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

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

  1. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    A regular HDMI cable will do fine. I would keep the length short, under 3 m or 10 ft.
     
  2. lagadu

    lagadu Facebook Friend

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    I use this generic 20cm amazon basics hdmi cable, works like a charm.
     
  3. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Left and right channels will be swapped, right?
     
  4. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    If the DAC follows the PS-Audio pinout, then yes.
     
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Production update:

    PI2AES will be back in stock by the middle of April. All parts have been shipped to the assembly house and a build of 250 units is underway. Ordering is now enabled, but with a 4-6 week delivery time. Please plan accordingly.
     
  6. AukePauke

    AukePauke Acquaintance

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    With picoreplayer there is a option to swap channels: (beta) main page - extras - asound - swap channels.

    Never tried myself.
     
  7. Tommy

    Tommy Acquaintance

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    Quick follow-up with regards to the Neutrik right-angle plug not fitting into the pi2aes 7" touchscreen case. I bought a Cable Techniques right-angle plug and it works perfectly. It's quite flexible in the angle, much more than the Neutrik, and just as easy to put together. Problem solved! Thanks for the help in locating a suitable alternative to the Neutrik plug. :)

    IMG_1060.jpeg
     
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  8. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    Clean it up even more with a right angle Ethernet cable. :p
     
  9. Evg_73

    Evg_73 New

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    I have PI2AES connected via raspberry pi 4. I've tried various software (MoOde PiCorePlayer RoPieee) but the sound from the PC with TIDAL MQA now looks best for my ears. I couldn't run MQA and DSD recordings via PI2AES. I use GUSTARD DAC-X16 MQA Decoder. Maybe I'm doing something wrong ??
     
  10. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    The raspberry pi itself is limited to PCM only through the i2s interface. It can do DSD and pass through mqa data when driving out the USB port. However then you are back into the lower signal quality of usb. The question then becomes what music do you have that you feel is better served by DSD or mqa.

    Please note that the PI2AES can only transmit what the pi sends to the PI2AES via it's i2s port.
     
  11. Evg_73

    Evg_73 New

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    I receive MQA and DSD signal from my PC via USB port. The question is can I get such signals via PI2AES? Now I only get PCM. If it is possible to get MQA and DSD via PI2AES please explain how.
     
  12. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Already answered. It’s PCM only out of the Pi2AES board.

    Also there’s a big banner at the top of the pages that says:

    Read these "rules"
    AND introduce
    yourself before your first post
     
  13. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    A small point of clarification, it is PCM out only from the raspberry pi. Thus the PI2AES has been designed to accept PCM and transmit it via AES encoding.
     
  14. Metro

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    How are you playing Tidal on the Pi and through Pi2AES? If it is a bit perfect stream from Tidal to SPDIF output, then your DAC should be able to decode the MQA.
     
  15. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    There is no universally agreed best anything, if you prefer the sound of Tidal playing from your PC then that’s fine.
     
  16. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

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    MQA is not that simple unfortunately. Either the dac would have to be able to perform both decoding and rendering of MQA over the AES/S/PDIF connection (like Brooklyn dacs do) or the Pi2AES would have to be fed by software that already performs the first unfold (like Roon) in which case the dac would only need to perform the rendering part.
     
  17. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    As I understand, that's exactly what he wants to do.
    Tidal > Pi2AES > SPDIF > Gustard DAC-X16 (which has MQA hardware decoding)

    To accomplish this, the DAC must receive a bit perfect stream from Tidal, and I was asking how he plays Tidal on the Raspberry Pi.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2021
  18. redrich2000

    redrich2000 Facebook Friend

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    If I have a Schiit Unison DACs, would I still use spdif out from a pi2AES or could I just USB direct from the pi4?
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
  19. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    You can use USB from a Pi 4 but the Pi2AES will sound better. It depends on what your threshold is. I think Unison sounds very good for USB.
     
  20. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

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    If you prefer the sound over Unison then you don't need the PI2AES at all, just plug the dac into a bare rpi
     

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