Raspberry Pi Audio

Non Joggler related discussion.
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roobarb!
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Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by roobarb! »

Just a quick post - I had to sound off somewhere!

I've been playing with the Raspberry Pi again recently, this time wanting to create a very straightforward AirPlay compatible receiver. The idea was to take the Model A, connect via wifi on it's only USB port and use the line out jack to a little amp.

Well, I've made it and it works, but good grief! The audio quality out of the Pi is just awful, to the point of being useless. Running the output at 95% prevents clipping, but when the input signal is quiet there is so much hiss it's unbelievable. As the signal comes in quietly, it is distorted. Only when the signal is strong can you get away with using the output, but then as a song fades out, all the problems become obvious again. It also varies considerably between power supplies; the PSU I thought was bad was actually better than any of my others, all of which made the background noise levels worse.

Of course, you can get around all of this by using an external audio device. But not if you're using a Model A with it's single USB port and need a network connection. And you can't use a HiFiBerry either; not enough GPIO pins (plus, it more than doubles the cost of the unit).

I know the Joggler's audio circuit isn't the best in the world, but it's downright audiophile in comparison. :)

Update: Trying this on some much more forgiving domestic audio kit now and it is acceptable, but if I was having to rely on the volume adjustment of the Pi, I'd be scuppered. So long as the audio output level from the Pi is high and fed into a nice low-resistance input, you're okay. But turn down the Pi and turn up the amp output and you'll be very surprised at what the audio sounds like.
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hawsey
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by hawsey »

Interesting , considering a lot of folks are using Pi's specifically for audio projects .
I know they are different devices altogether but I can't help thinking in most cases the Joggler would be a far superior starting point especially for higher end audio projects :-) power consumption etc come in to the equation as well I suppose ...
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Here doing a new old project that involves feeding RPi audio out to a little LCD TV.

I have not to date tried running Kodi on the RPi or RPi2.

Recently noticed that my parrot likes to watch TV. (after 40 years)

Here cage is large enough that I could put a Joggler in it. I have tried similar with a little 4.5" android tablet.

There is an LCD TV on the wall next to her cage such that it's a larger display and she seems to be paying attention to it.

I have a spare RPi-1 such that I am installing XMBC on it to stream some animal TV shows. She does also like cartoons.

The TV is mounted on a triple sized in the wall box which I could fit the RPI-1 in. Initially will be testing outside of the box a continuous stream of whatever content.

The other TV's in the house are using mini pc's running Ubuntu 64bit Kodi. The mini PCs are larger than the RPis though.
- Pete
O2 Jogglers running EFI Ubuntu / Squeezeplayer
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hawsey
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by hawsey »

Pete you are crazy , but I love it :-) a Joggler installed in your parrots cage / home is a must do project and then a photograph to follow please ....
Parrots are supposed to be very intelligent and long lived up to 80 years , how old is yours Pete and his/her name please .
I always remember being told years ago that most people should think about whom will look after their parrots after they leave this mortal coil 8-)
A friend of mine ( pest pal ) had a parrot that used to do "the laughing policeman " routine whilst hopping along the mantle piece and would knock off an ornament if nobody praised him :-) they also had 3 cats , a Rhodesian Ridgeback and two Irish Wolfhounds , it was quite a house.
......
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Her name is Kika and she was born in 1977 making her 38 now. She is a Blue Crown Amazon parrot.
Kika-3.jpg
Yup she is in the will to my daughter. Just recently have been showing first born grandchild how to feed her.

She doesn't get along very well with the wife. Well they are enemies. She and her volley words all of the time. When I walk by her cage she coos me and tells me that she loves me.

Noticed today that the HD sound comes out of the HDMI port. Never new that about the RPi-1. It sounds ok but not great.
- Pete
O2 Jogglers running EFI Ubuntu / Squeezeplayer
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hawsey
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by hawsey »

Nice of you to share that with us Pete, she had a twinkle in her eye , I bet your granddaughter loves her :-) next photo with the Joggler installed aye ? Heh he
Everything seems Hdmi now Pete , I am sure you will be able to direct feed a DAC from the Pi if you so desired .
I am Pi less at the moment but am getting the new model soon , probably after my holliday in a few weeks .
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gegs
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by gegs »

I never used the Pi's audio output; I used a Behringer USB DAC and the sound was pretty good.

