Budget UPnP/DLNA Renderer Suggestion?

[rlaudio]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to all this but have committed to the Audirvana and full Mac/iOS ecosystem. Now that Audirvana supports UPnP/DLNA, I'm looking for a way to wirelessly stream from my Mac Mini (running A+) to a remote bedroom system. I currently do that through an Airport Express using Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil. I output from the AE via the optical out to a DAC. The problem with this of course is I can only stream up to CD quality. Is there an inexpensive renderer I could connect that would allow me to stream directly from Audirvana and bypass Airfoil? Perhaps a raspberry pi setup or something? I have another USB Dac I can use to connect to the renderer.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[sockpit]

I’d consider a used Sonore microRendu.  They are or will be more available at a very reasonable price at the “marketplace” of this site because the microRendu has been overtaken by the ultraRendu. Those wanting the latest and best will be selling thei perfectly fantastic mRs (1.3 and 1.4).  I use both A+ and Lumin as player/controller.

 

The rub might be that you don’t have an Ethernet connection in the bedroom.  You can use the AE to Connect the mR to the network, but I’m not sure if that limits you to CD quality.  I’m skeptical a bedroom system at a budget is capable of an audible difference above 16/44.  But what do I know.

[rlaudio]

Thanks, that's a good suggestion, and probably the simplest. Unfortunately prices still seem to be a bit high for my budget. Perhaps they will come down as more come on the market...

 

[left channel]

 

3 hours ago, rlaudio said:

Perhaps a raspberry pi setup or something?

Volumio for the Raspberry Pi has UPnP rendering built in. You'd need a DAC card in your RasPi, like maybe a HiFiBerry DAC+.

[davide256]

May want to browse here and see if DIgione or USBridge support your streaming protocol needs. Do buy an iFi 5V power supply if you go this route as the standard SMPS  option will significantly reduce SQ. Should be able to get away at around $200... not as good as microRendu but enjoyable.

 

https://www.allo.com/index.html

[rlaudio]

Audirvana, I think, requires UPnP/DLNA, so anything that would stream that. I don't think USBridge/Dlgione are supported, but I could be wrong.

[davide256]

2 hours ago, rlaudio said:

Audirvana, I think, requires UPnP/DLNA, so anything that would stream that. I don't think USBridge/Dlgione are supported, but I could be wrong.

You can use diet pi or volumio with either device. But you don't get Open Home support,  so no native gapless playback... microRendu does have Open Home support

 

 

[davide256]

On 5/28/2018 at 5:45 PM, rlaudio said:

Thanks, that's a good suggestion, and probably the simplest. Unfortunately prices still seem to be a bit high for my budget. Perhaps they will come down as more come on the market...

 

Wouldn't hold my breath... there was a wave of sales from upgraders when the ultraRendu/ SoTM SMS200 Ultra came out, but that's died down.

[davide256]

Does ShairPort support what you need? The Allo DIetpi image includes Shairport, which it equates to Airplay. Else if you are doing UPNP/DLNA I do believe you would

have to use a Volumio image

[rruffin]

I am using the DigiOne on an ethernet network. The great sound advantage is that you can manipulate the digital file with Audirvana (upsample or filter) and then send it to the DigiOne which then plays it as a native file (the Raspberry pi does not have to manipulate the file) and then send it via s/pdif cable to your extra dac. If you already have the network, then this is an inexpensive solution for better than Airplay/CD quality sound.

[rlaudio]

Wow, the DigiOne seems like a nice solution. I’m open to working with a raspberry pi solution, but am not sure what I would need.  So the DigiOne, a case, the raspberry Pi, (I have a DAC), and then what software do you run on the Pi? I have Audirvana on the Mac Mini, but what do you need to install/run on the Pi?  Total newbie on this Pi streamer solution.

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[firedog]

9 hours ago, rlaudio said:

9 hours ago, rlaudio said:

Wow, the DigiOne seems like a nice solution. I’m open to working with a raspberry pi solution, but am not sure what I would need.  So the DigiOne, a case, the raspberry Pi, (I have a DAC), and then what software do you run on the Pi? I have Audirvana on the Mac Mini, but what do you need to install/run on the Pi?  Total newbie on this Pi streamer solution.

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

As far as HW, you order it as a "player" and it comes in a case ready to play. 

 

Quote

 

Features 

 

• Player includes: RPIB+, DigiOne, Aluminum / Acrylic Case case, 8GD microSD card or eMMC and 5V power supply
• Case Dimensions: 12.5cm x 9.5cm x 5cm

 

•  

[Siltech817]

10 hours ago, rlaudio said:

what software do you run on the Pi? I have Audirvana on the Mac Mini, but what do you need to install/run on the Pi?

