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

The mconnect app acts as the front end to your streaming service. You can download the lite version to try it out without changing anything on your pi, and if you like what you see just toggle on the upnp renderer option on your distro and choose your pi in the mconnect “play to” tab to route audio there. The interface isn’t as good as the tidal app but it’s better than the other clients I’ve tried.

 

I have switched from the MyVolumio to MoOde/Mconnect. The interface of the Mconnect is a little better particularly if you have an iPad and choose the Mconnect HD version. At least, on my configuration, the MoOde has better sound quality. The new MoOde 7.0.1 is very good.....

QJA

Marcos

 

Thanks! How about the UI with Tidal? Still better than Volumio?

volumio has gotten worse. Often loosing connection or something and stops playing snd goes back to home screen and I have to navigate back to the album and try to figure out where I was. It also randomly skips to the next track in the middle of a song pretty often. And about 1/3 or 1/2 the time I click the back arrow after an album finishes it looses where I was in the list and I have to start scrolling again. Very annoying.

it also seems to get confused if my laptop sound output is set to Volumio. It frequently stops playing and just says “Netflix” on the screen. Weird.

 

I am a Tidal user also. I still prefer the Mconnect UI (MoOde/Mconnect combination) over MyVolumio related to Tidal UI.

I suggest you to try the MoOde/Mconnect combination to verify if it complies with your needs. It will not take so long to perform the installation/adjustmensts.

QJA

Marcos

 

@YMO I've done some experimentation comparing AirPlay to UPnP!

Using Pi2AES / moOde 6.4.1 / Yggdrasil A2 / MHA150 / HE6se with the same redbook source files I switched between:

• AirPlay streaming local files directly from the most recent version of Apple Music
• moOde audio player playing files from a NAS

I'm unable to tell them apart. Has anyone else heard a difference?

 

It basically means your system thinks Netflix wants to use the audio, and connected it to AirPlay. Is Netflix open anywhere on your laptop when it happens (even if it isn't playing)?

 

Some of these issues are possibly related to the Tidal API being unreliable. It could be that Volumio's Tidal implementation sucks too. I'm mentioning this to watch out in case you have similar issues using mConnect or another option. I have had some weird track skipping periodically with Audirvana and Qobuz but not nearly as frequently as you're describing.

 

Good to know. Thanks dude!

 

Nope, Netflix isn’t even open I don’t understand how it even knows I was watching Netflix it’s kind of creepy. I close the Netflix window but leave the sound settings set to volumio airplay hoping I can just set it once like a fully resolved system would work. But it later always resets back to the internal speakers.

 

I’ve found airplay to be a little quirky but never had the “playing Netflix” issue. Resetting to speakers has happened to me a bunch.

 

Anyone had luck getting a divorced power USB cable to work with the PiAES? I moved some stuff around and now I have the PiAES feeding my Bifrost instead of a MacMini (where the cable worked fine). I’m up and running using optical but I wanted to compare the two.

 

I’ve been having a lot of noise issues with my system. I thought I narrowed it down to my Drop 789 amp snd had a Sigma 11 linear power supply made for it (yes it sounds awesome). That fixed one of the noises. But I’m still getting a static sound only in the right channel that comes in little blips sometimes in a rhythm and only during certain parts of he day or it’s intermittent. I discovered it must be the Pi2AES because when I change the volume of the iPod or iPhone (I tried 2 devices to make sure) I get one of the blips of static. And also when I hit the play button for an album/track.

anyone else experienced this? Is something wrong with the raspberry or Pi2AES? I’m having a NoiseNuke(TM) made for it but if it’s a problem with the Pi2AES the NoiseNuke won’t fix it.

happens the exact same with Volumio and MoOde.

 

I have two Pi2AES-based streamers in two different locations, both with the Mean Well 24V SMPS. Both with Ropieee as I use Roon almost exclusively. One of them was in my work office with moOde pre-covid. I never had noise from them, with a variety of DACs and headamps. I have Furman surge-and-noise suppressors in both locations, but I didn't have one in the work office.

 

@rhythmdevils how are you connecting those idevices to the Pi? USB cable?

 

I have a Furman power conditioner too. I’ve been going nuts trying to get rid of the noise. I even bought Pangea shielded power cables for the 789 and my DAC.

 

Volumio app to Volumio or Mconnect to MoOde both via WiFi. No usb!!! That’s the whole point right?

 

So this is a kind-of-silly question, but do you have your phone close to the Pi2AES when the noise is happening? Mobile phones are notorious for interference with other digital gear...

 

Yeah it’s right next to it. About 4 feet. But why would changing volume cause cell interference? Also it happens with an iPod touch and iPhone both of which have no SIM card or cell reception.

I do have a cell phone near by but I’m not touching it when I change the volume on the iPod which causes one of the static blips.

 

Are the music files on the phone/ipod? or how are they attached to the pi? It also sounds like you might be using software to control the volume, if true, that's more than likely the issue. To rule it out, can you set the pi to be fixed volume out and use the amp to control the volume?

 

Try connecting with a cable instead of wifi and see what happens. If the problem stops, then it could be interference as earnmyturns suggested.