Audiolinux Server configurations, Software, Hardware, and Listening Impressions

[GMG]

@hifi25nl

Can you provide some more details on the support of Diretta?

At least to me their website is not clear at all

• Does it require special HW?
• HW on Server side or endpoint side?  Both?
• Which audio players support this? Roon? HQPlayer? other?

 

Many Thanks 

[hifi25nl]

From what i know DIRETTA is working like this:

First PC (server or host): Diretta daemon and alsa bridge (available on Audiolinux or other linux distributions with a license or in Windows)
Second PC (endpoint or target): only licensed hardware -> https://www.diretta.link/shop/

 

I don't know if in the future they are planning to release some application/driver for the target

 

 

 

 

[hifi25nl]

The DIRETTA alsa bridge will create a virtual audio card that can be used in all audio applications, something like Merging driver with Ravenna

[Louie]

Hi there,

 

I am new to audiolinux, and just installed to use HQPe NAA only using headless version 3.4.0

Now, I would like to enable the ramroot feature, but my desktop only has 4G memory

 

Having checked with other info., I follow this guideline to configure, but, it still prompt out I do not have enough memory. Any advice on it?

 

1. yay -R gcc linux-rt-headers

 

2. Edit /etc/ramroot.conf

 

# minimum MiB free ram:
ram_min=500

# minimum MiB free zram:
zram_min=250

# preferred MiB free ram:
ram_pref=4000

# maximum MiB free ram:
zram_max=1000

[ajm]

Since the update to 3.4.0 (headless), I find that when the server has been running for more than a few hours, the system hangs on trying to open the menu with the persistent message 'please wait'. It is still possible to run HQPe which is my main purpose but to adjust any settings it is necessary to reboot. This behaviour has occurred consistently over a couple of weeks with probaby 10 reboots over the period. With previous versions, it remained normally responsive for weeks without a reboot.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Andrew

[msb1]

I have been reading several posts that state Euphony sounds better than Audiolinux. Considering they both run on the same core OS (Archlinux) has anyone compiled a list of settings that can be made on Audiolinux so that it sounds as good or better than Euphony?

[hifi25nl]

There is no reason why one should sound better than the other.

The advantage of Audiolinux is that you have root access, you can update it when you want and also the many possible options (more than 100)

In the standard configuration for example there is manual realtime priority assignment. This could lead to some problems when using a CPU not powerful enough  (Realtime throttling). Disabling it in the Expert menu -> 1 "REALTIME MANUAL ASSIGNMENT configuration" could give a more "relaxed" sound.

In other systems however the incredibly low latency will give a sound so detailed that could put in evidence the limits of user audio system. In testing a new kernel recently I have obtained a CPU latency < 1 microsecond!

 

There is not a "sound of Audiolinux". You can have different results with different configurations. A comparison with other OS based on Archlinux does not make sense.

 

[msb1]

1 hour ago, hifi25nl said:

There is no reason why one should sound better than the other.

The advantage of Audiolinux is that you have root access, you can update it when you want and also the many possible options (more than 100)

In the standard configuration for example there is manual realtime priority assignment. This could lead to some problems when using a CPU not powerful enough  (Realtime throttling). Disabling it in the Expert menu -> 1 "REALTIME MANUAL ASSIGNMENT configuration" could give a more "relaxed" sound.

In other systems however the incredibly low latency will give a sound so detailed that could put in evidence the limits of user audio system. In testing a new kernel recently I have obtained a CPU latency < 1 microsecond!

 

There is not a "sound of Audiolinux". You can have different results with different configurations. A comparison with other OS based on Archlinux does not make sense.

 

 

Hello, Thanks for your reply.

Many people who have compared the 2 say there is a difference in the sound. This is probably due to the different settings. I am presently using the Euphony trial runnning Roon which is definitely better than Roon Rock. Since there is no trial available for Audio Linux it is not possible for me to compare the 2 and hence I'm wondering if anyone has made settings to have AL sound the same as Euphony.

