Hi guys, I’ve been reading the forum posts about issues people have had with HifiBerry DAC+ and RasPlex, but I’ve not found any articles on success, only people asking for help with issues (I guess it’s the nature of a forum).
Scenario: I’m going to be using a Raspberry Pi 2 with RasPlex as an audio source for average quality kitchen / diner ceiling speakers, on cheap class D amplifiers.
Questions:
Is it worth investing in a HiFiBerry DAC+ if it’s not likely to work?
I’ve got a Pi 2 with a Hifiberry DAC (can’t remember which one). It’s worked like a dream for around 18 months. I can remember having a bit of trouble when I originally set it up, but had to edit a line in a file somewhere (DToverlay I seem to remember). Sorry I can’t be more specific - I can probably find the answer here on this forum. I can remember Ned giving me instructions at the time.
But please don’t let my vagueness put you off. I’ve never tried the Pi as a sound source without the Hifiberry, so I cannot comment on the quality, but I’ve got mine plugged into an Audiolab amp, and am massively pleased with the result.
Mind you, I have read one or two articles about people building these massively over the top DACs with audiophile (or is that just another way of saying overpriced) power supplies to try and improve the sound quality, and am sorely tempted to have a go down that route.
I’ve used a cheap (£0.99 from ebay) USB sound card on a Pi zero before, and had fine results form it using OSMC / Kodi, it appeared in the settings as an audio output with no issues. It did however fail after a year, but looking at the price of the HiFiberry, I could buy twenty of these little devices.
As I’m aiming for simplicity and reliability with this project (HAS to be family friendly), I may opt for the USB sound card option. I can always experiment with the cheapo one I have already - as I said, this is not a high-end application, just ambient background music for the kitchen diner…
I’d like to use a HiFiBerry, but as nobody has yet announced that it works straight out of the box with no configuration issues,_ and continues to work_, this is my main deciding factor here to not try it. If it falls over while I’m away, than it’s no good for the family to use.
I may look at slightly less cheap USB sound card options after initially proving it works with the one I have.
I can report that I am using a ‘HiFiBerry DAC+ Standard RCA Version’ since a few months on a RasPi2 without problems.
The HifiBerry is directly supported by Rasplex, so it works without hunting for drivers. All you need to do is a little edit in the config.txt
This device was intended primarily for music.
When I first tried the default stereo output of the Pi, I quickly researched alternatives.
It is really dreadful.
It might be OK for speech, like in TV use, but for music it is a no-go IMO.
@PLEX6FC said:
Your account has been the first I’ve read that talks about complete success, you are changing my mind back to trying one…
I am using the one with analogue outputs (stereo only).
I grasp that people who are trying the version with SP/dif output are having more issues. (particularly with surround sound setups)
