Bitzie, Majestic, Solo, headphones, and sources

ICL1P wrote: Graham Slee wrote: After last week's discussions we decided to order a few items to evaluate the possibilities of using a Pi computer for digital audio streaming including: two Wolfson audio cards (http://uk.farnell.com/wolfson-microelectronics/wolfson-audio-card/audio-card-for-use-with-raspberry/dp/2347264?Ntt=2347264), and two Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB RAM) Am I missing something? I'm not sure why you've selected an audio card with a DAC.

Me too, thought you would be picking the Digi Out Card

ICL1P wrote: Graham Slee wrote: After last week's discussions we decided to order a few items to evaluate the possibilities of using a Pi computer for digital audio streaming including: two Wolfson audio cards (http://uk.farnell.com/wolfson-microelectronics/wolfson-audio-card/audio-card-for-use-with-raspberry/dp/2347264?Ntt=2347264), and two Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB RAM) Am I missing something? I'm not sure why you've selected an audio card with a DAC.

From my point of view it is an evaluation board just like any other evaluation board. I'm not a programmer or a developer so I need the OS to be right (which this faintly offers) and not glitch up. From there I hope to be able to find ways of doing what I'd like to make.

It should be noted that the board has the self same WM8804 but also has support for SPDIF input, which may fire off a clue as to what I want to do with it.

You see, although it is old-hat these days, I still want to make a player that plays USB sticks, as well as all files accessible via ethernet which you guys are already doing. Now, I have a CD player that supposedly plays USB sticks but I don't have a degree in IT - either that or it can't access the contents of folders.

The human interface in most commercial devices I see are based on a smartphone. For my sins of analogue development I am quite illiterate to the modern world, but I'm pretty good at catching up (Bitzie USB DAC, Majestic pre-DAC...).

I'd have thought the smartphone could be kept as being a smartphone, and used as a remote control file access (and play/stop) device.

Basically we are all reinventing the juke box, in which I mean the latter type where the wall box becomes the remote control. The under counter box becomes the streaming device and also the storage - just plug in a record... not much difference when you think about it.

But the other thing I want is a recorder. Remember what the tape-in/out sockets on amps were for? Of course you do.

I don't like USB for connectivity of streaming audio. I think its day will soon be over, at least for high quality audio. IMO it is becoming a frankenstein's monster just to get it to do more than it was originally intended to do. Turn analogue into digital and you need buffers for storage, but USB needs more than what I consider sane. In comes another development or sticking plaster for USB with less latency, but it requires a ridiculous amount of processing power. IMO USB is lost down its own path. OK for file storage though.

Therefore I have been interested in what you've been doing, but I have had difficulty in trying to grasp it all in this age of "doublespeak", acronyms, abbreviations and trade names.

On looking at the Hi-Fi Berry Digi+ I noted the unpopulated inputs, which are easily populated but not having any experience of it nor the Pi (or Pi+) would not be able to tell if I could realise a record function. The Wolfson audio card however, tells me straight that I can, so it looked to be a good starting point.

Being able to convert A to D and store the result without going through USB - except to store the file - allows any resolution the A-D transceiver can do. Currently I believe the WM8804 only goes to 96k but I will re-read its spec. At least 24/96 is a better start than 16/48.