poll: which Pi audio software do you use?

I run both moOde and picoreplayer. I have been running moOde since like version 3 or 4. moOde support was very difficult at first with one thread on a different website. Now the creator, Tim Curtis, has his own forum on his own site and easier to find answers and get support when needed. I tried out Rune, Volumio, and then moOde and always found it fairly easy to control and play my local files. It is also easily configurable for Spotify or upnp for streaming.

Picore player I am still messing around with. Yes, it is using the older Logitech Media Server protocols or whatever, but I am finding the SQ quite good without messing around with any settings or any Pi configs. Setup is not nearly as easy or as straightforward. However, now that I have done it a few times, it is not bad. It just has many options, too many really, that gets confusing, but if you stick to what you know, it is not too terrible. The SQ is almost worth the hassle. You also have to download an LMS controller app, like Squeezer or iPing, so the browser server is only used for the config and not playback. Again, a bit of a hassle, but it is just another option that might be worth it. piCore does load everything into RAM everytime you boot, so response is very good and clean. It is definitely the one of the lightest Pi audio distros.

 

I'm using JRiver's IdPi.

 

For me moOde or bust due to flexibility.

 

I've added it to the list. Is this just for use in a JRiver setup, or does it work well with other software?

 

moode with bubbleupnp b/c the interface was slightly less crappy and @YMO helped me with setup. Not that it's THAT hard, but I had some weird issues in my case and he saved me time figuring out crappy UX.

Will switch to Roon or HQ Player in the future. Both interfaces still aren't ideal but they're a lot better than bubbleupnp.

 

I'm surprised by the poll results. I expected the top 3, but in the opposite order.

At a guess, that's because ropieee operates so transparently that it doesn't get talked about compared to volumio and moode.

 

I'm surprised as well. I was expecting Volumio on top because of people like me getting introduced to Raspberry Pi for the first time through the Pi2AES Dummies Guide tutorial.

 

There are many Roon users here and Ropiee works pretty well with Roon.

 

I use Volumio because of the wide choice of radio stations, some even broadcast in FLAC like Radio Paradise.

 

I'm not as there are more Roon users here than first meets the eye. Roon/RopieeeXL/PI2AES combined with local library and lossless streaming is just one of those things that "just works" and does not need the constant attention and "hacking" of the Linux/DIY/free software world. That said you have to be willing to put the $ for Roon, Qobuz, etc., and not everybody is understandably so.

 

Why you are talking about Apple products? Like what you are saying isn't wrong.

 

Well JRiver on a PC can use any Pi software as an endpoint.

I have not used IdPi with any other software other than JRiver. I don't stream or anything.

 

Just to put in my 2cents. I use Moode with my Pi2AES on my main system. I do also use PiCorePlayer on my lil mobile audio stack though (PiZero + ifi Nano BL with a slim usb battery. I uses this as a DAC to MCTH & also when needed as a mobile DAC / Amp). I control everything with Roon.

I originally used Ropieee, then read that Moode sounds better, to my ears it seems to be less grainy, but might totally be a placebo effect. It any case Moode has worked very very well for me with the Pi2AES and hasnt had any hiccups since i got it, so im gonna stick with it

I did choose PiCorePlayer for the mini stack though since i think its the one of the only ones that supports PiZero. It works well enough but its a bit tricker since it doesnt detect my Roon/LMS server automatically, so i need to put in the ip manually, and have to update it whenever the router is reset. Other than that it works great, so if anyone else wants to set up a small PiZero Audio Stack you might consider this as well.

 

I run Volumio from my android phone, and my use case is limited to playing my own library from a NAS, so any enhancements to streaming support and advanced features don't touch me at all.

What I do notice is the overall responsiveness of the UI from the app, which used to glitch in various ways, losing touch and losing sync depending on changing phone states.

That no longer happens, so clearly much work was done under the hood to make it so.

The upgrade does do a factory reset, so you'll need to save and restore your playlists and wifi config, if any, and re-enable ssh, if you use it. I use it for backing up and copying my playlists, primarily.

 

I run RopieeeXL. First, it’s been absolutely bullet-proof. I have a Pi2AES and three USB only (Flirc) zones -one in my main speaker set-up and three headphone-only, and they give me much less grief than even my Sonos zones. Which is saying something. Plus Harry is one of the most generous, available, amazing single person software developers I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and interact with. Sent him a few donations over the years, and when his “next gen” (RopieeeNG) gets off the ground successfully, I’ll be sending him some more. If you’re Into it, read his NG beta thread over in the Roon forums, he’s a gentleman. But mostly the software just works.

 

@Woland, would you please add GentooPlayer to the list of players?

 

Something is wrong with new RoPieee. I bought two new RPi 4 boards and have two Digi+ Pro HATs. I cannot make it work with Roon in any combination. Both RPi 4s with USB enabled are working fine. It is not network issue, the setups are visible in Roon About.
I have Digi+ Pro, and two Pi2AES, streamers with older RoPieee distribution working just fine.
Is there any good alternative to RoPieee as a Roon Bridge?

 

I installed diet pi and added room bridge 2 days ago. Just works atm.

 

Can you add headless plexamp to the poll?
Thanks

 

Having recently had similar problems myself leads me to wonder if the issue could be hardware rather than software. Is the Digi+ that's working sitting on one of the new Pi4s you just bought, or is it on an older one?

There was a problem with older Digi2 Pro boards not working with newer (rev. 1.5) Pi4 boards. The Digi+ being an older version, perhaps it has the same problem: so it'd work with an older Pi4, but might not with a current one.