 

Any number of freeware choices will work fine, you can try Volumio, Rune, Moode, DietPi, Archphile, etc... to see which is the best fit for you. Moode is outstanding, but many prefer one of the others I listed for one reason or another. It's cheap to try them all, and you can keep multiple versions on different microSD cards, or even use the same card and just wipe it/re-write a new image each time you try something new while keeping a copy of the previous one on your computer.

[rlaudio]

I see, ok, the picture is becoming clearer!  So if I purchase one of the DigiOne players and a freeware software solution like Volumio, I can just stream directly from Audirvana?  It will just show up as an endpoint for Audirvana in the Audio Device Selection Preferences?

[MikeyFresh]

4 hours ago, rlaudio said:

I see, ok, the picture is becoming clearer!  So if I purchase one of the DigiOne players and a freeware software solution like Volumio, I can just stream directly from Audirvana?  It will just show up as an endpoint for Audirvana in the Audio Device Selection Preferences?

 

It sure does with JRiver as the server, I have run both Volumio and Moode on RPi3 with no problems in UPnP Renderer mode using a JRiver DLNA server.

 

However my instance of Audirvana+ is the older v1.5 that did not offer UPnP capability, so I can't comment specifically there except to say I see no reason why it shouldn't work so long as you have Audirvana+ 3.1 or newer.

 

I believe it is known to work with Volumio, and I can see the ALLO Digione as an available choice in the audio config panel of Moode, so the only piece I can't test for you is Audirvana because my version is to old.

[cantonna7]

Allo + usbridge with volumio oS would be good choice.

[pjmcos]

You can use microsoft media player to stream to your volumio and dietpi devices. Im using DIgione and Usbridge.

[rmel66]

I recycle old thin clients.

 

I write a persistent version of Linux (Lubuntu, Linux Mint) to thumb drives and boot the clients from these thumb drives, and then after updating the repositories (necessary with old Linux versions) I install Wine, then Foobar2000 and finally the FooUPnP component. This method has worked consistently for me.

 

The real beauty is that old thin clients can be obtained for as little as $20.

 

Additionally I have two Chromecast Audio dongles ($45) that I use in conjunction with BubbleUPnP server to create OpenHome renderers. These work fine with networked files (MinimServer, Minimstreamer) but falter with radio streams.

 

I must add that all renderers are connected via OpenHome with Linn Kazoo as the control point.

[Cebolla]

21 hours ago, rmel66 said:

I write a persistent version of Linux (Lubuntu, Linux Mint) to thumb drives and boot the clients from these thumb drives, and then after updating the repositories (necessary with old Linux versions) I install Wine, then Foobar2000 and finally the FooUPnP component. This method has worked consistently for me.

 

Have you tried the native Linux OpenHome & standard UPnP renderer provided by upmpdcli with MPD? It would save you having to use the Wine layer to run a Windows UPnP renderer such as foobar2000 with the foo_upnp plugin.

http://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/

[Jud]

Another possibility would be to buy a slightly more capable mini-PC such as this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX5F18414&cm_re=asus_vivomini-_-1VK-001S-000S5-_-Product; or, if you want something with a little more oomph, this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX5F18689&cm_re=asus_vivomini-_-1VK-001S-000S6-_-Product; or if wanting something quite inexpensive, this: https://smile.amazon.com/Barebones-integrated-DisplayPort-BlueTooth-PN40-BB021M/dp/B07C66BNWH/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536009728&sr=8-3&keywords=asus+vivomini

 

Then you could install the Linux of your choice, mpd, and upmpdcli, and with some configuration help from the folks here, you would have a UPnP/DLNA renderer.

 

The reason I like these mini-PCs is that I've personally found Intel chips to involve a little less fiddling with Linux than the ARM chips in the smallest ones.  I got one with an i5 chip because it was very inexpensive at the time ($200 with rebate) and I like the fact that installation of Linux and software goes very quickly with a somewhat more capable chip.  But a less expensive mini-PC with a Celeron should work fine too.

[rmel66]

4 hours ago, Cebolla said:

 

Have you tried the native Linux OpenHome & standard UPnP renderer provided by upmpdcli with MPD? It would save you having to use the Wine layer to run a Windows UPnP renderer such as foobar2000 with the foo_upnp plugin.

http://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/

 I have indeed looked at upmpdcli with MPD. I believe I had tried it with one of my Linux boxes but could not get internet radio streams to work. Additionally, I was getting garble with higher resolution streams and uninstalled it.

 

The Wine layer is not a bother for me and this method has proven most reliable for me.

