raspberry pi 2 as media player

[rikhav]

I started using raspberry pi as my audio transport about 8 To 10 months back

In the start I tried rune, volumio and moode with USB out. Of these moode was by far the best.
Still I felt USB sounded lifeless and I decided to try hifiberry digi+ board.
It sounded much better in all aspects then USB.

Raspberry pi being new to me I got tempted to try other variations like using a separate PC as dlna server which would stream music to the pi.
Then came the Logitech media server based daphile, max2play and picore play
They all had its strengths but was mainly useful for someone who wanted to stream music to various devices and thus needed on the fly transcoding
Picore had eq whhch if done properly would work very well. But getting reading from a mic to set the eq was not that an easy thing as I expected

Then I came full circle back to moode audio. They had a major update about 2 weeks ago. Installed that with a external USB HDD connected via USB port.
The sound was just go my liking , precisely what I like
Good weight in mids, textured bass and silky highs , not been extra detailed which would sound artificial

To top it up no hassle of another PC acting as server which to be Frank was more of a trouble for me rather then convinence

Now I am convinced after so much experimenting that moode audio works best for me. Very soon ordering a teradak linear power supply and a good cabinet for raspberry

Would have prefered a 100 watt HD Plex but it's out of my budget as of now

I would like to know which external HDD should I go for
Powered or self powered.
I don't need anything portable nor I have issue with needing a beefy ps to run a passport HDD by raspberry
Thanks

 

[regeHA]

I have used Moode Audio Player, quite a lot in fact, but strictly in DLNA streaming mode. I then switched to MinimServer which is primarily a DLNA server and did not hear a difference. If anything, the implementation of DLNA in Moode Audio Player was flawed because it was not indexing my entire library. Hopefully, things have improved with the latest beta version. However, having used MinimServer, I find it highly unlikely I will ever go back to using anything else unless any other distro offers something really special, especially in terms of SQ.

The advantage with MinimServer is you don't need a 2 PC setup, simply install on the Pi, connect an external HDD with media, a DAC, and it's ready to roll.

Coming to an external HDD, go with a 3.5 inch HDD with an external power adapter. This will keep the Raspberry Pi with adequate power, but more specifically the external HDDs come with additional functionality that gives them some of the features of a NAS. You can share your content outside of the home, install apps, do cloud backups, etc.

Of course you can do all of this with the Raspberry Pi itself, but it will mean installing additional software and multitasking for the Pi. I would recommend something like Seagate Central, WD My Cloud, etc. A NAS will be a better option, but they should set things up nicely till you reach the point of needing a NAS.

 

[rikhav]

Point noted regeha
Thanks

Will buy WD cloud.
Others in house can listen to music stored and plus backup anything they want on the NAS

I can't run moode and minim on one pi, so it's a no go for me. Really love the tonality of the moode
There is a new final version. Beta was there since long

 

[regeHA]

Point noted regeha
Thanks

Will buy WD cloud.
Others in house can listen to music stored and plus backup anything they want on the NAS

I can't run moode and minim on one pi, so it's a no go for me. Really love the tonality of the moode
There is a new final version. Beta was there since long

You can actually. Use Putty to access Pi via CLI and then follow along Installing MinimServer on the Raspberry Pi.

Moode is built on top of Raspbian from what I can understand. The same login details work in Putty to access the CLI. In other words you can install other apps on top of Moode, but you'll need to do it via Putty as Moode is headless.

Think of it as Kodi on a Windows PC. Kodi takes over the interface, but underlying OS is Windows. I'm thinking that's the same thing with Moode. At least it was the case when I used the previous version, not sure if things have changed in 2.5.

The developer is coming up with MoodeOS built from scratch. Probably not going to be a MPD distro.

 

[rikhav]

You can actually. Use Putty to access Pi via CLI and then follow along Installing MinimServer on the Raspberry Pi.

Moode is built on top of Raspbian from what I can understand. The same login details work in Putty to access the CLI. In other words you can install other apps on top of Moode, but you'll need to do it via Putty as Moode is headless.

Think of it as Kodi on a Windows PC. Kodi takes over the interface, but underlying OS is Windows. I'm thinking that's the same thing with Moode. At least it was the case when I used the previous version, not sure if things have changed in 2.5.

The developer is coming up with MoodeOS built from scratch. Probably not going to be a MPD distro.

I will need to try all this when my brother a holiday for few days. I will surely do that

One more person i know uses MPd for playback via RT linux from a desktop PC. PC is powered by hdplex and rest of setup is top notch
He also prefers the mdp sound
So if at all a moode OS comes I will prefer to stick with older versions
Still you never know what he comes up with

By the way not finding any online radio program which can be run with raspbian

 

[saikatbiswas82]

BTW... There's another Linux version for PC based systems... It's called Audiophile Linux or AP-Linux. I haven't tried it yet but it has good reputation.

 

[rikhav]

BTW... There's another Linux version for PC based systems... It's called Audiophile Linux or AP-Linux. I haven't tried it yet but it has good reputation.

Me too have not used it. Tried installing on USB but was not successful

RT linux is based on arch linux

Audio OS built on other audio is.

