I have been fooling around making Raspberry Pi Roon endpoints. It can be challenging to someone like me who’s familiarity with the command line is way outdated and knowledge of Linux is non-existent. But I persevere because the end product actually sounds pretty good and the price can’t be beat.
With IQ Audio’s Dac HAT, they have a download that makes a “closed” Linux system that runs Roon Bridge. However, it only works with a wired DHCP connection. That is good and it works really well as one just has to flash a micro SD card and you are done.
But I would like the option f using the Wi-Fi built into the Raspberry 3 and also to use the Edimax USB wi-fi connector. But since this would required editing files in Linux, it doesn’t work with the download, flash insert and Go model.
Perhaps if this option was built into the Roon Bridge image, it would work. If there was a network settings where one just answered a few questions:
Wi-Fi, yes/no
Wi-fi network name
WiFi password
Use of USB wifi card?
Then reboot and go?
Anyway, I think this would go a long way to filling out my Xmas list with Roon endpoints to my audiophile buddies …
@Peter_Truce Peter try DietPi this has a wifi support option but is a little more hands on with a SSH terminal connection or a keyboard and monitor attached
also there is Ropieee too… I’ve move this to the Raspberry Pi area
There is also Volumio with some hands on too…and a rumour I heard that they are adding Roon Bridge to their efforts.
Personally I use all wired RPi’s with RoPieee now… I have about 6-7 or them…3 with LCD screens showing whats playing
Yes, the first two Pi’s I did was with DietPi. Both wired, although the first one worked with wi-fi for a few days until it started having dropouts, probably due to my Airport Extreme.
But i would like a much faster build which the IQ Audio is. But no wi-fi. I guess i will just bore the hole I need to run a 50 ft cable to the switch. It would be a great solution if the configuration for wi-fi could be done within the app. Just saying’.
You have not to edit the img file.
Simply burn the image on your SD card (according to IQAudio manual) and then follow the readme instructions available in the PC readable partition.
Please notice that you can connect only to a 2.4 GHz network (5 GHz networks are not supported by Pi chipset)
Hi Andrea, Unfortunately, creating the file as a text file and naming it as specified did not work. I think my original idea of doing the configuration in Roon bridge is really the only way for non-Linux people like myself to use the Pi with wireless. My solution has been to just pull one of my older mac Mini’s from the closet and use that. 5 minutes configuration and boom, music in the bedroom.
For what it’s worth, I tried the wifi route and eventually went back to wired with Ropieee. I didn’t find the Pi wifi to be robust enough. Too many dropout problems for my taste, even with endpoints fairly close to the router.
I have two IQAudio bridges (both with the Roon OS provided by IQAudio itself).
One is near the router (4 meters), and it works quite well on wifi (and yes, I have configured it as described in the posts above).
The second one is in another room, 15 meters far from the router and with two walls in the middle: here I need the wired connection to avoid dropouts.
I have no doubt that you have successfully modified the closed image and have it working. However, as i accurately described myself, I was unable to do it. I was able to get it going using Dietpi and making the modifications, but this took way too long and was much more complicated.
I still think for the Pi to be ready for prime time, the network configuration should be within the Roon Bridge interface.
In the meantime, I will use the Pi for the wired piston in my home and use a Mac Mini for the wireless position.
thanks for the advice. My first Pi I built up using DietPi worked for 3 days with no problems, but then started having dropouts. My current bedroom Endpoint, an old mac Mini, has had zero dropouts so far, 4 days. Hoping that it will continue to perform flawlessly.
I still think for the Pi to be ready for prime time, the network configuration should be within the Roon Bridge interface.
That’s difficult to achieve. Network configuration is an OS-specific task and not something you can do (easily) from software like Roon Bridge, especially since Roon Bridge is cross-platform and runs on numerous hardware and different OS combinations.
On the upside I can tell you that I’m looking into adding wireless support to RoPieee, so stay tuned.
You’re quite welcome, Peter. It sounds as though you are on the way to better luck than I had. There are many variables with wifi, so perhaps my problems were a combination of factors. In any event, I had ethernet points close to where I wanted my Pis, so going back to wired was not a big deal. Plus, I wanted to try the Ropieee video function, which as it turns out is fantastic
That would be cool and appreciated. In doing the Dietpi configuration, our teacher made up a Perl script that one ran first that input the needed wi-fi credentials without having to edit config files. That was easy, just the rest of the setup was tedious.
I think you have the idea that I am a gratification-now type of guy. That would be correct. The reason I got interested in the Pi was seeing the Bryston Pi endpoint for $1300 and the Bluesound endpoint for $500 - both Pi’s in a nice case and with the software installed. I was thinking if the hardware, a standard package of the Pi 3b, case and IQ doc is under $100, then that would be a real deal, and great Xmas gift. But if it takes a long frustrating time for non-Linux people, then it doesn’t look so cheap.
“The Node 2’s CPU has been substantially upgraded from the previous Bluesound generation. It is one of the most powerful ARM® Cortex™ processors available and boasts A9 cores and a blazing 1 GHz clock speed. This delivers flawless decoding of lossless files at high sampling rates along with snappy response times to complex tasks. Massive computing power takes the streaming experience to new levels of responsiveness and control.”
“Blazing 1 GZ speed” - looks very similar … The 3B is a Quad Cortex @ 1.2Gz. If it isn’t a Pi, the specs make it look like one. Blazing is not the adjective I would use if I were writing the ad copy.
Compared to the previous incarnation, it’s probably blazing… CPU aside, the BS board is a custom design, carefully crafted for the single purpose of playing networked audio. The Pi is a general purpose SBC.
Mind – not hitting on the little Pi here: I’ve been using them in my system since the early days of Roon Bridge to great success, when DietPi did not have RB support and Ropieee did not exist. My current Pi combo with linear PSU and a DigiOne for S/PDIF certainly does not sound worse than the Node (I like that one for other reasons).
The Pi’s WiFi however is notoriously weak and will lead to disappointment in most scenarios, regardless of the way you config it.
CPU aside, the BS board is a custom design, carefully crafted for the single purpose of playing networked audio. The Pi is a general purpose SBC.