I have a 5 year old ASUS wirelessly connected 4-port ethernet router connecting stuff at the lab. A PC with no wifi card, a scope, that sort of thing.
I just plug stuff in and it runs.
Jan
I just plug stuff in and it runs.
Jan
Your router is connected to upstream via wifi? That means it is a wifi client to another AP in your house, right? If you connect multiple devices to your lab router via ethernet, can you see their IP addresses on your phone connected to the same AP (the Fing app)? It would be rather unusual if you did.
I can see the router but not the PC connected to it. But I also see the iFi, and the phone and some other stuff.
The iFi app shows the iFi interface intermittently, but most often asks me to 'add a device' which is the procedure as shown in the 'manual'.
Right now it plays, but both the 'connected' light and the 'resolution/sample rate' light are off. Weird. A mess.
Signing off. I had planned to work on the common mode noise on the power supply for the floating diff probe, but instead wasted a Saturday on this. Not happy.
Jan
The iFi app shows the iFi interface intermittently, but most often asks me to 'add a device' which is the procedure as shown in the 'manual'.
Right now it plays, but both the 'connected' light and the 'resolution/sample rate' light are off. Weird. A mess.
Signing off. I had planned to work on the common mode noise on the power supply for the floating diff probe, but instead wasted a Saturday on this. Not happy.
Jan
Hi that is true, I never read any manual at first to be honest. I rely on troubleshooting skills broadly as I am used to hear "RTFM" for decades. This method makes that one sees the general patterns as all stuff has been designed by humans. I solve issues both professionally and for a hobby so I am not easily intimidated and search for the root cause. Focus is always to solve issues, improve hardware/firmware and/or methods. If one is being experienced and focusses on results then solving issues can be rewarding. Just to explain how I look at things.
In this case I see a challenge and it is posted on a technical forum which invites techs to look for solutions as that is in the blood. Reset to factory settings, trying wired ethernet, use a free IP scanner to see what IP number it has, set the pc to an IP number in the same range (set the device to DHCP) and have the web page showing what the settings are and then to check if the device has a hardware error or is just corrupted for some reason. When it is stable again then check updates of both device and router. No assumptions. Then, if things work OK wired, the wireless debacle. This sometimes costs less time than packing it and sending it back which, if it sounds really good, may lead to more satisfaction.
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The risk with that is you may not fully know what the device can or cannot do and you end up trying fix something it was never meant to do in the first place.
Jan, just to clarify - is your iFi connected by cable to your lab router only, or and by wifi, or by both?
IMO what you see with fing are all devices on the wifi segment - your phone, the wifi interface of iFi, the wifi interface of your router. But not your PC nor the ethernet interface of your iFi. Can you check the IP on your PC and compare it with IPs you see in Fing? IMO it will be a different network segment as there is NAT running on the LAN side of your lab router.
IMO what you see with fing are all devices on the wifi segment - your phone, the wifi interface of iFi, the wifi interface of your router. But not your PC nor the ethernet interface of your iFi. Can you check the IP on your PC and compare it with IPs you see in Fing? IMO it will be a different network segment as there is NAT running on the LAN side of your lab router.
Of course I do read what the device can and can not do. It is about fixing stuff so that it does do what it is supposed to do. I thought that was clear. I looked up the "manual" of the Zen Stream and I can certainly do without. Substandard quality really.
I sold a few media devices today (all within 30 minutes), maybe I will try out the iFi just out of curiosity. IF the soft/firmware is that bad someone will be sweating to fix that ASAP. As things have not been properly investigated it still may be user/config/compatibility errors. I have seen quite some devices that were tested as "bad" that just worked after changing/adapting configuration. Just suppose iFi sells defective stuff, business will be over quite soon then...
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Sold an Auralic today. App is unstable. Was not like that but became like that with version x.xx. Forced because of iOS updates...
As expected not a single issue when playing back various files for hours via USB. Volumio app is stable on iOS too. The app was less than 3 Euro, the second hand device 50, the linear PSU around 100 (DIY). I think I can call this a "good not expensive streamer".
Recommended!
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That is good for your USB DAC which happened to be supported 4 years ago. There are newer devices which will not work, like most devices with implicit async feedback that were not whitelisted in the kernel 4 years ago. And that is my point. So recommended for the USB devices which happen to be supported, that should be added to the recommendation statement. And no list of the supported devices to be found anywhere, obviously. Every device is trial/error by the customer and if it fails, no tweaking apart of upgrading the kernel will help (which is out of question for this device).
This is a created problem when one mixes old and new stuff. I don't see the point of discussing possible problems when I don't experience any with various devices.
The newest kernel may be nice for IT guys and those that connect the latest and greatest expensive 2021 DACs to a cheap RPi but isn't it all a little exxagerated? I mean, I troubleshoot issues but when there are none with 4 connected devices why should I worry? For the LesleyZambia DAC with LiFePO4 batteries and ultra extreme femtosecond low jitter clocks that comes out next week? "Trial and error" is grossly overstated. There is not a ghost behind every tree you know. It may be personal but I also don't understand connecting multi 1000 $ DACs to cheap transports. If I follow the reasoning I should write new images to the SD card every week when I would use an RPi just to have the newest kernel to support eh... everything?
