I'm new to this forum, usually post on tube/valves. This might be the wrong place to ask and if so, maybe someone can point me in the right direction.
With the Raspberry Pi supply situation being what it is and unlikely to improve anytime soon, what are the alternatives? Coding is not my thing, but have managed to setup two Pis, one running pCp and the other Volumio.
I recently saw a YouTube interview with the big kahuna at Raspberry Pi and he essentially stated they are supporting their commercial/industrial customers at the expense of educational and experimental users.
Are there other SBCs out there that have fairly straight forward audio implementation possible? I wouldn't likely need a HAT, just go with a USB connection to a DAC.
Thanks, Steve
With the Raspberry Pi supply situation being what it is and unlikely to improve anytime soon, what are the alternatives? Coding is not my thing, but have managed to setup two Pis, one running pCp and the other Volumio.
I recently saw a YouTube interview with the big kahuna at Raspberry Pi and he essentially stated they are supporting their commercial/industrial customers at the expense of educational and experimental users.
Are there other SBCs out there that have fairly straight forward audio implementation possible? I wouldn't likely need a HAT, just go with a USB connection to a DAC.
Thanks, Steve
If you do not need the HW features (I2S, GPIOs), then any x86 machine will do. Refurbished thin PC clients are cheaper than RPi, have plentiful video and USB ports, some PCI-e slot, some SATA ports, come in nice metal boxes and with quality power supplies included.
Not an exact one for one but beaglebones are a alternative. Also an ARM, also linux, also gpio(even more than pi)... Beaglebones also have a low end A/D onboard for measurement uses along with a few other things. Depending on the model may or may not have hdmi. Decent amount of community support. And available, although slightly more expensive. I've used them for some stuff, and in my limited experience a little more rugged than the pi.
Either of the suggestions above would work well, it seems to me. If you prefer a ready-to-go system like Volumio then mikeATX's suggestion of a beaglebone sounds good (I haven't tried one), although Volumio lists other devices as supported:
https://volumio.github.io/docs/FAQs/General.html
If you're interested (or willing) to mess around with linux then phofman's suggestion would work well, and would probably be cheaper. (I don't know how or whether Volumio can be installed directly in a thin client; their site lists x86 as a possibilty...)
I recently did something similar. I've been using RPi zero Ws together with two different HiFiberry DACS; the cheapest one and their fancier one (forget the model - cost about $100) and volumio. I keep a large music archive (various formats) backed up to a large hard drive on my home LAN, and like to play back local copies of music on the microsd card (rather than streaming from the LAN). After using the RPis for a little over a year I came to dislike the Volumio interface, the limitations of the microsd cards I had installed, the slowness of the RPi Zero when using ssh or rsync and a few other similar things. (An RPi 4 might be much better, to be fair.) My primitive use of a Focusrite Solo and REW also suggested that THD and noise were higher than I expected from other people's experiences (and interestingly the cheap and expensive DACs measured very similarly).
So even though it all sounded fine, I bought a used Intel NUC from ebay, in a nice fanless case. I installed gentoo linux (although pretty much any flavour of linux would do) and MPD to control the music library and stream, and now run it headless, connected to a Khadas tone board via usb. I use a client app on my phone to control playback, and ssh or rsync from another computer to do everthing else. It seems to have resolved all the complaints above, and I'm very pleased with it. (It measures better on REW, too, although I make no claim to any audible differences.) The total cost was higher than a RPi solution (because I chose to install a large SSD and I bought the Khadas tone board) but you could keep the costs much lower and still have basically the same functionality. Phofman's suggestion of a thin client would likely be the cheapest option, and audio-wise would surely work just as well as what I did.
https://volumio.github.io/docs/FAQs/General.html
If you're interested (or willing) to mess around with linux then phofman's suggestion would work well, and would probably be cheaper. (I don't know how or whether Volumio can be installed directly in a thin client; their site lists x86 as a possibilty...)
I recently did something similar. I've been using RPi zero Ws together with two different HiFiberry DACS; the cheapest one and their fancier one (forget the model - cost about $100) and volumio. I keep a large music archive (various formats) backed up to a large hard drive on my home LAN, and like to play back local copies of music on the microsd card (rather than streaming from the LAN). After using the RPis for a little over a year I came to dislike the Volumio interface, the limitations of the microsd cards I had installed, the slowness of the RPi Zero when using ssh or rsync and a few other similar things. (An RPi 4 might be much better, to be fair.) My primitive use of a Focusrite Solo and REW also suggested that THD and noise were higher than I expected from other people's experiences (and interestingly the cheap and expensive DACs measured very similarly).
