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

[Bonky]

Just popped down to the Pimoroni shop (just 20 mins away) and purchased the Raspberry Pi and Ninja box and 2A PS.

All I need now is the IQ Audio DAC. Interestingly, Pimoroni will shortly be stocking this DAC.

Just 'cos I like playing... can one have the NOOBS OS and Volumio installed on the same micro SD card?

Thanks,

Richard

[NRG]

Not too long now before we can find out what the fuss is about! In the meantime I've now integrated the RPi with my TDA1541A DAC over I2S and it sounds wonderful. Probably the best I've had from digital audio. I need to think about power for the RPi and may leave it separately powered independent of the DAC, attempts to use the TDA PSU to power it where a little too much for the PSU. There's quite a peaky current draw when the RPi accesses the SD card, I need something a bit stronger for it...

[cyclopse]

Not too long now before we can find out what the fuss is about! In the meantime I've now integrated the RPi with my TDA1541A DAC over I2S and it sounds wonderful. Probably the best I've had from digital audio. I need to think about power for the RPi and may leave it separately powered independent of the DAC, attempts to use the TDA PSU to power it where a little too much for the PSU. There's quite a peaky current draw when the RPi accesses the SD card, I need something a bit stronger for it...

Is a battery power supply like a USB mobile device booster the ultimate way to power the pi/DAC combination?

[NRG]

It's certainly an easy way Stephen and it does sound good, to me anyway. But I want to try a good linear feed to the RPi as well as I think it may be better still...

[The Black Adder]

Can you get a remote control for the Pi/iQ?...

[cvision123]

I tried different streaming solutions in the past three years. In the end, I am happy with a NAS to store music, a Mac Mini with JRiver media center and the iFi iDSD Micro DAC. With this setup, I don't need a monitor hooked up to the mini. Everything is controlled through the remote application on my phone or iPad.

The "worst" thing about a computer based setup is that it's "free" to fine tune the system (you don't need to buy tweaking accessories,... like a LP playback setup. In my case, I spent more time trying stuff than listening to music.
Now that I don't have that luxury, I just put on an LP then enjoy my limited 1 hour listening windows during the week. On weekends then music all day :-)

[WAD62]

Can you get a remote control for the Pi/iQ?...

Yes it's called squeezecommander!

Runs on all good android devices, and some rubbish ones too....

[Ashmore]

I offer the following experience as encouragement for those here who are enthusiastic to have a go but anxious about getting this pi stuff to work. I hope it may help some and that Marco and others don't mind me posting this ditty. Nothing to see here for experienced hands...

I have some experience of streaming having used squeezeboxes for years, which access my music through a NAS (vortexbox) server. My system is all ethernet based. I use squeezecommander as a 'remote' on my smartphone. I consider this all to be pretty unsophisticated 'plug-in-and-works-out-of-the-box' stuff and I have very little interest in computers per se. I don't use Linux and have no intention of learning.

So the pi2, which until I picked it off our lawn today (thanks Mr Amazon for the 'safe' delivery over my fence) I have never seen before and about which I know only what I've read on this thread.

My experience so far: Unwrapping to music in 20 minutes. Yep, really. Instructions:

1 Slot mirco SDcard in to the pc via its bigger SD adapter
2 Download picoreplayer onto PC
3 Write picoreplayer to the SD card using win32diskimager.
4 Stick micro card into the pi.
5 Ethernet into pi.
6 USB into pi one end and caiman DAC at the other.
7 Power on.
8 Pour beer

LMS and squeezecommander have already found the picoreplayer.

9 Look up picoreplayer's IP from LMS settings (there are other ways too, all easy)
10 switch output to USB via friendly web interface.
11 drink beer

Job done.

As for sound. Well it's half way through the first album, using a bog standard PSU and supplying the caiman via USB, and frankly the sound straight out of the box is a bit congested and 'grungy'. But that's not the point. This is about getting something to work at this stage. I look forward to setting up and evaluating the Pi DAC. My expectations are high...

Simon

[WAD62]

I look forward to setting up and evaluating the Pi DAC. My expectations are high...

Simon

Hi Simon, you'll need one more thing in preparation for the pi-DAC+

Get a copy of Putty, then using the pi's IP address SSH into it...

For piCorePlayer User = tc, PW = nosoup4u

Then 'alsamixer', F6 to select DAC card, then amend your settings as required, check the pi-DAC+ pdf for these

Then - 'sudo alsacfg store' (to save the settings to the piCorePlayer config file)

Finally go back to piCorePlayer, select tweaks tab, and set ALSA settings to custom, then restart...

Open another beer...

[Ashmore]

Thanks Will, that's very helpful. I did notice yesterday that the DAC+ is listed as an option in the picoreplayer output dropdown, which gave me to think it'll just be a click and select. I notice the software was updated just last month - perhaps a recent addition? Or I could be wrong and I'll have to do the putty thing. Either way I'm sure I'll get it going.

Incidentally after I wrote last night, continued listening changed my impressions somewhat of this improvised setup. It definitely improved quite a lot in the two hours or so that I listened. I promise I didn't have enough beer to distort my perceptions....