Bencat
10-07-2020, 15:37
Okay I have to say from the start that I have not been someone who had ever heard a Server that made a sonic difference and i have heard a number of expensive and cheaper makes like various Linn's Naim , Bluesound (as server only) etc .
For the best part of nine or ten years I have used a Raspberry Pi as a stand alone server with a USB HD connected and using max2play distro to load Logitech Media Server . So much so normal if cheap compared to many other incarnations .
Over the years a Pi models moved from 2 to 3 to B+ and then to 4 I have upgraded the server to a new model mainly for increased speed and never noticed any sonic improvement. Now for the last year or more (or from when they were announced memeory is terrible) I have used a Raspberry Pi 4 4gb unit as my stand alone server with USB HD attached . It has worked well sounded great and been very quick and repsonsive . A rogue power supply took the Pi 4 4gb out the other day and it is not possible to get them repaired so a spare 2gb Pi 4 was pressed in to use and everyhting was just as it was perhaps a little slower but not so much as you would really notice.
When I was ordering the replacement I was just about to hit the button for another 4 gb when a pop up said had I considered the new 8 gb option . Well to be truthful no and the jump up in price was quite a bit and i could not really see what gains it would give me . Quick read about it and there was the chance that it would be quicker smoother and more responsive so what the hell bought one anyway .
When it arrived the original SD card already set up from the 4 gb unit was taken out of the 2 gb sub unit and just inserted straight in to the Pi 4 8 gb and the same standard Pi 4 psu connected . As normal took a couple on minutes for the unit to set itself up and appear on the network then straigh on to the PC and open Material Skin . Decided it would be best to do a clear and full Library scan and make sure things were in order. The unit did this in 21 minutes which for 53398 tracks and all the artist photos etc is very rapid as a first tie set up . Straight rescans when new music is added is taking less than two minutes .
So put on the bedroom active system and did the normal My Music , Random Mix , Song Mix and the first track started to play . I stopped typing and just listened because the whole system just sounded so good and I had no reason as to why . Using the Pi 8 gb the background is now really quiet , vocals using the actives are more natural and sound more my Quad ESL57 which is more real . Bass is more textured and easier to follow as a seperate part but also fits in more as a real part of the total sound. The Stacked KEF 103's I use have lots of good points but being used hard against a wall means imaging has to sacraficed a little well not now the image is wider and individuals are better defined .
None of this makes any sense and trying the Kitchen set up which is a very modest Pi with Justboom Amphat in to Rogers wall speakers also showed up the improvements which has to mean this is all down to the Pi being used as a server .
If you are thinking of doing your own homw server set up with Raspberry Pi's then I would certainly advise that you use an 8 gb as the stand alone server or server/player I do not think it will make any difference to just players but then again I do not know. This is now the best music I have heard on all my systems ever and is a huge bonus that I was not expecting . My main system is not working but i can not wait to get that up and running and hear what it sounds like now .
For the best part of nine or ten years I have used a Raspberry Pi as a stand alone server with a USB HD connected and using max2play distro to load Logitech Media Server . So much so normal if cheap compared to many other incarnations .
Over the years a Pi models moved from 2 to 3 to B+ and then to 4 I have upgraded the server to a new model mainly for increased speed and never noticed any sonic improvement. Now for the last year or more (or from when they were announced memeory is terrible) I have used a Raspberry Pi 4 4gb unit as my stand alone server with USB HD attached . It has worked well sounded great and been very quick and repsonsive . A rogue power supply took the Pi 4 4gb out the other day and it is not possible to get them repaired so a spare 2gb Pi 4 was pressed in to use and everyhting was just as it was perhaps a little slower but not so much as you would really notice.
When I was ordering the replacement I was just about to hit the button for another 4 gb when a pop up said had I considered the new 8 gb option . Well to be truthful no and the jump up in price was quite a bit and i could not really see what gains it would give me . Quick read about it and there was the chance that it would be quicker smoother and more responsive so what the hell bought one anyway .
When it arrived the original SD card already set up from the 4 gb unit was taken out of the 2 gb sub unit and just inserted straight in to the Pi 4 8 gb and the same standard Pi 4 psu connected . As normal took a couple on minutes for the unit to set itself up and appear on the network then straigh on to the PC and open Material Skin . Decided it would be best to do a clear and full Library scan and make sure things were in order. The unit did this in 21 minutes which for 53398 tracks and all the artist photos etc is very rapid as a first tie set up . Straight rescans when new music is added is taking less than two minutes .
So put on the bedroom active system and did the normal My Music , Random Mix , Song Mix and the first track started to play . I stopped typing and just listened because the whole system just sounded so good and I had no reason as to why . Using the Pi 8 gb the background is now really quiet , vocals using the actives are more natural and sound more my Quad ESL57 which is more real . Bass is more textured and easier to follow as a seperate part but also fits in more as a real part of the total sound. The Stacked KEF 103's I use have lots of good points but being used hard against a wall means imaging has to sacraficed a little well not now the image is wider and individuals are better defined .
None of this makes any sense and trying the Kitchen set up which is a very modest Pi with Justboom Amphat in to Rogers wall speakers also showed up the improvements which has to mean this is all down to the Pi being used as a server .
If you are thinking of doing your own homw server set up with Raspberry Pi's then I would certainly advise that you use an 8 gb as the stand alone server or server/player I do not think it will make any difference to just players but then again I do not know. This is now the best music I have heard on all my systems ever and is a huge bonus that I was not expecting . My main system is not working but i can not wait to get that up and running and hear what it sounds like now .