HiFiBerry Digi+ Standard

Hi all,

I have a Pioneer N-70A which unfortunately is not capable of acting as a ROON endpoint.

The DAC in this deck is superb, though so I would like to make use of it.

Am I correct in thinking that if I purchased a HiFiBerry Digi+ Standard with SPDIF out, I could use it as a Roon endpoint and connect it to the Pioneer N70A > Amplifier?

Many thanks in advance.

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Hi,
I think it will work.
I use a Ropieee Bridge with a IQAudi digi+ connected to my Yamaha AVR this way. It sounds much better than the same AVR with airplay (Roon tested)

Thank you, Hans.

I have never installed anything on a Rasberry Pi. Do I need to use a solder or would it connect via an adapter of some sort?

Thanks again

You do not need to solder only to plug the Dac board to the bus or in some cases using an adapter plugged to the bus.

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If I am correct and the Pioneer N-70A has a USB DAC input, then there’s no need for a Hat any kind.

Just connect a standard 2GB RPi4 (running Ropieee or Ropieee XL) up to the Pioneer with a USB-A to USB-B cable (aka a USB printer cable) and you’re done.

There’s no real benefit of using a HAT to convert the digital signal to S/PDIF if you have a USB input on your amp or DAC already.

If you want a nicer case then the Flirc one is a nice option/upgrade over the standard/official RPi one.

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Thanks, Jamie.

I did not realised the N70A had a USB-DAC. I just assumed that you could browse music files only.

I have a Rasberry Pi Model 3 B+ here. Would I be able to use that to try?

Thank you

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Yes, sure, you can use the USB-DAC of the Pioneer.
But if you want to play DSD, then (the N-70A(E) don’t support DoP) you’ve to use a PC with the asio drivers.

All my files are ripped CDs (FLAC) and I want to play them through the DAC on the Pioneer.

Using the Rasberry Pi as an endpoint and into the USB DAC of the Pioneer, would this work? I’m a little confused with the terms.

Thank you

Yes, a RPi3 will work fine, just flash/burn the Ropieee OS image to the Micro SD Card (using Etcher) and connect it up.

You’ll need to have the RPi connected via Ethernet to start and may need to look at your router to see what IP it has been assigned so you can connect to the web interface/configuration screen (see here under ‘RoPieee web interface’). After that you can set the WiFi password via the web interface and remove the ethernet cable if you want to use it wirelessly.

Yes exactly that.

Thanks, Jamie.

I shall give it a try.

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Hi Anna,

I read the full topic.

You just need a streamer. In my case I choiced to use an allo DigiOne with RPI3b with coaxial output. This may be a better solution than using the usb output of the RPI.

There may be an issue with high-res (192) files here. Prior to model 4 the Raspberry Pi shares a data bus between ethernet and USB, so the USB output data is through the same “pipe” as the incoming stream data on ethernet. A model 4 Pi or a HAT device (the official name for a RPi add on board) that doesn’t share the bus may be a better bet.

A coax HAT, as suggested by @Bertrand_CLECH or an optical HAT would fit the bill. This HifiBerry HAT offers both: https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-digi2-pro/ but I also use a DigiOne Signature which is coax only: DigiOne Signature Clean Power SPDIF Out the DigiOne is also coax only and is cheaper without a dedicated “clean power” line, which may or not make a difference: DigiOne SPDIF Output.

Good luck

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In my case definitely got better sound using the pi4 w hat compared to usb. Having difficulty actually getting a case that fits, but I am sure this is temporary.

Hi @j_a_m_i_e

I have done this and connected it up with my Pioneer N70-A.

Which audio hat do I select in the configuration of Ropieee?

I cannot see the device from my Roon Server.

Thank you

I had to ensure the USB DAC was selected in my Pioneer then it appeared.

Thanks so much - works flawlessly and saved me a few quid as well!

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Hi Julian,

I’m assuming that from the rpi 3, the USB transfers the data to my Pioneer DAC the same way as an optical cable would. The DAC in the Pioneer would be used in the same way, wouldn’t it? Or have I not got this correct?

Thank you

Why “allo” - it’s a very expensive equipment!

You have it correct.

The issue is how you are getting the signal from Roon to the Pi, not how you are connecting the Pi to the Pioneer. If you are on WiFi, you’re fine, in my experience. If you are using Ethernet, you may have drop-outs, as on the Pi 3, the Ethernet and USB ports share a bus, and sometimes get in each other’s way. If that happens, you can upgrade to a Pi 4, which fixes the “common bus” problem.

150 $ for the RPI3, the board, and the box. Not so expensive. But signature model is expensive.