Found a solution to Raspberry Pi and foobar2000 integration

[daws0n]

For years I have used foobar2000 as my digital audio player of choice... It has some great DSP plugins, media library functionality and features (particularly when combined with foobarcon pro android app). Best in class IMO, and whilst my interest in Linux / Raspberry Pi has been growing over the years I've not found an ARM based audio player that compares. I've always kept a small windows based PC near the stereo to accommodate for this, but it's a little noisy and not very neat.

I tried Volumio and it works fine, but foobar2000 remains my preference of choice for a variety of reasons. It's not linux compatible however but I've found a way to "stream" playback via UPnP to native Raspbian O/S. This allows you to retain the Pi's innate functionality (e.g I can still use it browse to BBC sounds and play radio 6 via Chromium). Whilst also background listening for foobar's audio broadcasts from another device. So, I can have foobar200 running / "serving" from another part of the house on say a noisy desktop or laptop device, and the output comes through to a tiny Raspberry Pi 4 on the hifi rack. The broadcast's bit depth and sample rates and dictated within foobar's config, and all DSP functions are applied. It transcodes the audio to stream, but set to FLAC it's a lossless process. It takes a bit of delving into mpd to ensure that linux is not resampling the incoming stream, but from what I can tell it's outputting without alteration.

It's surprisingly stable over a decent LAN, and combined with an XMOS xu208 USB > SPDIF convertor gives me a fanless energy efficient transport for a very low cost.

If this pricks anyone's interest post below and I'll provide a few how-to instructions.

[ReggieB]

Good stuff. Well done.

[daws0n]

Cheers Rob. It took a bit of faff but now it's figured out it doesn't take long.

As long as you comfortable with terminal CLI and text based config it's straightforward enough.

Still for your TD512s? I saw a set of TD712s for sale recently, in retrospect I should of dropped you a PM mate!

Hope all is well

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[ReggieB]

It is very satisfying when a bit of faff leads to a successful result.

Yes - still with the TD512s. Still thoroughly enjoying them. I saw some 712s on ebay a couple of weeks ago - a little too expensive for me at the time. To be honest, my focus is elsewhere at the moment. More with my digital sources.

[daws0n]

I thought the same. Miles away too... To be honest on paper the td512s are a similar spec / size, and have the benefit of desktop use if needed.

It would be nice to compare but I doubt the improvement would be an order of magnitude....

What are you tinking with digital-wise?

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[ReggieB]

My Rega Apollo CD is playing up, so it will need replacing soon. After a little faffing I'm thinking of either a small denon player or a Pro-ject transport. At the moment, I'm leaning towards the Denon as a stop gap. I'll probably get that in a week or two.

It's going to take me a month or two to put the money aside, but when I have I'm seriously considering getting a Denafrips Pontus.

Oh, and the 512s are a little big for desktop use.

[daws0n]

A friend of mine has recently bought a "terminator" DAC from the same manufacturer. I've yet take a listen but he likes it a lot so far.

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[ReggieB]

The Terminator is a little out of my price bracket. I'd be interested to hear what you think about it when you get to hear it.

If I do get the Pontus, you'll have to pop over and see what you think.