raspberry pi 2 as media player

[gcr]

Got the Pi, and set things up. Kind of painfully slow, but expectedly because it has to go through 1 TB of content and index it.

Running on Moode Audio Player right now, but will run through the other OSes (OSMC, Rune Audio, and OpenELEC) before deciding on what works best.

I will keep this thread updated.

congrats. mine running kodi (openelec). Haven't tried other.
Is your 1TB connected directly to rpi or via powered hub?

 

[regeHA]

congrats. mine running kodi (openelec). Haven't tried other.
Is your 1TB connected directly to rpi or via powered hub?

I'm actually using a 1 TB external 3.5" drive with a power adapter so anyways it needs external power to connect/run. I plan to use it during testing.

Later on I"ll either move to a 2 TB USB powered 2.5" HDD (and try to optimize the OS/Pi to power it), or better still I'll use something like a 3 TB WD My Book External HDD with a power adapter, since long term I plan to use the Pi as a NAS/media streamer/server for music.

I already have the HDDs so its easier to test and see what works best. I plan to check out OpenELEC Mediacenter this coming week.

 

[regeHA]

Here are my impressions with the Raspberry Pi with 2 days into it as a wireless media streamer. For starters however, it's not exactly cheap or a budget solution. Look to be adding more add-ons to completely customize it to your personal needs.

Here are some things you need to consider purchasing along with the Raspberry Pi to make it a more workable solution for your needs.

1. Raspberry Pi.
2. Raspberry Pi case.
3. Power adapter.
4. Class 10 Micro SD Card (16 GB).
5. Wi-Fi adapter and/or LAN cable.
6. HDMI cable.
7. Powered USB hub.
8. Keyboard and mouse (wireless) and/or remote control.
9. Powered external HDD (if not having).
10. USB to microSD card adapter.
11. Smartphone and paid apps (not so obvious).

I was ready to go all in, but was cautioned by a friend to only order the Raspberry Pi and a microSD card to check out if it was for me before ordering the accessories. I'd advise everyone to take this route, and use the Pi as a barebones unit for a week before deciding to invest in anything further. It may not be for you if you are used to having a fast and responsive PC or laptop, and also every single distro I have used till now has required some tinkering and configuration with the use of tools like PuTTY. Strictly not for folks who are not comfortable users of the command line in Linux, and also not for folks who don't want to read up on various forums and even ask questions to find answers.

However, don't let this put you off from a good Pi, it works with 99% of the features out of the box, but if you want that 1% of functionality then you must be willing to read and access/change some settings.

Setup and use: It's actually very easy to use, even being headless. You can be up and running in as little as 10 to 15 minutes, and that is from installing the image on the microSD card to having the Raspberry Pi running and configured and even indexing your entire library of contents (though this might take a while for the first run). It's a bit slow getting off the blocks, especially if you have a lot of content that needs to be indexed.

All things considered, it's a winner for what it costs, $35. Took some tinkering, but it pretty much left my Sonos in the dust as a wireless streamer with the combination of Chromecast Audio.

 

[regeHA]

Listening Impressions: I wanted to delay this by another 3 to 4 days just to gather more listening impressions. I spent a full 4-5 days switching back and forth between an all-powerful i7 running Windows 10 and the Raspberry Pi running the Moode Audio Player.

Thanks to sam9s for pointing me in the right direction with regard to Moode Audio Player. It rocks.

At the outset let me clarify that my Raspberry Pi setup is limited while I'm deliberating between the likes of DAC+ and Digi+ or adding something like SMSL SD793II. For now it is limited to wireless streaming to the Chromecast Audio or the default analog output of the Raspberry Pi, which I have not listened to yet.

So all things considered the Raspberry Pi is only used as a media streamer/media server and/or transport.

The verdict, in a nutshell it kills my $2000 powerhouse of a PC.

If I am not being so over-the-top, the credit can go to Chromecast Audio, Raspberry Pi, or Moode Audio Player. Unless of course I'm missing something that's really adding to the magic.

