GentooPlayer

[Loukiz]

looks great  

 

I found one minor aspect: Audio Buffer Size says default is 4MB and then again "Default is 2048"

 

Looks like ramsystem is running fine with the 64bit version.

[Loukiz]

1 hour ago, zackthedog said:

What are the profiles for?

 

Profile 1 (which in my opinion makes a lot of sense):
Isolate the cpu 1-3
move all irqs to cpu 0
then move the irqs of the usb/i2s to cpu 1.
then move Lan's irqs to cpu 2.
then move the player (squeezelite, mpd, naa, etc.) to cpu 3

and gives priority to i2s and player 90 and 75 respectively

 

 

I have not checked the other profiles yet, you can check the activated profiles behavior under /boot/etc/ (open the activated profile file via nano). Or check GitHub: https://github.com/antonellocaroli/scriptrpi-1.6/tree/master/gentooplayer/script (e.g. profile1.start).

 

I attached a screenshot of the "htop" command under profile 1, showing the NI (nice value, or task priority (lower is higher priority)), the isolated CPUs (CPU 1 = network/upmpdcli, CPU3 = MPD, etc.)

 

[Loukiz]

For people who do not need/use the USB ports of a Raspberry Pi 3B+ (works with other Pis as well, but USB controllers are a little different), there is a way to shut down the power to the USB ports completely using uhubctl (https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl).

 

To do this:

 

1. Login to the RPI via SSH
2. git clone https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl
3. cd uhubctl
4. make uhubctl
5. uhubctl     (this will show you a list of the USB controllers and ports)

6. uhubctl -p 2 -a 0 -l 1-1.1 (this will turn off the power to "port 2" of hub "1-1.1"

7. DO NOT TURN OFF PORT 1 on either hub (this will turn off the ethernet and you will not be able to connect to your PPI until you reboot)

8. you can turn off multiple ports at once using "&&":  uhubctl -p 2 -a 0 -l 1-1.1 && uhubctl -p 3 -a 0 -l 1-1.1 && uhubctl -p 2 -a 0 -l 1-1 && uhubctl -p 3 -a 0 -l 1-1 && uhubctl -p 4 -a 0 -l 1-1 && uhubctl

9. The changes are removed with the next reboot

10. You can create a startup script via:    nano ~/etc/local.d/usboff.start  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Loukiz]

2 minutes ago, DomieMic65 said:

And to turn them back on?🙂

 

just replace "-a 0" with "-a 1"

 

e.g.:  uhubctl -p 2 -a 1 -l 1-1.1 

[Loukiz]

1 hour ago, antonellocaroli said:

 

 

That binary is already installed.

 

Oh, I missed that. Then forget about the git clone and make. Thanks for including it so fast!

 

[Loukiz]

1 hour ago, antonellocaroli said:

question:
could it be interesting to switch, fast enough, between different versions of alsa?

1.0.29

1.1.8

1.1.9

1.2.1

 

 

I never tested this, but do they sound different?  The kernels already make quite a difference so I guess more sound tuning options would always be welcome  

[Loukiz]

I tested the performance of the new kernels with cyclictest. Most important are the numbers on the right side for each of the cores, showing the maximum latency after 100000 cycles (4 cores, Raspberry Pi 3B+). See attached results.

 

Standard (non-real time kernels) cannot achieve the same latency performance, as can be seen. However, the standard real time kernel does not seem to perform that great either. 

 

There is also a difference in sound, at least in my system, some kernels seem to sound more analytical, while others tend to sound a little warmer (may also vary from system to system). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Loukiz]

5 minutes ago, DomieMic65 said:

i don't know if i read something wrong but (some of) the kernels above have different names from those in the 191231 img

can't find them in the options

 

the names in the options are a little simplified, e.g.:   

 

 4.19.71-GentooPlayer-RT-MIN-NOGRAPH-RCU-rt24+     =        GentooPlayer-RT-MIN-NOGRAPH-RCU

[Loukiz]

I uninstalled everything I did not need (only kept upmpdcli and mpd), I'm currently liking the "4.19.71-GentooPlayer-RT-MIN-NOGRAPH-RCU-rt24+" kernel the most (sounds a little warmer in my system).

 

With RamSystem activated I still have 478MB of total 969MB Free memory. RamSystem makes a huge difference, bigger than any Kernel change.

 

The sound is great, thanks antonello!  

 

The only thing thats missing from my perspective would be some kind of update script for the future or fixed settings file where you can put it all your preferred options. This way you would not have to set all changes again for a new image, e.g.:

 

 

Options.file (simply store on flashed SD card)

Profile: 1

Kernel: 4.19.71-GentooPlayer-RT-MIN-NOGRAPH-RCU-rt24+

 

FixedIP: ...

Gateway: ...

Subnet: ....

 

PlayersToInstall: mpd,upmpdcli

PlayersToRemove: squeezelite,roonbridge,web,...

(maybe just install the needed players, this would avoid having to remove them).

 

something like this  

 

 

 

[Loukiz]

I have an issue with setting the CPU frequency, there is no way to limit the maximum frequency with the performance governor and the ondemand governor does not seem to change with editing the minimum frequency. 

