seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Mar 1, 2017 19:15:25 GMT
I think that annually checking and potentially changing supplier for everything from utilities to insurance is essential. It is a constant game of cat and mouse, suppliers offer you a good deal to win your custom and then shaft you once the deal expires. I have a few other tips: Assuming, your energy is paid by direct debit on a "budget account", the variation in consumption throughout the seasons means that there is an optimum time to change. Assuming your direct debit level is reasonable, at the two extremes, throughout the year, you will either go into credit and return to zero by the end of the year, or go into "debt" and return to zero. I favour the latter approach. The end of the summer is the best time to switch to achieve this since you shortly hit the higher winter consumption period. Cashback from sites such as quidco can be significant, sometimes, if you are already on a good deal, the cashback from changing is greater than the actual savings obtained by changing. Bulk/Club deals can be very good.... some outfits (e.g. which? and Martin's money saving expert energy club) get a huge number of interested parties and then ask the energy firms to tender for the contract. This year, I am with British gas!!! I did not see that coming, after many years with "no names" and rebadged schemes from M&S etc) www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclubCheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Feb 25, 2017 15:12:00 GMT
Martin,
I can see two related ideas, I'm happy to do the donkey work and assemble a Pi3 and this DAC (and others). I've never had exposure to anything but carefully selected budget kit. Firstly, I could take you up on your kind invite to your new place. Secondly, I could take it along to the Southern meet (I need to check dates).
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Feb 25, 2017 14:41:37 GMT
I might well do, I have a spare Pi3 which I've been using for Kodi experiments which I could redeploy... I've not researched this product at all yet, but at 55 Euro, superficially is tackles some of the things I've been meaning to change with my Hifiberry boards (DAC+ Pro and Digi+) (power supply mods). My only slight hesitation is that I'm not convinced that currently, either of my systems is good enough to really benefit from the potential improvements.
I think with these kinds of prices, one could happy swap DAC boards every 12-18 months or so, since the improvements in this area are potentially quite large
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Feb 25, 2017 13:42:19 GMT
I've just come across a new Raspberry Pi DAC daughter board which seems worth investigation... volumio.org/allo-boss-dac-available-volumio/The Allo Boss DAC reviewed at Volumio. While I've not heard it, Allo's efforts seem to be focused in the areas of clock separation / jitter control and power supply separation which makes sense to me. Probably worth further investigation for 55 Euro Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Jan 4, 2017 12:57:54 GMT
In terms of finding out a little more about the microRendu and sMS-200 products, there are reviews by a Dutch chap here:
IMHO, his channel is worth watching and he has 2 videos for power supplies as well
He takes a non-partisan approach and to summarise he basically sees Pi based solutions as excellent value for money*. However, he also sees both of these players as being in another league altogether.
* When care is taken in the choice of DAC daughterboard and power supplies huge improvements can be made for little money.
I am enjoying RaspPi's at the moment, to be honest, the quality of the output from them is probably sufficient for the rest of the components currently in my systems. They are fun to tinker with, a revamped go-faster Pi or yet another DAC daughterboard can be experimented with for £10's which is fun.
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 16, 2016 12:54:33 GMT
One tip, for a RaspPi or similar approach... small 8 or 16GB microSD cards are cheap. This means that you can afford several so that a working configuration can be left untouched while you tinker with something else. You are then just a card swap and reboot away from your previously working system. It is also possible to backup a working configuration from a Pi to a PC by reading the SDcard. There are few aspects of IT which allow tinkering to be backed out with such ease.
As we speak, I am moving from v2.something to v3.1 of Moode Audio as my current distribution of choice.
