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Best raspberry pi streamer usb output?

Allaboutmusic said:
Did you go for it? What software are you thinking of using?
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No AAM I didn't. I wanted to experiment with some ripped Cds on a hard drive, also something with spdif out and a decent case etc.
I know all that's possible with a pi but it adds up. So, in the end, I've bought a used Fit-Pc and I plan to try out Daphile.
 
Darren said:
I'm considering putting a raspberry pi based streamer together. It's output could go via USB into my Soncoz dac.
I'm a bit confused because I keep reading that the Pi's usb output is rubbish for audio. So how can it be improved? (the optical and coax inputs on the dac are already taken)
Excuse my ignorance and thanks for your help.
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Someone who knows a lot more about than me (he has written some of the third-party LMS plug-ins) told me the Pi USB interface has a heavy component of software rather than hardware implementation. I did have problems with my Chord 2Qute DAC via USB interface some years ago using a PI1, with clicks every few seconds, which is when I got him involved. Several other DACs I tried were OK. But with a Pi4 I have had no issues.
 
Darren said:
No AAM I didn't. I wanted to experiment with some ripped Cds on a hard drive, also something with spdif out and a decent case etc.
I know all that's possible with a pi but it adds up. So, in the end, I've bought a used Fit-Pc and I plan to try out Daphile.
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It does add up once you start adding a 'hat' and case, a cable etc. But you can try out a basic Pi (£30-ish) and just use its USB - if you like it, you can add the Hats etc. later on? I love my Pi streamer (I've ended up with the Allo DigiOne hat) and couldn't see myself every opting for a proprietary 'box' again for streaming. Streaming software and services are moving on at too fast apace for me to commit to a single system, so the Pi allows for absolute flexibility and sounds pretty amazing if you send it through a decent dac.
 
gustavm said:
Someone who knows a lot more about than me (he has written some of the third-party LMS plug-ins) told me the Pi USB interface has a heavy component of software rather than hardware implementation. I did have problems with my Chord 2Qute DAC via USB interface some years ago using a PI1, with clicks every few seconds, which is when I got him involved. Several other DACs I tried were OK. But with a Pi4 I have had no issues.
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The Pi4 has a totally different USB implementation, there are no concerns with using it for audio. So a PI4 into a technically good USB DAC can be as good as it gets.
 
Tw99 said:
The Pi4 has a totally different USB implementation, there are no concerns with using it for audio. So a PI4 into a technically good USB DAC can be as good as it gets.
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Just ordered a Pi 4 and hifi Berry SpDif hat for my next streamer project into my Yammy’s Sabre dac. I miss IPlayer. Exciting.
 
Tw99 said:
The Pi4 has a totally different USB implementation, there are no concerns with using it for audio. So a PI4 into a technically good USB DAC can be as good as it gets.
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My understanding (and hoping that someone can either confirm or correct) is that in the RPi3, the same chip is used for both USB and Ethernet - so it just gets overloaded. In the RPi4 and Allo USBridge Signature, the USB and Ethernet interfaces are separated in hardware.
 
suzywong said:
My understanding (and hoping that someone can either confirm or correct) is that in the RPi3, the same chip is used for both USB and Ethernet - so it just gets overloaded. In the RPi4 and Allo USBridge Signature, the USB and Ethernet interfaces are separated in hardware.
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Basically yes the Pi4 has a separate USB and Ethernet layout, the older models shared hardware for both interfaces which could cause a bottleneck
 
Amber Audio said:
Basically yes the Pi4 has a separate USB and Ethernet layout, the older models shared hardware for both interfaces which could cause a bottleneck
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Can I ask about the usb WiFi dongle being used on a 1b Pi along with a usb to DAC? It sounds decent to me, no clicks or pops. Although on start up I get one click before music starts. But if someone told me if be likely to get improvements from using a Pi4 I'd be inclined to give it a lash.
 