So even though it all sounded fine, I bought a used Intel NUC from ebay, in a nice fanless case. I installed gentoo linux (although pretty much any flavour of linux would do) and MPD to control the music library and stream, and now run it headless, connected to a Khadas tone board via usb. I use a client app on my phone to control playback, and ssh or rsync from another computer to do everthing else. It seems to have resolved all the complaints above, and I'm very pleased with it. (It measures better on REW, too, although I make no claim to any audible differences.) The total cost was higher than a RPi solution (because I chose to install a large SSD and I bought the Khadas tone board) but you could keep the costs much lower and still have basically the same functionality. Phofman's suggestion of a thin client would likely be the cheapest option, and audio-wise would surely work just as well as what I did.
Check out Intel based mini-PCs using SOCs like J4125, N4100, or N5105. Several times the raw CPU performance of a Pi4, plus the support of Intel under Linux. If you look around you can find these for as low as $150-$200 with memory and storage installed.
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If you do want to stick with Pi, they are available (I looked on Amazon.ca) if you are willing to pay a big premium. Just saying, in case you had reasons for not wanting to switch.
It can not be that you abandon the Raspberry Pi. You will be excommunicated by the friendly but pious community! Elac DS-S101-G, the new Volumio Primo, Bluesound Node, WiiM Mini or Pro, Primary NP5 etc. There are a lot of devices that are quite capable and most just work OK. If it needs to be very cheap and small a second hand Cubox with Volumio 2.xx installed works wonders. Has 2 x USB.
First determine what you need/want like local storage or not, more than just 1 USB port, wireless LAN and/or ethernet etc.
First determine what you need/want like local storage or not, more than just 1 USB port, wireless LAN and/or ethernet etc.
What about pine64 RocPRO64?
It's features set looks 'just like' RPI, except it has more i2s outputs. I've been eyeballing it for some time😉 and it might be go to solution
other option is to use RPi zero with dedicated base board.
maybe open source audio-tailored solution with ldo regs and hq crystal osc😉 ? not that there are any available solutions but maybe someone can make GB? 😉
It's features set looks 'just like' RPI, except it has more i2s outputs. I've been eyeballing it for some time😉 and it might be go to solution
other option is to use RPi zero with dedicated base board.
maybe open source audio-tailored solution with ldo regs and hq crystal osc😉 ? not that there are any available solutions but maybe someone can make GB? 😉
One thing is HW features, a very different thing is their SW support in the linux kernel. Using these "offstream" boards most likely requires some advanced kernel work to have support for the additional I2S controllers and other parts, at least patching and compiling (if lucky). Perfectly viable for a commercial or larger-volume design, but often difficult for a sole DIYer who does not specialize in linux kernel.
Following this thread with interest. I have and love an RPi + MoOde streamer, but also don't want to be locked into a closed proprietary system in the future. Any kind of headless x86 Spotify compatible streamer would work. I tried most of the RPi streaming OSs and frankly haven't been crazy about any of them anyway.
I did pay an extortionate price for a 4B. Partly to do some experimenting with different OSs but mostly to have a spare. I don't think the Pi supply situation will improve anytime soon.
The Wiim Pro looks interesting. John Darko did a video or two on it and I must say I'm intrigued. Darko got me interested in the Pi for streaming but even he says the Wiims might be the better way to go. I think I'll get a Wiim Pro when they become available.
The Wiim Pro looks interesting. John Darko did a video or two on it and I must say I'm intrigued. Darko got me interested in the Pi for streaming but even he says the Wiims might be the better way to go. I think I'll get a Wiim Pro when they become available.
No local storage and also no USB port are drawbacks for me. Otherwise an intriguing device and if one of the drawbacks could be overcome I would definitely try it out. No pictures of the mainboard either. I am pretty sure it has USB internally.
My translation computer made overhours but came up with "syntax error".
My translation computer made overhours but came up with "syntax error".
I've used qotom.net mini PCs for various uses. they come in a variety of cases, lots of choices on usb/ethernet, celeron or i3, no fans, low cost.
What Raspberry Pi Systems can do this
- Spotify from several accounts - or at least mine and my GFs
- Tidal
- Play local media
- Play in several rooms
- Stream from PC on the network (Just play sound...)
- Bonus if I can make a box with Volume control and 3 buttons for "radio stations" or "favorite playlists"
- Is stable !!!! Dont crash !!!
Hi Steve,
I have a friend whom is in the same situation as you. I have recomended him the famous tiny Lenovo thinkcenter m7 and he's very satisfied with it for almost an year by now with ubuntu and external dac. Ther are also passive versions of this thinkcenter with Celeron. It has a small laptop psu and you can even put a hdd cd rom with no bootable sd card headache.
Cheers
I liked Synology devices when streaming via the usb port. They were quiet with good electronic layout. But apps limited.
Unfortunately, Synology has removed support for USB dongles in the latest versions of DSM, and don't seem to be updating the consumer features anymore. They are pushing big into enterprise applications. That is the reason I went with a RPi-4 running MoOde. I still store all my media on the NAS, but I no longer use it as a renderer.