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AudioLinux and NUC Troubleshooting and Tuning


rickca
Message added by austinpop

Summary of useful findings and recommendations

 

This section will be a living repository of useful info from this thread. It's very similar to a wiki and will be maintained by a small group of thread moderators.

 

Before you get started please refer to the Audio-Linux website to ensure you have the latest info and the proper versions of the OS. Audio-Linux.com  

 

**** Updated for AL 1.30 menu 118 or later.

 

  "First Run" setup for headless.  

 

Setup your NUC with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the NUC BIOS settings.  From the menu note the IP address of the machine to SSH into.  From a MAC the macOS terminal program supports SSH:

324537708_ScreenShot2019-01-28at3_02_19PM.thumb.png.739dc7f9cdb05e04da806c7c66877332.png

 

Then it is simpler to cut and paste into the terminal session. After entering the password for the audiolinuxuser you will be presented with the AL headless menu:

 

1518375894_ScreenShot2019-01-28at3_04_18PM.thumb.png.a7b2867a163f8f014e56e52ff69f94b4.png

 

Option 8 takes you to the command line for the following basic setup.  You will need to be the Root user for this setup and the su command first:

 

su

 

Fix the time zone:  (this is my timezone - look in directory /usr/share/zoneinfo)

 

timedatectl set-timezone America/Chicago
 

Setup and Start NTP daemon (to keep the system time in sync)

 

*** the config file is now properly filled in.

 

Now Start the daemon

 

timedatectl set-ntp true

 

 

NOTE: Sometimes the system takes a little while to get synced up.
 

Set hostname  (this provides a unique name for the machine on your network.  Replace <NAME> with your chosen name)

 

hostnamectl set-hostname <NAME> 
 

Once the above items are set up your machine is ready to be configured for say a Roon bridge/endpoint. That is done using the AL menu.  To return to the menu do the following commands.

 

exit

menu

 

----------------------------------

 

For most of us, the following basic settings are key.

From the configuration menu:

6. START and enable Roonbridge

15. SET Realtime Priority to extreme

16. ENABLE ramroot (reboot after)

 

Return to the main menu and reboot the NUC using 

 

11 Reboot

 

------------------

Roon Server setup is a bit more complex and we will cover it completely a bit later.  The key is where you are booting from and where the Roon database is stored.  In general; say a 32gb OPTANE "SSD".

 

  • You have to partition the SSD into a boot drive and a storage drive.  
  • The transfer the USB stick install to the boot partition.  
  • Reboot from the boot partition.  
  • Do the basic setup. Timezone and name
  • Transfer the Roon Database to the storage drive
  • Start the Roon Server
  • .....

 

----------------- 

The machine will reboot and from the display attached to the NUC you can watch it boot up and load into RAM.  Once the AudioLinux menu is showing the endpoint should be available in Roon.    This completes the basic startup sequence.  The system is ready to start testing.    

 

 

Recommended Posts

6 minutes ago, ray-dude said:

 

Sorry, I was referring to the original tweak from the mother "A novel way..." thread (OG == Original Gangster ... I blame my teenager for polluting my vocabulary ;)

 

I did start to work my way through the mother thread, but there is a LOT there.  I'm currently holding out for an  EtherGen (or equivalent), but I'm tempted to do some bridging experiments, just for the learning.  I appreciate the guides!

Thank you for the reply.  My bad because English is not my 1st tongue and am particularly bad at slangs/short forms.

 

It's very hard to read through each post in the OG thread.  You may read the 1st post stewarded by Rajiv (many thanks) and read the topics that you find interesting.  I read the thread since its birth but am not sure if I can now read through it from the beginning.  Should be close to 10000 posts, I guess.  There were lots of experiments there.  One of Rajiv's post provided  great summary of the change of his audio setup which reflected the change of the thread as well.

 

Incidentally I'm waiting for the EtherRegen as well.  The OCXO TLS switch is highly regarded and the clocked SoTM switch is even more highly regarded by Roy.  I recall that Roy posted in another thread in CA that talks that switch.  He made a good point that if multi-streaming say audio and video are needed, then the SoTM switch could be a better choice.