 

One small issue I have is the inability to get streaming to work over wifi. One of my renderers is successfully connected to wifi (internet, network shares etc) but just will not show up as a renderer with wifi. Additionally, if both ethernet and wifi are enabled then same problem. To get the renderer to show up I have to disable wifi and sometimes restart Foobar2000.

 

Any ideas on how to solve this?

 

rmel66.

[rmel66]

2 hours ago, Jud said:

Another possibility would be to buy a slightly more capable mini-PC such as this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX5F18414&cm_re=asus_vivomini-_-1VK-001S-000S5-_-Product; or, if you want something with a little more oomph, this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX5F18689&cm_re=asus_vivomini-_-1VK-001S-000S6-_-Product; or if wanting something quite inexpensive, this: https://smile.amazon.com/Barebones-integrated-DisplayPort-BlueTooth-PN40-BB021M/dp/B07C66BNWH/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536009728&sr=8-3&keywords=asus+vivomini

 

Then you could install the Linux of your choice, mpd, and upmpdcli, and with some configuration help from the folks here, you would have a UPnP/DLNA renderer.

 

The reason I like these mini-PCs is that I've personally found Intel chips to involve a little less fiddling with Linux than the ARM chips in the smallest ones.  I got one with an i5 chip because it was very inexpensive at the time ($200 with rebate) and I like the fact that installation of Linux and software goes very quickly with a somewhat more capable chip.  But a less expensive mini-PC with a Celeron should work fine too.

One of my renderers is an atom mini-pc (x8300) and did give a bit of hassle in finding a Linux flavour that would boot from thumb drive. The more important point is that the Wine method I have described only works with X86/X64 aka AMD, Intel processors but I am in full agreement with you in the flexibility of X86/X64 chips with respect to Linux.

 

rmel66.

[Jud]

3 hours ago, rmel66 said:

 I have indeed looked at upmpdcli with MPD. I believe I had tried it with one of my Linux boxes but could not get internet radio streams to work. Additionally, I was getting garble with higher resolution streams and uninstalled it.

 

The Wine layer is not a bother for me and this method has proven most reliable for me.

 

One small issue I have is the inability to get streaming to work over wifi. One of my renderers is successfully connected to wifi (internet, network shares etc) but just will not show up as a renderer with wifi. Additionally, if both ethernet and wifi are enabled then same problem. To get the renderer to show up I have to disable wifi and sometimes restart Foobar2000.

 

Any ideas on how to solve this?

 

rmel66.

 

I have a router by my system and have connected the renderer to the router by Ethernet cable.

[kbuzz]

I’d like to reopen this thread as newbie who loves the audivarna platform with my Mac desktop and would like to buy an I expensive player renderer 

 

i have a router near my audio rig, so would the basic recommendation be a sonore micro Rendu >dac? 

 

But also wondering if a node 2i would be nice since I do use tidal 

 

The orchard  pecan pie and alo players also look price competitive but unsure if I can go right from audivarna to one of them? 

 

Thanks in in advance for any suggestions 

[MikeyFresh]

24 minutes ago, kbuzz said:

I’d like to reopen this thread as newbie who loves the audivarna platform with my Mac desktop and would like to buy an I expensive player renderer 

 

i have a router near my audio rig, so would the basic recommendation be a sonore micro Rendu >dac? 

 

But also wondering if a node 2i would be nice since I do use tidal 

 

The orchard  pecan pie and alo players also look price competitive but unsure if I can go right from audivarna to one of them? 

 

Thanks in in advance for any suggestions 

 

Using Audirvana+ as the media player software means you'd need a renderer that is UPnP compatible.

 

Both the Orchard Pecan Pie and Allo units are based on the Raspberry Pi single board computer, and can run renderer software such as Moode or Volumio which is DLNA/UPnP compliant, and thus they should work with Audirvana+.

 

Of the units you mention above, I think the Sonore microRendu is a cut above the rest. I own a microRendu, and also have various units I've built using the Raspberry Pi as the computing board, and either Moode or Volumio as the renderer software, both with external USB DACs, and so-called HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) DACs which connect directly to the RPi's GPIO pins.

 

The Orchard and Allo units you mention are RPi platform with their own HAT already assembled as the DAC. You can buy a finished unit like they are offering (Orchard's case looks really nice), or you can put it together yourself for less money.

 

Sonically I'd go with a microRendu assuming it's within budget, and you already have a suitable USB DAC to use with it.

 

You can even do multiform and have more than one renderer, my main system has a microRendu and then I also use the inexpensive RPi-based units for other rooms that are less critical in terms of sound quality and partnering equipment. To change rooms in Audirvana+ you just go into the preferences and select the room you want, looks something like this: