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

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

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Make it easier on yourself in terms of consistent packaging. The more options you offer, the higher chance of mistake and hidden costs for you.
     
  2. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Yeah, you're probably right. :)
     
  3. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    To piggy back on @purr1n, I would keep the fewest SKUs you can get away with. Hell, I would consider retiring one or the other of the options after you see performance for a few weeks. Just keep it simple and the rest will fall in line. You don't want to have to forecast a SKU split for this kind of thing forever. Fewer options = easier.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The cost of a few screws won't make me not want to order the sexy black cases.
     
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Photos are not up yet, but black is now orderable.
     
  6. exocer

    exocer Acquaintance

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    Not sure if this is the proper thread but I have some plans to test out this Distribution today. It was mentioned by a member over at another forum as sounding particularly good. I plan to do some testing later this evening.

    It is a modified piCorePlayer Distribution with some magical OS/Kernel tweaks:

    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sam0402/pcp-44.1KHz/master/pcp610-44_48KHz-xeno.z01

    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sam0402/pcp-44.1KHz/master/pcp610-44_48KHz-xeno.z02

    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sam0402/pcp-44.1KHz/master/pcp610-44_48KHz-xeno.z03

    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sam0402/pcp-44.1KHz/master/pcp610-44_48KHz-xeno.zip

    Configs below:
    https://github.com/sam0402/pcp-44.1KHz/tree/master/setting

    Edit: This only works with RPi4
     
  7. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    If I had just waited a couple weeks to order my Pi2AES I could have got the black case and I would not have had to take on the project of dealing with the LED, but since I imagine a lot of other people are in the same boat, I figured I would post my solution.

    [​IMG]

    This was a problem for me. Even if I hide it toward the back of my gear rack some light was visible. Additionally, my mother comes and stays at my house one night a week to come help watch my son, and she sleeps in the office where my audio equipment is. Pitch black basement office plus blinding LEDs is not a good combo, so I had to do something about it. I use Roopie XL which at least lets you turn off the Rasberry Pi LEDS, but I was left with the ones on the Pi2AES.

    [​IMG]

    In comes liquid electrical tape. This stuff is amazing, this is my first time using it for blocking LEDs, but I am sure it won't be my last. There is an applicator brush built into the cap, but it is huge. I did not have any fine brushes around, so I went ahead and just dipped the tip of a bamboo skewer into the liquid electrical tape and then applied it to the LEDs that way.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I figured I would do the lights on the ethernet port as well while I was at it. These just took one coat. First coat went on nice and clean using the toothpick/skewer method.

    [​IMG]

    I went ahead and let that first coat dry and then did a 2nd coat on the LEDs. You will see that I clearly felt a little overly confident at this point and made a bit of a mess of the application. Shouldn't matter though, I have seen people coat whole boards with this stuff. Let's see how it looks.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Darnit didn't quite fully wrap around the edge of the Green LED, time for a third coat on that one. (Ignore the little brush bristles that got in there, be aware those come easily off the brush in the can). That surely took care of it right?

    [​IMG]

    Ok, the green LED is super pesky. So bright it was shining down into the board. It honestly was good enough at this point, but I came this far, I wanted it completely blacked out. Noted for other people, you could probably do this in one or two coats if you really get the Liquid electrical tape wrapped below the LED and a bit onto the board itself.

    [​IMG]

    Success! A Pi2AES that runs completely dark. Liquid electrical tape was $6 on Amazon, and now I have it around to tackle future bright LEDs. Would I just buy the black case in the future? Absolutely, but this was an easy solution since I already had the clear case.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2020
  8. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I swear we really don't deserve you guys! I feel like we make you work way too hard.

    So I am going to offer an SBAF special. order the black case with the code word SBAF-BLACK and the case is free, just pay shipping.

    I do this because I believe you guys have been a huge reason for our success and also I'm really, really sick and tired of hearing about " blinding " LEDs! :p

    BTW, give me until tomorrow to get the code active. And I'll probably just keep it for a few weeks, so pass the word. If you already went ahead and ordered a black case let me know and I will rebate you for that. Again, just for the next few weeks.
     
  9. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    You didn't hear it from me. I just suffered in silence :)
     
  10. NationOfLaws

    NationOfLaws Friend

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    That’s incredible. Thank you!
     
  11. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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    +1
     
  12. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

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    Is it possible for the PI2AES to be an interface for computer to DAC (USB to AES) or does it only function as a streaming device? I was reading the product page and am assuming it's the latter.
     
  13. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    The Pi2AES is not a streamer or player...it is merely a better way to get a digital output of a Raspberry Pi that does not involve USB.

    So really, it depends on how your Raspberry Pi is setup - it is a mii computer in itself. No need for additional computers (well, maybe a smartphone to control) for local storage playing, streaming from most any site, and if you want can use your normal computer and stream from it out of say foobar2000 or DLNA or Aiplay. Different Pi distributions can help with this (moOde, Volumio, Picoreplayer, and a few others I am missing).

    So no, you do not hook up a USB from your PC or Mac to a Pi.
     
  14. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

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    Gotcha, thanks for the clarification @rtaylor76. It sounds like the Pi2AES is just a digital output for the RPI4 to function as a headless computer. I ultimately should join the modern world with streaming or maybe I can just use a USB drive for the time being (and can finally use an AES connection to DAC). It's really tempting to join everyone with the chassis promotion, especially since I was waiting for the black chassis. I'm notebook-only right now and am not a fan of Windows USB to DAC.

    Is it possible for me to put the Pi2AES and my notebook on the same wifi network, then have my notebook stream foobar2000 directly to the Pi2AES? That would solve everything for me if latency isn't an issue, and it would be nice to finally decouple the computer from the rig.
     
  15. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Yes, if you install moOde audio on the Pi, you can stream to it via foobar2k. I use mostly digital files so I copied all of my music to a 2tb external HDD and plugged it right into the Pi. I also use an app called BubbleUPnP on my phone to control music playback on the Pi, but moOde's built-in web interface works fine, especially on bigger screens.
     
  16. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    To be 100% clear (pun intended) the black case still has the three openings where the LEDs will be visible. But, it does dramatically cut down on the glare. See this crappy photo:
     

    Attached Files:

  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Another shot of my painted case with all lights on: IMG_20201013_163616.jpg

    Edit: yes it does just fine sitting on an Aegir.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2020
  18. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Apologies for cross posting this on the PI2AES thread as well. Not sure where the PS Audio folks are hanging out.

    Update on PS-Audio adapter for the PI2AES. This took a bit to sort out. Even though I had the boards in hand beginning of last week, I realized had no way to test! I ordered and have a Sabaj D5 since it support both the Gustard and PS-Audio pinouts. It came in yesterday.

    Good news, it works! Bad news I have to re-spin to fix an issue. This could be worked around by making a change to the PI2AES itself (which I did to my in-house unit), but that's a non-starter. So, another 4 weeks to spin and build them again. :(
     
  19. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Looks like two different colored eyes looking at you from inside the case.
     
  20. Aklegal

    Aklegal Friend

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    I guess I am the only person who likes the bright lights huh.
     

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