Pink Faun 2.16

[lpost]

Agreed that the IR temp measure isn't reading the die temp but 20C is a big difference between the die and the hottest part of the heatsink directly on top.  Regardless, I know the delta from Standard to Extreme mode for my proc and it's been 100% stable, playing continuously for 2 weeks.  Of course, I've restarted to make tweaks but otherwise, no crashes.  The temp and all voltages are EXCEEDINGLY stable as monitored by 'sensors'.  I'm impressed.

 

If your top lid is hotter than the heat sinks, I wonder is your heat pipes not firmly connected?  It should be transferring more heat than convection.  

 

I've tried ramroot and it works but am waiting for it to be made as stable as possible.  I suppose saving the Roon DB will require a cron job to save every hour or whatever is needed.

 

Let us know how the new clocks sound when you get them.  The 'ROI' is going to be tough for me to justify the spend.

[lpost]

I've been running Extreme mode for 6 days continuously.  100% stable, Roon is more responsive though it's given no priority.  I use Roon>HQPe NOS and temps remain stable within plus or minus 1C as ambient goes up/down.

 

Priority is given to HQPe and I2S card only.

[lpost]

Jord has been working with Piero on a complete new build of AL for the 2.16 that will include ramroot and a nice webpage to manage it.  It will require a new OS install via USB.  Hopefully ready in the next few weeks.

[m3lraaHnevetS]

4 hours ago, lpost said:

Jord has been working with Piero on a complete new build of AL for the 2.16 that will include ramroot and a nice webpage to manage it.  It will require a new OS install via USB.  Hopefully ready in the next few weeks.

Yes I know, I am getting it to as soon as it's available. Although I do not have a PF streamer (yet) I do have the current PF version of AL running on my PC.

In my current config HQPe ignores my Sonore Rendu SE in NAA mode so hopefully the new AL version will fix this so I can finally use HQPe with the Sonore as NAA!

Wonder if the new PF version of AL streaming Tidal through Roon and HQPe can sound as good as streaming Tidal straight into the Sonore in MPD mode with Kazoo as control.

Roon look and feel is much better than Kazoo but even HQP can not polish the sound up to MPD/Kazoo level imho.

[Miska]

You can also stream Tidal to HQPE using UPnP. This way HQPlayer can get the stream straight from Tidal's server instead of routing it through Roon. Down side is that gapless doesn't always work. How much it matters depends on music.

 

 

[flkin]

7 hours ago, m3lraaHnevetS said:

Yes I know, I am getting it to as soon as it's available. Although I do not have a PF streamer (yet) I do have the current PF version of AL running on my PC.

In my current config HQPe ignores my Sonore Rendu SE in NAA mode so hopefully the new AL version will fix this so I can finally use HQPe with the Sonore as NAA!

Wonder if the new PF version of AL streaming Tidal through Roon and HQPe can sound as good as streaming Tidal straight into the Sonore in MPD mode with Kazoo as control.

Roon look and feel is much better than Kazoo but even HQP can not polish the sound up to MPD/Kazoo level imho.

 

The PF version of AL is said to be optimised for the PF's 8-core CPU.

[flkin]

6 hours ago, Miska said:

You can also stream Tidal to HQPE using UPnP.

 

How does one play this in the 2.16 streamer? And the control would be a PC and Tidal app?

[Miska]

2 hours ago, flkin said:

How does one play this in the 2.16 streamer? And the control would be a PC and Tidal app?

 

For example BubbleUPnP on Android or mConnect Player (HD for iPads) on iOS.

 

Third way would be to use suitable S/PDIF or AES input to HQPE either from a PC or from Chromecast Audio.

 

[flkin]

Loaded mConnect into iPhone. Is there a setting in HQPE to offer a connection visible in mConnect? 

[Miska]

11 hours ago, flkin said:

Loaded mConnect into iPhone. Is there a setting in HQPE to offer a connection visible in mConnect? 

 

It should be visible by default, in default configuration there's

<upnp interface="auto">
  ...

Which makes it hook into all available physical interfaces.

 

[flkin]

I suppose the uPnP option should show under HQPE Options - Generic/Backend? Currently doesn't for me. 

[Miska]

On 12/19/2018 at 7:00 AM, flkin said:

I suppose the uPnP option should show under HQPE Options - Generic/Backend? Currently doesn't for me. 

 

No, there's nothing there about it. These are things, like other input options too that are set up by hardware manufacturer and not exposed in the web interface. If you want, you can use the configuration backup feature to fetch the configuration XML and see if it is there. You can also modify the configuration and send it back using the restore option. But if that gets messed up, Pink Faun may not fix it for you under warranty...  If you cannot see HQPE as output option under "Play To", you could ask Pink Faun if the feature is enabled.

 

 

[bobfa]

On 12/12/2018 at 2:16 AM, flkin said:

Update about my SonicTransporter i5 tests, I removed the internal 64G drive containing the OS and the device still booted up fine with a Windows USB dongle. So the Bios is already preset to boot from USB prior to internal HD. 