 

I don't know if this is possible but ideally one could change the frequency of individual cores to keep the overall temperature a bit lower (maximum frequency for the isolated cores with the players). 

 

 

[Loukiz]

1 minute ago, antonellocaroli said:

did you try using the cpu-governor command?

yes, if I set maximum frequency to 1200MHZ it will accept it but somehow the cpu will stay at 1400MHZ anyway.

 

For Ondemand, if I set 1200 as a minimum, it will still stay at 600 MHz. 

 

Not too important at the moment, as I can keep it at 1400 MHz with Performance governor. But individual frequencies per core would be awesome, if possible

 

[Loukiz]

3 hours ago, bobfa said:

@matthiasI have not done a good comparison but here is the result I have so far:

 

With Audirvana to MoOde in UPnP vs Roon in Squeezelite I have a very hard time telling the difference.  I have not tried Audirvana in UPnP.  I am in the process of trying to setup the same test in Gentoo Player.  

 

I also ran A/B on MoOde between Roon Endpoint and Squeezelite.  And Squeezelite was better.  I also need to test this with Gentoo Player.

 

WHEW.  

 

I would have never tried Gentoo Player if I was not having trouble with MoOde and the developer was not listening.  I got prodded to give it a try and I am very happy I did.

 

Bob

 

I'm running a Metrum Adagio Dac with Metrum Ambre as streamer (basically a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with Femto Clock board and linear power supply). The connection between the Ambre and the Dac is I2S direct via ethernet. 

 

Before that I was running USB: either directly to the Metrum (not that great) or via a Gustard U16 (via AES into the Dac), which was replaced by a Audio-GD DI-20 (via AES into the Dac). 

 

The Software I tested with all these combinations included: Amarra, Audirvana, Roon, HQPlayer and Logitech Media Server.

 

The Linux images I tested on the Metrum Ambre include: Ropieee, PiCorePlayer, Moode, Volumio and of course Gentooplayer

 

In summary (put into different categories):

 

1. Ethernet > USB (ethernet provides error correction and galvanic isolation as standard). This leads to more Details without sounding harsh/analytical.
2. Metrum Ambre > Audio GD DI-20 > Gustard U16 > USB direct. 
3. I2S > AES. Tested on the Ambre, as it also includes an AES output. AES or BNC always have to recover the clock signal which is avoided with I2S directly. 
4. Sound via USB: Amarra > HQPlayer > Audirvana > Roon. Roon never provided me with a sound I liked, it tends to sound harsh in my system and the separation of instruments/voices is not as good as with the others. With the others you get different flavours: Amarra is the warmest sounding by far, followed by HQPlayer. Audirvana is however much more detailed and provides the biggest soundstage (both in width and depth).
5. Sound via Ethernet (Ambre): Audirvana (Upnp) > HQPlayer (NAA) = Roon (HQPlayer plugin) > LMS (squeezelite) > Roon (squeezelite) > Roon (Roonbridge). Roon again sounds harsh in my system, but gets better with either squeezelite plugin or HQPlayer plugin (with HQPlayer it's actually very good). Audirvana via Upnp is in a league of it's own at the moment, the details are astonishing and the soundstage is huge (3-dimensional sound). 
6. RPI Images: Gentooplayer > PiCorePlayer > Moode > Ropieee = Volumio. Gentooplayer with upnp/MPD works awesome in conjunction with Audirvana. PiCorePlayer sounds very good as well but it does not offer upnp. Moode is good but does not provide the same detail and in my system it occasionally sounded "artificial". Ropieee and Volumio are great choices if you don't want to tweak as much and both sound nice.

 

I switched back to a non-RT kernel as well, as these also tend to sound a little warmer in general, at least in my system. I'm now using 4.19.89-GentooPlayer-MIN-NOGRAPH-RCU+

 

I hope this provides others with some helpful information

 

 

 

[Loukiz]

1 minute ago, matthias said:

Hi @Loukiz,

excellent post:-)

 

What is your verdict on Audirvana via USB vs Audirvana via UPnP?

Which delivers better SQ?

 

Thank you

 

Matt

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Upnp in my system, but of course this comparison involves different devices to achieve the best approach for each:

 

Audirvana via USB:  MacBook Pro > USB > Audio-GD DI-20 > AES > DAC

Audirvana via Upnp:  MacBook Pro > Ethernet > Metrum Ambre (Gentooplayer) > I2S > DAC

 

 

[Loukiz]

1 minute ago, matthias said:

 

May I  ask two additional questions?

 

Would like to buy a Macbook Pro, what do you think about the SQ of this device?

Did you try "Internet sharing" with your Macbook Pro via UPnP?

 

Thanks

 

Matt

 

Via USB the Sound quality of a MacBook is probably limited (switching power supply and not optimized for USB audio in general) but this can be improved with USB to SPDIF/AES/I2S converters such as the Gustard U16 or DI-20. The DI-20 for example provides galvanic isolation on the USB input and there are other devices that provide this as well. 

 

Via Ethernet you already have galvanic isolation and if using a dedicated streamer you always have a more optimized computer for converting your audio into the final format (but this is true for USB as well).

 

I'm using "Internet sharing" via Mac System preferences right now   I did not want to use Wi-Fi on the Metrum Ambre Streamer and my MacBook is right next to it.