Been playing with rasplex and a cheap analog amp and getting so half decent results (mid fi i would say) now I want to build a package that delivers a headless rasplex controlled from a ios device combined with a small analog amp (25x25).
I want to put one of these devices in most rooms in the house and have them pretty much self contained (and hidden).
There are a number of small boards out there that would fit nicely in a small housing with a Pi, that would allow you to control volume via I2c, what I need is a way to link the volume control to the I2c to drive the amp.
I have the code to drive the I2c just no idea if its possible to configure the Rasplex client to use the code.
Been playing with rasplex and a cheap analog amp and getting so half decent results (mid fi i would say) now I want to build a package that delivers a headless rasplex controlled from a ios device combined with a small analog amp (25x25).
I want to put one of these devices in most rooms in the house and have them pretty much self contained (and hidden).
There are a number of small boards out there that would fit nicely in a small housing with a Pi, that would allow you to control volume via I2c, what I need is a way to link the volume control to the I2c to drive the amp.
I have the code to drive the I2c just no idea if its possible to configure the Rasplex client to use the code.
Any ideas?
Why would you want to do this, is it for playing Music only, as anything else needs of monitor (i.e.TV), movies, tvshows, photos!
Using Rasplex just for music seems like over complication, there are other solutions - Volumio, Modpidy, Subsonic, Squeezeplug, etc, most can be controlled via free apps for both iOS and Android.
Been playing with rasplex and a cheap analog amp and getting so half decent results (mid fi i would say) now I want to build a package that delivers a headless rasplex controlled from a ios device combined with a small analog amp (25x25).
I want to put one of these devices in most rooms in the house and have them pretty much self contained (and hidden).
There are a number of small boards out there that would fit nicely in a small housing with a Pi, that would allow you to control volume via I2c, what I need is a way to link the volume control to the I2c to drive the amp.
I have the code to drive the I2c just no idea if its possible to configure the Rasplex client to use the code.
Any ideas?
Forgot to mention Musicbox http://www.woutervanwijk.nl/pimusicbox/ , this guy has a readymade system, just hook it up to a cheap amp and speakers, in fact you could built it in in each room or just use some powered USB speakers.
Using plex as it would give me a single app to do both audio and video, its tough enough teaching the family to use one system two would gurantee that neither would be used. I will have other instances in rooms with TVs.
The challenge is probably the same with all these systems, I can control level of the analog output from the client but to control the external amp level I need to turn a pot.
Ideal solution would be to have the external amplification controlled by the source ie plex so I can hide the unit and have all controls remote.
Using plex as it would give me a single app to do both audio and video, its tough enough teaching the family to use one system two would gurantee that neither would be used. I will have other instances in rooms with TVs.
The challenge is probably the same with all these systems, I can control level of the analog output from the client but to control the external amp level I need to turn a pot.
Ideal solution would be to have the external amplification controlled by the source ie plex so I can hide the unit and have all controls remote.
Best to request an enhancement at https://github.com/RasPlex/RasPlex/issues?state=open open a new 'issue' and prefix it with 'Enhancement Request' and you need to give a lot more detail than in your original post.
No harm in trying but I don't think that this will happen as there is little use for it.
I'm trying to accomplish almost the same thing. I already have a bunch of devices running Plex especially for video but I also have wired the house for whole house audio. This would be mainly for background casual listening in areas like kitchen and outdoor decks using in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. I'm aiming for a true budget version and I just finished installing two of thesein-wall speakers in our kitchen driven by this mini-amp. These are far from hifi but did quite well considering their price.
I have a headless Rasplex (0.4.0RC4) as a source and it can be controlled by any of the mobile Plex clients or Plex/web. Eventually I was thinking of equipping each zone with similar devices and then hope that Plex one day has a audio playback sync (aka party) mode implemented.
But the thing is lacking volume control. For some reason there is no volume control on the remote control UI of Plex (Android, WP8, Plex/Web). For this purpose it would be totally fine to control the output line level and keep the amplifier in a fix setting. I guess I will post a feature request for this.
Similar to OP, I also prefer to have a single system even though Plex is not at it's best when it comes to music (missing proper playlist management etc.).
Not to revive an old thread, but I’m facing a similar problem. I’ve ordered an Adafruit 20W amp based on the Max9744 chip - https://www.adafruit.com/products/1752. When it arrives tomorrow, I’d like to assemble it and connect it to my Rasplex enabled RasPi2. How do I configure it to let the Pi control the volume?
The only way to change volume is when media is playing is using the audio settings in the OSD, this is per item, not global, using a TV/AV remote control and the ability to see on a screen what your are controlling. Not of any use for a headless unit. Plex Inc, who produce the mobile clients which people use for controlling headless RPi’s do not include volume controls in the clients.
An RPi running Rasplex is normally connected to a TV, AV receiver or Stereo Amp which is used to control the volume.
@jacrider said:
We have a Hifiberry Amp+ and I can adjust the volume with the Plex app on my phone. Speakers in the 2nd floor bedroom and the Pi in the basement.
Can you please tell me if there is a special config needed to enable this feature.
I have a RPi 3 and Amp+ and it would be great to control the volume via smartphone. Sadly I always get the message “volume control not supported”
