nowallet Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Hi SNAers Anyone feeding their Ares 2 with a Rpi 4B via USB? If so, which Pi OS are you using? I'm contemplating purchasing the Ares 2 and want to know if this is easily done to take advantage of DSD. Thanks nw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lushds Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 hi NW, Im using a RPI to feed the Ares 2, but not USB. I tried the USB out from Pi to Ares2 and its not great. I guess the USB out from Pi is noisy. Currently I'm running RPI to Pi2AES (http://www.pi2design.com/) via onboard I2S, then SPDIF out from the Pi2AES to Ares2, the sound quality is significantly better. You can google the Pi2AES its a very designed board, lots of positive reviews and not expensive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezzy Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 (edited) i feed my holo spring directly from a pi 4. i use raspbian to run mopidy. if youre not too finicky with settings and want something easy to setup and run, go for one of those prebuilt audio os like volumio or moode. i would start there first, then decide whether you want to add additional hardware to the signal chain. Edited October 20, 2020 by pezzy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowallet Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 7 hours ago, Lushds said: hi NW, Im using a RPI to feed the Ares 2, but not USB. I tried the USB out from Pi to Ares2 and its not great. I guess the USB out from Pi is noisy. Currently I'm running RPI to Pi2AES (http://www.pi2design.com/) via onboard I2S, then SPDIF out from the Pi2AES to Ares2, the sound quality is significantly better. You can google the Pi2AES its a very designed board, lots of positive reviews and not expensive. Hi @Lushds Thanks for the tips. I am running a Bluesound Node 2i via coax to the Ares but was foreseeing that I would want to try USB (no USB out on the Node). I wonder if there is a better HAT out there for USB out from the Pi. I'll dig around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lushds Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Hi nw You can consider allo.com Usbridge signature Lots of positive feedback on the net Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowallet Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 22 hours ago, Lushds said: hi NW, Im using a RPI to feed the Ares 2, but not USB. I tried the USB out from Pi to Ares2 and its not great. I guess the USB out from Pi is noisy. Currently I'm running RPI to Pi2AES (http://www.pi2design.com/) via onboard I2S, then SPDIF out from the Pi2AES to Ares2, the sound quality is significantly better. You can google the Pi2AES its a very designed board, lots of positive reviews and not expensive. Which version RPi do you own? I've done some reading that suggests the Rpi 4 models have less noise on USB. I will have a play around and see how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezzy Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 (edited) i think the issue with pi 3 was the usb and ethernet ports sharing the same bus. but not sure if that results in noisy ports. the pi 4 has fixed that, and on my system it is pretty silent noise wise. ive only ever connected it to my dac though, which could be filtering out all the crap that may be coming out of the pi. the allo usbridge seems like a pretty good alternative to the project streambox ultra. its only a bit more than purchasing a pi4 with a case locally. a fair price to pay for that peace of mind. Edited October 20, 2020 by pezzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 20/10/2020 at 6:56 PM, nowallet said: Hi @Lushds Thanks for the tips. I am running a Bluesound Node 2i via coax to the Ares but was foreseeing that I would want to try USB (no USB out on the Node). I wonder if there is a better HAT out there for USB out from the Pi. I'll dig around! Some options: http://www.pi2design.com/store/p19/PI2AES_-_PRO_AUDIO_SHIELD.html https://allo.com/sparky/digione-signature.html Ian Canada kit: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-and-interfaces-for-raspberry-pi/ian-canada-fifopi-q3-ultimate-fifo-reclocker-module-pcm-32bit-768khz-dsd1024-dop-p-14758.html https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-and-interfaces-for-raspberry-pi/ian-canada-transportpi-digital-interface-spdif-low-jitter-for-raspberry-pi-p-14232.html?search_query=transport&fast_search=fs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 (edited) On 20/10/2020 at 11:05 AM, Lushds said: hi NW, Im using a RPI to feed the Ares 2, but not USB. I tried the USB out from Pi to Ares2 and its not great. I guess the USB out from Pi is noisy. Currently I'm running RPI to Pi2AES (http://www.pi2design.com/) via onboard I2S, then SPDIF out from the Pi2AES to Ares2, the sound quality is significantly better. You can google the Pi2AES its a very designed board, lots of positive reviews and not expensive. I think it depends on your DAC, and the quality of its USB implementation. The RPI4 into my RME ADI 2 sounds excellent. Some people report only very small differences between USB and a quality SPDIF hat, whereas others have reported more significant differences like yourself. Me personally, I use Ropieee XL as a Roon endpoint. Consider trying: Try a decent LPS or well performing SMPS. Like the Teradak DC-30w LPS, or ifi power or power x. Or maybe included some filtering on the power feed: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/raspberry-pi-and-other-sbc-accessories/ian-canada-conditionerpi-ultra-capacitor-conditioner-board-for-raspberry-pi-p-14596.html?search_query=conditioner&fast_search=fs I was looking at the PI2aes. Its really that of the Allo signature one. Edited October 30, 2020 by musicbee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBurns84 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 21/10/2020 at 9:09 AM, nowallet said: Which version RPi do you own? I've done some reading that suggests the Rpi 4 models have less noise on USB. I will have a play around and see how it goes I have a Pi4b and tried all the usb outs and i cant hear any noise issues at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, MrBurns84 said: I have a Pi4b and tried all the usb outs and i cant hear any noise issues at all. Measurements aren't everything when it comes to audio, but in the case of finding noise... they are quite helpful. The assumption that a RPI is noisy has been disproved many times: http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/12/measurements-intel-i7-pc-and-raspberry.html http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/12/measurements-raspberry-pi-3-b-as.html Etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madfonzy Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 I am using a RPi4. With RopieeeXL feeding an Ares2 with no issues at all. Plays DSD fine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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