24/96 Squeezeplay and External USB DAC

[papaiannis]

I haven't changed the grub.cfg file.
No need to unplug and replug the WaveIO after a reboot.

[steves999]

I wonder if anyone can help on this one.
I'm running SPOS v1.09 internally and all's been working well with various cheap and cheerful DACs - even up to 24/96 with the unbranded Maplin one.
I decided to get a "decent" DAC and went for the Schiit Modi, which seems to be getting rave reviews.
Problem is that it bootloops when SPOS starts - going back to the O2 boot logo. I've tried Wilberforce's EDO applet and deleting asound.conf to no avail.
I may have to send the DAC back and try something else, but before I do I wondered if any of the brains here have a clue what I could try?
Thanks

[steves999]

Looks like I'm out of luck with this. A lot of investigation reveals that the USB receiver they use in the Modi (C-Media CM6631) doesn't play nicely with the Ubuntu kernel. I'm going to send the DAC back and try something else..... sadly I can't run to something like an M-DAC at the moment so will probably just stay with the cheapies until funds allow!

[marctwo]

Sorry for the small thread hijack but there seem to be a lot if knowledgeable people on here.

I bought a Behringer UCA202 off the back of recommendations here and general good reviews. It works (plays sound) from within SqueezeOS but the quality is dreadful and the volume is quite low. I've read about some people saying that installing the Behringer drivers for this fixes this issue.

Does anyone else have an issue with volume / sound quality from this unit on the Joggler? I'm really disappointed with mine so far.

[gegs]

Sorry for the small thread hijack but there seem to be a lot if knowledgeable people on here.

I bought a Behringer UCA202 off the back of recommendations here and general good reviews. It works (plays sound) from within SqueezeOS but the quality is dreadful and the volume is quite low. I've read about some people saying that installing the Behringer drivers for this fixes this issue.

Does anyone else have an issue with volume / sound quality from this unit on the Joggler? I'm really disappointed with mine so far.

There is a facility in sqpOS to remove the volume limiter (i.e. give 100% volume output) but it can damage the internal speakers, so it's only for those using the USB sound switch and is the reason 100% isn't the default setting.

What audio outputs are you using with the Behringer? I use optical S/PDIF and the sound is pretty good through my AV receiver setup. Obviously it isn't quite the audiophile quality that some users in this thread are seeking, but before I start striving for audiophile perfection in my hi-fi setup I'll have to get a pair of audiophile ears

[marctwo]

I switched off the volume limiter. I'm running 1.09 (internal). I use the RCA output into my amp. I tried my AVR and it was very quiet indeed, into my 2 channel amp it's better but the quality is still poor, the sound just isn't very well defined and there's not much bass. I thought it might be a phase issue but I tried swapping one channel and it was clearly wrong so it but it back. I'm going to see if the output from the headphone jack is any different and compare it to the cheap ebay usb soundcard I have too.

[gegs]

Out of curiosoity, I did try the phono connections on the Behringer, in fact they're still connected, but I now use the S/PDIF connection exclusively. If memory serves me correctly, I did find phono quieter than optical. I'll give both outputs a comparitive listen tonight or tomorrow and let you know if my experience is different from yours.

I haven't used the headphone socket for anything but headphones.

[marctwo]

Thanks. I got mine from China so I'm hoping it's not a fake! They are made in China though so I don't see why it would be. I'll do some more testing soon as it might be user error.

[marctwo]

I did a little more testing. The headphone jack outputs exactly the same volume as the phono output. Both are much lower in level than the £2 eBay soundcard I also have.

