Steve Builds a RoPieee Update - Noob Quotient: Easy as Pi

Audio Gear Talk RoPieee
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A few tips about the Topping E30 DAC.

  1. The DAC operates in two modes: “Pre” and “DAC”. You can switch between them by pressing and holding the button on the front.

    • In “Pre” mode, the digital volume control of the AK4493 chip can be used via the supplied remote control. In that mode, the display shows the volume (in dBFS).
    • In “DAC” mode, the digital volume control is disabled, and the display shows the sample rate (in kHz).

    Since both Roon and your AVR already offer volume controls, I suggest the “DAC” mode.

  2. Plugged into an RPi, whose USB port is continuously powered, the DAC never goes into standby mode (short of shutting down the RPi, which I don’t recommend). If you really want the DAC to go into standby mode, switch the input to Optical or Coax. The display will read “Err” and then, after a minute, it will go into standby.

  3. I had an issue with the supplied power cable (a USB-A to barrel connector cable). The outer diameter of the supplied cable was a hair (maybe 1/2 mm) too small. Fortunately, I had a spare 5V PS with the correct barrel connector lying around. Assuming Topping has corrected this, you should have no problem powering the DAC from the RPi.

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Thanks for the suggestion, @wizardofoz. All of my audio equipment is at least 15 years old. Nothing that I own has a USB audio input. Only optical (which I’m currently using with the laptop on the Yamaha A/V Receiver), HDMI, or co-axial. The Raspberry Pi 4 has a micro HDMI port, but as I understand it, RoPieee doesn’t use this for an output. I don’t have a micro HDMI cable, anyway.

Only 4 more days. Who knows; maybe I won’t even notice an improvement over the MacBook Pro and the A/V Receiver’s internal D/A converter. At least this will free up the MacBook Pro for everyday use again.

Thank you

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Thank you @Jacques_Distler for the helpful DAC tips. DAC Mode indeed sounds like the way to go. I plan on adjusting Roon’s volume setting to roughly match the volume I get when switching to the cable box or Apple TV.

This receiver came with inbuilt XM Radio, and when played at a normal listening volume, was way too loud when switching over to other sources, with no means to adjust. And of course we nearly always forgot to turn down the volume before switching…

Thank you!

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Scratch that! I just received a DHL notification that the order from Apos for the Topping E30 is out for delivery. Updates when it arrives!

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Well, DHL arrived later than expected, but everything is finally working as expected.

The big stumbling block was that on initial setup, nothing happened! I started eliminating possibilities by using the MacBook Pro’s optical out to the DAC and to my receiver. That worked. USB out of the Mac didn’t, but I also couldn’t find any way to set the audio to use the USB port, so figured that was my fault.

I rebooted everything a couple of times, and went through the RoPieeeXL setup again. Still no joy. The DAC just did not see the RoPieee as a source. Much pater, I was moving the optical cable, and the DAC suddenly recognized the RoPieee. Then it lost it. Fiddling some more, I found that the USB cable supplied with the new Topping E30 DAC was bad.

So, after swapping to a known good cable, everything worked as expected! I did quickly note that the DAC is extremely sensitive to static electricity. The room is carpeted, and it is still cold and dry here, so a light shock is the norm for us. The DAC stops when it is touched without grounding myself on another piece of equipment first, and then I have to change its source to optical and back to USB again. However, once I get things tucked away, I shouldn’t have to touch it again.

One thing that’s different than the Beginner’s Guide that @Nathan_Wilkes created, is that I do not have a “Devices” tab on my RoPieeeXL web access page. Maybe because I only have one device?

Overall, this has been a very easy process, which I was wary of undertaking as a Roon and Raspberry Pi neophyte. A huge than you to @spockfish for creating this tool, to @Nathan_Wilkes for the excellent Beginner’s Guide, and all of you who have contributed to this thread helping me with tips and suggestions. And thank you @Jim_F for not having your pre-made box available and steering me down this path to begin with.

Y’all are a wonderful resource and are sincerely appreciated,
Steve

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I have updated the slide to make this more clear; thanks for the feedback.

RoPieee guide for beginners
RoPieee guide for beginners960×540 52.7 KB

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Cool! Thanks @Nathan_Wilkes

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Treat yourself to a Shiit Audio Modi 3 DAC for $100. These little puppies are magic and about the size of a paperback book. You can use it with any of your digital sources. I think you’ll be surprised at the quality of the sound at any price. The Modi 3 is a good intro to Schiit’s upmarket DACS. I have a Gumby Multibit and the Magni headphone amp. The Gumby has a similar voice but expresses more image depth than the Magni can. “Scarlet Town” on Thile/Mehldau eponymous record is a good example. The keys dance behind Chris’s mandolin funk.

I’ll second the recommendation to use actual Ethernet vs WiFi. I have all of my devices on the hard where they work well, well as well as the upstream source.

I use Roon radio station streaming quite a bit (Live from Here on Saturday nights and ATC/Morning Edition).

I also use Roon Radio quite a bit after the album of the night ends. I’ve discovered literally 1000 artists and albums that way. When add to library replaces purchases, it frees you to add speculative artists and records on the strength of a track or two. I really like this model. If I’m initiating playback of something frequently, I’ll buy it from Qobuz.

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Thanks for the reply @David_Hamby. I was initially looking at the Modi3 before reading about the newly released Topping D30 for $130 US. It is a wonderful improvement on my previous setup of the MacBook Pro’s optical output into my 16 year old AV Receiver’s inbuilt DAC.

Everything in my system is wired via Ethernet, so I did not activate the WiFi in RoPieee.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying streaming Qobuz through my new setup!

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