My only working Pi has now been sacrificed to my son to be used as a Minecraft server. I did have two, but the ethernet port stopped working on one of them.
Man in a van
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by Man in a van »

There is now a new A model

[/https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/ ... 13#p686713

atb

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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Yup; here with the Joggler in the master bedroom utilize an external USB audio device.

That said today disabled the PVR functions on the RPi as it was just a bit too much for it.

Running KODI on it is slow compared to my other stuff. I mean it works but it is just slow.
- Pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by roobarb! »

Man in a van wrote:team it with one of these

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 13#p686713
Thanks for that info! The TinyTOSLINK looks brilliant - unfortunately for this project it's not quite the right fit, as I can either use analogue or USB (because of the amp) and the Pi A has only the one port. But, I think I may try to get one anyway, just for future projects! :)
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Here abandoned my efforts relating to using the RPi (first generation) as an STB box for my parrot. It is really just too slow. Relating to using the PVR functions it would lock up all of the time. It streams OK from the internet and my NAS stuff.
- Pete
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roobarb!
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by roobarb! »

pete wrote:Here abandoned my efforts relating to using the RPi (first generation) as an STB box for my parrot. It is really just too slow. Relating to using the PVR functions it would lock up all of the time. It streams OK from the internet and my NAS stuff.
Check out the new one - it's much faster. I've got mine doing a couple of webcams with ZoneMinder. Works a treat! :)
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Thank you Roobarb!

Yup; using the one RPi2 with Homeseer, another one with Cumulus MX and a third one with HomeGenie & other automation software stuff (for play only).

This RPi was a leftover and I figured that I would repurpose it for my parrot's television.

She hasn't complained to me yet. Only seeing that the navigation is slow here. But really it will not be touched much.
- Pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by roobarb! »

pete wrote:She hasn't complained to me yet.
:D
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hawsey
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by hawsey »

Pecked ? I still think Kika needs a Joggler in her house / cage :-)
Set her up her own channel , maybe documentaries , you tube videos of her species :-)
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

We had an issue yesterday with Kika.

She went to biting one claw / nail and broke her claw at the root of it. She started to bleed and we took her to a Veterinarian that specializes in birds as she started to bleed a bit. The Veterinarian had to cut off her nail at the stump and suture her up a bit. In order to get that done she had to anaesthetize her as she had a seizure in the veterinarian office. We kept her in a blanket for most of the afternoon as she was a bit out of it. By evening last night she was doing well.

It was a crazy/tense afternoon. Kika and Sandy (wife) do not get along that much. That said Sandy was crying most of the afternoon at the veterinarian office.
- Pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by hawsey »

Ha ha was she crying because Kika pulled through Pete :-) ehh
Joking aside , I hope she recovers fully from her ordeal , my friend which had the parrot , it used to pluck all its feathers out ! Looked like a miniature Christmas turkey , I read boredom can cause them to pluck .
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pete
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Re: Raspberry Pi Audio

Post by pete »

Well here attached to her as she was plucked from her mother at an early age and I feed her with a nose dropper as she expected it. (thinking I imprinted her).

She is large and moving slower and is not as agile as she was just a few years ago. This issue started with her hanging upside down while scratching her head on a stone in her cage. She does weigh over a pound and is of the largest Amazon species known to exist and never was a quick moving bird. I also used to have an Amazon Double Yellow head which was smaller and faster than Kika. Only thing is that she would snap a finger off if you didn't pay attention to her.

In the 1980's my dog would bark at her. One day she got a bit fed up with the barking an pounced on the dog from her cage and nipped the dog's snout. Blood everywhere the dog went whimpering to a corner wall in house and never barked at her again. The dog's injury was mostly that of pride and just had a sore nose for a few days.

That said my sister in law liked her so much in the 1980's that she purchased an African Grey Parrot. Within a month the parrot had plucked all its feathers out. Knowing my sister in law guessing it was more the environment than boredom that caused the bird to pluck.
- Pete
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