By the way, you only need the 1GB version of the Raspberry Pi 4.
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@James_McEwan1 I run two pis one a vers 3 + and the other vers 4 both with usb dacs ones a AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt the other Ifi iDSD Nano BL. I would recommend if going for the pi 4 you also get a Flirc Case for it, It looks really nice and more importantly will help keep it cool as it all acts a giant heatsink and this is welcome as the pi4 does put out some heat and risks overheating, with this case your safer than some of the other options. I use on on mine and it keeps it at a nice operation temp compared to the one I was using before.
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By the way, I’m seeing that here in the US, the 2GB is less expensive than the 1GB right now. Must be a supply and demand issue.
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RPi 4b 1GB is now discontinued item.
re noobs just use etcher to write over the noobs SD card…you will be fine.
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Thanks so much guys. Set it up over the weekend - easy as Pi. Working really well so far. Really grateful for all the detailed advice and encouragement - I would never had considered it otherwise! 
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I’ve got another one on order from Amazon.
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So, after your super-helpful advice before and my first voyage into Pi-Dom, I am now after your thoughts and expertise about another room. This time, endpoints and speakers for the kitchen!
I have spent days looking through options for wireless speakers which could be used as a stereo pair (narrowing down the options to start with), which have line-in (ruling out many Sonos, certainly those out with my ideal price range), to potentially use a Chromecast Audio I have kicking about as a Roon endpoint - but aren’t too pricey. And ideally would be relatively future proof also.
Then I wondered if I could repeat the Pi experience, probably this time using a DAC hat and connecting to a reasonably ok set of budget active bookshelf speakers (and here I landed on an Edifier set, the R1280DB).
Thing is, for my other half to buy into this, a DAB radio needs to be in the equation somehow. There are some fairly inexpensive ones with line out, but then, from what I can see, the Pi doesn’t have a line in. It looks like I can attach a hat, but this is where I’m out. I know I could, if using the Edifiers, just attach a DAB line out to them and could even attach the CC audio in via optical, but I am wondering if using a Pi wouldn’t be better (would give me RAAT and Ethernet connectivity for starters). And I could easily redeploy the CC audio in another room.
Any experience or thoughts in this? I did briefly toy with the idea of making my own ‘smart speakers’ as some have done on the forums here using a Pi and Hifi Berry and speaker parts but the prospect of soldering and that type of tinkering seems a bit intimidating and adds much scope for disaster…
So, sorry - I guess the TL;DR version of this is - any idea whether a line-in to a Pi is easily doable? And if all this sounds a bit nuts, do you have any alternative suggestions??
Thank you
Sorry, you’re asking about things that I have no idea. Personally, I like simplicity. If I wanted music in the kitchen, I would assemble another RPi4 and plug it into a stand alone Bose speaker of some sort. The Pi could use WIFI and have a HAT that gives you RCA out to a speaker or some other connection type.
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Understood. What’s RGB?
Sorry, I meant RCA. I’m not at all familiar with all the HATS available to install on your RPi4 that can feed a speaker or speakers.
Ah! Thanks Jim
People here laugh at Bose, but for a kitchen stand-alone speaker, some of them sound incredible. I use a Bose Soundtouch 300 for my main listening area.
You can get an amp hat such as the HifiBerry Amp2 to feed some speakers.I actually built my own wireless speakers using one with a 2nd hand Centre Channel from QAcoustics. I use another powering s stereo pair in my daughter’s bedroom. Why the DAB? have you tried getting the stations on Roons internet radio as that would stop the need for a DAB radio. If not then I would look at a simple cheap class d amp you can pick these up on Amazon for not much and they could take likely two inputs so one from a DAC on raspberry pi and one from the DAB radio. Or go for a prebuilt DAB / speaker that has either airplay or Chromecast ability which would be neater.
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Hi James, if it helps in any way, I have been using an Allo Digi One (RPi 3b based) with Volumio installed. This allows Roon RAAT playback (great) but it also offers digital radio independently from Roon. The Volumio app offers digital radio stations directly but you could also install plugins such as Tunein Radio etc. One can even airplay (v1) stream any audio from an iPhone. Is this what you were thinking of?
By the way, you can achieve this with even a simple RPi (no need to go for the Allo). You will need a powered speaker to go with it of course and ideally you need one that powers on / off automatically so you can set and forget. It will not be as elegant looking as a Sonos one mind you…
… also worth noting, that in terms of stability, reliability and trouble free operation, the RPi based endpoints are wonderful. Over 3.5 years of Roon usage, I have found that integrations with other manufacturers are plagued by glitches. In the case of the RPi based end points, Roon has (almost) complete control of the hardware taking away the problems stemming from having to coordinate with multiple manufacturers.
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Thanks!
Your suggestions are just what I have been looking at since yesterday.
DAB - I know! Just a bit of a stickler from the OH, even though I have explained that internet radio, as far as I can see, is better quality. I think a simple one button push and radio then on is needing to be in there! Thankfully as you mentioned there are some good DAB/Bluetooth models with line out that I can then connect to speaker or Pi with HifiBerry DAC/ADC combo hat that have line in then to speakers.
Thanks again
Thanks for this!
I am more thinking of a Pi solution for this somehow, so the advice is great
Hi James,as long as data isn’t a concern,any of the Google Home devices work beautifully as a radio.We have a couple around the house,they don’t take up much room,and you can play just about anything with a radio app like iheart radio.
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