcli's (indirect) online services media server feature.

 

 

BTW, did you factor in the potential cost of the hand held device, for running apps like Lumin, that the OP clearly wasn't happy using anyway? ☺️

Touché

???

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...