My server config is Asus B550 Motherboard with AMD 7 3700x CPU (Hyperthreading off). Powered through DC-ATX using 3 Rails from my Hdplex Linear Power Supply. Output is fiber ethernet to an Sotm switch.

Thanks.

[altsouza]

Hi @hifi25nl,

In the last few days i have noticed that the server freezes (overnight - it is on 24/7) and became very hot. In the morning next day  I had reboot it and it cooles itself.

Any clue why this is happening?

I don't think is a hardwere problem!

thanks

Antônio

[hifi25nl]

 

Personally I never leave the system on 24/7 Boot is very quick and you can power on with Wake on Lan with a press of a button from smartphone/tablet or another PC.

If you are using a fanless PC is not recommended.

 

Anyway, you should check free space on disk with

df -H

and free RAM:

free --mega

 

To know what was happening in the previous problematic session, you can save the Linux journal to a text file and send it to me.

cd /tmp

sudo journalctl -b -1 > journal.txt

[altsouza]

Hi @hifi25nl

Thanks.

Wake up from smartphone is a good idea. How to do that? I use a android S10 phone.

Regarding the jornal , can I generate it from my phone using termius (old menu) or only from remote pc (old and new menu)???

thanks

[hifi25nl]

For Wake on Lan:

 

1) enable it in BIOS

2) Install wol-systemd

yay -Sy wol-systemd --noconfirm

3) Check your interface name with

networkctl

4) For example, if the name is enp4s0:

sudo start wol@enp4s0

sudo enable wol@enp4s0

and reboot

5) On Android you can install
WolOn - Wake on LAN Widgets: 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitklog.wolon

 

For the journal.txt file you should use a ssh connection or menu at ipaddress:8500 and select console

[ajm]

@hifi25nl

 

Following your recent postings I am wondering what is the reason for your statement about not leaving your server running.

There have been plenty of comments about running music servers where the benefit of keeping systems running is emphasized from the point of view of system stability and sound quality. As an example, the Taiko Extreme is advised to be left running contniuously.

Regarding your statement about the rapidity of startup, this is not the case when using ramroot configurations which has also often been reported as the best way of obtaining optimal sound quality from audiolinux installations.

I note that there has been no comment regarding my above post on 9th March. @altsouzadid not comment on whcih version of AL he is using or whether he had updated. However, the freezing system he reports might be related to my report of the stuck screen with 'please wait' persisting on trying to open the menu on AL 3.4.0 headless when this has been running for more than a few hours.

[altsouza]

Hi @hifi25nl and @ajm

 

My system is the latest and is the NOT headless version.

Here is the Journal asked.

Thanks

Antonio

journal.txt

[hifi25nl]

@altsouza

...ehm... you have 4646 (!) attempts to restart of spotifyd systemd service.

Your configuration file could be damaged/wrongly set or network broken.

You can check configuration file /home/audiolinux/.config/spotifyd/spotifyd.conf

To check status of service:

systemctl --user status spotifyd

 

@ajm

For freezing I mean a system completely unresponsive.

If instead menu hangs at "Please wait" or you cannot connect with Web Interface 1/2 or with ssh, this could be because the network card has gone to power saving mode or some other problem with the card. I would go to BIOS and set the card to be always active (this is done if you enable Wake on Lan)

In this case, if you still can connect to Audiolinux, you could go to Console (CTRL+C) and check dmesg

cd /tmp

sudo dmesg > dmesg.txt

or go to Console and start menu with the command

bash /opt/scripts/menu.sh

to see errors

 

In the work system I am using now (much more complex than an Audiolinux installation) that has a lot of systemd services and with periodic backups to multiple locations and monitoring etc. never had this type of problem.

But this is a system fully updated to few minutes ago.

 

[ajm]

I don't think it's a problem with the network card as I can still access hqplayer embedded interface on port 8088 and operate HQPe via UPNP while the menu remains on please wait.

