Allo USBridge / Dietpi 6.28.0 / alsamixer -c 1 : Broken pipe

[Olaf]

Dear music lovers,

 

I am having my Allo USBridge connected with LAN Ethernet cable to my network and via usb to my Mytek Brooklyn DAC. I manage my USBridge with dietpi v6.28.0 through PuTTY SSH. I see the usbridge upnp/dlna renederer as "dietpi" in the mconnect android app, however I have no sound. I read in this forum that some times the alsamixer set to mute state for the USB DAC. When I try to manage this with "alsamixer -c-1" I get: "cannot load mixer controls: Broken pipe". Please see the results of commands lsusb, aplay -1, ..etc. attached.

 

Can an anyone guide me through a solution. (I am not very knowledgable with Dietpi)

 

Thanks in advance,

Olaf

 

[bamyasi]

DietPi v6.28.0 broke automatic gmrender configuration, you will have to fix it manually:

 

https://dietpi.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7100

[Olaf]

Dear bamyasi,

 

Thanks for you repy. I understand playback works fine if USB sound device is specified in the gmrender service file as:

--gstout-audiodevice=hw:1,0

 

How do I do that? How do I edit the gmrender service file?

 

Thanks in advance,

Olaf

 

PS. This is what I get in PuTTY SSH:

root@DietPi:~# --gstout-audiodevice=hw:1,0
-bash: --gstout-audiodevice=hw:1,0: command not found

 

[bamyasi]

# nano /etc/systemd/system/gmrender.service

Then scroll down to the line starting with ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gmediarender and find --gstout-audiodevice option on this line (scroll right, very long line). Edit the device name, save (Ctrl-O) and exit editor (Ctrl-X). Now reload systemd configuration and restart gmrender service:

# systemctl daemon-reload
# systemctl restart gmrender.service

You may want to use aplay -L command to find the symbolic name of your DAC. Using ALSA device name instead of its number is more reliable since kernel tends to flip-flop device order on consecutive reboots:

# aplay -L|grep ^hw:
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=0
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=1
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=2
hw:CARD=ProMQA,DEV=0

Ignore CARD=atm7059link lines, these are for embedded Sparky audio devices. The remaining one should be your USB DAC (Matrix Audio X-Sabre Pro MQA in my case). The gmrender option syntax would look this way in this case:

--gstout-audiodevice=hw:CARD=ProMQA,0

Remember to have your USB DAC connected and turned on before issuing the aplay command, otherwise the corresponding device may be missing from the listing.

[Olaf]

Dear bamyasi,

 

I did the steps you proposed:

 

root@DietPi:~# aplay -L|grep ^hw:
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=0
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=1
hw:CARD=atm7059link,DEV=2
hw:CARD=DAC,DEV=0

 

Then:

nano /etc/systemd/system/gmrender.service

 

And changed the " ExecStart=/usr/local/bin .... " line:

"[Unit]
Description=GMediaRender (DietPi)
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target dietpi-boot.service

[Service]
User=gmrender
ExecStartPre=+/bin/dash -c 'systemctl set-environment ACTIVE_IP=$(mawk 'NR==4' /DietPi/dietpi/.network)'
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gmediarender -u 'c05fbca0-70dd-442e-b3f1-01c77f8a7549' -f 'DietPi' --gstout-audiosink=alsasink --gstout-audiodevice=hw:CARD=DAC, 0 --gstout-initial-volume-db=-1 --logfile=stdout -I "$ACTIVE_IP"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target"

 

Then:

root@DietPi:~# systemct1 deamon-reload
-bash: systemct1: command not found

 

Then:

root@DietPi:~# alsamixer -c 1
cannot load mixer controls: Broken pipe

 

Observation and conclusion;

Allo USBridge still not working as dlna/upnp renderer with Dietpi.

 

Any suggestions on how to get it working?

 

Kind regards,

Olaf

 

 

 

 

[bamyasi]

--gstout-audiodevice=hw:CARD=DAC, 0

Please remove space after the comma, see correct syntax below:

--gstout-audiodevice=hw:CARD=DAC,0

No space!

 

Command name is systemctl, not systemct1. The last character is 'l', lowercase "el". The name is a shorthand for "system daemon control".

 

You do not need alsamixer and it likely won't work anyway. This is normal.

[Olaf]

Dear bamyasi,

 

Thanks for your support. I took all the steps you proposed. The situation is now that the Android apps mConnect and BubbleUPnP don't see my USBridge as DLNA renderer. In my home network I can see the Allo and access it with PuTTY. Alsamixer is still "broken". My objective was Tidal MQA > mConnect > USBridge > Mytek ...., but for whatever reason mConnect won't play Tidal and the Allo doesn't "bridge" to my Mytek.

I've been playing around with LMS and Squeezelight. Same type of issues.

I get the impression that the Allo USBridge with dietpi 6.28 is fun for computer- and software enthousiasts, but less for music lovers.

 

Would it be usefull to flash Volumio on a MicroSD and boot from there? Is that even possible?

 

Kind regards,

Olaf

[Olaf]

Dear Bamyasi, (and other music lovers),

 

An update:

I put a MicroSD with Volumio in my Allo USBridge and it automatically booted fine from there and I can use the Volumio interface. Using the mconnect android app with Tidal and the Volumio USBridge as UpNP renderer does not work stable; playlists stop after one track and the UpNP renderer is often lost.

 

I created a MyVolumio account and added my Tidal HiFi family account. It works perfect, I can stream master MQA trackts and I like the Volumio user interface. I'm very content with my Allo USBridge in combination with MyVolumio.

 

Kind regards,

Olaf

 

My system:

Tidal Hifi > MyVolumio > Allo USBrigde > Mytek Brooklyn DAC > 2x AUDIOPHONICS PA-M250NC > Mordaunt Short Performance 6

 

[Balmoral]

I had exactly the same problem with my Allo Usbridge since the 6.28 Dietpi update. Gmrender was broken, and I couldn't get any sound from my Dac.

 

I followed bamyasi's directions, and now everything works fine. Thanks a lot !

 

For Olaf : in my system, Volumio is more stable and polished than Dietpi. But Diepti sounds so much better.