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34 minutes ago, ray-dude said:

 

Sorry, I was referring to the original tweak from the mother "A novel way..." thread (OG == Original Gangster ... I blame my teenager for polluting my vocabulary ;)

 

I did start to work my way through the mother thread, but there is a LOT there.  I'm currently holding out for an  EtherGen (or equivalent), but I'm tempted to do some bridging experiments, just for the learning.  I appreciate the guides!

 

Hi Ray,

 

Yes, as Leo points out, please do use the first post index as a way to make some sense of the OG (I like it!) thread.

 

BTW - how is the squeezeilte parameter optimization going? I still need to try your settings. So is this still the high water mark for you:

  1. -b 4097152:97152
  2. -a 1000000:4::

?

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Just now, austinpop said:

 

Hi Ray,

 

Yes, as Leo points out, please do use the first post index as a way to make some sense of the OG (I like it!) thread.

 

BTW - how is the squeezeilte parameter optimization going? I still need to try your settings. So is this still the high water mark for you:

  1. -b 4097152:97152
  2. -a 1000000:4::

?

 

My apologies to all who speak English vs Teenager American (or even Texan ;)  

 

Yes Rajiv, these are my current settings, at least until I have some more time for listening tests.  I thought I was hearing some differences as I went from 1MB to 10MB on the -a parameter, but fatigue was setting in and I wasn't trusting my critical hearing any more.   I need to repeat these test later this week.

 

For the -b parameter, I was arbitrarily shifting as much of the 4GB buffer as felt safe to the streaming side.  I was evaluating order of magnitude impact by testing extremes, so please don't consider this optimized. 

 

As you play with these, I'd be curious to hear your impressions on SQ lift that is still attributable to the server NUC.  I only have a single NUC right now so I haven't been able to experiment, but it seems that if the network activity from server to end point is all in a ~1 second burst, the impact of the upstream server should be diminished for the other 99% of music playback time.  (Per your finding, this would obviously not the case with Roon Bridge on the end point, since the server NUC would be streaming continuously)

 

Basically, do gratuitous buffers on the end point NUC (both to the streaming side and to the DAC side) make the upstream server less critical for SQ?

 

 

ATT Fiber -> EdgeRouter X SFP -> Taiko Audio Extreme -> Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE w/ Level 2 DAC -> Voxativ 9.87 speakers w/ 4D drivers

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3 hours ago, BigAlMc said:

Yup.

 

The NUC based server is still a work in progress.

 

Some great info yesterday on setting up the SSD but after a long day at work I didn't have the energy to tackle that tonight. Will settle for getting my PSU blocker unblocked ?

DNBE as the server and 7CJYH as the endpoint in the future?

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22 minutes ago, mourip said:

 

I am curious about that. Is it because of ground currents?

Quite a few of the gurus here mentioned that.  I've forgotten the reason but sounds like the ground loop or something similar. 

 

Not sure if it's still relevant for the PCs with floating ground.  Just stated the good advices that I've received in the past.

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5 hours ago, greenleo said:

DNBE as the server and 7CJYH as the endpoint in the future?

 

DNBE as the endpoint and DNKE as the server.

 

Figured if I'm trying to equal or beat my Zenith then I should be bold.

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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Since a couple of nuc/AL users have reported being pleased with the results of using a wifi connection I'd like to give it a go, if for nothing else than the peace of mind that I've tried all options I have immediately available (LPSU powered/ground shunted  Netgear switch and CIsco 2060 switch).

 

Is there a guide for establishing a wifi connection?

 

Piero's site just has a link to the archlinux wiki with a brief mention that some wpa_supplicant will need to be installed and configured.

 

iwconfig returns a 'command not found' error so I presume, by default, certain dependencies aren't included as standard in audiolinux?

 

 

 

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Just now, rettib2001 said:

Since a couple of nuc/AL users have reported being pleased with the results of using a wifi connection I'd like to give it a go, if for nothing else than the peace of mind that I've tried all options I have immediately available (LPSU powered/ground shunted  Netgear switch and CIsco 2060 switch).

