Hi,
forgive my stupid- and lazyness to work through all the articles on the web,...but i am still not able to find any usefull information of how it is possible or IF is even possible to just use an raspberry with or without any dac, to have this tiny board given audio through i2s to an minidsp.
In my understanding there is only one issue which stands in the way, and that would be te need for the minidsp a "clocked" i2s input?! But please tell me if i am heading in a wrong direction.
So is there any dac which one could simply put on an raspberry pi via gpio which gives clocked i2s audio which than could be put into an minidsp balanced or 2x4 (not hd).
The Idea behind all this is that i've got these two boards lying around and simply want to put them to good use. I know that there is the minidigi option from minidsp which i could put on the balanced for example and than put an spdif dac on my raspb take an lwl...boring.
In my mind it sounds way to complicated to have two extra boards (minidigi and spdif dac for the rasberry pi) just to use the i2s for the balanced. all and all for the same price which would cost a minidsp hd which already has spdif input.
From all the search i've done until now, there is a certain kind of feeling"betrayed" (dont get me wrong :-D) from minidsp, that they've got these i2s inputs which in general nobody could use the easy way, for builiding an really cheap "streaming crossover".
Ok yeah please buy the shd, there you go...🙄.
So please tell me, am i stupid/not able to find the right post/link how to do this without spending unnecesarry money, buy just using grey cells in my head?! or is the only way through rasp+dac+digi option on the dsp board?
Would be nice to get some reply.
Regards Swany
forgive my stupid- and lazyness to work through all the articles on the web,...but i am still not able to find any usefull information of how it is possible or IF is even possible to just use an raspberry with or without any dac, to have this tiny board given audio through i2s to an minidsp.
In my understanding there is only one issue which stands in the way, and that would be te need for the minidsp a "clocked" i2s input?! But please tell me if i am heading in a wrong direction.
So is there any dac which one could simply put on an raspberry pi via gpio which gives clocked i2s audio which than could be put into an minidsp balanced or 2x4 (not hd).
The Idea behind all this is that i've got these two boards lying around and simply want to put them to good use. I know that there is the minidigi option from minidsp which i could put on the balanced for example and than put an spdif dac on my raspb take an lwl...boring.
In my mind it sounds way to complicated to have two extra boards (minidigi and spdif dac for the rasberry pi) just to use the i2s for the balanced. all and all for the same price which would cost a minidsp hd which already has spdif input.
From all the search i've done until now, there is a certain kind of feeling"betrayed" (dont get me wrong :-D) from minidsp, that they've got these i2s inputs which in general nobody could use the easy way, for builiding an really cheap "streaming crossover".
Ok yeah please buy the shd, there you go...🙄.
So please tell me, am i stupid/not able to find the right post/link how to do this without spending unnecesarry money, buy just using grey cells in my head?! or is the only way through rasp+dac+digi option on the dsp board?
Would be nice to get some reply.
Regards Swany
Hi,
tanks for the reply, but how excatly does another 160 bucks costing devise filling the gap or solve the issue?
An minidsp hd cost like 230 euros...my already existing balanced around 140. Would'nt make much sense to me spending even more.
The question is and was how to avoid, spending way more money :-D. Besides i'll still would need an dac on the rasp right? Even with the minisharc.
Regards,
Swany
tanks for the reply, but how excatly does another 160 bucks costing devise filling the gap or solve the issue?
An minidsp hd cost like 230 euros...my already existing balanced around 140. Would'nt make much sense to me spending even more.
The question is and was how to avoid, spending way more money :-D. Besides i'll still would need an dac on the rasp right? Even with the minisharc.
Regards,
Swany
There is no need to use the miniDSP product.
If you want to use your Raspberry Pi(s) as a "cheap streaming crossover" then the best way to do it is to implement DSP in software on the Pi itself. Then you only need a DAC (of what ever number of channels you need) to output the audio. This can be a USB DAC or "HAT" (I2S) DAC. Voila, a DSP crossover on the cheap.