The improvement itself not been as dramatic as shooting stars in a clear night sky, if anything it is very subtle. The audio has smoothed out, the top end just rolls out easy peasy, there is lots more detail in the lower spectrum, and most important of all my speakers have completely disappeared. It's pretty much impossible to place the location of the speakers (even though I'm aware of the exact physical location), and the music seems to come from everywhere or nowhere, but it's there.

I have done a lot of going back and forth, and even used other equipment like an old pair of JBL Pro monitors and an Onkyo AVR. In every single instance, the difference has been subtle, but definitely noticeable. After playing for multiple hours each day for the last 4/5 days, I plugged in my PC and after the 3rd track on the album, I realized that I just couldn't listen to the music on my PC anymore. Had to go back to the combo of the Raspberry Pi, Moode Audio Player, and Chromecast Audio.

I would go more in the direction of Moode Audio Player and the Raspberry Pi because I have checked with the Chromecast Audio on the main PC, and while it has been good, it lacked the subtle changes that the Raspberry Pi brought to the equation.

I would highly recommend everyone to check out the Pi, it's delicious.

 

[AKT]

Guys, a quick question for all Pi owners. Does it run a 1080p movie with at least 6 channel compressed audio without a hitch?

 

[rikhav]

Listening Impressions: I wanted to delay this by another 3 to 4 days just to gather more listening impressions. I spent a full 4-5 days switching back and forth between an all-powerful i7 running Windows 10 and the Raspberry Pi running the Moode Audio Player.

Thanks to sam9s for pointing me in the right direction with regard to Moode Audio Player. It rocks.

At the outset let me clarify that my Raspberry Pi setup is limited while I'm deliberating between the likes of DAC+ and Digi+ or adding something like SMSL SD793II. For now it is limited to wireless streaming to the Chromecast Audio or the default analog output of the Raspberry Pi, which I have not listened to yet.

So all things considered the Raspberry Pi is only used as a media streamer/media server and/or transport.

The verdict, in a nutshell it kills my $2000 powerhouse of a PC.

If I am not being so over-the-top, the credit can go to Chromecast Audio, Raspberry Pi, or Moode Audio Player. Unless of course I'm missing something that's really adding to the magic.

The improvement itself not been as dramatic as shooting stars in a clear night sky, if anything it is very subtle. The audio has smoothed out, the top end just rolls out easy peasy, there is lots more detail in the lower spectrum, and most important of all my speakers have completely disappeared. It's pretty much impossible to place the location of the speakers (even though I'm aware of the exact physical location), and the music seems to come from everywhere or nowhere, but it's there.

I have done a lot of going back and forth, and even used other equipment like an old pair of JBL Pro monitors and an Onkyo AVR. In every single instance, the difference has been subtle, but definitely noticeable. After playing for multiple hours each day for the last 4/5 days, I plugged in my PC and after the 3rd track on the album, I realized that I just couldn't listen to the music on my PC anymore. Had to go back to the combo of the Raspberry Pi, Moode Audio Player, and Chromecast Audio.

I would go more in the direction of Moode Audio Player and the Raspberry Pi because I have checked with the Chromecast Audio on the main PC, and while it has been good, it lacked the subtle changes that the Raspberry Pi brought to the equation.

I would highly recommend everyone to check out the Pi, it's delicious.

Hi reghaa
Glad to know RPI is working well for you
I never had any doubts that it is a GIANT KILLER in true sense from the first time i used it installing Rune Audio and then finally settling for Moode Audio

Sorry for being OT, but just for the sake of it I also tried Daphile which works with X86 based pcs and laptops. It can work through a thumb drive and in total is just 200 mb in size

Surprisingly its much more easy to configure and seems to be very promising. best part is any old Core2duo based PC or laptop with 2 or 4gb RAM is more then enough to make it run and playback DSD files

Hats off to the developers who make distros like Rune, moode audio and DAPHILE and provide it for free

 

[manniraj]

Hi reghaa
Glad to know RPI is working well for you
I never had any doubts that it is a GIANT KILLER in true sense from the first time i used it installing Rune Audio and then finally settling for Moode Audio

