Dummies Guide to Pi2AES! Throw away your PC or laptop.

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, Jan 29, 2020.

  1. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    If you already have player like Audirvana or Roon then you can use RopieeeXL. It will support Roon, UPnP/ DLNA, AirPlay and Spotify connect
     
  2. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    @tommytakis, @Ksaurav402, @msommers

    It seems that you guys are on RoPieeeXL. Have you try using RoPieeeXL as a DNLA Render? I like Roon for what it is (great metadata abilities), but it just doesn't allow searching by folders (which is what I prefer). That's why I never jump on the Roon bandwagon.

    I do miss the metadata of Roon. But I want to use DNLA/UPnP for stuff that Roon does a shitty job with (Video Game Music, hard to find import stuff, etc.).

    Would be cool to use my BubbleUPnP as my controller and send shit to RoPieeeXL and then flip back to Roon as normal.

    You can also use Foobar2000 to send stuff by UPnP/DNLA via the UPnP/DNLA Output Component. Works as intended.
     
  3. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    Yes, I have successfully streamed to PI2AES using Audirvana on Macbook via UPnP/DLNA, no issues
     
  4. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    So I tried RoPieeeXl DLNA, I just can't get it to work via BubbleUPnP. Back to moOde I go.
     
  5. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    Hmmm...thats strange. Although I haven't used Bubble UPnP but had no issues using Audirvana.
    Let me try out bubble UPnP and report back.
     
  6. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Thanks. I just put back my RoPieeeXL SD card and trying to mess around with it more before bedtime.
     
  7. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    I am able to stream using BubbleUpnP. I don't have any music on the office android phone but there was this default samsung mp3 in audio folder. It played without any issue.
    4A24EE68-993B-4EAD-9454-85D24F4A52CB.jpeg
     
  8. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    @YMO
    I feel.it must be some minor setting issue.
    These are my settings for RopieeeXL
    54617D75-A507-48AA-9ABA-01153FE8DA00.png ABF7C518-A43E-4FB8-83C5-2781D883C58C.png
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2020
  9. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    An RCA or any connector we'd use is so short compared to an AES signal (like < 1% of the AES rise time) that it is strictly a lumped element and there will be no reflection, just some trivial insertion loss.
     
  10. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    Here is a nice calculator for either coax or twisted pair cable
     
  11. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I did the settings just like that, no dice. Submitted feedback to the guy who runs that OS.

    Edit: @Ksaurav402 I just put back moOde and of course UPnP works like a charm. :/
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2020
  12. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    Yeah, I said that a couple times. But it occurs to me that when we make those assessments we're also assuming that the connectors meet basic quality standards. And they don't always, especially when they're super low-priced on Amazon. Some are steel instead of brass, some have tolerances so loose that they don't even make good contact, etc.

    Which, you know, whatever. It probably still won't make a difference, even at the ~10MHz necessary for 24/192 PCM or DSD256. But since the only point of this exercise is to try to capture the tiny marginal benefit that unbalanced AES3 might have over SPDIF, it can't hurt to use a good purpose-built cable with controlled specs, rather than a cobbled-together assembly of unknown-quality components.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2020
  13. kris2014

    kris2014 Acquaintance

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    Thanks for the info.
     
  14. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Tried to send you a PM but you seem to have them turned off.

    Please use the "Like" button to show appreciation rather than posting. This helps keep the noise level down and keeps content meaningful. People here find it annoying to receive an alert for a new post, only to find it's someone saying "thanks".

    And introduce yourself here https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

    Just some friendly advice.
    Welcome to SBAF.
     
  15. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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    I got it working. Huzzah! There's a plugin for Spotify that works with the free plan. Sound is better than my S/PDIF converter for sure. Now if I could figure out how to download my music onto the Pi. I can do that, right?
     
  16. kris2014

    kris2014 Acquaintance

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    Mine arrived too. It is exceeding expectation! However I got confused a little initially as DAC says coaxial is not locked but when it plays it is totally fine.

    PS. I just learned about Blue Jeans from this thread. Got a 1695a coaxial from them and it seems to be better than canare LV61s (my initial impression only). Will give it some time later this week and do a recording to figure it out.
     
  17. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Roon for moOde OS on top with UPnP

    Do you like Roon just cause? Do you also want it to work with UPnP? Do you want it to play nice together? well moOde can do both! RopieeeXL can be a Roon EndPoint and a DNLA Render, but as I stated on my previous posts I can't get RopieeeXL DNLA Render to work at all.

    With that being said, I prefer moOde by far since it is so robust on the software end, gives you tons of customization options, and it is a killer all in one box with the PI2AES.

    I want to get back into Roon due to its Metadata gathering is epic, but I hate that you can't browse by folder. I like browsing by folder due to I have tons of Video Game OSTs and Bandcamp Indie stuff, and I thought Roon sucks for those items. For those weird genres it is a lot easier for me to browse by folder using BubbleUPnP and having the PI2AES be a DNLA render.

