poll: which Pi audio software do you use?

Discussion in 'Computer Audiophile: Software, Configs, Tools' started by Woland, Dec 10, 2021.

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Which Pi software do you use?

  1. ropieee

    34.6%
  2. volumio

    23.3%
  3. moode

    26.3%
  4. hqplayer naa

    1.5%
  5. hqplayer os

    3.0%
  6. audiolinux

    1.5%
  7. symphonic mpd

    2.3%
  8. picoreplayer

    14.3%
  9. runeaudio

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. pi musicbox

    0.8%
  11. hifiberryos

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  12. jriver id

    2.3%
  13. GentooPlayer

    3.8%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    This is to assist other threads to show what's popular at SBAF and why.
     
  2. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Having tried Volumio, Moode, HQplayer OS and HQPlayer NAA here's what I'm using.

    Ropiee because of its gorgeous Roon touchscreen interface and connectivity with Roon. This is in the Pi2AES touchscreen case. This is my relaxed listening platform.

    AudioLinux to run HQPlayer Embedded upsampling. It runs from the Pi4's 8GB of memory. It's been a good platform for experimentation with different players. Having found what works for me, I may switch to HQPlayer OS. This is my highly optimized listening system.
     
  3. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    Moode currently, RoopieXL and Volumio have been failing me with spotify recently.
    Symphonic mpd has a lot or promise but I was not able to get audio out of the 3.5mm outlet and it is Ethernet only. If I had a hat it might be the move.
     
  4. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    RoopieXL for me, so I voted 'ropieee'
     
  5. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Quite a few just use the software on the Pi as a UPnP renderer. Maybe add UPnP to the list?
     
  6. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Good point. I was more looking for a guide about which platforms are popular enough to deserve setup guides. But most can be used in different ways with internal players vs upnp renderer vs roon endpoint etc

    Just pm me if you want to add an option. There doesn't seem to be a way to set the poll and let anyone do that.
     
  7. G0rt!

    G0rt! New

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    The latest Volumio 3.173 is greatly improved over the last 2.x release.
     
  8. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

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    I just wanted to mention something that might help you Pi2AES owners using Ropieee(XL).

    Basically, I've found PI2AES to be a lot more stable if I select "Hifiberry Digi+ Pro" as my Audio HAT driver in Ropieee (which I believe PI2AES is fully compatible with).

    Yes, I know the latest versions of Ropieee have a separate PI2AES driver option, but when I had that selected, I was experiencing multiple dropouts using Audirvana 3.5 via UPnP (my primary software). Had to reboot my Pi at least once per listening session, until in a last ditch effort, I reverted back to the Hifiberry driver. Haven't had any dropouts/lockouts since!
     
  9. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Anyone out there friends with the ropieee guys? Ask them about this weirdness?
     
  10. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    That has to just be incidental weirdness unless someone created an actual separate PI2AES driver that you weren’t aware of.
     
  11. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    How about posting an in-depth comparison and review to explain?
     
  12. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    Do we have any idea where these drivers actually come from, if not the manufacturer? Should we just keep using the Digi+ Pro driver instead?

    Edit: Perhaps the Ropieee Pi2AES driver is using the regular “Digi+“ driver instead of the “Digi+ Pro”? Found this screenshot in an old Roon thread: https://community.roonlabs.com/t/ro...p-sending-data-into-ars-output-anymore/133764
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2021
  13. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    All of these drivers were derived from the original Wolfson WM8804 Linux driver. Hifiberry added the GPIO control of the clocks (which I think they did first on their DAC+). The Allo Digi uses the same GPIO.

    I have not looked at the driver in sometime so it is possible that whoever added the driver under our board name copied an older version perhaps?
     
  14. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

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    Ropieee on the Pi2AES, and the oldest Pi Roon endpoint from Hifiberry on may two Digi+ Pro units. The Hifiberry endpoint was installed three years ago, Roon is doing all the upgrades to it, I never touched it, and it never failed.
     
  15. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    I tried the regular hifiberry-digi driver (for science) and it didn’t output any audio on the pi2aes so I don’t think that’s it.

    From what I understand the drivers are in the linux kernel, the software just says which one to use.

    I think this is the current driver set:

    https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/tree/rpi-5.10.y/sound/soc/bcm

    Seems like there’s just one driver for wm8804.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2021
  16. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    FWIW, I have 2 Pi2AES running the current version of ropiee (4.017) and using the Pi2AES driver... no dropouts, no issues that I can hear.
     