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 12, 2016 23:06:04 GMT
I have two Pi audio systems.. both have products from HifiBerry... one with a DAC+ Pro and the other with a Digi+ They work well. I have used them with Volumio and currently Moode Audio moodeaudio.org/This thread has details about other more recent DACs I would consider... theaudiostandard.net/post/72215/threadfor example volumio.org/product/collybia-mamboberry-ls-dac/I have experimented with setting up Kodi on a RasPi3... it was straightforward and works well.... However, it was only an experiment and is not routinely used Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 11, 2016 19:31:55 GMT
Thanks Clive, et al,
That was interesting to read
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 11, 2016 15:27:10 GMT
Has anyone ever compared the sound quality of an "Audio PC" versus a Rasberry Pi or similar setup? Obviously, any comparison could consider built-in DACs and/or a common external DAC. I say this because Pi hardware is going to come in somewhere from say £75-£150ish
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 10, 2016 13:23:16 GMT
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Nov 19, 2016 13:27:14 GMT
I just wanted to signpost the following since I do not *think* that they have been covered elsewhere. The HW might be worth researching before sticking your hand in your pocket for something else Firstly, there is a new release of Volumio... I have *NOT* personally tried it yet VERSION: 2.029 RELEASE DATE: 18-11-2016 volumio.org/get-started/Secondly, there are a couple of interesting DAC related developments : There is a valve based Pi DAC daughterboard which is a curious development volumio.org/tube-raspberry-pi-i2s-dac-finally/Then there is a reclocker do-hicky which aims to reduce jitter volumio.org/allo-kali-i2s-reclocker-a-true-gamechanger/Currently, AFAIK this works with the "Piano" DACs and the Collybia – Mamoberry LS, but *NOT* the HifiBerry products Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Sept 4, 2016 10:15:50 GMT
My phone seems to be learning about what interests me.... and this morning it pointed that I had missed the fact that the Volumio website has a shop bit.... For me, the interesting bit is that they now appear to be selling a version of the mamoberry DAC I mentioned earlier for around £42 volumio.org/product/collybia-mamboberry-ls-dac/This looks like a new or different version of the DAC I linked to earlier. It is based on the Sabre ESS 9023 DAC and they appear to have put effort into both the choice of onboard components and also the need for the power supplies to be carefully considered. There is an announcement on the Volumio blog here volumio.org/mamboberry-ls-dac-volumio-shop/This is partly what I like about this sort of project, for £42 there is a whole new set of tinkering and listening to be had, I will probably get one to play with once the new school term settles down 8-( Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Aug 31, 2016 13:53:53 GMT
So the PI3 arrived on Saturday, I plan to use it for music playing duties. However, as I mentioned above, I thought I'd have a play first with using it as a full on "media centre". I installed "OSMC" : osmc.tv/about/I *think* that the correct way to describe this is as a minimalist Linux install which will allow the built in Kodi media centre app to run. My aim was to see how the PI3 HW would cope with a high bitrate, fast action, 1080p film with surround sound. It was relatively straightforward to set up and it seems to only use about 16% CPU when streaming HD video. The whole lot can be easily controlled via the "Kore" remote control app on my phone. There is a music side to the media centre, I pointed it my FLAC music collection on the NAS. It spent a while "consuming it" and has built a library with artist/albums etc. Album art seems to be making its way to the remote app on my phone. Playback is over HDMI. I've not had s chance to really listen to the quality, but initial feeling is that it is "OK". This plugs into the same AV amp as my existing PI2 with Digi+ daughterboard. Both use the amp's internal DAC. So side by side comparison should be easy. Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Aug 27, 2016 10:06:52 GMT
Clive, Sorry I didn't reply yesterday, I was in London all day. Like Martin has said, A Pi expects a standard USB Power supply... Which mean 5 or 5 and a bit volts DC. In terms of just getting it to work, any USB recent smartphone charger is suitable, (apart from the oldest smallest ones which do not supply enough current (probably greater than 1000mA)). However, the good thing is that this 5V USB standard is common and is met by the battery packs used to recharge phones. Currently, I happen to be using one of these www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B012V9H3WA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is a sizable beast with a capacity approaching something like 1/3 to 1/2 of a small car battery! Frankly, it is overkill for this application, but useful for the phone if I'm "off grid" for a while. As an aside, airlines are getting twitchy about carrying Lithium batteries. Rules applied to the number and maximum capacity you can carry in hand and/or hold luggage. In Thailand this summer security were removing them from hand luggage and checking the small print. I was lucky... close but not exceeding the maximum. The rules do not seem universal across all airlines and airports at this time As a further aside, I am awaiting delivery of a Pi 3 today... < £29 from Amazon. I want to experiment with is as a full on media player (probably using Kodi) to see how it handles 1080p video playback etc. Once I finish playing, it will probably replace one of the Pi2's used for music. Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Aug 26, 2016 7:22:09 GMT
Hi, I have a couple of Raspberry Pi's, both currently have HiFiBerry products, one is a digi+ and the other is a DAC+ Pro. I have run a number of distributions, and over the summer they have ended up running v2 of Volumio (Currently build 0.979). I have not had the chance to experiment with a decent external DAC, (The Digi+ only feeds an Onkyo AV amp in the lounge) and so I cannot comment about the relative quality of DAC daughterboard vs quality external DAC. One of the things I like about this area is the ability to experiment and tinker for relatively small sums of money.... An additional microSD card will allow a whole new distribution to be quickly tried without the risk of losing a working configuration. tens of pounds will get you a newer faster Pi or yet another DAC to try out. As has been mentioned, power supply compromises are probably the first issue to hit many of the DAC daughterboards. I intend to tinker with a modification to the DAC+ Pro which allows a separate 5V DC supply to be sent to the Analogue side. I will use a battery. One DAC of interest, (I've only watched the review below) is the MAMOBERRY DAC which appears to have tackled the issue of power supplies head on. There is a video review below and this chap has a youTube channel which covers the whole area of digital audio reproduction via DIY networked streamers etc. Note. The actual MAMOBERRY DAC appears to be out of stock until the end of September www.collybia.com/product/mamboberry-hifi-dac-192khz-24bit/Cheers Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Dec 17, 2014 14:01:27 GMT
Having fallen off of the planet since the end of September due to School commitments... I thought it was time for an update...
