Hallo all,
For some time I've been thinking it would be good to give my CD player (a venerable Rotel RCD965BX) a rest and try using a standalone digital media player.
There don't seem to be too many things like this available ready-made at a reasonable price, so I'm thinking of putting together a non-network-attached headless audio player based around something like a (2GB ram) rpi 4b and a hifiberry dac pro +, using a local usb drive to store the music files, and maybe a cheap 7 or 8 inch tablet for a remote. It looks like this is possible using Volumio for example as it appears you can set it to be a wifi access point for the tablet.
I would be very grateful for any advice and recommendations. There may well be obvious flaws in my plan that I have missed (for example, whether the OS & usb drive would be ok with being powered on and off using the psu switch without throwing up filesystem errors). If it is do-able, I'm wondering what the user experience would be like (how long it would take to boot, how easy to navigate my music collection using the tablet, and suchlike). It'd probably cost me £150+ for the bits, a significant amount for me, so it would be nice to know in advance what sort of thing I could end up with for that. I imagine the SQ will probably be sufficient for now as my system isn't too high-end and I can always play with different DACs etc. in future.
Thanks in advance.
For some time I've been thinking it would be good to give my CD player (a venerable Rotel RCD965BX) a rest and try using a standalone digital media player.
There don't seem to be too many things like this available ready-made at a reasonable price, so I'm thinking of putting together a non-network-attached headless audio player based around something like a (2GB ram) rpi 4b and a hifiberry dac pro +, using a local usb drive to store the music files, and maybe a cheap 7 or 8 inch tablet for a remote. It looks like this is possible using Volumio for example as it appears you can set it to be a wifi access point for the tablet.
I would be very grateful for any advice and recommendations. There may well be obvious flaws in my plan that I have missed (for example, whether the OS & usb drive would be ok with being powered on and off using the psu switch without throwing up filesystem errors). If it is do-able, I'm wondering what the user experience would be like (how long it would take to boot, how easy to navigate my music collection using the tablet, and suchlike). It'd probably cost me £150+ for the bits, a significant amount for me, so it would be nice to know in advance what sort of thing I could end up with for that. I imagine the SQ will probably be sufficient for now as my system isn't too high-end and I can always play with different DACs etc. in future.
Thanks in advance.
I use an RPi player (RPI3 & Hifiberry dacs) with Volumio and I love it. My music is on a NAS though, and the player uses so little power that I never shut it off so it is always ready when I need it. (I measured the current draw once at something like 250mA from a USB supply, so not much more than 1W). I find the user experience quite good, and I simply love that I am able to control everything via a web UI so I can use any device within my reach without issues.
The only ready-made alternative I know of that is (sort of) reasonably priced is an Auralic Aries Mini, which you should be able to find second-hand. It will take an internal or external harddrive if you want and (IIRC) it has a dedicated app to control it. I had one and it sounds good and it worked well, but it annoyed me greatly that I need the dedicated app to control it. The UX might be a little bit better overall and it's an "all-in-one" unit, but I ultimately preferred the flexibility of the Volumio setup.
EDIT: I only rarely need to restart the Volumio setup but as I recall it starts up from cold in 60 secs. or so (I haven't timed it). Slow by CDP standards, but as mentioned I don't think you even need to shut it off (not sure if it can spin down a USB harddrive though). If you want to shut down you can shutdown Volumio from within the UI and if that's done I don't believe there are any problems with turning off the power to the Pi using a power switch.
The only ready-made alternative I know of that is (sort of) reasonably priced is an Auralic Aries Mini, which you should be able to find second-hand. It will take an internal or external harddrive if you want and (IIRC) it has a dedicated app to control it. I had one and it sounds good and it worked well, but it annoyed me greatly that I need the dedicated app to control it. The UX might be a little bit better overall and it's an "all-in-one" unit, but I ultimately preferred the flexibility of the Volumio setup.
EDIT: I only rarely need to restart the Volumio setup but as I recall it starts up from cold in 60 secs. or so (I haven't timed it). Slow by CDP standards, but as mentioned I don't think you even need to shut it off (not sure if it can spin down a USB harddrive though). If you want to shut down you can shutdown Volumio from within the UI and if that's done I don't believe there are any problems with turning off the power to the Pi using a power switch.
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It depends on the quality you desire. Of course a rpi with hifiberry dac pro + ist ok, but I would see this as rather low-end. It sounds very digital in the higher frequencies. Try to go with a system based on a linear psu (at least for the DAC itself).