Sorry for being OT, but just for the sake of it I also tried Daphile which works with X86 based pcs and laptops. It can work through a thumb drive and in total is just 200 mb in size

Surprisingly its much more easy to configure and seems to be very promising. best part is any old Core2duo based PC or laptop with 2 or 4gb RAM is more then enough to make it run and playback DSD files

Hats off to the developers who make distros like Rune, moode audio and DAPHILE and provide it for free

Yes I have tried Daphile earlier and its very good with minimal interface via the browser but with perfect functionality to configure. I think the advantage of this could be that you can dual boot it along with Windows, so added advantage as this runs via any small USB pendrive and you can load the Windows on the internal HDD.

 

[regeHA]

Hi reghaa
Glad to know RPI is working well for you
I never had any doubts that it is a GIANT KILLER in true sense from the first time i used it installing Rune Audio and then finally settling for Moode Audio

That it is, especially the price to performance ratio is simply astounding. However, it is a bit technical and one eventually will need to start using command line tools like PuTTY.

Sorry for being OT, but just for the sake of it I also tried Daphile which works with X86 based pcs and laptops. It can work through a thumb drive and in total is just 200 mb in size

Surprisingly its much more easy to configure and seems to be very promising. best part is any old Core2duo based PC or laptop with 2 or 4gb RAM is more then enough to make it run and playback DSD files

Hats off to the developers who make distros like Rune, moode audio and DAPHILE and provide it for free

I have an old Core 2 Duo lying around, I'll definitely give Daphile a try, though there doesn't seem to be a Raspberry Pi distro. I have been meaning to give it a try along with the AudioPhile Linux distro for a while now, just haven't gotten around to it.

Personally, I love and use MinimServer on my PC. I have tried many other media server software, but MinimServer is simply the best there is. Give it a try, works on the PC, Raspberry Pi (I will be trying it over this weekend), and it can be installed on an external NAS too.

 

[rikhav]

Hi regeha
Minimserver if I understand correctly does not support playback

I would iike to have a media server cum playback distro

 

[regeHA]

Hi regeha
Minimserver if I understand correctly does not support playback

I would iike to have a media server cum playback distro

Yes, it is strictly server limited. It runs on Raspbian so you can use a media player there (new to Raspberry Pi and Linux, but I'm thinking it can be done the same as in Windows), or you can simply run it on an external NAS or PC and use the Pi in streaming/player mode.

My requirement has been primarily streaming to 3 different rooms, from a single source NAS, and for that it has worked really well in conjunction with BubbleUPnP app.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

As promised earlier, I took some time to compare my Raspberry Pi 2 and Intel HTPC as s music transport.

Before going into further details, I would like to inform that both my transports are connected to my AVR via HDMI 1.4. AVR is running in Pure direct mode (i.e. only left and right channels are playing while other non mandatory circuits are turned off).

My current configurations in comparison:

1. Rasp-pi 2 with Rune > HDMI (Belkin) > AVR (Yamaha A810 - HDMI In 1)
2. Intel HTPC (Intel G2020+Intel DZ75ML-45K+NVidia GT610) with Foobar > HDMI (Belkin) > AVR (Yamaha A810 - HDMI In 2)

Speakers - Monitor Audio BX2 with Cambridge Audio Symphony 400 speaker cable

The agenda:

To figure out which system I should be using for future as a transport in my chain.
My DAC is on its way. The USB implementation of my DAC is not the best in the world, so I needed an effective and nice USB (or I2S) to S/PDIF (Coaxial) converter at a stringent budget of $150.

The background:

In case of PC, I had shortlisted few USB to Coaxial converters like-
1. Musiland Monitor 01 USD
2. Gustard U12
3. M2Tech Hiface Two
4. Weiliang XMOS U8 Asynchronous USB to Coaxial

In case of Raspberry Pi 2, I had shortlisted the following-
For USB solution the above 4 devices and in addition to this for I2S to S/PDIF (Coax)
1. Hifiberry Digi+ (transformer version).

