Do you run Jack or PA on your windows client?
I played with networked PA a few years ago and the discovery and connection management were rather unreliable. But I used wireless on my client (linux notebook) and probably PA has improved in this matter since then. What is your experience? Thanks!
Late to the game - Fanlesss Intel NUC powered by Micro-Audio Micra P5 power supply. Job done at this price point, otherwise a used Auralic Aries Femto.
Tried PA on Windows but couldn't get it to work. I'm using JACK + VB-Audio Hi-Fi Cable on Windows.
I think it should work on WiFi as well as long as there's the available bandwidth. You might have higher latency this way. I'm only using it through the wired network.
A relatively new device.... Fits in the budget with ease 🙂
https://darko.audio/2022/01/the-wiim-mini-is-the-streamer-youve-been-waiting-for/
https://darko.audio/2022/01/the-wiim-mini-is-the-streamer-youve-been-waiting-for/
That device looks to be nearly what I would have expected to be available by this time, good find, and I hope it is the beginning of many more low cost, high quality solutions.
This has prompted me to do some looking around and see if there is something reasonable that would allow for more convenient, higher resolution listening.
I purchased a second hand Asus Tinker Board to load Volumio onto.
So far the Tinker Board arrived, but I need to find a power supply that will accommodate the teensy micro usb receptacle on the board. I attempted to use a portion of an existing one that I had from an old phone, but with the remaining 4” of approximately 32awg wires, it just won’t cut it, or the board is pulling too much, and faulty. I should try and reduce the length of micro-wire, maybe strip the actual plug down even. A basic switcher should arrive in a couple days for testing. If everything goes well, I could see this in a case, along with a dac, improved power supply.
This has prompted me to do some looking around and see if there is something reasonable that would allow for more convenient, higher resolution listening.
I purchased a second hand Asus Tinker Board to load Volumio onto.
So far the Tinker Board arrived, but I need to find a power supply that will accommodate the teensy micro usb receptacle on the board. I attempted to use a portion of an existing one that I had from an old phone, but with the remaining 4” of approximately 32awg wires, it just won’t cut it, or the board is pulling too much, and faulty. I should try and reduce the length of micro-wire, maybe strip the actual plug down even. A basic switcher should arrive in a couple days for testing. If everything goes well, I could see this in a case, along with a dac, improved power supply.
Too bad recent images of Volumio have a nag screen (irritating!) regarding MyVolumio. Enough for me to say goodbye to Volumio and to stick to Rune Audio R1. Regardless of the mess on the website with very old images like 0.3-beta the current R1 makes up for that. One has to search where the images are. It is frequently updated/bugfixed. I am testing an RPi CM4 + IO Board with Rune Audio. With 4 gb RAM it runs very satisfying.
https://github.com/rern/rAudio-1/releases/tag/i20220116
https://github.com/rern/rAudio-1/releases/tag/i20220116
Last edited:
After reducing the micro usb plug down to a minimal state, I attached the 18awg leads as best as I could manage and got the board to at least power on with only minimal voltage drop, however, after applying tape over the heat shrinking, one of the tiny leads broke.
I might try again later, maybe, or just wait for a proper connector to arrive.
In the meantime, this $2 Bluetooth board is sounding all right, considering…
I might try again later, maybe, or just wait for a proper connector to arrive.
In the meantime, this $2 Bluetooth board is sounding all right, considering…
It all starts with wires 🙂 Micro USB is a terrible connector, in fact it is one of the worst connectors ever invented. It was designed to fail it seems.
If possible connect directly to the board.
If possible connect directly to the board.
Well I managed to get the power side of things straightened out enough to boot the device and eventually come to the conclusion that it will not connect to anything wirelessly.
After connecting a cable directly to my router, I was able to get a connection.
However…
Now my (Xfinity, cable provider) router appears to have been corrupted somehow, after the connection with volumio, not allowing internet access!!!
Television works fine, but those have their own coax input, are upstream of the router.
The internet works for about 30 seconds, then, nothing.
So far not impressed with Volumio, not divorced yet though…
After connecting a cable directly to my router, I was able to get a connection.
However…
Now my (Xfinity, cable provider) router appears to have been corrupted somehow, after the connection with volumio, not allowing internet access!!!
Television works fine, but those have their own coax input, are upstream of the router.
The internet works for about 30 seconds, then, nothing.
So far not impressed with Volumio, not divorced yet though…
After some wrestling around, I not only restored my home internet connection, but also managed to see the Tinker Board finding my network and allowing me to establish it there using the Volumio os.
While it appears functional, continuous running is an issue, whether it’s dropouts in the wifi connection or something else, I’m not sure. The device stayed on for several hours, just stopped playing the internet radio station I had selected, numerous times, and then after a few hours, had shut down the device completely. I will look at the power/voltage drop first.
Internet radio sounds ok via usb dac, and I can see why this is a preferred setup by many. The Volumio app is easy to navigate, this is V3, and I hadn’t used the earlier versions. I still need to load a thumb drive and let it play through that to see if the shutting down unexpectedly problem continues in that mode.
