SBC dedicated Roonbridge / NAA endpoint setup

Roon Software Discussion Linux
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Hi all,
I would like to setup audio Linux dedicated SBC ROONBRIDGE / NAA endpoint to feed a USB DAC (up to DSD512 if and when supported from DAC USB driver)

After some readings on several threads some questions to the expert(s) :

HW

  • Any advantage to use Odroid C2 vs RPI 2 or 3 ?
  • RPI 2 USB / Ethernet bandwidth and CPU OK to deal with DSD streams ?

SW

  • DietPi a good option to get easiest install, setup and support (i’m not at all a LINUX geek) ?

SQ customization advices

  • Linear PSU to power SBC (vs a « good » switched PSU like iFi iPower for example) ?
  • Network and USB isolation devices required or almost useful (Intona, Regen …) ?
  • Any comparison (from SQ point of view) vs MicroRendu or SotM-sms 200 turnkey solution ?

Thank you

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FWIW – my 2 eurocents:

HW

  • The Odroid is faster in every possible way, however software support is better for the RPI. Note that running Roon Bridge or NAA is very lightweight stuff – even a Pi does not break a sweat.
  • My Pi3 runs fine up to DSD256 over DoP – with recent kernels the shared bus/interrupt business appears to be a thing of the past. Can’t speak for DSD512, but bandwidth should be about the same.

SW

  • DietPi is brilliant: light-weight, up-to-date and with an easy, menu-driven installer you can use for installing Roon Bridge and NAA. The developer (@Dan_Knight) is very responsive and hangs around here regularly.

SQ

  • Won’t comment here, I’m afraid: my belief in decrapifiers is limited. I do use a linear PSU with my main Pi (Aqvox), but I’d be surprised if it offers me anything else than peace of mind (which is fine). Archimago’s measurements show little to no noise with a regular, switching PSU.
  • Microrendu and/or SMS-200 are supposed to be as optimised as can be for USB bridging, with decrapification built-in and ample PSU options. If you find yourself attracted to this, skip the SBC route and buy either one (with the added bonus of turn-key OS that is Roon Bridge / NAA ready out of the box). Add a $1400 PSU and you’re all set. :slight_smile:
2 Likes
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Thank you very much Rene !
So a quite good NAA / RoonBridge endpoint setup for less than 100 euros. Great !

One more question: In this context any benefits to choose RPI3 vs RPI2 ?

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The Pi3 is slightly faster and offers bluetooth and Wifi. That said: these are the first things I disable. :slight_smile:

My main Pi is a downclocked RPI2 with a Hifiberry Digi+ PRO board for SPDIF, running DietPi. Has run flawlessly ever since Roon Bridge was born. :slight_smile:

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So the best choice seems RPI2 (for dedicated ethernet audio endpoint). :slight_smile:

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:slight_smile: ! I will use external DAC (probably T+A DAC8 DSD). Seems such a DAC is correctly isolated.
So I’m not in the way to add a $1400 Linear PSU to feed RPI3. See http://archimago.blogspot.fr/2017/01/measurements-raspberry-pi-3-as-usb.html

However any recommendation for a decent but affordable PSU ?
Anybody using iFi iPower (59 euros) ?
Thank you.

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I was using an iFi iPower with a microRendu - but I’ve just sold this combination. To be honest, I couldn’t perceive any difference in SQ between this combination and an RPi3 with a standard RPi power supply. I don’t have golden ears.

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I currently use an iFi iPower for my RPi2 with the HifiBerry DAC+ board. In my case, the difference was quite clear compared to the cheap SMPS used previously. However, I am listening to the analog outputs of the DAC, and I can easily imagine that this is much more sensitive to power supply noise compared to a USB or SPDIF digital output.