I have reverted to the previous version of AL which works OK. I will try 3.4.0 again but expect that I will not be able to access the system to obtain the log file when the menu hangs.

You did not address the question about why AL machines should not be left switched on...

[hifi25nl]

To be clear: I never said that AL machines should not be left switched on.

If you want, you can. Many are doing it without problems.

But all systems should work correctly when temperature and clocks are stable. For this you don't need hours, but max 10-30 min.

As a side note, it is not recommended to leave a system on if you have configured it with Extreme boot options. In that case the CPU never go to sleep...

 

As I said before you can type CTRL+C to exit menu and type

bash /opt/scripts/menu.sh

to see errors

You could also try to install last lts (Long Term support) kernel. Now Audiolinux is using instead kernel realtime 5.16.x because of better support for last CPU.

 

[altsouza]

Hi @hifi25nl

 

Thanks

I will remove the spotifyd audio app, as I seldon use it. I allways use Roon.

As I use Roon only, do you recomend that I delete all others audio app??

I will let you know if this solve the problem.

Thanks again

Antonio

[altsouza]

Hi @hifi25nl

 

I removed Spotify and this solved the heating problem.

I wish we had something like a system tester inside the menu.

Btw I use lts kernel, option 4 in upgrade menu.

Thanks

 

[hifi25nl]

I wouldn't want to complicate the already full menu too much,

 

To check systemd services there are 2 simple commands

systemctl --failed

and

systemctl --user --failed

 

[hifi25nl]

Menu 333
Updated script-server package for Web Interface 2
Watchdog disabled as default
Systemd journal masked as default
Audiolinux menu will not start automatically at each login, but the user will have to type menu on the command line (Web interface 2 will work as before)

 

This should fix the problem reported before.

Now I have this optimal situation:

[audiolinux@archlinux ~]$ ssh [email protected]
[email protected]'s password: 
********************************************
              

Best regards,
Piero

             Welcome to
        AUDIOLINUX HEADLESS
           version 3.4.0
             
   https://www.audio-linux.com

     [email protected]
      
For configuration menu type "menu"
 
For poweroff type "sudo poweroff"
For reboot type "sudo reboot"
 
********************************************
Last login: Thu Mar 24 14:17:37 2022 from 192.168.1.9
[audiolinux@audiolinux ~]$ uptime
14:29:03 up  4:25,  2 users,  load average: 0.02, 0.02, 0.00

As you can see after 4 hour 24 min. the system is working correctly with low CPU usage of 0.02%
Temperature normal.

The problem was related to systemd journal (linux log system) . Not clear if this is a bug or a problem only with realtime kernel.
As a radical but very effective measure I have disabled it (masked it), together with linux watchdog. This way the system would be more performing with reduced access to drive and memory.
To avoid problems Audiolinux menu will not start automatically at each login, but the user will have to type menu on the command line.
Web interface 2 will work as before. I have also updated the corresponding script-server package.

Note that I have made the test using the LTS kernel and a fully updated system on headless version, but this should work also on lxqt version and with the other kernels.

[ajm]

Thank you, Piero. I have now tried menu 333 and confirmed that this has overcome the problem I reported with being unable to use the menu reliably in AL 3.4.0. 

[hifi25nl]

Roon fixed some issues I hope:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/roon-1-8-build-923-is-live/197224

• Resolved a bug that could lead to repeated core crashes or significant increase in outbound internet traffic from the core

This can explain some problems reported by Roon users. Please update Roon from Update menu.

[altsouza]

4 hours ago, hifi25nl said:

Roon fixed some issues I hope:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/roon-1-8-build-923-is-live/197224

• Resolved a bug that could lead to repeated core crashes or significant increase in outbound internet traffic from the core

This can explain some problems reported by Roon users. Please update Roon from Update menu.

Hi,

Is this has something to do with the heating problem mentioned above?

 Thanks 

[hifi25nl]

Probably. Some users already solved the problem.