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Post by jdubs on Jan 13, 2021 16:24:17 GMT -5
Just ordered a Raspberry Pi 4, 4GB kit. I plan on building a squeezebox emulator using PiCorePlayer. I've been watching the Darko Audio videos on this. If successful, I plan on using them throughout the house; probably 3 total. I've used the iPeng control app before and that's what Darko recommends. Wish me luck.
BTW, Is anyone looking at these boards anymore?
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Post by audiobill on Jan 13, 2021 18:11:57 GMT -5
Good luck, looking forward to your report!
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stiehl11
Emo VIPs 
Give me available light!
Posts: 7,269
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Post by stiehl11 on Jan 13, 2021 21:01:44 GMT -5
Good luck! And yes, we look at the boards. I'm using a Pi4 to run my Plex server for music and movies in my collection. From the Plex server, I can access my movies and music (that I've loaded to its HDD) on my computer, TVs, and phone. While I can't say I can access it from anywhere in the world, I can access it on my phone 300 miles away while on vacation.
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Post by brubacca on Jan 14, 2021 12:44:50 GMT -5
Pi4 is where I decided that it was time to jump in.
4gb ram is way more than you need. I currently have 3 RPi4 in the house.
I use (2) 2GB models with Ropieee as Roon Endpoints. One of those two is also connected to the official raspberry pi touch screen.
My third is the 4GB model and I run the official Ubuntu version on it connected to a 24" monitor for internet terminal stuff. I really like it. I tricked this one out with the Argon.One M2 case and run it off of a SSD. Also use Roon Bridge on this to feed my Headphone Setup at my desk.
I used to be on the Logitech Squeezebox bandwagon years ago having a Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox 3. I also used iPeng.
Best of luck. They are great little devices.
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Post by jdubs on Jan 14, 2021 14:22:28 GMT -5
Regarding 4gb too much... the kit included it and it was cost effective compared to piece meal ordering even with a 2gb board. Future orders will likely be 2gb.
I have avoided Roon. I did a free trial and I liked it, but it didn’t seem worth the money. I use Lightning DS (Auralic) on my hifi system and that’s not likely to change. That’s why I was just going to use iPeng for the rest of the house. What made you go to Roon? Maybe I put everything on Roon. 🧐 Ya got me wondering.
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Post by audiobill on Jan 14, 2021 14:27:30 GMT -5
Roon's value to me is the integration of Tidal, Qobuz and my music as well as its built-in convolution function for room correction.
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Post by brubacca on Jan 14, 2021 14:52:54 GMT -5
Regarding 4gb too much... the kit included it and it was cost effective compared to piece meal ordering even with a 2gb board. Future orders will likely be 2gb. I have avoided Roon. I did a free trial and I liked it, but it didn’t seem worth the money. I use Lightning DS (Auralic) on my hifi system and that’s not likely to change. That’s why I was just going to use iPeng for the rest of the house. What made you go to Roon? Maybe I put everything on Roon. 🧐 Ya got me wondering. First of all as my music library grew I had a massive problem with squeeze server (whatever its called) where I had thousands of artists. It tracked every single artist on every album instead of just album artist. I tried to remedy this and I'm sure it was partly my data. Then after years of trying different hardware solutions for network audio I just got really frustrated using different programs in different places. So playlists didn't carry over and it just became very painful. Sometimes I'd listen in the Den, or office, or living room, or bedroom. I didn't have one contiguous system and i had the artist issue in the squeeze architecture. I had PCs, Squeezeboxes, Naim UnitiQute, Sonore MicroRendu, Oppo Sonica Speaker... etc... I also tried free software on uPnp like Linn Kazoo and Lumin's App. Roon brought everything together. Its easy to use and was able to consolidate all my different hardware into one system. If I created a playlist it worked everywhere, even from different control points. So if I grabbed my phone, or tablet or even controlled from my PC it was one set of lists. Bonus being that the interface is amazing and if you have the time it really helps you explore your library. I only use my own music. I was lucky and jumped on the lifetime when it was only $499. I think it $699 or $799 now. I actively resisted Roon because I didn't want to pay for software. Now I just couldn't be without it. That being said $700 or $800 would be tough to swallow. The yearly subscription just seems like water down the drain to me. Again my opinion. Also it was free to try because my NAS could run the server and I had a spare small SSD to use as the database drive. (it worked, but in my head I was like it will be better if you build a ROCK, so I did). This was also before I was comfortable with the whole raspberry pi thing. I just hated that USB and Network shared the same bus and basically refused to go there. To sum up. Many different hardware solution led to frustration when wanting to listen to music. Roon consolidated everything for me. |
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Post by jdubs on Jan 14, 2021 16:00:02 GMT -5
Thank you both for the feedback. It gives me something to think about.
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Post by garbulky on Jan 14, 2021 16:01:36 GMT -5
I found out they have a Pi with an AES output!
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Post by brubacca on Jan 14, 2021 16:06:19 GMT -5
I found out they have a Pi with an AES output! Pi2AES to be specific. It needs a 24V supply and is supposedly excellent. It then feeds the Pi the 5v. Other really good digital output boards are the Allo Digital ones. They do NOT have AES, but are well regarded and still use 5V. |
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Post by jdubs on Jan 15, 2021 23:20:02 GMT -5
Quick update: Put together, PiCorePlayer installed, connected to Wifi, LMS installed on desktop (where music is stored), and made music through headphone jack.
I feel like the steep part of the learning curve is done. On to the tweaking, getting it connected to the DAC, setting up streaming accounts, and then setting up control.
I've decided not to go with roon for now, but that could change in the future.
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Post by jdubs on Jan 22, 2021 21:53:56 GMT -5
I have ordered 2 additional Pi4, both 2gb. PiCorePlayer installed and configured on both.
I have one set-up for headphone output for use in my garage/outdoor system. The other is set to USB audio for use with a DAC. Tested them both and they all (including my first one connected to my TV system) can be controlled via iPeng and output audio correctly.
I consider this a success and if I need to reconfigure for any other use (Roon, Volumio, etc) I feel confident that I can do it.
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