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Post by John on Aug 22, 2018 20:23:19 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Aug 22, 2018 20:56:49 GMT
So they've copied my idea of separating the power rails?!
Not at the moment, John. I want to wait and read reports of the Katana DAC before deciding. It means reinvesting in another case, too.
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Post by John on Aug 22, 2018 20:58:24 GMT
Yes the bit I dislike is the new case and not sure to wait till a case becomes available
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2018 22:10:46 GMT
Well guys I have just finished a SEG pi and CS psu in one box plus new clock and uber regs on the SEG due to not being constrained in the original case plus another tap for the new clock and regs it now just keeps up with an X45 but it is a lot of work and not inexpensive
Perhaps we need look at leaving the pi and just design the engine for the audio just a thought make a better design and have the circuit pathways for the dac/processor on one board with careful layout, but then again it is a streamer is it not?
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Post by MartinT on Aug 23, 2018 6:07:54 GMT
Looking at what the DigiOne (and now the Signature) do, I doubt that you could improve on it for the price. The lengths to which Allo have gone with reclocking and noise reduction is impressive.
So the question becomes: do you want a transport (Pi) with S/PDIF into an external DAC? Do you want an Allo DAC (the forthcoming Katana) built into the Pi so that you use I2S rather than S/PDIF transfer? Or do you want to eliminate the Pi altogether and build a streamer based on something else with a SEG board? I love the flexibility of keeping the transport and DAC separate but appreciate that S/PDIF has its limitations.
I'm mulling over this and won't make a decision for a little while until the dust settles. In any case, I'm having fun comparing services and my setup sounds not a little good at the moment.
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Post by John on Aug 23, 2018 6:25:21 GMT
Some interesting thoughts guys
I must admit to being confused as what to do next if anything
I am still not keen on the coding side to the pi and long term I guess I like something a bit more easy to configure but it would have to be very good with Spotify and files for me to go for it.
I thought the SOTM was to anylitical but not heard the ultra and not a simple set up to get it playing Spotify
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Post by MartinT on Aug 23, 2018 7:25:08 GMT
I admit to liking Volumio and find that it does not get in the way of easy and intuitive use.
Spotify Connect is the best interface for me by far.
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Post by Slinger on Aug 23, 2018 11:48:58 GMT
I prefer the Rune interface over Volumio, but unfortunately Rune was a pain in the arse when it came to setting simple little things, such as resampling values which are menu-driven in Volumio. With Rune you have to "hack" the code about a bit.
Having said that, I think my newly acquired knowledge of Putty, WinSCP, etc., might just make Rune a viable interface for me again at some time in the near future, and I shall probably flash a new card with Rune to investigate.
On the surface, it looks much the same as Volumio, but I feel that it has more depth, with little things like "artist info" accessible from the "Now Playing" page, and a much better indexing system allowing you to skip straight to any letter of the alphabet without having to scroll manually past hundreds of albums. Little things, but they add to the overall slickness of Rune that I like.
The obvious major downside to Rune is that development seems to be about as fast as a semi-conscious sloth wading through treacle, wearing snow shoes.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 23, 2018 12:06:53 GMT
Was it Rune or Moode that told me I would have to use Apple AirPlay to get Spotify to work? I forget now, but that represented the exact time I turned my attention elsewhere.
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Post by ChrisB on Aug 23, 2018 12:38:43 GMT
It was Moode
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Post by Slinger on Aug 23, 2018 14:07:01 GMT
It's really annoying, the latest version of Rune being publicly offered is v0.3-beta (23/03/2016) or I've discovered a 0.4-beta which is "available for testing" dated 27 Feb 2017.
Much as I like Rune I'm still not sure I want to commit to something that's moving forward so slowly.
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Post by ChrisB on Aug 23, 2018 17:08:12 GMT
I found Rune to be achieving slightly lesser sound quality to both Mood and Volumio at the time (quite some time ago now, though). I liked the Moode interface but when I enquired of Tim, the developer about the use of Spotify, he gave me the bad news that Martin referred to above. Since the entire rationale for my using the Pi in the first place was to access Spotify, that was the end of it for me.
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Post by stanleyb on Aug 24, 2018 20:07:07 GMT
These kind of compatibility issues between certain programs and the digital outputs on the Pi that can control a Pi DAC PCB is one of my big worries. The use of an external DAC gets round all of them.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 24, 2018 21:46:31 GMT
I agree that you have to seek clarity on compatibility from the software vendor. The Pi/Hat community is quite close knit and they tend to send each other prototype boards and software to get things off to a good start.
You're right about S/PDIF, though, being a standard that guarantees it'll work. Mostly.
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Post by stanleyb on Aug 25, 2018 7:23:24 GMT
I agree that you have to seek clarity on compatibility from the software vendor. That in itself is of no technical use. The problem is with the I2S bus from the Pi, and the I2S compatibility operational range of the DAC chip in use. Some DAC chips might not support 16 bit in I2S, but work fine in 24bit. And example of that is the PCM1794. When software controllers like Volumio send 16bit audio data to the PCM1794 the DAC chip won't recognize it and you'll end up with no sound. |
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Post by John on Aug 31, 2018 19:37:59 GMT
I got the Signature It is powered by two USB C inputs I dirty and 1 one clean. Allo say that you can run the SMPS on the dirty side without issues as long as the clean side is fed by the cleanest power you can find.
I powered it up tonight for the first time and it has a different sound signature to the DigiOne, more fuller, better dynamics and micro detail. Still burning in I suspect. But a nice step up from the DigiOne
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Post by MartinT on Aug 31, 2018 21:39:42 GMT
Nice one, John. I'll wait for the case to be released but will likely go for it as it's on the path I'm now taking.
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Post by John on Sept 1, 2018 4:22:30 GMT
Yes sure the case will come out in time
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Post by naim1425 on Sept 1, 2018 4:37:12 GMT
what bit rate does spotify use
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Post by John on Sept 1, 2018 5:33:01 GMT
Spotify is set at 256kbit/s but as Martin will confirm it is very close to Redbook files in sound quality, to the extent I do not worry about it
I go into settings and adjust the pi output to 96/24 and very high quality sound It a very simple procedure Alan
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