Yes, every command is relative to that first “cd /mnt/sd”. I forgot to add a dot after the chroot command, corrected, thank you.
Yes, armhf is the correct architecture to follow for armv7l. I apt installed wget and then downloaded the package straight from the chroot actually.
Change the raspbian line in apt sources.list to “buster” where it is “stretch”, simply because mirrors now fail looking up “stretch” release. I found that the some flac libraries are installed through “oldoldstable”, I wonder what package this is used for and if we could just upgrade everything to stable and keep it working. The whole thing is patched together using community posted utilities mostly tbh. It is worth hacking about I suppose.
This technique can apply to most embedded devices using underlying Linux system, as long as you can have write access to the root partition. Seems like in this case Gustard is using the same “Gustarender” for all their networked devices. The boot partition and its binaries as well as underlying system config for audio device access is what is device specific, but as long as you don’t mess with those, and upgraded packages play along nicely, it is yours to configure.
I use the RME DAC in second version (AKM4493EQ dac chip) and have concluded it will be my endgame, if nothing will happen that overturns my todays findings.
The DSD Direct function is taking the very competent DAC to a complete new level and depending on off course the rig and personal preference, I think now the only way forward for me is to replace speakers to something more transient responsive, to be able to depict life-like percussion reproduction. My Marten Parker Trio is not bad, they are tuned more to warmth, but I will search for the Focal och B&W Nautilus profile. The filter options and modulator available in HQP to get very rapid transient response is doing so well, it is either monitor speaker playback or horns that will be in my future scope.
Having said that, the RME, and I suppose most other DAC’s, is not immune to noise interference. Going to extreme in fast response, will trigger sibilance and resonances, why substantial attention to isolating, shorting the noise to ground is recommended. It is a multi-layer exercise, there are many sources of interference.
RME is acc to me very transparent, the only one I will be able to afford. There is no added glow at all. Just up my alley. I want the recording to speak for itself. When becoming successful in reducing rig specific sound, the most astonishing insight is that music productions are in general far more intricate and well arranged than what first meets the ear. This finding goes for any rig. I have very expensive gear at work to compare and now I can rest assured that knowledge is far more important than product price. You can combine gear at silly price levels, or read all tests on ASR page flashing very good measures, but when YOU connect them together, in YOUR home, none of the specifics are valid anymore, because no one can actually predict how it will interact at YOUR place.
For what it is worth, I can now recommend the RME DAC as the final keeper for most people, if you know how to counteract most of the interfering properties in a complex interconnected, part computerized, environment. It is intriguing, challenging and great fun to be able to tweak a quite cheap rig to outplay very expensive dito. Choosing gear with built-in warmth, ie tubes or most of the ladder DAC’s will not lead you closer to the recording, I often interpret as adding a flavour instead that goes with the taste. Nothing wrong, but a distinctive difference in the persuit of best possible sound, and what that means to you.
I owned the RME with AKM 4493 and of course DSD Direct with HQP.
I sold it for a Cyan 2, and I find that the Cyan 2 has a more analogue reproduction with more presence.
In the end, I fully appreciate this change, but the RME remains a very good DAC.
After that, it all depends on the rest of the equipment and your own tastes in terms of reproduction.
For example the default filters are among the best available from HQPlayer (1x=poly-sinc-gauss-long, Nx=poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp) and modulators such as ASDM7EC-fast. With these settings my old quad core i5-7600T without GPU has not problems at all to play DSD256 to the Marantz SA-12SE.