Look at my signature line for my LADPSA plugins. This is a useful reference as well:
Digital Crossover/EQ with Open-Source Software: HOWTO | Richard's Stuff
If you want to use your Raspberry Pi(s) as a "cheap streaming crossover" then the best way to do it is to implement DSP in software on the Pi itself. Then you only need a DAC (of what ever number of channels you need) to output the audio. This can be a USB DAC or "HAT" (I2S) DAC. Voila, a DSP crossover on the cheap.
Look at my signature line for my LADPSA plugins. This is a useful reference as well:
Digital Crossover/EQ with Open-Source Software: HOWTO | Richard's Stuff
Hi Richard,
i stumbled upon your sites a while ago 🙂. Nice and well documeted work you did there.
Here comes the BUT....i am not anything into programming at all, and not even coding...command line is nearly the same. So if i would try to work my way, even with all the help you posted on your sites, i would give up realy frustrated. I know, i know...thats some kind of lazyness!
And one cheap excuse...:-D. The other is, that i am really happy with the integration of software like Moode or Volumio on my Pi...and to keep it simple, the better half of me in our household as well.
So if i would go away from an easy and frutsration free way of using the playback systems in my household,...like airplay and bluetooth streaming (i know, i know...) i would definitely get in real f****ing trouble. 😛.
Thats why i wanted to keep it simple AND audible at the same time. But that is nothing against your work!
This was the idea of this post, to try to keep it simple for me and my well being at my home :-D.
The thing is that it would definitely work your way, but i am also eager to use the stuff which is still lying arround (the balanced or 2x4), and of what my head thinks should work in one way or the other without doing headstands.
Greets Swany
i stumbled upon your sites a while ago 🙂. Nice and well documeted work you did there.
Here comes the BUT....i am not anything into programming at all, and not even coding...command line is nearly the same. So if i would try to work my way, even with all the help you posted on your sites, i would give up realy frustrated. I know, i know...thats some kind of lazyness!
And one cheap excuse...:-D. The other is, that i am really happy with the integration of software like Moode or Volumio on my Pi...and to keep it simple, the better half of me in our household as well.
So if i would go away from an easy and frutsration free way of using the playback systems in my household,...like airplay and bluetooth streaming (i know, i know...) i would definitely get in real f****ing trouble. 😛.
Thats why i wanted to keep it simple AND audible at the same time. But that is nothing against your work!
This was the idea of this post, to try to keep it simple for me and my well being at my home :-D.
The thing is that it would definitely work your way, but i am also eager to use the stuff which is still lying arround (the balanced or 2x4), and of what my head thinks should work in one way or the other without doing headstands.
Greets Swany
Hi,
good idea, but why buy a minisharc for like 200 euros and two curryman for 60 euros each? Than like i told before it is easier and cheaper to go with an hd in the first place.
But also that's not what i've got in mind as question, of how or if it's possible to just hook up maybe through one other "devise" (dac, clock, clocked dac), a raspberry pi directly to an oldscholl 2x4 or an balanced? Since an raspberry is able to give out i2s and both the 2x4 and the balanced are able to receive i2s...
So on one hand it "seems" to "just" being a conversion problem to make these two devieses (pi and dsp) just understand each other, and on the other to "trick" the software which is running the pi (moode or volumio) to give out audio over i2s without having any physical dac attached?!
Or is there a breakoutboard, which one can put on the raspberry pi, does function as a "clock" and gives i2s passthrough, which than could be just simply plugged in, in an 2x4 or balanced board?
Dont get me wrong, there are at least many different ways to solve this with other devises, some of them were already shared here. The goal on the other hand, would be to have like these really cheap (compared to other platforms) and really easy to use and configure devises like the minidsp 2x4 or even the balanced, and to combine these with an also really cheap and easy to use piece of hard- and software like an pi and the aboven mentioned players.
And on the other hand no being forced to convert any audio through numerous dacs, to send audio from one devise to another.
Greets Swany
good idea, but why buy a minisharc for like 200 euros and two curryman for 60 euros each? Than like i told before it is easier and cheaper to go with an hd in the first place.
