The audio output / gain(?) have recently dropped to a level around 40-50% of normal on my Rpi4-HifiBerryDAC-Ropieee endpoint.
It is now significantly lower in volume/gain than both my CD-player and even my turntable.
I now find myself having to crank my amplifer up to “2 o’clock” position for a medium listening level, as compared to 9 o’clock earlier.
I can not categorically say that Ropieee is at fault here, or that it happened after an update, but since it all of a sudden happened overnight, without any otherwise changes to the hardware, i suspect and hope its a software issue.
I have not changed any settings prior to this happening, but have tried switching to fixed volume and device volume in the output settings without any increase in output level.
Just before posting, i also downloaded latest Ropieee build and reflashed/reinstalled to no effect.
Also same low levels when using Spotify and the connect feature
I am currently at an impasse as to what to try next, and hope mr. ten Berge can take a look, if not just to confirm its not a Ropieee issue.
@Oyvind_Rosmer
Why are you using, in “Device Setup”, the “Volume Control” as “DSP Volume” instead of “Fixed Volume”?
I would think that, if you are using your amplifier as volume-controler, you do not want to modify the digital stream to not to play bitperfect.
YMMV.
Kind regards, Frank.
Hello and thanks for your comment.
I use DSP volume because general ease of use and i also have a physical remote for play/pause and switching songs which also can adjust the Roon volume.
I do not find it deteriorates the sound quality so much that i notice it in daily use
To be able to figure this out it is needed you switch back to device volume (hardware volume control). Keep in mind that DSP volume is just software volume control which can interfere.
Switch to device volume control and see if things behave like expected. To do that, focus on a single streaming solution, preferably Roon. Do not switch to other platforms like Spotify.
All right, tried now, switched to device volume again .
Still no increase in output signal/volume. Tried multiple songs, both TIDAL and local files.
All the time comparing to my CDplayer (switching source, keeping the same volume level on the amplifier). Sound level is maybe as little as 25-30% compared to the CDplayer.
Just realised now that i havent tried switching input source on the amplifier. I will connect the RPi to input #3 where the CDplayer now is connected to see if the amplifiers input is compromised
Edit : Tried switching amplifier imputs now; nothing wrong with the amplifer. Still same differences in volume
Thanks for the tip. I tried using another cable but made no difference unfortunately.
I also tried Volumio and Hifiberry OS, and with Volumio it was the same low gain output, but with Hifiberry OS it was normal levels. So thats a bit puzzling.
Hifiberry OS is very limited and not in development any longer, so i cant use that as a long term solution unfortunately.
My hopes now lie with mr.ten Berge and that its possible to locate the ‘source’ of this happening with this combination of hardware i got. Its probably just one of those random things…
@Oyvind_Rosmer - Are you able to take your streamer or Roon out of the equation and hook your system up to like a tv or phone or something? This way you can see if it’s your system or a software problem.
As i mention in the post, i have compared with both my CDplayer and my turntable.
They both have normal sound levels on the same system, even on the same amplifier input with the same signal cable. I even explained that i have also tried other software/OS on the RPi streamer and sound levels were normal with Hifiberry OS but not with Volumio or Ropieee
Practical advice: Leave it completetely disconnected for one day, try again the next day. If the issue persists, try it in a setup of a friend/neighbour. If that does not help, it might just be broken and electronic stuff can behave strange ways.
Thank you.
Yes, thats right. Sometimes electronic equipment just needs a “reset”, just being left alone for a periode of time, or moved to another environment and it suddenly starts working normal again.
Having tried most other options, i will give this a try as well. .!
Even though i suspect this is now just one of those chance combinations that suddenly no longer work together, usually due to a software change/update.
We will see what mr ten Hag,- uhm.. ten Berge finds out. Hopefully he can localise what possible code has changed somewhere that causes this..!
Having used Hifiberry for a week, i tried an earlier Ropieee version today (2025.6.0),
hoping to get the normal output level back, as they were last time version 2025.6.0 was installed.
But no luck, volume output still very low.
Have you had time to look into this, and do you think it is hope to get this resolved, mr. ten Berge, or should i recognise my bad luck and buy new hardware?
Have you had any other reports regarding lowered output levels in the past few weeks..?
Assuming that you’ve tested with the simplest route possible (hardware volume control, no DSP whatsoever), I suspect that this is either a hardware issue or a driver issue. The lather I can’t resolve.
When you say driver issue, will that be a driver between the ‘underlying’ Linux system and the hardware..?
And that is something you dont control, is that how it works..? My knowledge stops here..
On another note, i tried DietPi with Roon bridge yesterday, and in the configuration settings there was a volume slider that was adjusted to -20dB without me having fiddled with any settings.
That level was about the same low volume as with Ropieee. When i adjusted the sliders to 0dB the output level went to normal.
With my knowledge limited; is it possible that those -20dB was kind of a ‘hardware adjustment’ that is now permanently adjusted back to 0dB and will stick..?
Yes. The driver is part of the Linux source code and needs to be maintained. That requires commitment from people (and the manufacturer), and I’m not sure if that happens (enough).
Yeah… but again, if you use device volume control from Roon, which means hardware volume control, I would expect that to happen anyway.