  17. Garns

    Garns Friend

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  18. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    Maybe someone with Roon could compare what the details are under the Ropieee drivers for the Digi+ Pro and Pi2AES. Sounds like there’s a good chance they are identical except in name, and if so it makes @Soups’ experience even more strange.
     
  19. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

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    I do recall using Roon on trial with Ropieee via the Pi2AES driver and I don't remember any drop-outs/lock-ups with that. My memory is fuzzy there tho.

    So I suspect it may be mostly an Audirvana 3.5 issue with Ropieee's driver implemenation, as opposed to Pi2AES. Otherwise, I was just relieved to find an "official" driver that allowed me to keep using Audirvana, and maybe this approach could be of benefit in other setups.
     
  20. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    I had been running Volumio 2 and tried out Volumio 3, which is now the official release. Here is a summary of changes in Volumio 3:
    https://community.volumio.org/t/what-will-change-with-volumio-3/51233

    When I first set up my Pi2AES 1½ years ago using the Dummies Guide to Pi2AES tutorial, I followed the instructions to set up initially on Ethernet and look up the IP address before configuring WiFi. Something I didn't know was that you can set up a new Volumio installation entirely through WiFi without an Ethernet connection. WiFi-only setup was already possible on Volumio 2 and now even easier on Volumio 3. At initial boot-up, Volumio activates a WiFi hotspot on the RPi. On your phone, install the Volumio app (Android/iOS), and connect your phone to the WiFi hotspot. The app will find and connect to Volumio through the hotspot, and then you can configure your regular WiFi connection. Do other RPi systems use WiFi hotspot to facilitate setup?

    Volumio 3 has improved UI layout and design. It looks better but for the most part the UI updates are cosmetic and the overall user experience is still very similar. They have restructured their plans to only two tiers:

    Free
    • Playback of all filetypes
    • Plugin Store
    • Spotify via plugin
    • Spotify Connect via plugin
    • Radio paradise via plugin
    • Soundcloud via plugin
    • Roon via plugin
    • Web radio
    • DLNA UPNP Browsing
    • Airplay Playback
    • DSD
    • DSP via plugin
    • Custom playlist
    • Alarm and sleep function
    • iOS and Android official apps
    Premium (€6.49/month or €59.99/year) with these additional features
    • Tidal Native Integration
    • Tidal Connect
    • Qobuz Native Integration
    • Multiroom Synchronized Playback
    • New Manifest User Interface
    • Music and Artists Credits Discovery
    • Bluetooth Input Playback
    • Highresaudio.com Integration
    • CD Playback and Ripping
    • Autosync on personal items
    • Digital and Analog Inputs Playback
    • Use all premium features on up to 6 devices
    • Remote connection up to 6 devices
    • Dedicated Email Support
    I have the old Virtuoso tier which is lower priced and doesn't include all of the Premium features. Virtuoso is no longer offered on Volumio 3 but existing Virtuoso users can continue without jumping up to Premium.

    However TBH, lately I've been using RoPieee XL instead of Volumio.

    My music sources have been Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify, originally on PC/Mac >> USB >> DAC. I became intrigued by the Pi2AES, and used Volumio because it was all I knew (from the dummies tutorial). Volumio worked out for me because it directly supports my 3 music services and I didn't have technical issues. I was delighted to untether my laptop from the USB/DAC and enjoyed the sound quality from the Pi2AES.

    However, navigating through a streaming service catalog in Volumio is very clunky. I would end up searching and exploring music on the Qobuz/Tidal desktop apps and then switching over to Volumio/Pi2AES to play the albums. A year ago I discovered my savior in Roon, which is supported on Volumio. Roon allows me to have a good Qobuz/Tidal UI that plays directly to Pi2AES.

    So now with Roon, I wouldn't use Volumio for any purpose except as a Roon endpoint. RoPieee appeals to me as a lean, stripped down system built specifically to be a Roon endpoint. RoPieee XL also supports Spotify Connect so I don't lose it in moving from Volumio.

    Miscellaneous notes on Tidal:
    Volumio (paid tier) supports Tidal Connect, and this is a good way to play Tidal without jumping up to Roon. Over the last year, I was favoring Qobuz and using Tidal less and less. I had an annual Tidal subscription through Best Buy (an excellent deal btw) and I let it expire. I discovered that Tidal merely bumped my subscription down to their new free tier (AAC streaming with ads).
     

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