What player were you using before you tried rpi?
Curious to know what we are comparing.
Any optimizing of the PC you were using? Was the PC used for other tasks or was it dedicated to the audio system?
Curious about rpi but not sure just what we are comparing it to. The player is the important part and those are specific to OSs.
I am using MQNplayer & SERVER 2012 - would love to find a simpler OS and would be thrilled if VOLUMIO was as good as MQN.
Thanks,
Dear Supersurfer,
2 weeks ago I receive the rpi and I can say that is a huge improvement from the PC.
In the beginning I was not able to use it with Volumio and I run it with Runeaudio. But my plan is to use the rpi with Volumio to connect the i2s directly to the DDDAC removingthe Waveio.
Yesterday with the help of Michelangelo in the Volumio forum I solve the problem and now can install it in rpi.
This morning I decide to modify the DDDAC. I remove the Waveio and I install the rpi plus the isolator as very well documented by Palmito (many thanks Palmito) in this thread.
The result is... no music at all!I re-check everything and the connections looks ok.
I hope that is not required to modify the OS in the rpi... I have no idea how can do it.
I attach 2 pictures... before with Waveio and after with the rpi.
Maybe you have any advise?
Thanks for you support
Enrico
PS: Happy Easter to everybody
Curious to know what we are comparing.
Any optimizing of the PC you were using? Was the PC used for other tasks or was it dedicated to the audio system?
Curious about rpi but not sure just what we are comparing it to. The player is the important part and those are specific to OSs.
I am using MQNplayer & SERVER 2012 - would love to find a simpler OS and would be thrilled if VOLUMIO was as good as MQN.
Thanks,
The PC used for streaming with foobar2000 was a new Samsung series9 that 90% of the time was dedicate to the DDDAC.
Some weeks ago I was also oriented to buy a dedicate PC for the DAC with Server 2012 but luckely somebody here in the forum advises me to try the raspberry.
Why not...for 50 USD compared with the cost of the new PC + the server 2012.
As I said the results are incredible... thanks Supersurfer
I have no idea how can compare with the MQN... maybe for 50 USD you can try yourself and let as know?
Enrico
Without say... my new PC is back in my desk to do something else
3.3V Regulators
My single board DDDAC already had a JFET buffer driving Cinemags and 8V Salas on the PCM1794s. The system is very detailed and dynamic but could be less digital sounding. More detail is a 2-edged sword that reveals both more of the music and more about what is less than perfect about the source material and components.
I first installed two 3.3V Belleson voltage regulators on the DDDAC board. I also replaced C13 and C15 with 56u Nichicon polymer caps bypassed with .015u Wima FKPs. I had to remove (i.e. destroy) the original Muse caps to be able to replace the LF33’s with Belleson’s.
If the “devil is in the details”, then the Belleson’s straightened out the devil in the digital circuits. The low level detail is noticeably more coherent and there is no longer any artificial extra detail. The problem of “too much detail” is gone. Bad recordings are still bad, but not as punishing to listen to.
The Belleson’s are small and easy to install by bending the pins forward and back to fit on the pads used by the LF33s. They cost $36USD ea. Shunt regulators may be better, but I’m happy with the effect of the Belleson’s. The .015u Wima FKPs were installed last and seemed to make the music smoother. Series regulators need fast energy releasing caps just in front of them.
Next I installed a Belleson and 56u polymer cap with .015u bypass FKP cap on the main board. First, there is no negative effect on sq. The positive impact was apparent only after listening for a while with a slight reduction in the already low digital sound. I also noticed that the sq at 44.1k and 192k is much improved. 96k still sounds best to me, but by a much smaller margin now.
_________________________________________________
Win8>JRiver 19/Fidelizer>USB>WaveIO>I2S>DDDAC
My single board DDDAC already had a JFET buffer driving Cinemags and 8V Salas on the PCM1794s. The system is very detailed and dynamic but could be less digital sounding. More detail is a 2-edged sword that reveals both more of the music and more about what is less than perfect about the source material and components.
I first installed two 3.3V Belleson voltage regulators on the DDDAC board. I also replaced C13 and C15 with 56u Nichicon polymer caps bypassed with .015u Wima FKPs. I had to remove (i.e. destroy) the original Muse caps to be able to replace the LF33’s with Belleson’s.
If the “devil is in the details”, then the Belleson’s straightened out the devil in the digital circuits. The low level detail is noticeably more coherent and there is no longer any artificial extra detail. The problem of “too much detail” is gone. Bad recordings are still bad, but not as punishing to listen to.