[jaydee999]

Hi there
Not sure if this is the right thread. I have SqPOS installed on internal memory of one of my jogglers and was feeding sound out through the headphone socket into an old powered sub/home theatre set up using twin phono inputs. The hub had a bad hum, but in addition I was getting intermittent but regular" pops" out of the satellite speakers that are fed by the sub. I therefore decided to invest in a shiny new 2.1 speaker set up and an external USB soundcard that feeds digital (toslink) sound into the new sub, thinking this would give me a better sound.
The results have been disappointing. Not only are the pops still there, and even louder, but I now have a persistent "ticking" sound coming from the new satellites, that sounds like a wall clock on speed.
Anyone any idea what's maybe causing this interference? I have removed all other electrical items using the same trailing socket, but the sound remains. I haven't added anything else in the room since the installation of the new set up.

Many Thanks

Jon

[Chippy_boy]

Hello folks. I received an O2 Joggler this morning (bought on ebay).

I have bought it hoping it will enable me to play up to 24/96 bit perfect audio through my Benchmark DAC1-HDR DAC. That's the objective.

Not having any previous experience of Jogglers, Squeeze devices or Linux, I figure this might be challenging, but for £40 for the device, I figured what the heck, I would give it a go.

In not very long at all (maybe 1 hour) I have everything "working":

• Logitech Media Server is running on my Mac and has indexed all of my music (which is in iTunes as Apple Lossless files).
  I have installed Squeezeplay on the Openpeak native OS and it's up and running, and can see my music files.
  I have Squeezebox Controller installed on my iPhone and can control Squeezeplay with it
  The Joggler is connected to my DAC via USB, and having selected the external device option in Squeezeplay, music comes out of my DAC just fine.

So far, all of my content plays just fine, 16/44, 24/44, 16/48, 24/48, 24/88 and 24/96. Flacs and M4A Apple Lossless files all play beautifully.

However, I have no clue what sample rate and bit depth is being output. Do I have to do anything to get it to output bit perfect, native sample rates? Or is it doing that by default? Or will it all be being downsampled to 16/44 (or whatever) which is not at all what I want.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

I have the volume set to max in the Joggler UI and also in the Squeezeplay setup. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure volume is set to maximum output?

I am guessing I have to edit asound.conf in some way?

Currently it contains this:

Code: Select all

# cat asound.bak
pcm.!default {
        type plug
        slave.pcm "dmixer"
}

pcm.dmixer  {
        type dmix
        ipc_key 1024
        slave {
                pcm "hw:1,0"
                period_time 0
                period_size 1024
                buffer_size 4096
                rate 44100
        }
        bindings {
                0 0
                1 1
        }
}

ctl.dmixer {
        type hw
        card 1
}
# 

The "Rate 44100" line is concerning. And I can't see where you would set bit depth.

EDIT: Googling a bit, I see the Rate command does resample to whatever rate you set. So I tried removing the Rate 44100 line, and all files still play as before. I'll leave the Rate command out until I hear any further advice.

[JimbobVFR400]

I may very well be wrong but I think if you're using the modified EDO applet in this thread then your asound file isn't used so not relevant.

[Chippy_boy]

Thanks - but I am not sure if I am using the modified EDO applet or not. I don't know what I am doing to be honest. Just thrashing around aimlessly. I haven't installed any applets, so I guess I am not using it. Unless it came as part of the installation I downloaded. I don't think so.

[Positivity]

Hello,

Spotted this thread in trying to solve my own USB soundcard issue:
I just bought some Ricco USB speakers from amazon for £14.50 to set up a minimal Squeezeplay Joggler in the kitchen. The speakers have a built in soundcard and took no effort at all to get working. The sound is excellent when compared to the internal speaker, but just not loud enough at maximum volume to compete with cooking noise.

I have tried the speakers in a PC and a Mac laptop and with both the maximum volume that can be reached is much much louder. I then tried connecting the speakers through a powered USB hub, but it made no difference.

So does anyone know if the maximum volume the Joggler can output over USB is less than a PC, so I should stop looking for an answer or is there a way to increase the maximum volume more?