    So moOde gives you two options for making it a Roon Endpoint:

    1. Squeezelite Render

    This one isn't bad, but it doesn't play nice with the DNLA render of moOde. So you can go into your Audio Options under Configure and turn on the Render. However, when both the Squeezelite Render and UPnP Client for MPD option is on at the same time, Squeezelite Render will not work. To make it work, turn off UPnP Client for MPD, then turn on Squeezelite Render, save your settings, and reboot the box. At that point Roon will be able to detect the Squeezelite Render and you can send audio bit-perfect to Roon under Squeezebox. However, it will not be using its RAAT digital transport that people like.

    This feature works good, but I hated that I have to go into options of moOde every time I want to go from Roon to UPnP and UPnP to Roon. At that point this was getting old, and I wanted the Pi box to do everything without fuss.



    2. Roon Bridge - Roon Endpoint - Highly Preferred

    By default moOde will not have any Roon stuff in the OS due to the Roon license agreement. However, you can install Roon Bridge by running the web terminal of moOde.

    You can access the web terminal by going into Configure > System > Local Services Section > SSH term server needs to be put on first then save > Open Web SSH terminal.

    By doing that a separate window will open up and it is the classic Linux terminal. It will ask you for a log in and password. Please input the following:

    After logging in, you are officially in the terminal program. We will then use this Roon Labs Post to install Roon Bridge inside moOde OS, so everyone can live in peace.

    1. Copy this command and paste it inside the terminal program, then press enter. This will download the Roon Bridge installer within moOde OS.
    2. After downloading the installer, Copy this command and paste it inside the terminal program, then press enter:
    3. Now we are going to install Roon Bridge within moOde OS. Copy this command and paste it inside the terminal program, then press enter. The terminal will say do you want to install Roon Bridge within your OS? You will say yes. Will take a few seconds for it to be completed.
    At that point the Roon Bridge has installed, and then reboot the Pi box. When reboot is completed, Roon will then be able to see your Pi box as a Roon Endpoint within the Audio menu of Roon. Set up your options within Roon as you see fit and you are in business. You will be using Roon Digital Transport as the delivery device, and you are all set.

    This option is so much better as the first one because you do not need to go back and forth with turning on Squeezelite Render/off UPnP and in reverse. What you do now is when you want to flipping from Roon to UPnP or do it in reverse, just pause/stop your music for about a few seconds and you can Play/Resume on the format playback you want. So I can be on BubbleUPnP listening to some random stuff from Bandcamp, then I want to go back to Roon and listen/read stuff about Miles Davis right? So what I do is I stop what I'm playing in BubbleUPnP, then I load up my Roon Remote on my phone, then play whatever in Roon and everything works. Except for DSD stuff everything through Roon is Bitperfect (Schiit is 100% PCM only babi).

    For most people you will either use UPnP or Roon only. I want to use both because of freedom to do whatever I want yo, l like Devo. We know their third album is so-so, but it's the freedom of choosing yo.

    Ropieee on my end works great as a Roon Endpoint, but it is limited on options. moOde has so much to offer, can do just about anything for the most part, and able to do terminal without hooking up your Pi box to a computer monitor is just ultra jizz terrority.

    Edit 4/4/21: Starting with moOde 7.1.0 there's a minor change on the OS with regards to RoonBridge:

    [​IMG]

    RoonBridge is now an "official" renderer within moOde, however, you have to still install RoonBridge since moOde doesn't include RoonBridge right out of the box (due to they don't' have an "official" license to it).

    This is also important because there is now an additional step you have to follow starting with moOde 7.1.0 if you want to get RoonBridge up and running. The steps above are still the same, including after installing RoonBridge you must restart the OS. After restarting moOde OS, you have to go into the Audio > Audio Renderers near the bottom of the Renderers list and turn on RoonBridge (screenshot shows as above). This new feature within moOde more/less allows you to turn on/off the RoonBridge if you must (including Resume MPD feature, which I don't use at all). You have to turn it on for RoonBridge to work.

    Before moOde 7.1.0 after installing RoonBridge via terminal and restarting moOde OS, RoonBridge is always on with no fuss. This newer feature of moOde is just a simple on/off switch if you need to shut it off for a reason. I don't mind it at all, just something to be aware of you want to use Roon along with all the features of moOde.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
  18. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    I believe all you need to do is put your music on a thumb drive and plug it into the rPI - see post 7 of this thread for more info
     
  19. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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    I used an external hard drive. No results.

    On another note, I upgraded my Volumio to run qobuz, but can't get that to work either. Nutz!
     
  20. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    moOde works perfectly with an external drive, 2TB Samsung SSD with Pi2AES, Pi 4B, PiTouch screen. Used purely as a standalone system, no network, for work security reasons.
     

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