 

Is there a guide for establishing a wifi connection?

 

Piero's site just has a link to the archlinux wiki with a brief mention that some wpa_supplicant will need to be installed and configured.

 

iwconfig returns a 'command not found' error so I presume, by default, certain dependencies aren't included as standard in audiolinux?

 

 

 

I tried to set up a WiFi bridge (as in the OG ) but failed in AL.  However, enentually, I managed to connect through wifi to my router with Piero's help (many thanks Piero) and the reading.

 

To setup a WiFi link is relatively straight forward but still pretty laborious for a Window guy.  Basically you need to install the driver for the WiFi adapter 1st.  Then follow the WPA_supplicant web page (which is manageable but not easy, at least I found it not too easy).  I would not go into the details.  Complications may  still arise like the adapter may not be able see all the APs, difficulty in using 802.11x, ...etc.   No intention to frighten you but as a friendly reminder/warning.

 

If money is not a concern, using a switch may provide equal or better SQ, my speculation.  I recall Larry mentioned he may try the EtherRegen which I'm eagerly waiting as well.  For great switches already available, search Roy's or Rajiv's posts may help.

 

Hope this helps.

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9 minutes ago, greenleo said:

I tried to set up a WiFi bridge (as in the OG ) but failed in AL.  However, enentually, I managed to connect through wifi to my router with Piero's help (many thanks Piero) and the reading.

 

To setup a WiFi link is relatively straight forward but still pretty laborious for a Window guy.  Basically you need to install the driver for the WiFi adapter 1st.  Then follow the WPA_supplicant web page (which is manageable but not easy, at least I found it not too easy).  I would not go into the details.  Complications may  still arise like the adapter may not be able see all the APs, difficulty in using 802.11x, ...etc.   No intention to frighten you but as a friendly reminder/warning.

 

If money is not a concern, using a switch may provide equal or better SQ, my speculation.  I recall Larry mentioned he may try the EtherRegen which I'm eagerly waiting as well.  For great switches already available, search Roy's or Rajiv's posts may help.

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm inevitably going to buy the EtherRegen too, I was just curious about wifi.

 

With all the vast-to-minute tweaking we're all doing at the moment I thought it was perhaps shortsighted not to at least try.

 

Might roll up my sleeves and give it a go anyway.

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55 minutes ago, greenleo said:

Differences between DNBE and DNKE?

 

We should be bold.  

 

Cheers.

 

The DNBE doesn't have a WiFi card or Bluetooth on the board and is in theory the better of the two as a result.

 

Cheers,

Alan

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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49 minutes ago, rettib2001 said:

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm inevitably going to buy the EtherRegen too, I was just curious about wifi.

 

With all the vast-to-minute tweaking we're all doing at the moment I thought it was perhaps shortsighted not to at least try.

 

Might roll up my sleeves and give it a go anyway.

Thank you for the reply.  

 

Please try and let me know if you can setup the WiFi Network Bridge, the thing I  actually need but have been defeated.

 

Regards.

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9 hours ago, ray-dude said:

 

My apologies to all who speak English vs Teenager American (or even Texan ;) 

 

 

Hi Ray,

 

I have to say I have gone in the opposite direction, I am building barricades around my vocab and am retreating more into Dickens and Trollope!

 

I was talking to a youth group at the weekend who were discussing how many 'fleshy' friends they have, I said that ALL my friends are fleshy ....then started to think about various blogs I post into. Damn, the lines are getting blurred.

 

♄€↳ρ ♔€ ☈€☂ꍏ♗♫ ♔☿ ⓢꍏ♫♗☂☿!

 

M

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3 hours ago, BigAlMc said:

 

The DNBE doesn't have a WiFi card or Bluetooth on the board and is in theory the better of the two as a result.

 

Cheers,

Alan

Isn't the DNBE a bare bones card without a case? 

 

In the US the DNKE is the same card in a short case with a removable m.2 WiFi card and antenna connections in place.

 

In the US the DNHE is the same card in a tall case with a removable m.2 WiFi card and antenna connections in place.