As Raspberry Pi LAN controller is built on USB 2.0 controller, I am a bit skeptical to use USB to S/PDIF converter while gigabit lan is connected. I am a bit biased towards I2S to S/PDIF.

I had to choose either one to make sure which device should I get first.

The Procedure

My procedure is not the best or scientific to determine or prove anything.
I played few tracks on both the devices using android apps (Foobar Controller and MPDroid) and switched between them using AVR's Remote.
No SPL meter or any scientific equipments were used during this process.
In Rasp Pi and Rune configuration, I was getting distortion at higher volumes (Or when hardware volume was disabled). So, I decreased the hardware volume to 94%.
I matched PC volume by changing foobar volume to 90%. Now both the devices seemed to be giving same SPL.

Songs Compared Side-by-side

1. Sting - Desert Rose:

In PC: Almost same on both the devices
In Raspberry Pi: Almost same on both the devices
Winner: Tie

2. Poets of the fall - War:

In PC: Its good
In Raspberry Pi: Soundstage is bit more wider. A bit more refined in highs and mids
Winner: Raspberry Pi

3. Poets of the fall - Carnival of rust:

In PC: Sounded nice to my ears
In Raspberry Pi: Soundstage is bit more wider. A bit more refined in highs and mids
Winner: Raspberry Pi

4. Eva Cassidy - Erowning in the sea of love:

In PC: It seemed that its a bit held back.
In Raspberry Pi: Soundstage is bit more wider. A bit more refined vocals. Guitar strums sounded more realistic
Winner: Raspberry Pi

5. Eva Cassidy - Time after time:

In PC: It seemed that its a bit held back. Comparatively not so profound
In Raspberry Pi: Soundstage is bit more wider. A bit more refined vocals. Guitar strums sounded more realistic
Winner: Raspberry Pi

6. George Michael - Careless whisper:

In PC: Lows are bit better. Mids and highs are almost same
In Raspberry Pi: Mids and highs are almost same
Winner: PC

7. Julio Iglesias - Can't help falling in love:

In PC: Very close to Rasppi
In Raspberry Pi: Wider soundstage, crisper vocals (though it was very close)
Winner: Raspberry Pi

8. Julio Iglesias - When I need you:

In PC: A bit tiring when listened back to back
In Raspberry Pi: More balanced. Very pleasing for long listening hours. Not tiring
Winner: Raspberry Pi

9. Michael Jackson - Thriller:

In PC: Its nice sounding
In Raspberry Pi: More balanced. Very pleasing for long listening. Starting from door opening, boots... its just thrilling
Winner: Raspberry Pi

Conclusion

It was no-brainer that I finally selected Raspberry Pi as my sole transport in my chain.
I am guessing that Gordon and team from iQaudio might be working on some I2S to S/PDIF converter for Raspberry Pi. If that is going to happen, I can wait for another couple of months more to consider that as well.

 

[regeHA]

@Saikat - If you can borrow a Chromecast Audio and test it out, the results should surprise you even more.

I've tested optical multiple ways, via onboard soundcard, Asus Essence $200 soundcard and via Chromecast Audio (external/wireless for purposes of description).

In all instances I found CCA to be better, maybe it was the isolation from electrical interference. I don't have Digi+ for the Pi to test how onboard optical compares... it would be interesting to test it out.

Edit - You must try out Moode... I found it the best.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

@Saikat - If you can borrow a Chromecast Audio and test it out, the results should surprise you even more.

I've tested optical multiple ways, via onboard soundcard, Asus Essence $200 soundcard and via Chromecast Audio (external/wireless for purposes of description).

In all instances I found CCA to be better, maybe it was the isolation from electrical interference. I don't have Digi+ for the Pi to test how onboard optical compares... it would be interesting to test it out.

Edit - You must try out Moode... I found it the best.

@regeHA... thanks a lot for putting your views. I definite want to give CCA a try.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in my city who is having (or willing to lend me) CCA.

However, I believe in Google. I am sure it won't let me down.

