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

[guyb]

OK, this is a huge thread now so sorry if this has already been covered....

First off, having been inspired by this thread I bought a Pi 2 and have installed Volumio.

I am using it with my USB DAC and am using it as a DNLA Renderer only using my Synology NAS and Audio Station (which is fantastic by the way, their iOS app is far better than any other DNLA controller for iOS).

So, on to my question....

I was under the impression that if you disabled the volume control by setting the Mixer type to disabled then the volume would be set to 100% so that audio is sent unchanged to you DAC and you can control the volume via you amp.

However, reading a few posts in this thread it has been said that when you set the Mixer type to disabled is does so at the current volume (hardware or software?) that has been set i.e. if the volume was set at 70% the the volume would be disabled and set to 70%.

Is this true and does this affect the audio quality?

The main reason I ask is because I have the volume set to 100% and then have set the Mixer type to disabled but the volume of audio through my DAC via my amp is a lot louder that audio through the other inputs on my amp (CD, Turntable, etc).

For the best audio quality what are the best settings?

Thanks

Guy

[NRG]

I assume that it is safe to leave a Raspberry Pi 2 with Volumio powered on and running 24/7?

Safe? You won't damage the RPi if that's what you mean. Idle power drawn is approx 300mA or 1.5w so it's not going to cost much...overfilling your kettle and boiling it will consume way more power.

[NRG]

So, on to my question....

I was under the impression that if you disabled the volume control by setting the Mixer type to disabled then the volume would be set to 100% so that audio is sent unchanged to you DAC and you can control the volume via you amp.

However, reading a few posts in this thread it has been said that when you set the Mixer type to disabled is does so at the current volume (hardware or software?) that has been set i.e. if the volume was set at 70% the the volume would be disabled and set to 70%.

Is this true and does this affect the audio quality?

The main reason I ask is because I have the volume set to 100% and then have set the Mixer type to disabled but the volume of audio through my DAC via my amp is a lot louder that audio through the other inputs on my amp (CD, Turntable, etc).

For the best audio quality what are the best settings?

Thanks

Guy

I was under the same impression as well Guy until Marco pointed it out.....Volumio reports it as 100% which is confusing, Moode as 0% ! The disabled setting just means you can't adjust from the GUI, you can still do so from alsamixer.

I've revisited the setting this morning and I've now backed it down to 92% which closely matches my LP source and my TDA1541a DAC. Setting to 86% is 0db, IE: no boost or cut but I found the level too low at this setting. AFAIK there is no detrimental effect on quality....

Have you been into the alasmixer settings from the command line to check if you are outputting 2 or 1v RMS?

[Desmo]

I've never managed to get anything out of Volumio at all. Though I have not seen any mount errors, as far as I can tell, everything looks OK, but there's just no sound! I have not really tried any of the other systems - maybe I'll have to give Rune a go...

Well - I have finally managed it! This has taken me weeks, but changing from Volumio to Rune Audio somehow made the thing work. As far as I can see I have enabled the same settings on Rune as I did on Volumio, but at least I can now play files from a USB drive and use the kit as a renderer for my NAS stored files - which is what I really wanted to do all along. I'm only on my second tune, so no comment on how it all sounds yet, but it is finally working!

[NRG]

Well done!

[AlanS]

Well - I have finally managed it! This has taken me weeks, but changing from Volumio to Rune Audio somehow made the thing work. As far as I can see I have enabled the same settings on Rune as I did on Volumio, but at least I can now play files from a USB drive and use the kit as a renderer for my NAS stored files - which is what I really wanted to do all along. I'm only on my second tune, so no comment on how it all sounds yet, but it is finally working!

Its a great feeling when you manage something. I find it helps to keep a notepad doc of notes on what I have done just so I can go back later.

[Canetoad]

+1

[guyb]

Safe? You won't damage the RPi if that's what you mean. Idle power drawn is approx 300mA or 1.5w so it's not going to cost much...overfilling your kettle and boiling it will consume way more power.

I was more thinking along the lines of shortening the lifespan of the Pi by having it running 24/7 which I suppose is a bit daft. Even if it did it would be worth it for the hassle saving and just buy a new one when it happened as they are so cheap anyway

[struth]

I have my pi a!d hdd psu plugged into switched sockets so once shut down in evening i flick the switches....just in case....it also means repowering doesnt require me to unplug and replug

[guyb]

I was under the same impression as well Guy until Marco pointed it out.....Volumio reports it as 100% which is confusing, Moode as 0% ! The disabled setting just means you can't adjust from the GUI, you can still do so from alsamixer.

I've revisited the setting this morning and I've now backed it down to 92% which closely matches my LP source and my TDA1541a DAC. Setting to 86% is 0db, IE: no boost or cut but I found the level too low at this setting. AFAIK there is no detrimental effect on quality....

Have you been into the alasmixer settings from the command line to check if you are outputting 2 or 1v RMS?

OK, cool. Thanks for the help.

So I can just adjust the level using the software Mixer type to get it the right level and then set the Mixer type to disabled and there will be no impact of audio quality and bit perfect playback?

How would one go about checking the alasmixer settings and what impact does the output of 2 or 1v RMS make? I guess I would need to find a monitor and keyboard