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

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

  1. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    The cable, sure. But then the connector can impart impedance as well.

    You can go BNC to coax, but it is only a slight improvement. YMMV on if you hear any actual improvement.
     
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  2. lithium

    lithium Almost "Made"

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    I have actually tried this before with a BJC BNC adapter on the Pi2AES side and I don't hear a difference on my set up. I continue to use this BNS adapter as it feels a lot more secure.
     
  3. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    https://a.co/d/iRFUByF

    I use this BNC/coax cable from pi2aes to bifrost 2.
     
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  4. Victor HK

    Victor HK New

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    Hi all,
    I am new to this thread. I will receive my PI2AES 2.0 soon. My question: if I want to connect it to my Gustard A26 via I2S, do I need to change something in PI2AES?
     
  5. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    The board has a jumper labeled swap. It is in by default which sets the I2S in PS Audio mode. Removing it puts it in Gustard mode.
     
  6. Victor HK

    Victor HK New

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    Michael, thanks a lot. I will try ASAP.
     
  7. Victor HK

    Victor HK New

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    Today received my PI2AES 2.0 assembled in 20 min, powered through PI USB C only, using linear PSU. Connected my Gustard A26 using I2S, everything works absolutely perfect!
     
  8. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    How does the sound compare to your previous setup? Which was what?
     
  9. Victor HK

    Victor HK New

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    Before it was iFi Streamer connected via USB (with iFi USB Purifier) to Topping D90SE DAC which was connected to Arcam A29 amp and Magnepan LRS speakers. Difference is obvious (to me), I can hear more details, soundstage wider, etc. Fully satisfied. PI2AES is a high quality DDC and plug and play with Gustard DACs.
    I use latest RoPieee OS and Roon.
     
  10. androxylo

    androxylo Acquaintance

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    I think the best option to connect to Bifrost 2/64 was some kind of transformer doing AES to Coax SPDIF?
     
  11. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    or just use the coax output from Mercury.
     
  12. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    having trouble w moOde after wifi changed. I can't access it, as it has the old credentials saved to it, and I no longer have that wifi SSID even, long story, but it's totally new.

    I've tried:
    • Re-flashing a new image of moOde to the SD card
    • Flashing Volumio over moOde—it still shows as "moode" in Fing, with an IP address that I can't access
    • A wired connection, wireless entry using the SSID "Moode" and pw "moodeaudio" as it says in the setup instructions
    Nothing works. Have I borked my SD card or is there some way I can overwrite the previous image w a new one of either moOde or Volumio?

    ___________________________________

    2nd question: can I add music directly onto the SD card and have it be read by either moOde or Volumio?
     
  13. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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    sometimes when a sd card fails it will go into Read Only Mode and Prevent writes.
     
  14. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Best thing to do is to connect it directly to your router via ethernet and then set your new wifi credentials. But, if you reflashed the SD card with a new moOde completely, then you will need to set the new SSID and password in the auto configure:

    AUTO-CONFIGURE AT BOOT

    a) Copy the file /boot/moodecfg.ini.default from the Pi to a PC or Mac
    b) Rename it to moodecfg.ini
    c) Edit the settings as needed
    d) Insert an SD Card into a reader attached to the PC or Mac
    e) Copy the moodecfg.ini file from the PC or Mac to /boot on the SD Card
    f) Eject the SD Card
    f) Insert the SD Card into the Pi and power up
    g) The Pi will reboot twice to perform the auto-configuration process
    https://github.com/moode-player/moode/blob/develop/www/setup.txt

    Oh, and the answer to your second question, is Yes. There is already a test audio file on the SD card from moOde that will test left and right channels and correct absolute polarity. Trust me I have thought about just getting a massive 512GB microSD card and installing a Pi with moOde into my car. The only issue is that it is next to impossible to connect to the interface via mobile when a router is not involved. Sometimes an item off the shelf (portable audio player) is the best option.
     
  15. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    Thank you!! Will try this when I get home from work. As of last night, I was able to get Volumio working, but I hate that OS and want moOde lmao.
     
  16. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    So how does one partition an sd card to a) boot moOde from it and b) have music on the rest of the card that's visible to moOde? And does it have to be in a specific format, eg FAT32, exFAT?
     
  17. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    The distro takes care of all the formatting. The writers (Etcher, etc.) like to see one big partition with enough space for the .iso being used. It will handle dividing up everything else for you. There are like one or two Fat32 partitions with moOde. One of them has the setup files that are read before booting.

    SD memory like to be permanent, so clearing the partitions usually die the trick for me. Unfortunately I have to use my Rocky Linux server, which is not always super easy. If you have a Mac, that can work well too for clearing the partitions and reformatting.
     
  18. Elleny

    Elleny New

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    Hello Everyone,
    I ordered Allo shanti 5v power supply for PI2 AES Pro (V1) board, to modify existing 12v power input. My streamer is running seperate power for PI 2 AES board (Stock 12v PSU) and RPI4 (5V power supply with UPS Board) which aready gaved me very good results, but i want to upgrade PI2 to 5V linear power supply.

    I read 5V mod thread by goldensound, but still can't decide if i can use Allo Shanti PSU for Pi2AES board and cheap PSU for Raspberry 4, via jumper modification.

    I understand manufacturer warranty risks via power modification, but don't want to blow away my PI2AES or RPI4 with incorrect jumper/PSU configuration.

    I would be very grateful if you could help me in this situation.

    Sincerely,
     
  19. powerslave

    powerslave New

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    New here so please correct me if I am wrong but the 5v mod with jumper is meant for 1 power supply to power both. If you remove the jumper, then you would need a separate supply for the RPi. As far as the Allo, as long as you get the correct DC barrel connector that fits the allo connector then it should work though the Allo specs says it delivers 5.2v. Maybe someone can chime in but I don't know if the slight over voltage would be an issue here or not.
     
  20. Elleny

    Elleny New

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    Correct, My target is to use dedicated PSU for RPI & PI2AES (Allo Shanti 5.2v)
    Idea behind this is to build DIY all-in-one Home Server/NAS/Streamer (Raspbian OS, OMV, Docker, Kodi, Spotify, etc)

    Sorry for bad pictures, but i can share more details if someone will be interested

    https://ibb.co/tJ7ffdw
    https://ibb.co/hm3z9rh
    https://ibb.co/zXXQXNk
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2023

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