Okay...Having to learn something I was hoping to avoid

LMK on that too - it’s something I’m considering too.

LOL! It’s not like that with the Pi. :slight_smile:

I’m sure you’re right. But neural pathways can get pretty rutted…So when someone says “assemble a computer” it’s straight jacket time for me.

Honestly, it’s a 5 minute job to assemble. Pi into a case and screw the thing up. Format Micro SD card with Ropieee image. Put card in Pi and that’s it. It’s almost plug’n’play!

I agree it’s a piece of Pi

My fingers are knackered but I managed it , the hard part is getting the latte as per Roipeee instructions

But seriously it is a simple job, nothing like building a pc. Tha CXA61 has a USB input

It’s worth a try

Done. It was pretty simple. At least the hardware part. We’ll see how the software installation and implementation works.

If you’re using Ropieee then it’s wonderfully simple. Download image. Etch the image on micro SD, boot up and enjoy.

Well, okay. But I somehow missed the instruction that it needed to be hardwired to the network before I booted up. Now all I have is “installation failed.” I get that. But disconnecting and reconnecting power after connecting to the net isn’t accomplishing a reinstall.

Seems like a dumb place to get stuck.

Just write the image to the card again and restart it.
I have had the installation take a long time and it doesn’t work if you interrupt it, So starting again sounds like the right next step

Mike

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If all else fails, reflash the micro SD and start again.

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Okay. Just reporting with a status update. Rpi assembled, flashed, set up on the CXA61 and the signal is clean as a whistle. Having also stumbled on another workaround I now have two working solutions to the lousy wifi signal issue, and a Rpi that I don’t need but will keep to play around with. I may put a hat on it and see what happens to SQ, if I can figure out how to bypass the DAC in the CXA61. Not sure that’s even possible, tho there may be something in the CXA61 manual that discusses the possibility. Maybe one of the AUX inputs bypasses the DAC. We’ll see.

Thanks everyone for the help!

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Glad to hear that you have music playing.

A hat is a simple update and depending on the inputs on your device, it is an easy step up to use Toslink, Coaxial or good old analogue cables.
I use HifiBerry but there are choices available.

Mike

Thanks. I know, but the amp has its own DAC and my understanding is that any signal that comes in gets fed through that built-in DAC. So I’m wondering how that could be avoided so that one could evaluate the signal from the rpi + hat unadulterated by the amp’s onboard DAC.

So everything goes through the DAC, regardless of the source.
So you would gain nothing and it could potentially be worse for you. Not sure what you can do about that.

Mike

If your device has it, use the input labeled ‘CD’.

Since such an input is generally for a CD player (which has a built-in DAC) rather than a CD transport ( which doesn’t have a built-in DAC), there should be no DAC on that input.

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There’s nothing in the CXA61 specification that suggests it has an ADC, nor any functionality that would require it. I’d be pretty sure the analogue inputs are analogue all the way to the speaker outputs.

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I’m pretty certain of this too. In the manual they are referred to as “Analogue Inputs”. The DAC in the CXA61 is only accessed by digital inputs.

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I would doubt that , any Digital signal yes , but Analogue inputs will by pass the DAC . So the CD input will have already been DACed by the CD player, hence Analogue

I could be wrong but to DAC everything would mean an A to D conversion, unlikely

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