While it appears functional, continuous running is an issue, whether it’s dropouts in the wifi connection or something else, I’m not sure. The device stayed on for several hours, just stopped playing the internet radio station I had selected, numerous times, and then after a few hours, had shut down the device completely. I will look at the power/voltage drop first.
Internet radio sounds ok via usb dac, and I can see why this is a preferred setup by many. The Volumio app is easy to navigate, this is V3, and I hadn’t used the earlier versions. I still need to load a thumb drive and let it play through that to see if the shutting down unexpectedly problem continues in that mode.
I agree with the Wiim recommendation.
Thinking about ditching my RPi+DigiOne and getting a Wiim wince Volumio is doubling the cost of their annual premium subscription.
I’d imagine one of the $2 Bluetooth 5.0 boards, powered by a decent supply would be about the same as that wiim, all things considered. And they “might offer a firmware update”? Haven’t seen that happen to any of the products I own that have that capability, not saying it won’t happen, but I wouldn’t count on it either.
Finally got the Tinker Board/Volumio machine working, is a reason the actual Volumio Primo (finished product) comes in a steel case, it seems that the naked board is susceptible to emi when placed next to an amplifier, causing the device to randomly stop. Between that adjustment and a new, larger (32gb) micro SD card for the os, things have been running seamlessly at the 24/96 limits of my cheap usb DAC that I have been using for testing.
Not bad at all for $100, using the free version of Volumio.
Finally got the Tinker Board/Volumio machine working, is a reason the actual Volumio Primo (finished product) comes in a steel case, it seems that the naked board is susceptible to emi when placed next to an amplifier, causing the device to randomly stop. Between that adjustment and a new, larger (32gb) micro SD card for the os, things have been running seamlessly at the 24/96 limits of my cheap usb DAC that I have been using for testing.
Not bad at all for $100, using the free version of Volumio.
Jan did you ever give the CXN v2 any more consideration? If it weren’t for my Elac discovery I’d probably be ordering it (might do it anyways!) it also accepts USB and seems to have high praise for all it does.
It looks like there can be issues with commercial streamers having dud software when current or even worse losing support and rapidly going redundant when no longer supported. How common is this?
Are DIY streamers better in terms of long term OS upgradability?
Are DIY streamers better in terms of long term OS upgradability?
No I didn't, I finally settled on a Volumio unit. Next will be adding Dirac Live! functionality, probably will wait out the release of the miniDSP Flex Digital.
Jan
FWIW a Rasptouch with RPi 3B+/DigiOne board running Rune Audio R1 outperforms Elac DS-S101-G slightly on sound quality when used via coax SPDIF (when used analog the Elac is better) but... the latter has so many other positive features that it stays for now. Both devices were used with linear power supplies.
A Raspberry Pi CM4 (4 gb RAM, 8 gb MMC) running Rune Audio R1 is very fast and easy to use but ... a 3B+ performs better when used for audio?! I sold it despite all its positive features. The booting from MMC is a very positive feature BTW. I tested a few other devices but they are not worth to be mentioned. I think I would continue to use a 3B+ when choosing for RPi despite the silly "all around" connectors and the SD card.
So IMHO the RPi devices fitted with quality audio HATs can compete with a few known ready made devices but at relatively high costs and one has a hard time making it having the appearance of an audio device. The Rasptouch has a nice form factor and operates like an audio appliance. This is the second time the conclusion is like that. It is personal but Roon Essentials is worth the few extra Euros and it truly is hassle-free.
It is a pity Volumio changed to subscription model commercial activities. True minimal and free OSes for "DIY" audio devices (appliance style) are hard to find. It seems most start being free but when the bugs are ironed out then the subscription model enters the arena.
A Raspberry Pi CM4 (4 gb RAM, 8 gb MMC) running Rune Audio R1 is very fast and easy to use but ... a 3B+ performs better when used for audio?! I sold it despite all its positive features. The booting from MMC is a very positive feature BTW. I tested a few other devices but they are not worth to be mentioned. I think I would continue to use a 3B+ when choosing for RPi despite the silly "all around" connectors and the SD card.
So IMHO the RPi devices fitted with quality audio HATs can compete with a few known ready made devices but at relatively high costs and one has a hard time making it having the appearance of an audio device. The Rasptouch has a nice form factor and operates like an audio appliance. This is the second time the conclusion is like that. It is personal but Roon Essentials is worth the few extra Euros and it truly is hassle-free.
It is a pity Volumio changed to subscription model commercial activities. True minimal and free OSes for "DIY" audio devices (appliance style) are hard to find. It seems most start being free but when the bugs are ironed out then the subscription model enters the arena.
Last edited:
Free Volumio works great for me, finally stepped over to a 24/192 setting and am impressed. I don’t need any of the features that are in the paid versions.
Next step is to build a hefty linear psu and put it all in a steel case, with an antenna. Maybe when the garage warms up a bit. I had some issues with a smaller, marginally rated linear psu, had to use a slightly higher rated switcher to get everything working correctly. The tinker board has some clear power demands.
Next step is to build a hefty linear psu and put it all in a steel case, with an antenna. Maybe when the garage warms up a bit. I had some issues with a smaller, marginally rated linear psu, had to use a slightly higher rated switcher to get everything working correctly. The tinker board has some clear power demands.