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Sensible tweaks to an RPI4 based streamer?

John_73 said:
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...
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Yes, but a streamer buyer may want to spend more on something whose looks and user interface suit their preferences and that's perfectly OK. And buyers may have many other reason for preference.

However the digital transport part of the streamer is, IMHO and IME, fungible. In my philosophy of audio kit, digital transport has no legitimate business other than to send the bits I select, unchanged when I so want, from source to DAC. Sometimes you do have to pay attention to configuration to achieve that, but low-cost kit can do it.

Then choose a good DAC (in particular to reject digital input noise), amplifier and 'speakers according to your taste.
 
Amber Audio said:
Or they want something that looks nicer :)
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That's certainly fair enough - I used the display for a while, but after the novelty wore off I realised the only times I needed it are when checking out a track or closing an album, or skipping a track etc, and I could see all that when using the iPad to control it. In the end I went back to the FLIRC case, and just enjoyed being able to tuck it all out of sight. Can definitely see the desire to own a nice piece of design work though :)

Something that concerns me - or would if I was in the market for one - about the various audiophile streamers out there, is how long will the software be useable for, and who will continue to offer updates, and who will let their products fall by the wayside. Another reason I prefer the Pi is simply because the software will always available, and free updates too.
 
John_73 said:
In the end I went back to the FLIRC case, and just enjoyed being able to tuck it all out of sight. Can definitely see the desire to own a nice piece of design work though :)
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The only real irk I have with the bog standard RPi design-wise is the connections being spread across two sides which makes a less obtrusive use just that bit more complicated.

Generally I have managed to get round that via modifications to the circuit board, component layout and related case modifications.
Quite easy to do with the RPi provided you are OK with cutting tin and surface mount soldering :eek:

Once you've crossed that bridge a much more amenable design is possible.
 
Pi looks don't really matter. It's so small you can hide it behind other equipment. The only thing you have to see is your phone to control it.
 
John_73 said:
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...
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There’s a little peer pressure too. “You can’t tell the difference between a bog-standard Pi and another upgraded to Mega-blaster level 6 at ten times the price? Really? Well I’m sorry, but that simply means the rest of your system isn’t revealing enough and all needs to be upgraded too. I can let you have a price list...”
 
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Marchbanks said:
There’s a little peer pressure too. You can’t tell the difference between a bog-standard Pi and another upgraded to Mega-blaster level 6 at ten times the price? Really? Well I’m sorry, but that simply means the rest of your system isn’t revealing enough and all needs to be upgraded too. I can let you have a price list...
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And once we’ve returned to something like normal - if we ever do - I would absolutely love to A/B my streamer against something known to be “higher end”. I’ve always accepted that there must be kit which sounds so much better than what I already have, my problem is I simply don’t have the experience to know what it is I’m missing. If I do this, though, I think I’m going to fairly soon realise the deficiencies in some of my other components.
 
I’ve recently replaced a Pioneer N-50 network audio player player with a pi4 and hifiberry digi+ I/O hat. I’d already stopped using the internal DAC of the Pioneer, started with a Rega DAC R, replaced with a lightly modified Chinese TDA1541A DAC and now with a vintage Camelot Arthur. So Pioneer was only performing streaming duties - the Pi4 with Rasp Pi OS, pulse audio and a browser playing radio paradise, SPDIF out into the Camelot, is far superior to the Pioneer into the Camelot via SPDIF.

I got the 8GB version of the Pi - I’m running the full OS, and also use Kodi to play back video content. A good solution, I just need to teach myself Unix command line controls for digital auido input control...so far I’m still unable to pass toslink in from TV straight to SPDIF out for when I want to listen to TV/Xbox via Hi-Fi.
 
legacylenslover said:
And once we’ve returned to something like normal - if we ever do - I would absolutely love to A/B my streamer against something known to be “higher end”. I’ve always accepted that there must be kit which sounds so much better than what I already have, my problem is I simply don’t have the experience to know what it is I’m missing. If I do this, though, I think I’m going to fairly soon realise the deficiencies in some of my other components.
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Check out the Darko video review of the Pi based Allo DigiOne Signature. He thinks it sounds better than the Auralic G.1.

I have no experience of the Auralic but have to say it does sound very good indeed. Noticeably better than other kit I’ve used including other Pi technologies. Maybe you don’t have to wait for the new norm ;)
 
legacylenslover said:
And once we’ve returned to something like normal - if we ever do - I would absolutely love to A/B my streamer against something known to be “higher end”. I’ve always accepted that there must be kit which sounds so much better than what I already have, my problem is I simply don’t have the experience to know what it is I’m missing. If I do this, though, I think I’m going to fairly soon realise the deficiencies in some of my other components.
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I much prefer the sound quality of my Pi2B & IQ Audio DAC+ to the Aurender Server, £1250 digital cable & Auralic Vega (and several other DACs upwards of £1200) that a dealer lent me.
 
S-Man said:
I much prefer the sound quality of my Pi2B & IQ Audio DAC+ to the Aurender Server, £1250 digital cable & Auralic Vega (and several other DACs upwards of £1200) that a dealer lent me.
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That’s a nice Dac hat. I had it before I began to use the Hifiberry digi hat into my Yamaha Sabre.
 
clownfish said:
Check out the Darko video review of the Pi based Allo DigiOne Signature. He thinks it sounds better than the Auralic G.1.

I have no experience of the Auralic but have to say it does sound very good indeed. Noticeably better than other kit I’ve used including other Pi technologies. Maybe you don’t have to wait for the new norm ;)
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How’d he compare them, the G1 doesn't have a digital out like the Allo.
 
The problem for me is that I love the vfm and versatility that the Pi affords me. When I look at these accessories it begins to place the Pi into the same bracket as the more commercial products that litter CA. As it is now it provides me with endless pleasure and is often stunning with well produced recordings. I was taken aback recently when a poster described it as a ‘one note’ reproduction. Made me question weather the poster had actually listened to the reproduction. With Qobuz it can be mighty fine. In combination with my LRSs and Yammy it can sound breathtaking. As I said before and having listened myself to a range of devices at all price levels there are definitely small differences and sometimes improvements. But they are wafer thin and sometimes hard to discern. I’ve never yet heard a ‘night and day difference’. The reproduction I get from the Pi>Hifiberry Digi hat>Sabre Dac is rounded, satisfying and with the right recording, breathtaking. If I were to upgrade, I may or may not get a slither of improvement. The issue is the potential nagging uncertainty and the cost vs potential improvement. If I’m happy with the sound now, why chase the chalice?
 
And as mooted earlier, a Pi is often the basis for more expensive products. Admittedly they are often tweaked to lower measurements. But if the measurements are already fine, why would you bother?
 
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