The All Purpose Advice Thread - Part 2

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

  1. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    there are 2 ways to go about it
    1. Use DDC - DDC will take USB input and will generally have a good clock implemented, will have galvanic isolation to reduce noise from USB etc and then will output in COAX - AES/BNC/RCA, Optical, I2S. The price ranges from $500 to $1200 + . Some Good DDC are - Gustard U18, Denafrips Iris/Hermes/Gaia, Audio GD-20HE, SIngxer SU-6
    2. Use Streamer and free up your laptop for work - Ifi has a good streamer for $300, Pi2AES/Mercury - Long wait time ($500), Allo Digione Signature (Need Good LPS), Sonnet Hermes or Metrum Ambre, Sonore Rendu (streamer with USB out).

    DDC are generally plug and play and streamer will use some setup etc.
     
  2. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    I appreciate all the input. This isn't as simple or cheap as I was hoping, at least for quality. May use this as an excuse to finally try a Yggdrasil and just use the Unison USB input for the work laptop. I'm also learning I'm hindered as I can't install drivers on my work laptop (corporate security or whatever) but I know the Schiit USB works as is.
     
  3. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    @PoochZag , could you not just put a Unison card in your Gungnir?

    Edit: It'd mean sending it in to Schiit, but might be the easiest and tidiest solution.
     
  4. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    Yeah I looked into that but Gungnir has to be sent in, so it's $200 plus shipping twice. I happened to already track down a used Yggdrasil with Unison, been meaning to try it for years, sometimes you just need an excuse I guess lol
     
  5. JonCharles

    JonCharles Friend

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    I've decided to get my feet wet in the world of pi2aes or similar. I am mostly looking for a better source than my DAC's gen5 usb, and to get away from using my cheap old PC. Unfortunately, I am an absolute grandpa when it comes to this stuff (using Foobar2k for decades), and I feel like I know and understand very little about it. I've only waited this long because this stuff has always flown over my head and made me feel like an idiot. I'm trying to change that.

    I ONLY use digital music that I have stored on an external HDD and won't ever use streaming services. I am primarily looking for something free, simple and reliable that can replace Foobar2k as my primary music player for local files. That being said, is there a consensus on whether MoOde, Volumio, or other is better for playing off of an external HDD? Also, what is the main difference between Mercury Streamer and Pi2aes? Is there any reason why the Mercury might be better for me, or is it a waste of money? Would adding a touchscreen to pi2aes make the response noticeably better than relying on my phone?

    I have many questions, but I suppose I'll start with those. I know a bunch of you have loads of experience with this stuff, so please let me know what you think.
     
  6. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    No real difference, mainly slightly different user interfaces.
    PI2AES doesn't exist to buy new at the moment, only PI2AES lite. If you can get a second hand PI2AES then it's functionally equivalent to the Mercury for playing off a pre-existing HDD (USB or NAS). Mercury has some improvements to power supply which should improve sound quality a bit (though PI2AES is already great), and also takes a more standard 12V external power rather than 24-30V for the PI2AES. Plus nicer box :) Personally I wouldn't get a PI2AES lite as it has less connectivity (no AES, I2S), so less future-proof, and is powered from the Raspberry Pi itself rather than having its own power supply.
    Doing it from your phone is totally fine if you have the RPi on wired internet. Wifi isn't fantastic on the RPi and in my experience the web interface can get a bit unresponsive if your signal isn't super strong where the RPi is. However there are apps which are more responsive than the web interface even on Wifi (e.g. MPDroid) so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2022
  7. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I recently acquired a pi2aes w/screen. I only use a USB storage drive on it for music. With some tweaking and learning my way around moode I am very happy with it now. Sounds great as well. Web interface is fairly quick on WiFi for me, very lag fee 99% of the time it helps to hit refresh and also to let it chill a bit and leave it on. The screen is not as touch sensitive as I'd like but if I forget my phone upstairs it works well. Also nice if it's sitting right next to you. @JonCharles maybe this will be useful, was first time I messed with one and I tried all regular popular software. Really like moode.
     
  8. JonCharles

    JonCharles Friend

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    Thanks for all your replies. I found a decent deal on a Mercury streamer with 1TB of storage, which is really nice in my use case. If it's still available, I'll try my hand at using MoOde first.
     
  9. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Need some help with new Senn PC8 USB headset on Win 10 machine

    I can place a google voice call with pc, but cannot hear my voice via the microphone to the earpieces. To turn this on in Windows I have to go to properties and check the listen box but that cause a horrible echo.

    Why is full duplex so hard or why am I so dumb?

    @philipmorgan - Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong?

    Or do I have to speak really loud in order to hear myself with this set of earmuffs.
     
  10. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    @bixby Are you wanting to just hear what your voice sounds like via the PC8 mic, or do you always want to monitor yourself (that's the pro audio word for what you're describing) while on calls?

    Any USB headset mic is going to make it challenging to do the latter because the manuf usually doesn't build in a monitoring circuit, most operating systems don't really have a built-in feature that does what you want, meaning you have to rely on 3rd party audio routing software to monitor yourself. In MacOS, Rogue Amoeba Audio Hijack could set up monitoring. I don't know what the Windows equiv would be, but I know there are some Windows options out there.

    If you just want to hear what your voice sounds like via the PC8 mic, you'd just record yourself using the mic with the built-in Windows voice recorder or Audio Hijack or the like.

    EDIT: Oh! Just remembered that Reaper could enable monitoring if you wanted (https://www.reaper.fm/). DM me if you want setup help with this.
     
  11. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    @philipmorgan thanks so much for the quick response. I was afraid of this answer. I want to hear my voice at all times like a phone.

    Why can't a computer do what a phone does? Amazes me that it cannot without more "stuff". Now I know why most pc headsets only have one earpiece.

    But what do gamers do? Is the secret sauce (monitoring) built into the game itself?

    Reaper is nice but way beyond what I would do to make some phone calls. I suppose I will just go back to my desk phone with voip box.
     
  12. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    It seems I would need a headset with sidetone. The Senns and lots of others do not have it.

     
  13. edd

    edd Almost "Made"

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    FWIW, I use the Logitech Zone Wireless for work calls, and while it does have the sidetone functionality, I still have a tendency to move one of the earpieces off one ear bc the sidetone still sounds weird to me (though, it's certainly better than not having sidetone at all).
     
  14. JonCharles

    JonCharles Friend

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    Would a bnc cable like this be appropriate to connect a Pi2AES to my Gungnir Multibit? All I've ever used is usb before.
     
  15. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    That looks like a very good choice.
     
  16. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

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    Not to go too much into cable craziness.. but this cable sounded better than a more expensive RCA which I liked over a few USB cables. And not expensive.
    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010COBO8/
     
  17. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    the main factor is proper 75ohm impedance. Both have that.
     
  18. JonCharles

    JonCharles Friend

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    I received my used Mercury streamer and am attempting to run MoOde on it. I flashed the preconfigured MoOde image from the Mercury streamer webpage to a 128gb microsd card and connected my device with an ethernet cable to my router. Finally, I plugged in the power cable and turned it on. I used Fing to try to find the signal for the streamer, but I seem to have found everything but my streamer or RPi. Can anyone give me advice? Was I not supposed to use the MoOde image from the Mercury page and just get it from the official website?
     
  19. That St Kilda Guy

    That St Kilda Guy Acquaintance

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  20. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    What's the least bad option for third-party pads for the HD800? The official pads have been out of stock for months, and my pads are really falling apart.
     

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