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

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

  1. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    Ok, so in my boredom of doing chores today, I threw on Z-Reviews to listen to the latest “review” he did (Phillips SHP9600). I swear I think I paid attention to about 6 words of that video (which is typical), but just as I was about to move onto something else, I’m pretty sure I heard him say he bought a Pi2AES to build and setup.Right around the 21:15 mark (he calls it a “PiAES2”):

    Normally I don’t care anything about Zeos and his reviews, but I just wanted to give @Michael Kelly a headsup, in case he wasn’t aware. Reason being, a good review from him could sell a lot of units (and backlog things big time). Of course a bad review will do nothing (and maybe hurt sales for those who actually trust that guy).

    Anyhow, if you were thinking about buying one of these, now might be a good time to do it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2020
  2. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 7, 2019
    Likes Received:
    2,062
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NY
    Him buying and building Pi2AES is enough to prove that he lurks around here to build on his knowledge base. Good for him and his follower
     
  3. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Actually he found out about us through an existing customer. This customer asked if I would send a unit to z for a review, but I sent it to the customer instead to forward on. I don't want the reviewer to have any sense of obligation or impact the review at all. As they say, let the chips fall where they may. Of course we hope they're chocolate chips versus cow chips!
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2020
  4. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    364
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Is Pi2AES a good budget option for an all-in-one music box, or even a DAC/amp?

    I'm completely new to RPi and Linux, but I've recently managed to turn some old portable hard drives into network storage. It's gotten me curious how the sound quality and convenience stack up against pre-built DAC/amps for casual listening, like maybe the Zen Dac.
     
  5. Baten

    Baten Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,130
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    I'm confused, Pi2AES has no DAC nor amp that I know of, it's a Pi box in digital domain which you can use to feed other devices data in a very clean way. It still needs that pre-built DAC/amp.
     
  6. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    364
    Trophy Points:
    63
    WELP I’m an idiot, and that solves the dilemma for me. Thank you.
     
  7. crenca

    crenca Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,825
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Southern New Mexico
    I have had the PI2AES & Raspberry for a week or two, but finally found the time to put it together last night. Quickly tried Volumio & MoOde, but when I realized both were not Roon endpoints out of the box, and not wanting to spend more than 30 seconds figuring out plugins, UI's, etc. (or the gods forbid, actually reading through this thread :confused::D), I moved on to RoPieeeXL, which is so easy and appliance like even if you can't spell 'linux' you can make it work with Roon in short order.

    Running it coax out to GungMB A2> Asgard 3 > Utopia. First impressions when Compared to Eitr, USB direct to GungMB (Gen 5 - same as Eitr), or USB to MOTU 8D then AES (coax) out, it is rather dry, clear, and detailed. Maybe "accurate" is the word. Do all these other (in the end USB) solutions have a "wetness" and a bit of "greyness" to them? WTF, I have objectivist leanings and don't believe in the "sound of digital" :rolleyes:
     
  8. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Forgot about this thread. Bought one to see if I move away from Lynx.

    Decided the clear was ugly when I unpacked it and used some matte charcoal paint. Debating whether I paint the outside or not but I like. 20201003_090319.jpg

    Edit: props to @Hands for encouraging me to not be a lazy bum.
     
  9. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Thank you @purr1n, this is an awesome guide. I've been trying to figure out a good way to get AES to my DAC without getting a Lynx AES16e or Berkeley Alpha USB, and I wasn't sure how good the Unison implementation was. It seems like Volumio may not be the best option if I'm looking for free software. I use Foobar and AIMP and just need file access to the NAS as I use folder hierarchy for browsing and playlists.

    I want to move my media storage to NAS and connect it to a wifi router rather than locally storing files across multiple computers. Is there a good solution that anyone would recommend?

    I was looking at the Synology DS420+ or DS920+ and thinking of populating it with 4TB 3.5" WD Red drives. Is that a good solution or would a different NAS or the WD Caviar Black drives work better? QNAP TS-451+?
     
  10. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,758
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Jackson, Mi
    I have allot of experience with Synology, and they are more than capable of serving audio. As for drives, I would go with seagate NAS drives. WD Red has been having weird issues lately.
     
  11. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    If I only plan on streaming FLAC and videos from the NAS, should I get a 512mb, 2gb or 4gb model? I don't plan on running torrents but it might be fun to setup a Plex server. I already went through the trouble of running Cat6A through all of my walls.

    I'll look into the IronWolf and HGST Ultrastar. Based on the latest Backblaze failure rate report it seems like enterprise HGST is the most reliable.
    https://www.backblaze.com/blog/backblaze-hard-drive-stats-q2-2020/
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2020
  12. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,758
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Jackson, Mi
    I would go for the 4gb model just for future proofing, especially if you plan on running Plex for movies. There's also a bunch of cool things you can do with their software that you might find useful.

    The problem with WD Red was more the type of hard drive (shingled magnetic) and less the failure rate. Some NAS setups (like Synology) would run at a crawl when writing. WD wasn't labeling those drives as shingled magnetic and people were getting hosed.

    Edit: HGST definitely look very reliable.
     
  13. Metro

    Metro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,590
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    San Francisco
    For what you've described (accessing files on a NAS), all of the Pi systems are free including Volumio.

    Adding Tidal/Qobuz native integration to Volumio is $33/year, not free but on the scale of audio expenditures in a year it is practically nothing.
     
  14. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    20201005_130658.jpg
    Definitely better painted. Will be running it through its paces this week. It's taking a while to populate Moode with my music library but I can start testing in earnest tonight.
     
  15. k1arg

    k1arg Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    153
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    London, UK
    Looks good! Did you end up painting the inside or the outside? Have to decide as mine is on the way.
     
  16. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,446
    Trophy Points:
    93
    @Michael Kelly Any chance you could create 3d printable files (.stl) for the 502dac & pi2aes? Edit: maybe even a rough dump from your cad as a starting point to then tweak/fix--
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
  17. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2018
    Likes Received:
    3,522
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Tacoma, WA
    Another option to deal with the LEDs is to cover them with liquid painters tape. I have some on the way, will post some before and after photos for folks to check out. Lights are blinding even trying to hide them on my rig, so had to come up with some sort of solution.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2020
  18. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I did a SUPER fine sand on the panels and sprayed the inside with a matte paint (single coat of rust-oleum chalked charcoal). I painted before removing the brown paper backing from the outside of the panels (just removed the inside).
     
  19. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Unfortunately the way it was designed each side was created and then put together as a step model. but I never created an overall step model of the entire case. The tools I have access to are somewhat limited, and I honestly just did not want to spend the time to create something I didn't need.

    I have posted the original files for each side so if someone else wants to put it together and create an STL (I assume as two separate pieces) that would be great. And I would put it on our web site

    BTW, we will be offering the case in black. I just cut one and took some pictures and once they're uploaded they'll be up on the website and will be an option in the store.
     
  20. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,112
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Home Page:
    Should be up on the store by tomorrow morning. We are going to unify the price at $25 for either the clear or the black. One thing I'm wondering is offering just the panels without the hardware for folks who already have the clear. I am not sure if it is worth having it that way though, since long term it won't be useful.
     

Share This Page