 

But the design of the STi5 is such that access to the internal drive requires the thermal paste on the CPU to be separated from the heatsink...bummer. So I have to get some Arctic Silver to redo the paste before continuing. 

I have a "spare" STi5 and was wondering about how you are going about getting AL on it?  (and SO back for resale value!!) I am using an UltraRendu in the system now and this might be a fun test.

[flkin]

I took the simplest way as I'm not a computer guy and ordered the USB dongle with AL pre-installed by Piero.  Told him it was for an Roon endpoint and wanted the OS loaded into RAM and dongle removed after booting. He set it up that way as default for me.

 

Forgot to request that I required bridging so it wasn't exactly plug and play for me but it could have been.

 

If you want to take it another step further and remove any internal disks (boot or data) you can do so but you'll have to disconnect the thermal paste joint from CPU to the case's heat sink and so have to reapply the paste again. A simple job though.

[lpost]

Did Piero complete the 2.16 build?  I'm hoping to try ramroot soon.  Jord has been very busy this time of year, which is good, but I don't think he's had much time with it, yet.

[flkin]

Not that I know,  but he did say he was working on it. he’s probably also busy with the new clocks that he received just before the end of the year. 😛

 

BTW,  just managed to get my sonictransporter i5 working with Audiolinux 086 in RAM as a Roon endpoint. Tried a few different power options and it sounds good for the price. As expected it's not playing at the PF level  but there are a few more adjustments I want to make to see if I can push it further.

[flkin]

@lpost I thought you had already tried out the RAMroot earlier? How did it sound, don't recall asking you. I wonder if there a way to temporarily disable the OS SSD while working in RAMroot mode?

[bobfa]

8 hours ago, flkin said:

Not that I know,  but he did say he was working on it. he’s probably also busy with the new clocks that he received just before the end of the year. 😛

 

BTW,  just managed to get my sonictransporter i5 working with Audiolinux 086 in RAM as a Roon endpoint. Tried a few different power options and it sounds good for the price. As expected it's not playing at the PF level  but there are a few more adjustments I want to make to see if I can push it further.

I am really interested in the ST setup.  I am playing with endpoint stuff first.  The whole server side is another big fun project.  I have ny music on my ST so I would want the drives running.  Mine are not SSD they are a pair of 5TB spinners.

[flkin]

24 minutes ago, bobfa said:

I am really interested in the ST setup.  I am playing with endpoint stuff first.  The whole server side is another big fun project.  I have ny music on my ST so I would want the drives running.  Mine are not SSD they are a pair of 5TB spinners.

 

Try downloading the AL and give it a go. Many here can help you along. If you're like me and want less trouble, Piero can send you a USB dongle and then it's a simple plug-load AL into RAM- play. The 086 version (latest) has a menu accessable from a browser has disc mounting options for local and external drives and options to function as a server or the endpoint. I wonder if you can set it as an endpoint but then mounting the discs inside and assessing it from another server? 

 

Say your server is loaded with AL086 you could conceivably choose to mount the external drive by pointing it to the endpoint AL086 where the drives are locally. You could use a single AL dongle and load it into both server and endpoint devices for this. I'm not sure if I make sense or not!

[flkin]

One more thing I was pretty bad towards Piero writing to him on new years day expecting him to reply only when he got back to work. But he got back to me in 10min and teamviewed into my system to make some adjustments shortly after. Doesn't get better than this for support

[lpost]

11 hours ago, flkin said:

@lpost I thought you had already tried out the RAMroot earlier? How did it sound, don't recall asking you. I wonder if there a way to temporarily disable the OS SSD while working in RAMroot mode?

 

I tried to enable it but even though it passed the 'tests' it would not enable.  I'm waiting until Jord blesses the new version.  I have been running extreme mode without issue for weeks.  Warms the place nicely during the cold winter months.

[Pink Faun]

On 1/1/2019 at 12:13 AM, lpost said:

Did Piero complete the 2.16 build?  I'm hoping to try ramroot soon.  Jord has been very busy this time of year, which is good, but I don't think he's had much time with it, yet.

New version of the Pink Faun OS including ram root is ready. It's working really great and has a complete update system inside. The version will be available next  week. I am currently on vacation for a few days, will be back at the office on January 8th. Best Jord

[lpost]

Jord, happy new year, enjoy your time off!

[flkin]

I have the headless AudioLinux Pink Faun V2 loaded and working for a day now. There is the Ramroot function and 2 extreme modes as expected.

 

Under Extreme 2, the 2.16x runs hot. Quite a bit hotter than Extreme. But there is a clear change in the sound character.

 

Once I have listened to the various versions including Ramroot, I will report back here again.

 

 

[lpost]

What does sensors show for cpu temp?  I’ve been running extreme for months, temp stays at 65C and is 100% stable.

 

Loading new version next week.