advertisement


Sensible tweaks to an RPI4 based streamer?

I took a quick look at the settings feature on the Volumio App. Can't see the equivalent to the features you mention below in Moode.

Before splashing out on DAC/Digi add-ons it would be worth checking whether you have maximised the USB option from within Volumio.

I use Moode and have bumped up the USB output on a standalone RPi quite noticeably by simply tweaking some of the settings.
Would have to plug it in again to check exactly which but from memory I definitely increased the buffer size and this made the biggest difference in terms of minimising stuttering and raggedness. I think I also set SOX resampling to 24/96 (but this is what I would need to check)

In terms of DAC HATS I find IQaudio very good - I tried Allo Boss and found no improvement although costing nearly twice as much.
I have also used Justboom and this was also adequate if edged by the IQaudio DAC.
I have yet to try and alternative PSU and use one of the Raspberry own brand - noting that these supply 5.1v which is apparently critical ( YMMV )
 
I took a quick look at the settings feature on the Volumio App. Can't see the equivalent to the features you mention below in Moode.

May not be available :(
... in Moode the settings are under the Audio menu in the MPD Config. section - been a while since I used Volumio (always found it a bit flakey...)
 
Good point (and thank you) re trying to rip a CD and using that as a comparison. Some of the perceived roughness in the RPI sound will of course be a function of the lower quality Spotify source (and therefore won’t be eliminated with hardware tweaks).

I haven’t any experience of the USB signature but have read a fair amount.

If I only had USB as an option and was determined to see if there was something “better” than what I already had (and could afford to do so), then I would probably have given the USB Signature a go at some point. Just to prove to myself - one way or the other.

Just to take things a little off track if I may, and for this we need to assume that the DAC in the ISIS is first rate, could it be an idea to see how the Pi is performing (using existing USB and the ISIS DAC) by taking known CDs, creating FLAC files, copying them to a USB stick and plating them via the Pi, with A/B comparison to the same CD?

this would at least show up any deficiencies or shortcomings between the Pi and CD output on the ISIS and may be a useful exercise to help plan the way forward?

Apologies if you’ve already thought about this and discarded the idea.
 
I looked at the USB Signature on the Allo website. Looks tidy. Is this Ethernet only though? Would be a chore to have a long cable run to my router in a different room. Is this what you do or is there a clever alternative (WiFi dongle into spare USB port)?

There are DAC Hats that give you analogue out and Digital Hats that give you just 1s and 0s.

The Allo USB Signature in their Aluminium case and Nirvana or Shanti PSU would be my choice. You can buy it ready built or just the bits. I have the case version which also takes the Digione Sig board in it too.

The Allo USB board uses the small Pi compute module so no need for your Pi 4, you could sell it.

As well as Allo direct Audiophonics was a good source pre Brexit
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/case...ure-allo-digione-signature-black-p-14127.html

This is the case I bought to fit both boards into.




 
I looked at the USB Signature on the Allo website. Looks tidy. Is this Ethernet only though? Would be a chore to have a long cable run to my router in a different room. Is this what you do or is there a clever alternative (WiFi dongle into spare USB port)?

Allo can sell you an appropriate wifi dongle that goes into one of the USB ports on the front panel
 
You have a pi4, you have a usb dac, you have a usb cable. Check reviews to see how good the usb input on the rega dac is and if it's jitter free you likely need nothing else if there's no ticks n pops.

I think the big problem with the success of the RPi is the tendency to forget that it was an economy DIY system designed with the intention of getting school kids into coding and computing ;)

There is a tendency to believe that if you stack the HATs high enough and throw money at extraordinary PSUs and such like at some point you will have a LINN streamer at a fraction of the price - whereas what you actually end up with is an ungainly stack of perspex boxes with leads flying everywhere that sounds acceptable :D
 
Last edited:
Just to check my understanding, is your experience that if the Rega Isis USB input is properly designed, then the quality of the streaming player (RPI in this case) is likely to have only a minor/negligible/zero impact on the end sound quality? Ie the final result is much more likely influenced by streaming source (Spotify) or DAC quality (Isis).

QUOTE="sq225917, post: 4325059, member: 4769"]You have a pi4, you have a usb dac, you have a usb cable. Check reviews to see how good the usb input on the rega dac is and if it's jitter free you likely need nothing else if there's no ticks n pops.[/QUOTE]
 
Exactly that. The pi4 has separate usb controller not shared with the ethernet controller. The quality of usb audio will be limited by the dac input.

The okto stereo dac uses a pi4 internally, its one of the best measuring dacs you can buy.
 
Can only confirm what’s been said, in that there is NOTHING wrong with the Pi 4’s USB output. Wasted hours/days of my life I’ll never get back comparing it to my Pi2aes (BNC, and optical) and my Allo Digione (BNC), with my Quad Artera Play+, and a Chord Hugo TT. All I can say is it works exactly as it should, degrades the audio not a jot, and I’m hanging up my HATs ;)

Those that suggest otherwise either have something to sell, have spent a lot on a streamer and refuse to accept the possibility an el-cheapo could do the job just as well, or have become so sucked into the marketing as facts world of the modern Audiophile that they’ll never accept science has the ‘problem’ licked, and for a low price too...
 
Can only confirm what’s been said, in that there is NOTHING wrong with the Pi 4’s USB output. Wasted hours/days of my life I’ll never get back comparing it to my Pi2aes (BNC, and optical) and my Allo Digione (BNC), with my Quad Artera Play+, and a Chord Hugo TT. All I can say is it works exactly as it should, degrades the audio not a jot, and I’m hanging up my HATs ;)

Those that suggest otherwise either have something to sell, have spent a lot on a streamer and refuse to accept the possibility an el-cheapo could do the job just as well, or have become so sucked into the marketing as facts world of the modern Audiophile that they’ll never accept science has the ‘problem’ licked, and for a low price too...
Or they want something that looks nicer :)
 
Can only confirm what’s been said, in that there is NOTHING wrong with the Pi 4’s USB output. Wasted hours/days of my life I’ll never get back comparing it to my Pi2aes (BNC, and optical) and my Allo Digione (BNC), with my Quad Artera Play+, and a Chord Hugo TT. All I can say is it works exactly as it should, degrades the audio not a jot, and I’m hanging up my HATs ;)

Those that suggest otherwise either have something to sell, have spent a lot on a streamer and refuse to accept the possibility an el-cheapo could do the job just as well, or have become so sucked into the marketing as facts world of the modern Audiophile that they’ll never accept science has the ‘problem’ licked, and for a low price too...
Couldn’t agree more.
 
@Amber, You can.put it in whatever casework you feel will sufficiently impress your shallow friends and self.
 


advertisement


Back
Top