Getting the best sound quality from a Raspberry Pi

[bumpy]

I have covered software in another thread, but what improvements can be made to the RPI to improve SQ

[bumpy]

As this thread is a little cold, I will throw in what I think on the topic for discussion. I am not claiming to be particularly knowledgeable in this, and please remember we are solely discussing absolute sound quality.

1. The biggest issue with the RPI is the 5 volt power supply. This is typically a cheap switching device (noisy) and should be replaced with the best linear power supply you can afford.

2. No devices attached to the RPI should make use of the 5 volt supply. That means external hard drives and DACs etc should have their own power supplies.

3. Cables attaching the hard drive and DAC should have their 5 volt wires internal wires disconnected. In the case of the DAC it should be a sophisticated cable constructed without 5 volt internal wires. From the RPI onwards all cables matter.

4. Music should not be streamed by Wi-Fi but hard wired to devices like hard drives, SSDs and NAS. If practical these devices should be close by, to enable short cable runs.

5. RPI models with no Wi-Fi built in are preferred to those that do. (thanks Rikardo 1979)

6. If you must use Wi-Fi say to control the RPI remotely then use a USB extension cable to move the WI Fi dongle away from the RPI (thanks Rikardo 1979)

7. Find the best software for SQ - this may mean selecting software that sacrifices functionality such as streaming music or movies from the Internet. See other thread on software http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...r-Raspberry-Pi

8. I have no idea if putting the RPI in a more sophisticated box (say wooden) helps SQ

[bumpy]

Strangely quiet ?

Am I the only one thinking that in a Audiophile system one should be looking to extract the last once of sound quality from the source.

[User211]

No. But you can defo do better than an RPI if funds allow.

[jollyfix]

No. But you can defo do better than an RPI if funds allow.

Tell us more Justin...

[The Black Adder]

As this thread is a little cold, I will throw in what I think on the topic for discussion. I am not claiming to be particularly knowledgeable in this, and please remember we are solely discussing absolute sound quality.

1. The biggest issue with the RPI is the 5 volt power supply. This is typically a cheap switching device (noisy) and should be replaced with the best linear power supply you can afford.

2. No devices attached to the RPI should make use of the 5 volt supply. That means external hard drives and DACs etc should have their own power supplies.

3. Cables attaching the hard drive and DAC should have their 5 volt wires internal wires disconnected. In the case of the DAC it should be a sophisticated cable constructed without 5 volt internal wires. From the RPI onwards all cables matter.

4. Music should not be streamed by Wi-Fi but hard wired to devices like hard drives, SSDs and NAS. If practical these devices should be close by, to enable short cable runs.

5. RPI models with no Wi-Fi built in are preferred to those that do. (thanks Rikardo 1979)

6. If you must use Wi-Fi say to control the RPI remotely then use a USB extension cable to move the WI Fi dongle away from the RPI (thanks Rikardo 1979)

7. Find the best software for SQ - this may mean selecting software that sacrifices functionality such as streaming music or movies from the Internet. See other thread on software http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...r-Raspberry-Pi

8. I have no idea if putting the RPI in a more sophisticated box (say wooden) helps SQ

Points 3 and 6 look interesting. Not heard of these before so. A linky to where they have been discussed would be good.

Regarding No. 3. - What is the reasoning behind this? I use a powered USB drive with mine so is it still best to disconnect the 5v wires in the cable?

And No. 6 - Again, what is the reasoning behind this? Will any length of cable do?

Thanks

[The Black Adder]

No. But you can defo do better than an RPI if funds allow.

If funds allow I'm sure that will be the case... but funds would need to be quite substantial I take it.

The RPI for me (and others I know) has been bloody brilliant so far and for the money it's slaps a wet fish in the face of plenty of expensive spinners in regards to SQ.

[Stratmangler]

Points 3 and 6 look interesting. Not heard of these before so. A linky to where they have been discussed would be good.

Regarding No. 3. - What is the reasoning behind this? I use a powered USB drive with mine so is it still best to disconnect the 5v wires in the cable?

And No. 6 - Again, what is the reasoning behind this? Will any length of cable do?

Thanks

Your USB HDD will not have its power legs connected on the USB connection. It's a non problem.

On point 6 I'm not sure what the OP is on about - it looks to me like he's on about connecting the Pi wirelessly, yet mentions controlling the Pi remotely from a wireless device.
Some clarification is required.

With respect to a NAS being the repository for the files, if it's connected to the network then it doesn't make a blind bit of difference whether it's sat next to the Pi or if it's in a cupboard under the stairs.
If the NAS is sat next to the Pi it's likely to be annoying because of disk activity noise.
I use wired connections wherever possible because they're more dependable than wireless connections, and generally have greater bandwidth.

[bumpy]

No. But you can defo do better than an RPI if funds allow.

I too would like to hear what you think is better than an RPI.

[bumpy]

Points 3 and 6 look interesting. Not heard of these before so. A linky to where they have been discussed would be good.

Regarding No. 3. - What is the reasoning behind this? I use a powered USB drive with mine so is it still best to disconnect the 5v wires in the cable?

And No. 6 - Again, what is the reasoning behind this? Will any length of cable do?

Thanks

Please remember I am no authority on this, but are throwing these things up for debate

Anything that has potential to disturb the 5v supply running the RPI itself is top be avoided. Just reading around the topic will quickly show that the DAC should be self powered and that the best interconnects can be constrcted without the need to carry the additional 5v power. I think the hard drive interconnect is much less critical, but its an easy job to lift the 5v link in the end of the cable, so why not do it to be sure.

Regarding the wi fi dongle - anything that has the potential to disturb the well-being inside the RPI should be tried. It looks a simple and quick idea to move the dongle away from the main box. With radio signals the inverse square law applies so a lot of benefit will result from 0.5 to 1m cables.