I have a minimal asound.conf which I have mirrored in asound.conf_dmix:

Code: Select all

pcm.!default {
	type plug
	slave.pcm {
		type hw
		card 1
   }
}
ctl.!default {
	type hw
	card 1
}

and I have tried using the amixer sset command to set the output volume of the PCM card to 100% but nothing changes. Do I need to add a mixer to the asound files to allow the amixer command to work? How do I do that? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

BTW I am on the 30300 OpenPeak OS with the latest PNP III.

Any help appreciated.

[gegs]

The sound is excellent when compared to the internal speaker, but just not loud enough at maximum volume to compete with cooking noise.

If you say it's not loud enough af full volume, I think the problem is with your speakers. My kitchen Joggler is more than loud enough to use over cooking noise, a room of people getting progressively more drunk whilst having a meal, or even loud enough for a party. In fact, for normal use it has to be set to the 2nd or 3rd lowest volume setting.

I use a non-powered USB hub like this (it came with a power adapter but I use it without):



...a USB soundcard like this:



...and these small but powerful Logitech Z110 USB speakers:



My speakers still need the 3.5mm lead to work, unlike yours, but if they do the job well (and they do), who cares?

[Positivity]

Thanks gegs - unfortunately I can't see the images in your post, but your kitchen solution may work for me too. I had got so used to thinking that the USB digital output was superior to the 3.5mm analogue that I hadn't considered using speakers with an analogue in - my lounge system is fully digital (Joggler to Muse DAC (eBay) only used to convert to SPDIF co/ax to an Onkyo A5L amplifier with a built in DAC and co-ax and optical inputs).

I did want to try and minimise wires and clutter in the kitchen system - have you tried your Logitech Z110 speakers directly into the Joggler 3.5mm socket and powered fromthe Joggler USB (i.e. leave out the USB soundcard and the USB hub)? Is that noticeably worse sound quality and volume?

[ilovemyjoggler]

...and these small but powerful Logitech Z110 USB speakers:

I have the same speakers as Gegs and also the version with the inbuilt volume control. Also used with the jack and via a cheapo usb soundcard. There's a definite improvement via soundcard. For me though positivity, like you, the overall volume does sometimes lack a bit of oomph...

[gegs]

Thanks gegs - unfortunately I can't see the images in your post...

That's weird because they're Dropbox image links that I made public - and they were working when I drafted and previewed the message. I'll get them working again and re-edit the links.

--EDIT--
That should be the image links fixed now.

[gegs]

I did want to try and minimise wires and clutter in the kitchen system - have you tried your Logitech Z110 speakers directly into the Joggler 3.5mm socket and powered fromthe Joggler USB (i.e. leave out the USB soundcard and the USB hub)? Is that noticeably worse sound quality and volume?

The internal sound is pants compared to even a cheapo USB soundcard and this is especially true with regard to volume. It is simply much louder for me through USB than internal.

With regard to ilovemyjoggler's comment about "oomph", the only thing that the Z110s lack for me is a meaty bass, although they still have a better bass, a more rounded sound and are louder than other speakers I've tried that are comparable in price and size. They are, after all, laptop speakers. They make a good sounding kitchen radio but the Joggler would definitely sound better with a set-up that has a subwoofer; but that's more clutter and more cables. For me it's a trade-off between sound, size and clutter. They are definitely loud enough for me in the kitchen; I never play the Joggler at full volume because I don't need to. Whether they are loud enough for you is a different matter.

Having said that, there isn't a soft surface in my kitchen; marmoleum foors and no soft furnishings to deaden the sound. It's large and echoey, which probably helps with the volume.

[gegs]

I had got so used to thinking that the USB digital output was superior to the 3.5mm analogue that I hadn't considered using speakers with an analogue in - my lounge system is fully digital...

Just to clear up any confusion, my 3.5mm lead plugs into the USB sound card, not the 3.5mm output on the back of the Joggler. The USB sound card has its own rudimentary DAC. You could use a more expensive DAC but my small speakers don't justify that.