I now have a pair of B+'s both running v1.50 of volumio:
o The lounge one has a HifiBerry Digi+ which feeds an AV amp via optical o The bedroom one has a HifiBerry running a DAC+ which feeds a pre/power amp set up via analogue input
All music is in flac format on a NAS. However, I have a fair number of HiRes samples in various bit depths and sampling rates up to 24@192
I have a Sonos system which I like apart from the relative cost and its inability to play HiRes music. This rather defeats the "all music everywhere approach" I was also hoping for sound quality improvements and lower power consumption.
Initially, I got both boards up and running with minimal fuss. Apart from playing higher bit rate files..... I did not have time to look at the problems and most of the problems went away with the v1.5 release.
The bedroom/DAC+ will play everything I've thrown at it in terms of bit rate. The lounge Digi+ plays everything up to and including 24@176 but refuses to play 24@192
I'm aware of a v1.51 release and also Rune audio... now that it is the holidays, hopefully I'll have some time to experiment
In keeping with the original UNIX clear client/server demarcation I've been experimenting with several mpd clients on my Android phone and tablet... This is easy/brilliant since any MPD client will potentially work with minimal commitment/fuss
There are many of these, some are currently lacking and in a state of rapid improvement/flux. Currently, I'm favouring the sound@home app, again this is improving rapidly and it now gives a similar level of functionality to the Sonos Apps
While you can obviously access Volumio via the web interface, I've been experimenting with Windows MPD clients. So far I've tried Auremo which is "OK" but does not know how to handle more than one Pi at the same time.
Does anyone have any recommendations for Windows MPD clients?
Many thanks
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Sept 20, 2014 14:09:20 GMT
OK, I'm playing catch up with Martin, and have a little progress to report.... A new B+ arrived on Monday and last evening I set up Volumio on it. Initially had problems, it booted but the ethernet interface was not working. This made "headless" (no kb/mouse or monitor) operation tricky... it seems that I'd downloaded an outdated install image from volumio.org/get-started/I found v1.41 here sourceforge.net/projects/volumio/files/Raspberry%20PI/1.4/Volumio1.41PI.zip/downloadWhich solved the problem In the process of writing this, I now understand the problem... Between the B and B+ models some hardware has changed including the ethernet controller. Probably a case of more haste and less speed on my part... Martin and/or volumio probably explained this. doh! Anyway, the B+ now boots..... I was able to access and configure it via the web interface. Within minutes I'd pointed it at the music collection of the NAS. At this stage there are no DACs, Amps or speakers nearby, however, playback via the onboard HW and headphone socket worked and confirmed the basic end to end concept. Music is all flac, playback at CD rates was fine, 24@88.2kHz stuttered while it was building the library, but was fine afterwards. 24@192 stutters full stop. I assume the CPU is running out of steam since it is currently running at standard clock speed. This is all a little academic, since it will not be used like this The DAC+ and Digi+ boards from HifiBerry were ordered last weekend, and shipped about Thursday. Progress will have to wait until these arrive. However, there are some further experiments to be done... wireless vs wired networking and as a side project, experimenting with HD video playback (if possible?). I also want to measure the current it draws from the power supply since I hope to make it battery powered and want to estimate run time. Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Sept 20, 2014 13:39:45 GMT
Once again, a further hello to the others who have sent me greetings....
Martin, no worries, you've had a challenging week!
I'm moving over to the Raspberry Pi thread since I have a little progress to report
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Sept 14, 2014 16:55:42 GMT
Thanks for all the greetings...
> Are you going to get yourself a slice of the pi or have you already?
Sort of yes to both... I've had a "B" since they were launched.. plan was always to hook up a DAC or similar... at the time it was a little more involved... Meanwhile the "B+" has happened along as have the hifiberry daughter boards... I have ordered one each of all of these today and will report back. I have situations where a spdiff output will do and others where an analogue out is required.
Cheers
Sean
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Sept 14, 2014 13:29:05 GMT
Hello to all Forum members.....
I've been reading the Raspberry Pi thread with interest, and I'm rapidly playing catch up
Cheers
SeanM
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