Confused about "Raspberry"

Could some kind soul outline for a “non tech” old fogey what it does and how to use it?
At present, I have Roon core on my pc,and Roon remote on my tablet,and use an Onkyo NS-6130 as my “end point”. I connect wirelessly(circa 250mbps so buffering not a problem). On my pc, listening to Roon via headphones and a Dragonfly Red, I am fairly certain that the sound is more pleasing than that on the “main” system when playing identical material from source.
I f I were to purchase a Raspberry,is it easy to configure, can it be used wirelessly, and would the Dragonfly be utilised somehow in the chain?
Sorry if garbled,but genuinely confused by this new fangled streaming malarkey:)

You could plug your Dragonfly directly into the Raspberry Pi USB port instead of plugging it into your PC. The Raspberry Pi running RoPieee or RoPieeeXL can connect to your network using ethernet or WIFI. I doubt that it would sound any better or different unless your PC is having issues. This could be useful if you want to use your headphones and sit somewhere besides at your PC.

Or, if you wanted to add some speakers in a different room, you could use the Raspberry Pi to feed the music from you network (ethernet or WIFI) to your powered speakers or DAC, amp, and speakers.

Try this for ideas…lots of people use this as a setup, including me. I have many RPi setups

https://codexwilkes.com/downloads/ropieee-guide-for-beginners.pdf

Steve,

What you’ve got with the Onkyo unit is a streamer/DAC combo. Replacing this with a Raspberry Pi setup would probably make little positive difference, if any.

I’d suggest that you look at your amplifier and speakers and room set-up. That’s more than likely the reason you’re not as happy as you are with your headphones. You might try listening to your main system with headphones to start with, if your amplifier has a headphone jack. See if you like that. If so, you might think about doing something with your speakers.

Maybe you are playing via airplay? If you use a RPi and connect the Onkyo via Usb this could well improve your experience

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Hi Steve

At last a non techie old fogey like me

I use 2 rpis and find they are very good, with lots of simple guidance notes. Just Google the Raspberry Pi Foundation

I have found them particularly good for streaming my music from my core to other rooms - you can install Roon on a pi and then Roon identifies them and plays to them either wi-fi or ethernet

In our kitchen I have simply used a pi to play music from the core (located in another room) through an amp and speakers

The sound card in the pi is not brilliant so for my headphones amp I have added DAC card https://thepihut.com/products/pi-dac-plus-full-hd-audio-c

The link is to a website that is very helpful re rpis. Both IQAUDIO and Hifiberry cards are Roon ready

Pis are really easy and allow you to stream your music around the house

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I think @wizardofoz has hit the right question…

Can you post a screenshot of the signal path for both main system and headphone listening?

Edit - (Don’t think the Onkyo supports usb input, but should support Chromecast… )

according the Onkyo web site it supports USB

It does support USB…and one other thing…in getting Roon up and running,and installing the Onkyo updates,I completely forgot about the Onkyo controller app…I think from memory I was playing Roon feed via Airplay…should I use the built in Chromecast,or is there no difference?

CC might be better than Airplay but both wont be that great compared to a USB connection.

So sorry…but utterly bewildered by all this…so if I have Roon core on my pc, and Roon remote on my tablet, could I connect my Dragonfly to my tablet, and then plug the Dragonfly into the USB port of the Onkyo?

I don’t think so. Unless I’ve got the wrong device or I’m missing something in the handbook, the USB ports on the Onkyo only support connection of mass storage devices, eg usb sticks or hdd. It won’t operate as a usb DAC.

However… I do agree chromecast is a better option than airplay, so it’s worth confirming which you are using. Roon should be able to see both.

Moot point with the Onkyo (if I’m right… ), but whether usb is ‘better’ than chromecast depends on implementation of both and the architecture of the rest of the system.

It was worth a try…will try with the Dragonfly via tablet/ headphones…and then try the Onkyo ensuring chromecast is enabled…if there is a marked difference I will invest in the Raspberry…many thanks all for the kind and informative responses:)

I stand Corrected 2 x USB Type-A Inputs (Front and Rear) for Audio Playback via Mass-Storage Class HDDs

So basically you are screwed with only CC or Airplay unless you have streaming services or plug your media into one or both USB-A ports (drive formats and file formats depending) *Onkyo cannot guarantee, nor has tested, correct operation with all HDD brands and device types. HDD must be formatted to FAT32. For more information, please refer to user manual or Onkyo website.

You might also try - and I’m not suggesting this as a final configuration - connecting the Dragonfly output directly into your preamp and not using the Onkyo. If that sounds different and/or better, then the focus is definitely on the Onkyo…

Think I may have it now(for an experiment)…Core on PC, Remote on tablet…Dragonfly to tablet,then out to a line in on my Brio amp via 3.5 jack/RCA lead?

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Sounds right to me…

Many thanks all…connected the dragonfly to my Brio amp via my Samsung Galaxy 'phone…significant improvement over the Onkyo streamer! BUT…:)…I tried the same with my Galaxy tablet…but the supplied “tail” does not fit…there seem to be a wealth of connectors out there…could someone kindly tell me exactly what cable I need before I perhaps make a costly mistake?

Its called OTG On the Go connector , its a micro usb male to USB A female

But beware not all Samsung devices sport it , some research needed , my J1 doesnt for eg

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@steve_holloway, did you discover whether you were using AirPlay or Chromecast with the Onkyo?