Raspberry Pi + CirrusLogic Audio Card = FAIL

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Hello

I am using Raspberry B and Wolfson DAC. I can hear slight pops when music is started. Is it normal and other users hear this as well? I tried all possible distro's that support Wolfson (element14 provided distro, Volumio, Runeaudio, OpenElec), the result is the same.

I am out of ideas, so any thought is much appreciated.
 
Hi

Short update on my pops issue: I managed to compile new Cirrus Logic 3.18 kernel with Wolfson DAC support:
-> Good news: no pops when music starts!
-> Good news: I have 3.18 kernel which is compatible with B, B+ and B2
-> Bad news: rare pops are present when I stop playing music

After tracking these pops here are my findings so far:
-> It is MPD related as I get them only from MPD (bad news for Volumio and Runeaudio)
-> It is codec related as pops for MP3 are more noticeable and happen more frequently

With the following MPD configuration pops happen rarely so they are tolerable, however I keep seeking for perfection ;)

decoder {
plugin "mad"
enabled "no"
}
decoder {
plugin "ffmpeg"
enabled "yes"
}
decoder {
plugin "mpg123"
enabled "no"
}
 
Congratulations!

i have the b+ and the cirrus and my god its painful to get going. after spending 6 hours yesterday i still have no sound and ended up giving up until more support arrives.
I was trying to get it to work with volumio with little success.
How did you end up getting yours working? any tips or links?
I tried following the instructions on https://blog.georgmill.de/2015/02/18/update-for-wolfson-audio-card-on-raspberry-pi/ but after some success it wouldnt let me run the script to enable the outputs. any help would be very much appreciated.
 
Hello Kermit100

Just 6 hours?! It's just the beginning, be ready for way more time to spend on Wolfson product. Sometime I think Wolfson released it not for music listening but for learning Linux :)

Anyway you are on the right track and using the correct instructions. I assume you managed to run patched RT kernel provided in the BLOG. I guess the reason you have difficulties with use-case scripts is because you try to run them as 'volumio' user. By default 'volumio' user is not member of 'audio' group. So you should include this user into 'audio' group.

In general volumio distro is very messy, the best thing is community is very vibrant, which helps.

Good luck ;)
 
Sorry to hear that didn't work out. I'm looking at making a HTPC and considering using components from 3 desktops that are from 2008-2010. Have said great reviews on the Raspberry models, there's just something about them, nothing specific just a gut feeling where I wouldn't consider them.
 
Hello

I am using Raspberry B and Wolfson DAC. I can hear slight pops when music is started. Is it normal and other users hear this as well? I tried all possible distro's that support Wolfson (element14 provided distro, Volumio, Runeaudio, OpenElec), the result is the same.

I am out of ideas, so any thought is much appreciated.

Hello,

Just like your setup I am also using Raspberry B and Wolfson DAC and the audio output is really very good, certainly better that my Audio Research CD Player and DAC when playing hires (.44.1khz) files.

I have recently used the OpenELEC version 5.0.6 and Hiassofts's replacement for the Wolfson Audio card.

Perhaps you may wish to try that out and here are the links to them :

OpenELEC Mediacenter - Download and

OpenELEC Mediacenter - OpenELEC Forum - Topic: Wolfson Audio Card Support (11/13)
 
Hello Maestroji

I agree, audio output is really good. I never hear any pops/cracks while playing. However when I stop playing a song, I hear occasional pops. Used software when I hear pops is MPD. Kernel upgrade to to 3.18 decreased pops so I am thinking this related to either drivers, or the way MPD (or codec) process play termination.

To test if you hear any pops try to start playing a song and press stop after ~5 sec. Do this in serious to make sure you do/do not hear pops.

Looking forward for you results ;)
 
Hello gimesketvirtadieni,
I have recently 'upgraded' to the openelec 5.0.8 and again the audio output is very good.
However I encountered a new problem.
I was given a SACD image file of JS Bach Easter Orotario. I converted this to a dff file using Sonare software. I played this file on the RPi with Wilson Audio Card.
I was very surprised that I was able to play the music.
However the audio out out stutters rather badly.
I guess this happens because I am using the RPi B, with its limitations of CPU and RAM.
It is only a guess.
 
Not FAIL

I just got this card and didn't have any trouble getting it working with a Raspberry Pi 2. I agree it would be nice if the kernel modules were mainstreamed, but that's not a trivial thing to do.

Anyhow, some googling about and this did the trick: https://stmllr.net/blog/cirrus-logic-audio-card-on-raspberry-pi2-with-debian-jessie/

For scientific use the little board is outstanding, and seems apparent it is best suited for development use, rather than a polished retail product. The sound quality is good, but more importantly it is highly hackable.
 
I just got this card and didn't have any trouble getting it working with a Raspberry Pi 2. I agree it would be nice if the kernel modules were mainstreamed, but that's not a trivial thing to do.

Anyhow, some googling about and this did the trick: https://stmllr.net/blog/cirrus-logic-audio-card-on-raspberry-pi2-with-debian-jessie/

For scientific use the little board is outstanding, and seems apparent it is best suited for development use, rather than a polished retail product. The sound quality is good, but more importantly it is highly hackable.

Yes I agree the sound quality is good.
However a week ago a friend built a gain stage which receives the audio output of the wolfson audio card and provides some 20dB of gain, using two tubes and a transformer and delivers this onward to a Audio Research LS25 preamplifier and a Audio Research D130 tube power amplifier and a pair of Quad Electrostatic Loudspeakers. The resulting audio quality is in fact outstanding. It therefore appears that the raspberry/wolfson combination requires a gain stage to realise its true potential.
 
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