The All Purpose Advice Thread - Part 2

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by shotgunshane, Mar 27, 2022.

  1. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

    Staff Member Pyrate Flathead IEMW
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    Starting a new thread as the original seems to have ran so long formatting problems started.
     
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    @7seven

    It's tough to make broad generalizations, but I'll offer some point form thoughts:
    - something that's easier to move is going to be able to pump out more sound with less power
    - but at the same time, more motor/coil/blah blah which makes it heavier is also what gives you more grip from the amp but then you need more power
    - higher efficiency means you can hit peaks a lot easier, because it's deceptive how quickly power requirements shoot up during peak loads and unless you're running kilowatt amps you may be underdriving
    - big PA subs (and the tops in general) want a lot of distance before they start to sound good. They are optimized to push sound out several hundred feet, so there's some sacrifice up close where things won't sound cohesive (I'm double generalizing more from their tops, but I'm sure the sub cabs do the same)
     
  3. 7seven

    7seven Acquaintance

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    I listened to some of the cheapest, most generic piezo tweeter 10" PA speakers you can imagine, a friend uses them for guitar.

    Very grainy sure, but clearly more dynamic sounding than any of the bookshelf or floorstander hifi speaker I've listened to, it's not exactly 'speed' but how much lighter and nimble they sound... convincing enough to make me want to pursue high efficiency/PA stuff for HiFi.
     
  4. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    I'm using a Pi2AES (moOde) at work to stream to an Airist R-2R DAC/MCTH combo driving ZMF Blackwoods. Because I don't have my music files on my work laptop, I'm restricted to using my phone to access remote services like Plex, Tidal, and Dropbox. The issue here is that UPnP is a battery slayer.

    While I can certainly access all of those things on my laptop as well (Windows 10), I'm having a hard time getting Windows to output to the Pi2AES through anything except foobar2k (which won't access those services). What would be the easiest way to get Windows to output from Plex or Tidal for example, directly to the Pi2AES?

    Alternatively, are there other OS options that would allow me more direct access to streaming via a web interface or similar?
     
  5. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I found Audirvāna to be decently reliable with UPnP, or really as reliable as you’re gonna get with UPnP. For a more direct route I think Volumio (paid) is your best option though I’m not sure if they support everything you want. I’m a fan of Roon and switched to it a while ago but that is a lot more expensive than those other options. I’ve found Roon to be way more reliable than UPnP for streaming to a Pi2AES.
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Some other general considerations:
    • HE speakers with lower xmax require less power, and also less damping factor in the amp
    • LE speakers with higher xmax require more power, and more damping factor
    • if you're trying to resolve a -40dB down signal riding on a -10dB fundamental (say, perhaps 90dB in room signal with 30dB-lower information), or a harmonic riding on a fundamental, etc., that extra mass to keep a high xmax cone pistonic through all of the attendant acceleration to meet a higher xmax at the same frequencies, one could imagine that there will be perceived loss in resolution across the usable passband of that driver
    • Then there's cabinet considerations: if we keep things simple and just compare 2 sealed systems, one low xmax and big diameter/big volume/high efficiency and one low efficiency/high xmax/low volume, the differences in the force of the rarification is going to be orders of magnitude greater in the low volume/high xmax/low efficiency system and therefore affect half the output waveform and back EMF significantly. Ported volumes are different, but will only act "behaved" within about a half octave up and half octave down from the port tuning frequency.
     
  7. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Well my issue isn't with the stability or reliability of UPnP, it works perfectly fine. It just drains my phone battery so I'd prefer to be able to control things from my laptop.
     
  8. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    At work I have a Pi2AES that I use HQplayer embedded on and use Mconnect to stream Qobuz. (mconnect is on an old tablet I had laying around doing nothing).

    I use HQPDcontrol on the tablet to play local music (small external SSD plugged into the Pi)... PITA to need 2 different apps, but it works and compared to my old Moode/Bubbleupnp setup, this HQplayer/Mconnect/HQPDcontrol setup has been absolutely bulletproof.
     
  9. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Audirvana is for your laptop so that could solve your problem.
     
  10. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    With the paid version of Volumio, you can use your phone or laptop as the UI interface, and the Pi2AES would connect directly to Tidal. You have a choice of using Tidal Connect (Tidal app as the UI interface), or Volumio's own web player interface. Volumio subscription is 6.49€/monthly or 59.88€/year (about $7.25/monthly or $67/year) with 15 day free trial.
     
  11. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Are either of these able to access my personal library through a remote service like Plex or Dropbox, similar to UPnP? I'm not at all interested in paying a monthly fee for access files I already own (at least, any more than I already do through Dropbox) and Tidal is less than half of my listening time. I apologize for the stupid question but I tried browsing through the websites but couldn't find anything relevant to what I am looking to do.
     