This IS a 50 Euro device so ultra low cost AND it works OK with high ethernet speeds and good WiFi coverage. So even with old vanilla Android kernels one can have a stable and affordable streamer that just works with many a USB DAC. It seems to offer better performance than the iFi 🙂 (also via wireless that is) and it is cheaper than an RPi and it certainly looks better. Contrary to expectations with ready made devices this El Cheapo is even maintained with 2021 versions of the free Volumio OS. What is there to criticize when things just work and sound very good? Just compare to a few recent devices with unstable apps, reliability issues to appreciate a device that simply works and keeps working. I experiment with audio players for at least 15 years now and I have had my share of bad/mediocre devices or worse: excellent devices with plain bad software. The worst: devices that are OK but the company goes bankrupt or decides to withdraw the app making the device unusable. Olive One, Hermstedt HiFidelio for instance.
As said, I sold a few audio players of name and fame yesterday but this device stays 😀 Sorry for the long post but I think we should see things in perspective to what we expect and define price ranges to avoid skewed comparison. Features? Reliability? A stable app?
The newest kernel may be nice for IT guys and those that connect the latest and greatest expensive 2021 DACs to a cheap RPi but isn't it all a little exxagerated? I mean, I troubleshoot issues but when there are none with 4 connected devices why should I worry? For the LesleyZambia DAC with LiFePO4 batteries and ultra extreme femtosecond low jitter clocks that comes out next week? "Trial and error" is grossly overstated. There is not a ghost behind every tree you know. It may be personal but I also don't understand connecting multi 1000 $ DACs to cheap transports. If I follow the reasoning I should write new images to the SD card every week when I would use an RPi just to have the newest kernel to support eh... everything?
This IS a 50 Euro device so ultra low cost AND it works OK with high ethernet speeds and good WiFi coverage. So even with old vanilla Android kernels one can have a stable and affordable streamer that just works with many a USB DAC. It seems to offer better performance than the iFi 🙂 (also via wireless that is) and it is cheaper than an RPi and it certainly looks better. Contrary to expectations with ready made devices this El Cheapo is even maintained with 2021 versions of the free Volumio OS. What is there to criticize when things just work and sound very good? Just compare to a few recent devices with unstable apps, reliability issues to appreciate a device that simply works and keeps working. I experiment with audio players for at least 15 years now and I have had my share of bad/mediocre devices or worse: excellent devices with plain bad software. The worst: devices that are OK but the company goes bankrupt or decides to withdraw the app making the device unusable. Olive One, Hermstedt HiFidelio for instance.
As said, I sold a few audio players of name and fame yesterday but this device stays 😀 Sorry for the long post but I think we should see things in perspective to what we expect and define price ranges to avoid skewed comparison. Features? Reliability? A stable app?
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I am saying how things are from the technical standpoint. E.g. the MOTU M2/4 devices are quite popular and will inevitably experience glitches on that kernel, without implicit feedback support. If your customer happens to have one, good luck. I would be quite disappointed if a seller did not care whether my DAC works with the streamer prior to selling me one.
I follow the linux sound mailing list for 15 years (my first patch to the sound subsystem was in 2007 [ALSA] ice1724 - Functioning support for Prodigy 192 * torvalds/linux@7d4b438 * GitHub ) and see what problems users report. The usb driver constantly receives patches for newer as well as older devices. IME USB audio device out-of-the-box support by the universal USB driver (be it linux or windows), without vendor-supplied drivers, is and always will be trial/error.
I follow the linux sound mailing list for 15 years (my first patch to the sound subsystem was in 2007 [ALSA] ice1724 - Functioning support for Prodigy 192 * torvalds/linux@7d4b438 * GitHub ) and see what problems users report. The usb driver constantly receives patches for newer as well as older devices. IME USB audio device out-of-the-box support by the universal USB driver (be it linux or windows), without vendor-supplied drivers, is and always will be trial/error.
Maybe we should take care not to mix ready made devices and their support and DIY/"throw it together yourself" devices with little/no/community support (but low price as main point). Let's say it would be unacceptable that the iFi would not support the Motu DACs but chances are unlikely one would connect a second hand 50 Euro device to such a Motu and if so... if it is not performing then another device can be found. No big loss. If it works perfect then big gain 🙂 Trial and error by choice based on budget.
You remind me of the speech one of the big guys at VIA gave when USB was introduced 😀 Can't find it anymore but not a single word was spent on the positive side of things. I was then trying to get Windows NT 4.0 working with USB. That truly was horror.
Haven't tried the Motu devices as I use FDA primarily. When USB would pose problems/horror/issues I do something absolutely terrible... I switch to SPDIF over coax. For peace of mind of my own kernel so to speak. As bad as it may seem to kernel orientated people ... in practice some devices offer better performance over coax than over USB. All the technical porno aside... it is about the listening isn't it?
You remind me of the speech one of the big guys at VIA gave when USB was introduced 😀 Can't find it anymore but not a single word was spent on the positive side of things. I was then trying to get Windows NT 4.0 working with USB. That truly was horror.
Haven't tried the Motu devices as I use FDA primarily. When USB would pose problems/horror/issues I do something absolutely terrible... I switch to SPDIF over coax. For peace of mind of my own kernel so to speak. As bad as it may seem to kernel orientated people ... in practice some devices offer better performance over coax than over USB. All the technical porno aside... it is about the listening isn't it?
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Aries Mini? I remember you did some mods to its case to keep it cool. Maybe Auiralic decided to stop support because the model is 6 years old.
Last post 28th April 2012, he is busy designing iFi devices and building kernels 🙂
Extreme_Boky, it counts for a few models but I gave up on Auralic so no valid comment from me which models. The Elac Discovery is way more stable for instance. Sometimes it is not about features but "usability".
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