Ruairi said:
Can I ask about the usb WiFi dongle being used on a 1b Pi along with a usb to DAC? It sounds decent to me, no clicks or pops. Although on start up I get one click before music starts. But if someone told me if be likely to get improvements from using a Pi4 I'd be inclined to give it a lash.
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If you're not getting any clicks or pops during playback I doubt the 4 will make any difference, depends on your DAC of course, but I'd guess probably not. The single click at start, hard to say, could be something like it should have mute selected until you play something but it isn't or a zillion other reasons, check you are on the latest version of the OS/Player/Dongle Driver. Using WiFi on older Pis was the workaround for the pops over Ethernet due to the hardware layout, WiFi got round most/all the limitations.
 
suzywong said:
My understanding (and hoping that someone can either confirm or correct) is that in the RPi3, the same chip is used for both USB and Ethernet - so it just gets overloaded. In the RPi4 and Allo USBridge Signature, the USB and Ethernet interfaces are separated in hardware.
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This is why I’m upgrading, though to be fair the 3b has been great.
 
Currently playing around with an RPi-1and the Wolfson DAC/ADC/Amp HAT....but not got it working so far...........ANDREW, where are you when we need you LOL :D:D:D
 
suzywong said:
Currently playing around with an RPi-1and the Wolfson DAC/ADC/Amp HAT....but not got it working so far...........ANDREW, where are you when we need you LOL
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I think somebody did write some code to support this. If O find it I’ll post.
 
It’s on Andrew Weeks’/Element 14 site. I just need to work my way through it :)

A nice little project for lockdown/retirement...but then I had said that I would totally give up electronics on retirement after 50 years of it...

...well that lasted three months before getting twitchy, and I’m now in negotiation with the Comptroller of Finances about a sig gen & scope.
 
suzywong said:
Currently playing around with an RPi-1and the Wolfson DAC/ADC/Amp HAT....but not got it working so far...........ANDREW, where are you when we need you LOL :D:D:D
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That the card HiFi World rated, has a shed load of features? I thought it only worked on a Pi 2, I will check that Elem 14 article out.
 
suzywong said:
It’s on Andrew Weeks’/Element 14 site. I just need to work my way through it :)

A nice little project for lockdown/retirement...but then I had said that I would totally give up electronics on retirement after 50 years of it...

...well that lasted three months before getting twitchy, and I’m now in negotiation with the Comptroller of Finances about a sig gen & scope.
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That’s the beauty of this Pi hobby.You just can’t let them go.They are truly wonderful devices. I can’t quite stretch to the more esoteric(he hee)Digi hats but I bet the Hifiberry standard gives a good account of itself. Looking forward to trialling the device against the inbuilt streamer. I suspect it will perhaps be a smite better. Also keeps me in touch with LMS now that my Touch is up for sale.
 
Amber Audio said:
If you're not getting any clicks or pops during playback I doubt the 4 will make any difference, depends on your DAC of course, but I'd guess probably not. The single click at start, hard to say, could be something like it should have mute selected until you play something but it isn't or a zillion other reasons, check you are on the latest version of the OS/Player/Dongle Driver. Using WiFi on older Pis was the workaround for the pops over Ethernet due to the hardware layout, WiFi got round most/all the limitations.
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I agree with all of this. It's wise to not automatically assume the Pi3 USB/Ethernet architecture is a problem although it can be.

AIUI, on the Pi3 Ethernet is run on top of the USB bus which has a maximum available capacity of about 400 Mbit/s. I think a single audio stream can appear up to four times on the shared bus.

Uncompressed CD audio is 1.4 Mbit/s so should need at most 5.6 Mbit/s. That's not much out of 400 Mbit/s so if this is not working impeccably then it might not be a shared bus problem. I have streamed DSD-128 to USB on a Pi3 without any issues (a 12.3 Mbit/s stream - EDIT: that's via DSD over PCM - and 49 Mbit/s on the shared bus).

If there's a bus problem, it may help to limit the Ethernet traffic to 100 Mbit/s duplex if you can. piCorePlayer allows you to install "ethtool" and run the Linux command "sudo ethtool -s eth0 speed 100 duplex full" at start-up. That leaves 200 Mbit/s guaranteed capacity for USB traffic and should still provide good streaming for at least a single DSD-128 stream.
 
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