 

[regeHA]

By the way not finding any online radio program which can be run with raspbian

Yeah, I searched and asked around a lot for that and did not find anything. That's one area the Pi is lacking, something simple that will let you add internet streaming radio stations. There are some that let you make the Pi into a Pirate Radio, but it involves h/w hacks and its for FM, not internet streaming radio.

There is a workaround in MinimServer, save the stream as a playlist and then add it. Will play just fine. Or add to Moode. But nothing for customizable internet streaming on the Pi. You cannot even add services like Tidal easily. There is a workaround for that too... but more work than my "linux dumb brain" is willing to try at this time.

The easier option is to go with Chromecast Audio. Unlimited radio station apps with unlimited streaming across all genres. Everything from music, news, sports, talk shows, podcasts, etc.

Since CCA is tightly integrated in my playback system, its fine for me. Otherwise not as simple with the Pi. Another option is if you are using Raspbian then simply use the browser and play from within it, but most of us are using the Pi headless, so there's that.

 

[regeHA]

BTW... There's another Linux version for PC based systems... It's called Audiophile Linux or AP-Linux. I haven't tried it yet but it has good reputation.

I tried it, didn't float my boat. Daphile killed it for me though. So if I had to use a PC then I'd go with Daphile, otherwise stick to the Pi and either an MPD distro or MinimServer.

 

[sam9s]

Then I came full circle back to moode audio. They had a major update about 2 weeks ago. Installed that with a external USB HDD connected via USB port.
The sound was just go my liking , precisely what I like
Good weight in mids, textured bass and silky highs , not been extra detailed which would sound artificial

To top it up no hassle of another PC acting as server which to be Frank was more of a trouble for me rather then convinence

Now I am convinced after so much experimenting that moode audio works best for me. Very soon ordering a teradak linear power supply and a good cabinet for raspberry

Would have prefered a 100 watt HD Plex but it's out of my budget as of now

I would like to know which external HDD should I go for
Powered or self powered.
I don't need anything portable nor I have issue with needing a beefy ps to run a passport HDD by raspberry
Thanks

me too after loads of projects and experiments for my personal use settled with Moode,(even though I keep experimenting with what ever new I get) but I am not using it as a player but as a UPnP/Airplay renderer. I push music (stored on my Synology OR from online services like Spotify or Gaana) from my mobile or laptop using UPnP to Moode connected to FiiO E10 connected to my bedroom Audio Engine A5+ speakers. This is most convenient setup I have encountered. All music at my disposal ready to be pushed, be it on my NAS or available online.

For my "on the go" needs while I am travelling, Driving I NEED transcoding for my audio and video both. Reason... data bandwidth plus speed of 3G as well and no other audio package does this best than LMS, so I have LMS running on linux as well and on the same machine I also have Subsonic. Subsonic is little less stable than LMS when it comes to transcoding BUT its look and feel and features are much much better, but I endup using both while I am on the move .....

For video nothing even comes remotely close to PLEX and that is what I use ...

Point noted regeha
Thanks

Will buy WD cloud.
Others in house can listen to music stored and plus backup anything they want on the NAS

I can't run moode and minim on one pi, so it's a no go for me. Really love the tonality of the moode
There is a new final version. Beta was there since long

Yes you can run minium on pi running Moode as explained by RegeHA, but I fail to see the point frankly ..

BTW... There's another Linux version for PC based systems... It's called Audiophile Linux or AP-Linux. I haven't tried it yet but it has good reputation.

Yep tried, tested, used and discarded ....lol I mean could not find anything that would make me stay with the same ...

Yeah, I searched and asked around a lot for that and did not find anything. That's one area the Pi is lacking, something simple that will let you add internet streaming radio stations. There are some that let you make the Pi into a Pirate Radio, but it involves h/w hacks and its for FM, not internet streaming radio.
.

I dont understand .... all MPD based players like Moode, Rune and Volumio let you add internet radio streams, not sure what might be so difficult in it ...or may be I am missing something ......

 

[regeHA]

I dont understand .... all MPD based players like Moode, Rune and Volumio let you add internet radio streams, not sure what might be so difficult in it ...or may be I am missing something ......

Only because I wanted without MPD distro. Wireless streaming is my preferred choice of playback. I prefer MinimServer over MPD distros because it is primarily a DLNA/UPnP server, while others like the MPD distros include it as an additional functionality via MiniDLNA. Moode's MiniDLNA would not index my entire library, while MinimServer had no issues with my 35,000 plus library. Read bug fixes and forums and learned that it was a MiniDLNA error, had to clean up cache, recompile, etc. and that was more Linux speak than I could comprehend and fix.

So basically different needs for different folks.

 

[sam9s]

mmmm ok ... tell me where is your 35K song lib stored ..? Plus you did not answer internet radio stream confusion ..?

BTW I agree MoodeDLNA is not what I would recommend as a UPnP server. have you tried AssetUPnP ..... I found it to be better than MinimServe ....

 

[regeHA]

mmmm ok ... tell me where is your 35K song lib stored ..?

External HDD plugged into the Pi via USB. I've a Synology too, and eventually I'll use that, so then its going to be via ethernet.