If you want it to be priced not too high, look at the DIAL DAC by one of the users here. Its based on a MUCH better DAC than all the PCM5122s and also uses a very nice output stage, that you can change if wanted. Buy his linear psu and you are ready to go, it will sound very nice for this money. The PCM1793 handles the jitter rather well, so a reclocker is not a "must have". If you want it to sound even better, consider a reclocker like Ians FiFoPi or a simpler one like the Allo Kali (also very good quality for the price).
But I think for 150 pound, the DIAL DAC and linear PSU combination will be one of the best choices. For me the rpi3b was a better choice. Its by far fast enough and i had much less problems with interferences. The rpi4 picked up a lot of noise or it created a lot of noise, dont know exactly. Either put it in a metal enclosure or go rpi3b.
Just a consideration, what counts most is that you are happy with it and it is within your funds.
I use RPi 2B+ with Volumio.
At first with HiFiBerry Pro + powered from Pi with Pi's SMPS. Later I switched to Allo Boss with its own linear PS, Pi has also a linear supply btw.
The present setup sounds better than HiFiBerry. But it is like comparing apples and pears.
By that I mean: of course a DAC with its own PS sounds better than one powered from Pi.
I should probably mention that it does not take much to adapt HiFiBerry to external power (cut one via). People usually prefer Allo Boss to HiFiBerry.
Finally you can even skip a preamp (or buffer in my case) as you can control the volume from the GUI. It sounds better that way too.
At first with HiFiBerry Pro + powered from Pi with Pi's SMPS. Later I switched to Allo Boss with its own linear PS, Pi has also a linear supply btw.
The present setup sounds better than HiFiBerry. But it is like comparing apples and pears.
By that I mean: of course a DAC with its own PS sounds better than one powered from Pi.
I should probably mention that it does not take much to adapt HiFiBerry to external power (cut one via). People usually prefer Allo Boss to HiFiBerry.
Finally you can even skip a preamp (or buffer in my case) as you can control the volume from the GUI. It sounds better that way too.
Thanks for your replies. I take on board the comments about DACs and linear PSUs (I do intend to end up using some sort of linear psu for the DAC, haven't quite decided what yet) & also using the rpi 3b rather than the 4b.
However initially I'm wondering about more basic things, like (a) whether it will be possible to have a setup where I can just turn it on and off with the power switch, like the rest of my hifi separates, given that the usb drive will not have been unmounted by the OS when I do this & (b) if my idea of using a cheap tablet as a remote control will work ok.
Is there someone out there who has tried what I would like to do who can confirm that these things will work?
However initially I'm wondering about more basic things, like (a) whether it will be possible to have a setup where I can just turn it on and off with the power switch, like the rest of my hifi separates, given that the usb drive will not have been unmounted by the OS when I do this & (b) if my idea of using a cheap tablet as a remote control will work ok.
Is there someone out there who has tried what I would like to do who can confirm that these things will work?
I dont care if its an ALLO Boss or Hifiberry. Most PCM5122s sound the same. Bad seperation, heights very harsh, digital and many other problems. If you like it then its perfect, but for me feeding an PCM5122 with linear psu ist a waste. Its a 2$ IC and you should expect exactly that : 2$-like sound. If you want something better, go Sabre, PCM1793 or even PCM1794 (but this one needs some reclocking, its a very good DAC, but jitter can be a problem here). I dont understand, why so many people like the 5122s so much, they sound terrible even if you use clean power. They deliver no real soundstage, flat as hell...
I did not say it is perfect.
I prefer the sound of my CD player or my Es9018 hifiduino (even in my humble execution of the project https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/166807-dac-gallery-34.html#post6289228)
But RPi with Boss or HiFiBerry is decent for the money. Only the Es9018s chip has cost me more than Boss hat for Rpi.
I prefer the sound of my CD player or my Es9018 hifiduino (even in my humble execution of the project https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/166807-dac-gallery-34.html#post6289228)
But RPi with Boss or HiFiBerry is decent for the money. Only the Es9018s chip has cost me more than Boss hat for Rpi.
a) obviously you will be able to turn it on with a switch. Switching off is more tricky. Most systems (like volumio) need to be shut down before turning the power off. The problem are the temp files the system creates when it is working. It is a bit like unplugging your desktop running say Windows. The bigger danger is that you can corrupt the SD card while unplugging.
One neat possibility is to have a button which can call a shutdown procedure plus a delay circuit which will unplug your player some time after the shutdown has been initiated (giving time for the system to shut down)
I am aware of only one system (picoplayer-but that was many moons ago) which could be turned off shamelessly. Maybe other people know more.
b) that will work. Anything with a web browser. I use Kindle fire, iphone, laptop whatever is near.
DAC gallery
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