But also that's not what i've got in mind as question, of how or if it's possible to just hook up maybe through one other "devise" (dac, clock, clocked dac), a raspberry pi directly to an oldscholl 2x4 or an balanced? Since an raspberry is able to give out i2s and both the 2x4 and the balanced are able to receive i2s...
So on one hand it "seems" to "just" being a conversion problem to make these two devieses (pi and dsp) just understand each other, and on the other to "trick" the software which is running the pi (moode or volumio) to give out audio over i2s without having any physical dac attached?!
Or is there a breakoutboard, which one can put on the raspberry pi, does function as a "clock" and gives i2s passthrough, which than could be just simply plugged in, in an 2x4 or balanced board?
Dont get me wrong, there are at least many different ways to solve this with other devises, some of them were already shared here. The goal on the other hand, would be to have like these really cheap (compared to other platforms) and really easy to use and configure devises like the minidsp 2x4 or even the balanced, and to combine these with an also really cheap and easy to use piece of hard- and software like an pi and the aboven mentioned players.
And on the other hand no being forced to convert any audio through numerous dacs, to send audio from one devise to another.
Greets Swany
I do not understand what miniDSP and "oldschool 4x2" you are talking about. That article describes connecting I2S in/out in master-clock mode (master on RPi side). The driver does not care what is on the other side
I don't think this will be trivial.
The MiniSHARC doesn't require an MCLK signal when it acts as an i2s slave. This is fine with a Pi, which doesn't provide one. But the MiniDSP 2x4 needs to be fed a 12.288MHz MCLK when it's in slave mode.
This means that either this MCLK must be generated by some other device, like a dac hat, or the 2x4 must be master.
The second option should work, but you probably have to modify the pi i2s audio driver. Normally when the pi is slave, you have an additional connection via i2c to the dac. This is used to set things up and change sample rate. You won't have that so you need to lock it to 48kHz, and disable the i2c-stuff.
The MiniSHARC doesn't require an MCLK signal when it acts as an i2s slave. This is fine with a Pi, which doesn't provide one. But the MiniDSP 2x4 needs to be fed a 12.288MHz MCLK when it's in slave mode.
This means that either this MCLK must be generated by some other device, like a dac hat, or the 2x4 must be master.
The second option should work, but you probably have to modify the pi i2s audio driver. Normally when the pi is slave, you have an additional connection via i2c to the dac. This is used to set things up and change sample rate. You won't have that so you need to lock it to 48kHz, and disable the i2c-stuff.
So this is more like it,...things which need to considered and maybe a way to go. Initial, what i was trying to say... i think the only thing standing between a talking from a raspb and the mini dsp is the missing clock or, and an adjustment of parts of the software running the pi.
But considered that till today it hasen'nt been done it and nearly 1200 people have read this post here, maybe there is no easy awnser to this. Or simply without building an "clock" breakoutboard, which i am totally unable to 😱, not possible.
But in theory it should work 😀. Just doesent...
Greets Swany
Well, making two pieces of technology work together is never trivial (unless one of the pieces was intentionally designed to work with the other one which apparently this is not the case).
* The chip in RPi was not designed for clean I2S audio in master mode.
* The slave mode is OK, but you need to generate the clock signals externally. If none of the existing pieces provide the feature, a separate clock generator must be provided.
* If a hardware requires configuration, you have to provide it somehow - i.e. either in the driver, or in userspace. Look at the long list of drivers for various RPi audio interfaces - the vendors/volunteers had to write them linux/sound/soc/bcm at rpi-5.9.y * raspberrypi/linux * GitHub
So the integration you envision is definitely possible but does not happen automagically, that's how it is.
* The chip in RPi was not designed for clean I2S audio in master mode.
* The slave mode is OK, but you need to generate the clock signals externally. If none of the existing pieces provide the feature, a separate clock generator must be provided.
* If a hardware requires configuration, you have to provide it somehow - i.e. either in the driver, or in userspace. Look at the long list of drivers for various RPi audio interfaces - the vendors/volunteers had to write them linux/sound/soc/bcm at rpi-5.9.y * raspberrypi/linux * GitHub
So the integration you envision is definitely possible but does not happen automagically, that's how it is.