Plus you did not answer internet radio stream confusion ..?

Since I'm not using Moode or any other MPD distro, I need a way to add radio streams to either Raspbian or a s/w that runs on Raspbian specifically like a radio app that will also have the option to add custom radio streams.

Or Moode needs to have better implementation of DLNA/UPnP. Granted its a good player, but as a DLNA server it lacks. Its not easy to scroll through and does not show all the details that MinimServer shows as well as other options like adding cloud playback and adding services like Tidal. MinimServer + BubbleUPnP Server + BubbleUPnP Control Point let me do all of that. I can stream from cloud services like Google Drive and DropBox, I can add services like Tidal and Qobuz, etc and all in one single Pi. Except of course add radio streams. In that even MinimServer + BubbleUPnP Server + BubbleUPnP Control Point don't have an option.

BTW I agree MoodeDLNA is not what I would recommend as a UPnP server. have you tried AssetUPnP ..... I found it to be better than MinimServe ....

I have that in mind to try. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. I plan to try LMS and piCorePlayer too over a long weekend.

 

[jls001]

BTW... There's another Linux version for PC based systems... It's called Audiophile Linux or AP-Linux. I haven't tried it yet but it has good reputation.

Try wtfplay. I'm listening right now. It's very good :thumbsup: even on my motherboard's headphone out. If you use USB DAC, it will be even better as this distro seems tailored for USB DACs. Very lightweight (about 50 MB), an old 4 GB pen drive is more than enough to run the LiveUSB distro. Caveat: UI is very basic, and remote control not supported at this time.

Read all about it here:wtfplay-project.org

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Try wtfplay. I'm listening right now. It's very good[emoji106]even on my motherboard's headphone out. If you use USB DAC, it will be even better as this distro seems tailored for USB DACs. Very lightweight (about 50 MB), an old 4 GB pen drive is more than enough to run the LiveUSB distro. Caveat: UI is very basic, and remote control not supported at this time.

Read all about it here:wtfplay-project.org

Thanks mate. Will give it a try. However, I am currently quite settled with the raspberry pi with digi+ as transport. I have a dac as well but the USB input is not the strongest in it. Hence i am using the digital spdif input of my dac.

 

[sam9s]

External HDD plugged into the Pi via USB. I've a Synology too, and eventually I'll use that, so then its going to be via ethernet. long weekend.

That should solve it, if you have Synology you should be using it primarily as your UPnP Media server. (specially with such a large song library). I am surprised you haven't done that already. It does the job perfectly. Plus your internet radio problem can also be taken care off by synology Audio station. use it.... you can add as many radio streams as you want in Synology Audio station. Audio Station also supports pushing music to any UPnP/Airplay renderer, and it also supports USB Audio in case thats how you wanna play it. I am also using my Synology media server as my primary UPnP server.

 

[sam9s]

Try wtfplay. I'm listening right now. It's very good :thumbsup: even on my motherboard's headphone out. If you use USB DAC, it will be even better as this distro seems tailored for USB DACs. Very lightweight (about 50 MB), an old 4 GB pen drive is more than enough to run the LiveUSB distro. Caveat: UI is very basic, and remote control not supported at this time.

Read all about it here:wtfplay-project.org

This is not what I tried, thanks you have given me something new to play with this weekend .... will share my experience ....

 

[regeHA]

That should solve it, if you have Synology you should be using it primarily as your UPnP Media server. (specially with such a large song library). I am surprised you haven't done that already. It does the job perfectly. Plus your internet radio problem can also be taken care off by synology Audio station. use it.... you can add as many radio streams as you want in Synology Audio station. Audio Station also supports pushing music to any UPnP/Airplay renderer, and it also supports USB Audio in case thats how you wanna play it. I am also using my Synology media server as my primary UPnP server.

I've only got the NAS box, not the HDDs yet. Need to set aside a weekend to set things up.

I've been wondering about the Pi becoming redundant for a while... and following through your suggestions will do just that.

I thought I could use the Pi for streaming functionality and use the NAS only as a server or use the Pi for transcoding... but I don't transcode my music so that's ruled out too.

Seems I'll need to put the Pi to good use as an LMS renderer, or go with OpenELEC.

 

[sam9s]

Yes do that, synology will solve lot of your problem, its an amazing piece of Hardware.
As far as Pi goes, for AUDIO use it with as an LMS renderer (Picore player) with LMS running on your synology, OR as I am using install Moode and use it as UPnP/Airplay renderer. This gives the benefit to push music from every single piece of device connected to same LAN.
If VIDEO is what you looking for then yes openELEC is way to go ....

 

[rikhav]

I am listening to the raspberry pi powered by a teradak linear PSU and it's sounding shockingly good
Improved dynamics, tons of more detail without being edgy and bass texture has improved the most

A senior FM visited me today and help me setup speakers
And make room more sound friendly
Without that happening I had almost concluded the lpsu has spoilt the sound from what it was before
I will keep the Details of what all.changes were made for a separate thread

This PSU is for $44 and is every penny worth for someone using RPI as a music pc

I have got the PSU for a few days to try it out