  12. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I'm not familiar with Plex, from a quick glance it appears to aggregate audio and video media or something? You could sync your DropBox files to a local folder and import that into Audirvana. Dropbox is more intended to be a syncing tool than a "cloud drive". If you don't have the space to sync your music locally, you're probably better off with something like google drive in which case you can access the files locally (and import to Audirvana) without needing to use a ton of hard drive space.

    I'm not aware of any Pi streaming players such as Volumio, MoOde, Ropieee, etc supporting DropBox. Or mounting a cloud drive for that matter.
     
  13. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Also worth noting, both Audirvana and Volumio have a free trial period to explore if they're the right solution for you. I'd first recommend figuring out how you're going to make your files available (DropBox isn't ideal due to the space requirements) before starting either of these free trials.
     
  14. edd

    edd Almost "Made"

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    I know this isn't answering your question, but my work setup (pre-COVID, when I went into the office where I couldn't use my work laptop nor the wifi for anything like this) was to use a raspberry pi + pi2aes or hifiberry + touchscreen + SSD. You miss out on streaming services & you have the added nuisance of having to update the SSD when you want to add new music, but it was a relatively tidy solution.
     
  15. kee7a

    kee7a New

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    You may be able to use the plex "casting" feature to achieve this depending on your use case and network setup. The idea would be to use the plex windows app or browser app on your laptop for music control and then the files are streamed from your plex server to the laptop then "casted" to the pi. This should allow you to access all of your plex files and Tidal (through the plex integration).

    The only problem with this setup is that I don't think any of the hifi pi operating systems support this natively and I don't think you can use the DLNA feature if the plex server is on another network (https://support.plex.tv/articles/200350536-dlna/). Plex does release a stripped down version of plex amp for the pi that would work (although its old!), but it needs a bit of technical know how to set up. This is my current setup at home and it works fine after initial setup. I would be happy to help if you would like to try it and I talk about it a little bit here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ay-your-pc-or-laptop.8878/page-28#post-309980

    Also, sorry if I don't understand the whole situation, but as an easy solution, if your current setup works fine, would you be able to just grab a charger or two for your workplace or even a second cheap phone?

    Hope this is helpful!
     
  16. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I'm in the same situation in the office, no non-work innernets access, even via cellular data. I opted to go with either iPhone as source or a DAP and do a weekly-ish addition of new music to the micro-SD. Sounds like a PITA, but once you make a habit of pulling out the micro-SD card on Fridays to update over the weekend it's not too bad. Besides most new music drops on Fridays anyhow.
     
  17. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    Install tidal connect?

    https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=297771

    I’m not on the latest version of moode but the latest posts in that thread suggest it still works. Read through the thread at least long enough to get to the part where they talk about setting it up to automatically start on reboot.

    One caveat is that it operates independently from moode so to avoid alsa conflicts when playing local files you need to made sure to set the output in tidal to your computer or whatever before you start playback in moode.
     
  18. Za Warudo

    Za Warudo Acquaintance

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    Hi, my Liquid Platinum just turned off while using it. There was a click before it turned off. I couldn't get it to turn on again. Does this mean the amp broke or do I need to get new tubes?
     
  19. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    What amp to buy?

    Thinking about amp upgrade while one goes in for warranty service. Vidar seems to be a logical choice but it is a bit north of what I want to spend. Is there a power amp under $500 that is worthy? Or an amp that is same price as Vidar yet also recommended.

    Background-:
    85 db efficient speakers, lowish 70-80 db listening levels. Will be driven directly via Prism dac or dac through a passive pre.

    The Akitika, built also may be a thought. I have heard a very good versions of the chipset. and liked, but have never heard or used a Vidar.

    Try to keep Chi-Fi off the short list as most have zero support and an integrated may work if worthy.
     
  20. señorhifi

    señorhifi Friend

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    I got the JVC FD01 (non Massdrop version, I modded them though). I really like them out of the Jot2 + Zen DAC Sig. combo, but not out of my phone (it sounds oddly harsh, with poor bass and 2D).

    Is there any "iFi Hip DAC" -esque device (i.e.: it connects via USB to the phone) that sounds 3D and smooth in the midrange and treble, for up to 300€?

    The iFi Hip DAC is my main option right now. Has anybody here ever compared it to the iFi xDSD, the iFi BLU or the FiiO Q3 (AKM DAC + THX AAA amp section)? Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

    Main reason why I don't want the Hip DAC is because people seem to agree on the fact that it's not very resolving (makes sense, I think the BB chips in even the Zen Signature don't resolve as well as the AK4490 in the Modi3).
     

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