The Belleson’s are small and easy to install by bending the pins forward and back to fit on the pads used by the LF33s. They cost $36USD ea. Shunt regulators may be better, but I’m happy with the effect of the Belleson’s. The .015u Wima FKPs were installed last and seemed to make the music smoother. Series regulators need fast energy releasing caps just in front of them.
Next I installed a Belleson and 56u polymer cap with .015u bypass FKP cap on the main board. First, there is no negative effect on sq. The positive impact was apparent only after listening for a while with a slight reduction in the already low digital sound. I also noticed that the sq at 44.1k and 192k is much improved. 96k still sounds best to me, but by a much smaller margin now.
_________________________________________________
Win8>JRiver 19/Fidelizer>USB>WaveIO>I2S>DDDAC
Attachments
G600,
I did not remove any caps between the 8v Salas shunt and the PCM1794. I did bypass the inductor. It made music sound more analog and the bass went deeper. I'm going to wait to hear what Doede says about removing caps first.
My Buffer is unity gain. It made a HUGE difference in musical detail, dynamics and bass with my single board DDDAC driving Cinemags.
I did not remove any caps between the 8v Salas shunt and the PCM1794. I did bypass the inductor. It made music sound more analog and the bass went deeper. I'm going to wait to hear what Doede says about removing caps first.
My Buffer is unity gain. It made a HUGE difference in musical detail, dynamics and bass with my single board DDDAC driving Cinemags.
Ordered one
Hope it works as well for me as it has for others on the forum.
I would enjoy the small size, too.The PC used for streaming with foobar2000 was a new Samsung series9 that 90% of the time was dedicate to the DDDAC.
Some weeks ago I was also oriented to buy a dedicate PC for the DAC with Server 2012 but luckely somebody here in the forum advises me to try the raspberry.
Why not...for 50 USD compared with the cost of the new PC + the server 2012.
As I said the results are incredible... thanks Supersurfer
I have no idea how can compare with the MQN... maybe for 50 USD you can try yourself and let as know?
Enrico
Without say... my new PC is back in my desk to do something else
Hope it works as well for me as it has for others on the forum.
I compare the sound quality with a Sonos with Magna mod on the SP/DIF
and plays Flac from a NAS. But it's is not a large test. First I compare a old Netbook with Foobar and WASAPI through USB and wave io. That's was no party for the Sonos. The sound of the netbook was lifeless not accurate, I think my netbook is not really suitable. Then a RPI usb to waveIO, Volumio1.2/Rune Audio, this was better, more or less in the neighboorhood of the Sonos, clean sound with details. I compare this combination a few numbers, because I read how to connect the Pi directly, I prefer that. So The Pi with i2s: very difficult to judge between sonos and the pi. The pi seems a little more rough but very good. The character of the sound with the PI and/or/ wave io and the Sonos is the same with every test and the differences are very small. For me the Sonos stays favorite because of the sound and easy to use, but I can't play highres files and that was the initial intention of this thread and the design of Doede, was it? Next things to try: Get highres files of music that I own already, just to compare. And Try the software change that Palmito/Enrico describe, because the "I2S on" option in Volumio is for the RPI-DAC or the hifiBerry-DAC, but it's working. Sorry for the long story with not so spectaculair results, greetings ACvB
For people who use volumio, I hope you realize that you should be downloading a MPD music client for your iphone/ipad/android/tablet/pc. I use mpdroid on android (there are better ones), and I use gnome music player client (gmpc, also there are better ones) on my linux/windoze machines. Volumio is for setting up, testing and managing the install, I would not use it as a music client exclusively until the playback/playlist functionality improves.
Sorry for the OT post Doede, back to regular programming...
I use mpad for control of volumio, this is just as easy to use as sonos and has a very nice intferface with album art, all kinds of ways to filter/search and as a nice extra you can load extensive artist information from last.fm or allmusic.
I cannot imagine any other device coupled with spdif will sound better than a pi through wave io.
In my set the spdif is nice but the i2s interface is clearly better.
And a pi thrpugh i2s out directly is better than wave io..........
Regards,
I cannot imagine any other device coupled with spdif will sound better than a pi through wave io.
In my set the spdif is nice but the i2s interface is clearly better.
And a pi thrpugh i2s out directly is better than wave io..........
Regards,
Please remember you are controlling MPD ("Music Player Daemon"), not volumio. When searching for clients to use search for "mpd client".