'Analog Dinosaur' succumbs to the joys of FBA : enter Raspberry Pi 2/IQ-Audio DAC+!!

[Marco]

I don't quite see what input interface board fits on top of the dac board... or is it really that simple? I take it that the input board has SD/USB/COAX input?

The Pi has various USB inputs, see here: http://www.rapidonline.com/electroni...FYgKwwodQgIA9w

You simply connect your router and NAS box, containing your hard-drives (which works much better and quicker than any USB drive) to the Pi, via some cat5e cable. The Pi is fitted internally with the (separate) IQ-Audio Dac, itself having two phono outputs, which you can either connect to a preamp, or in my case, directly to my power amp (thus keeping the signal path as short and as pure as possible). The SD card fits into the Pi.

If you want coaxial or optical connections, and wish be able to connect an off-board DAC, then you need the HiFi Berry+ https://www.hifiberry.com/dacplus

However, for me, that isn't as good a solution. The IQ-Audio DAC is also reputed to sound better, although I haven't done the comparison. It would certainly take something rather special to beat it!

Marco.

[Marco]

its easy when someo!e knows what their doing thought you might have liked my pun?

Oh don't worry, I didn't miss that one!

Marco.

[Marco]

sounds interesting but as an even bigger dinosaur than you all I can say is 'first dibs on yer Sony'

Lol - that's going nowhere, as I've got about 2500 CDs I still want to play.

No-way am I ripping all of those, as a) I can't be arsed, plus I've got the space to keep them in a dedicated room, b) I like using and collecting physical music media, and c) I wish to retain the option of directly comparing playback of a CD, versus streaming of the same music.

There is also the fact that the Sony still has a certain way of presenting music all of its own

Marco.

[Gazjam]

Be looking into this myself Grant, need some way to stream my files in the wee bedroom setup without spending a lot of moolah.
This seems a good way to do it.
Need it to do video as well...so some research is needed.

Help you out once I'm up to speed.

I looked at these and although fancied it felt it was beyond me to set it up being a dunce. shame as they get good rep and are cheap. think it was our pink friend that gave me some info but think its past me building it and worse setting it up

great your converted even if its just a bit

[Tim]

Tim will giggle at this . . .

Ha ha, yup but I'm not going to gloat and say 'told yer so' as like anything it has to be done right to satisfy those with a refined musical palette, but when you do get it right, it can and often does astonish the doubters. If you go right back to some of my first posts on AoS, I was a doubter too, but I like discovery and thought that all the folk who keep saying its good can't all be wrong - so I went out and tried it myself, then spent ages testing and learning. It's a lot easier these days and the performance keeps on marching forward, whilst the relative costs keep going down.

The big thing though as you have discovered and what the Pi is now allowing even amateurs to achieve, is quite staggering musical performance compared to the very modest financial outlay, which for me was a significant factor as I like to spend my money on music, not gear.

Its a shame more people aren't open minded enough to give file based audio a go (and properly, not just loading foobar2000 or JRiver onto a laptop and hooking it up to an amplifier ) and it really isn't that hard these days and there are plenty of people around to help out now.

. . . welcome to the dark side.

[The Black Adder]

Yup.. your Sony is a monster and a beautiful bit of kit. Rare as hens knackers and.... better IMO than current top..TOP end DAC's. I can imagine the Sony does some things better than the PI.

[Marco]

Hi Tim,

Ha ha, yup but I'm not going to gloat and say 'told yer so' as like anything it has to be done right to satisfy those with a refined musical palette, but when you do get it right, it can and often does astonish the doubters.

For sure, although I've always rated the sonic potential of FBA (File-Based Audio, for those who aren't familiar with the term), but up until now have never heard it so convincingly delivered, and at stupidly low cost!

If you go right back to some of my first posts on AoS, I was a doubter too, but I like discovery and thought that all the folk who keep saying its good can't all be wrong - so I went out and tried it myself, then spent ages testing and learning. It's a lot easier these days and the performance keeps on marching forward, whilst the relative costs keep going down.

That's true. However, I was never really a doubter, always being pretty convinced by its potential advantages.

I just had no real motivation to look into FBA very deeply. Vinyl is still very much my primary music source, and always will be (as my T/T is still my best sounding piece of kit), plus I have a very capable CDP and DAC, so I've never needed to bother with FBA, from the point of view of achieving a sonic upgrade. Convenience was also never a factor, or indeed a desire to be up-to-date or 'trendy'.

Furthermore, for all the technical sonic benefits of streaming digital music, via a computer and DAC, rather than accessing it via the physical interface of a CD and CD player, on paper, in my experience those benefits never materialised into real-world listening conditions. The Sony, playing CDs, always did it better. Plus, up until now it's always been a bit of a ball-ache getting into FBA, especially for someone like me with ZERO interest in computers!

One of the benefits of the Pi, once it's all set-up, is that there is next to no 'techy' stuff to worry about or any intrusive computer presence. I already had a router and a laptop, so the only 'computer addition' in my listening room is the tiny little Pi unit itself, which sits unobtrusively on top of my Sony DAC.

I find the Volumio control interface intuitive and a doddle to use, especially as I don't use 'fancy' mobile phones, with tiny screens and buttons, and instead have a lovely, super-fast MacBook Pro and 15" Retina screen with which to access and control it, as I lie back and chill out on the sofa - bliss!

The big thing though as you have discovered and what the Pi is now allowing even amateurs to achieve, is quite staggering musical performance compared to the very modest financial outlay, which for me was a significant factor as I like to spend my money on music, not gear.

Same here - at least these days it is. I now spend much more money on music than hi-fi, and that's the way it will stay. The SPPV of the Pi/IQ-Audio DAC combo is indeed staggering, and so I intend to promote it as vigorously and successfully as I have the modded Technics T/T or vintage Tannoy DCs, as more enthusiasts *need* to know just how good this thing is for beer-token money...

Its a shame more people aren't open minded enough to give file based audio a go (and properly, not just loading foobar2000 or JRiver onto a laptop and hooking it up to an amplifier ) and it really isn't that hard these days and there are plenty of people around to help out now.

Indeed, and the latter sounds pants in comparison to what I've got going on here now.

The problem is going to be convincing the 'key-jangler brigade', who judge how good something is by its price tag and/or 'exclusivity', or looks. I doubt we'll ever convince folk like that not to drop £1000s on something 'posh', from the likes of Linn or some other company with a 'high-end profile', thinking that they'll be guaranteed the best sound.

However, for those on AoS who seek maximum SPPV from their systems, and love music more than collecting shiny boxes, the Pi/IQ-Audio combo will be a Godsend and very easy and cost-effective way of achieving high-quality music streaming.



Marco.

[Marco]

Yup.. your Sony is a monster and a beautiful bit of kit. Rare as hens knackers and.... better IMO than current top..TOP end DAC's. I can imagine the Sony does some things better than the PI.

It does, but it's also the case the other way round, which is why it's nice to have both!

Marco.

[Covenant]

Marco, it's nice to see that you have an open mind about streaming. As a vinyl addict it would be easy for you to ignore digital developments. How does the Pi compare to that NVA statement thingy you had a while back?

[Marco]

Hi Jerry,

As a music lover, first and foremost, it would not only be rather remiss of me, but completely ridiculous to ignore the benefits of using a device that both sounds superb and gives me access to near-limitless amounts of music, not to mention is as cheap-as-chips!

Much as I rate the sound of some NVA equipment, and have reported such on AoS, the Pi/IQ-Audio combo is in a different league, sonically, from the TFS - and I suspect will become even better with the addition of a high-quality linear PSU.

Marco.