 

The 2.4 and 5ghz WiFi card is held in place with one screw and is easily removable. At 5 GHz it works well here as a substitute for an isolated switch, at least until the EtherRegen arrives.

 

In high power mode this machine makes a great server, and in low power mode makes a great endpoint that can with some effort be powered by an lps1.2.

 

Anyway the best NUC sound quality I have heard comes from this machine, but it is expensive and the most difficult to configure.

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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21 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Isn't the DNBE a bare bones card without a case? 

 

In the US the DNKE is the same card in a short case with a removable m.2 WiFi card and antenna connections in place.

 

In the US the DNHE is the same card in a tall case with a removable m.2 WiFi card and antenna connections in place.

 

The 2.4 and 5ghz WiFi card is held in place with one screw and is easily removable. At 5 GHz it works well here as a substitute for an isolated switch, at least until the EtherRegen arrives.

 

In high power mode this machine makes a great server, and in low power mode makes a great endpoint that can with some effort be powered by an lps1.2.

 

Anyway the best NUC sound quality I have heard comes from this machine, but it is expensive and the most difficult to configure.

 

Hi Larry,

 

Yup the DNBE was barebone and the DNKE came as a kit.

 

I read both Roy (the i7 post in the Novel Way index) and Rajiv more recently saying the difference was lack of built in WiFi & Bluetooth. But yeah I'd spotted the WiFi card in the DNKE looked easy enough to remove and given I'm using LAN I probably will at some point.

 

Great to know I bought the hardest to configure tho! Am sure the SQ will reward my efforts.

 

Cheers,

Alan

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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33 minutes ago, MrUnderhill said:

Hope so.

 

We could do a NUC bakeoff!

 

M

 

Hi Martin,

 

My barely follow the 'for dummies guide' level vs your in the command line tweaking advanced settings.

 

Hmm - doesn't sound like a fair fight to me! ?

 

Cheers,

Alan

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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8 hours ago, greenleo said:

I tried to set up a WiFi bridge (as in the OG ) but failed in AL.  However, enentually, I managed to connect through wifi to my router with Piero's help (many thanks Piero) and the reading.

 

To setup a WiFi link is relatively straight forward but still pretty laborious for a Window guy.  Basically you need to install the driver for the WiFi adapter 1st.  Then follow the WPA_supplicant web page (which is manageable but not easy, at least I found it not too easy).  I would not go into the details.  Complications may  still arise like the adapter may not be able see all the APs, difficulty in using 802.11x, ...etc.   No intention to frighten you but as a friendly reminder/warning.

 

If money is not a concern, using a switch may provide equal or better SQ, my speculation.  I recall Larry mentioned he may try the EtherRegen which I'm eagerly waiting as well.  For great switches already available, search Roy's or Rajiv's posts may help.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I remember several years ago when the dedicated audio server articles came out it was always suggested that WiFi transmitters be kept a good distance from the server/endpoint due to radio noise. It also seems to me that running an internal WiFi or an external USB WiFi dongle will increase power requirements and heat.

 

One way to get around this could be to use even a modest router set to bridge mode and connect it to your existing ethernet port. You could use a 10 foot or longer ethernet cable to keep the router at a significant distance from the NUC/PC. The only gotcha would be the possibility of ground currents and noise coming through the ethernet cable from the distant SMPS of the router.

 

Another experiment!


"Don't Believe Everything You Think"

System

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...I’m also enjoying AL with a dual pc config. 1 fanless Nuc with AL LXQt as Roon server, and an AMD ryzen fanless with a streacom chassis as Roon bridge. I just installed AL on a sandisk extreme  USB key, then physically removed it, and I appreciate the result. It seems to be « cleaner », more definition/precision. 

For those who do the same, do you just remove your key/hdd, or do you type something like « unmount /dev/sdx » before ? 

(just to be sure, I didn’t have a error message or kernel panic, but don’t want to break anything...)

Roon / audio-linux / dual PC / I2s FGPA Dac / analog tube processor / analog tube crossover / active speakers / dual subs / absorption+massive diffusion / ugly cat in the room

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