As far as the galvanic isolation is concerned, I think all the converters I've mentioned earlier are having it implemented. Moreover, in my dac, I think the Coax input has a transformer built in (for galvanic isolation). So I am guessing it might help to cancel out some noise as well.

I am having some issues with moode HDMI audio out. Could not get audio so far in my setup. I will definitely try out moode as soon as my dac arrives.

Finally, hearing is believing. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the wonder.

 

[rikhav]

Update time
Thanks to Regeha I tried minimserver and yesterday night configured it to make one of my pc a media server with all music files stored in that PC
Minimserver can be run through windows and also by rpi
I prefered running through windows so others at home can use the PC and minimserver does it job in the background. The app is very small

Second I found that the buffer before play option in moode loads the whole file in the RAM

Lastly I came to know about a hack on the digi+ board by which it can be powered directly by an external linear power supply thereby bypassing the fuse and power supply of raspberry pi

I am not 100 percent sure if this hack can also power the rpi too. I will write to hifiberry and once I get full details will post over here

The following reviewer claims that after the hack the improvements are very massive


https://youtu.be/ps-X4ipA_fY

 

[sam9s]

I would recommend AssetUPnP over Minimserver ....... much better comprehensive DLNA server with solid features that actually work ...

@Saikat give a try to MoOde over Rune and I feel that one song where PC wins will also sound better on rasp Pi ... ......

 

[rikhav]

I would recommend AssetUPnP over Minimserver ....... much better comprehensive DLNA server with solid features that actually work ...

@Saikat give a try to MoOde over Rune and I feel that one song where PC wins will also sound better on rasp Pi ... ......

Hi Sam
Can assentupnp be run on windows or its a distro on Linux like daphie?

I am also with Sam for you to try moode
In kernel latency select orion

 

[regeHA]

I would recommend AssetUPnP over Minimserver ....... much better comprehensive DLNA server with solid features that actually work

Hey Sam,

AssetUPnP seems to only offer UPnP Server in the free version, but I will definitely be giving it a try.

My choice for MinmimServer has more to do with it offering better tags on control devices like BubbleUPnP.

It also has an excellent logging system that shows everything in detail, something missing in moOde and MiniDLNA that was not indexing my entire collection.

MinimWatch and MinimStreamer also extend functionality by a long way. I simply add and remove components from my PC using MinimWatch, that saves me a lot of time from SSH tunneling with PuTTY as I'm running my Raspberry Pi headedness.

BubbleUPnP is an excellent app, however, I never could get BubbleUPnP Server to work. MinimStreamer however worked right out of the gate and has become somewhat of a useful extension when I need to transcode on the fly for higher resolution 24-bit music.

Hi Sam
Can assentupnp be run on windows or its a distro on Linux like daphie?

It has a Windows d/l and also available for the Pi, I'll try the Pi version myself.

Asset UPnP DLNA

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I would recommend AssetUPnP over Minimserver ....... much better comprehensive DLNA server with solid features that actually work ...

@Saikat give a try to MoOde over Rune and I feel that one song where PC wins will also sound better on rasp Pi ... ......

I definitely want to try moode but unfortunately I am not able to get any audio output over HDMI [emoji24] [emoji27]

 

[sam9s]

Hey Sam,

AssetUPnP seems to only offer UPnP Server in the free version, but I will definitely be giving it a try.

My choice for MinmimServer has more to do with it offering better tags on control devices like BubbleUPnP.

It also has an excellent logging system that shows everything in detail, something missing in moOde and MiniDLNA that was not indexing my entire collection.

MinimWatch and MinimStreamer also extend functionality by a long way. I simply add and remove components from my PC using MinimWatch, that saves me a lot of time from SSH tunneling with PuTTY as I'm running my Raspberry Pi headedness.

Twonky vs MinimServer vs Asset UPnP | Naim Audio Forums

Good Read ...

 

[regeHA]

I definitely want to try moode but unfortunately I am not able to get any audio output over HDMI [emoji24] [emoji27]

Enable DLNA in moOde and you can stream to your AVR with any Control Point like BubbleUPnP.