Cheap Roon Endpoint with Wi-Fi

Audio Gear Talk
1

Hi there

I want to repurpose an old ampli to use with Roon in a secondary audio zone. I would stream the data from my SonicOrbiter via wi-fi, as I do not have an ethernet outlet close to the ampli. Hence I am looking for a Roon endpoint that has both streamer and DAC capabilities, and that can feed into the Yamaha ampli via RCA or optical (or other connection). I have been looking into the RPi4 + DAC route, including using Allo or HiFiBerry as DACs/players, but am not clear on whether this solution would work with wi-fi, and if yes, what OS to use (and I would need some help in understanding what components to buy). I am not opposed to a single, all-in-one solution that delivers but have not found one yet (or definitely not at the price point I am prepared to commit to, which is below $200). Ideally I would use the same endpoint also to allow guests to stream their music (e.g. Spotify, which I don’t use, or random web sites)

Is there any solution that the community would recommend?

Thanks!

Luca

2

RPi with RoPieee works fine with wi-fi. If you need Spotify, you can use RoPieee XL.

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3

Pi’s with Wifi are “OK” but require a good signal at the Pi location. The problem with Pi Wifi is no external antenna so the ant is actually embedded on the board. Absolutely requires a plastic case as putting it in a metal case will reduce signal even further.

I have a single Pi I can Wifi and limit to 16/44.1 and it works fine but the signal strength at that location is strong and consistent and my Pi is not in a case. I use a HiFiBerry DAC HAT and it’s “OK” but works perfect for a bedroom / small background system.

4

If signal strength is an issue, one can use a wi-fi dongle with the Pi.

5

Thanks to both. I do have a Netgear USB wi-fi dongle - if I plug it onto the Pi, will it be recognized and work immediately, or do I need to do any setup?

6

That’s not my experience. I have my Pi4 in a Flirc metal case and it works perfectly on my WiFi 5G, without hiccups ever.

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7

You should first try without any dongles. If it doesn’t work, you can try the one you have. If it doesn’t work, there are other inexpensive options.

8

Thanks! Would something like the Boss Player work as a standalone device bridge + DAC? Can I plug a USB wifi dongle onto it? Any recommendations on what OS to go for? (I think they give the choice between Moode and Allo GUI).

9

[quote=“ipeverywhere, post:3, topic:190999, full:true”]. Absolutely requires a plastic case as putting it in a metal case will reduce signal even further.
[/quote]

I bought an Argon case for my RPi4, which is a metal case (bought to deal with overheating issues) and I have no WiFi issues at all.

Most WiFi issues are often the WiFi network and not always the RPi4

10

Raspberry Pi 4 with RoPieee is an excellent solution. Cheap and easy to setup.

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