Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[gbate]

I just purchased a Raspberry Pi ID for use as a renderer.  My Pi uses a HiFiBerry I2S "PiHat" card.  This card is not showing up under "devices".  Is there a way to get ID to recognize this HiFiBerry I2s card?

[JimH]

I don't know the answer, but I found this:

https://support.hifiberry.com/hc/en-us/articles/205711451-DAC-Pro-connect-external-I2S-DACs

Does anything else work with it?

[gbate]

Thanks for that link.  That does seem to imply that the I2S interface can be recognized.  I am just surprised that I've been unable to find info on the topic of I2S compatiblility with JRiver.

To answer your question, yes, it will work when selecting the Pi's built in sound device.  The "renderer" function seems to work well also the pi's regular sound  jack, but don't want to use the Pi's built in device as a audio device, because of it's limitations.

The Hifiberry audio device that I have is a "HifiBerry DAC".  It is also considered an I2S device.  It is an onboard DAC as opposed to a external DAC, and mounts to the PI via a daughterboard, also referred to as a "PiHat".  For it's output, it uses 2 analog rca jacks mounted on the board, but of higher quality (192kbs) than the Pi's build in audio.  There are a few linux audio players that work with this HiFiBerry card , (Volumio, for example) but the the JRiver's ID is the best at streaming from a DLNA as a renderer without a breakup in sound.  I'm starting to think that this device is not supported. 

[Bohemian]

Which hifiberry hat are you using exactly?

I am using the hifiberry digi+ pro, which takes the I2S from the pi and puts it through its own clocks to output spdif at up to 24/192k.
As Jim says, this hat has solder points to take the I2S signal from it to connect to an I2S dac, such as PSAudio or Wyred4Sound etc.

My hifiberry shows up when selected from tools>options>audio.

Does this help at all?

[gbate]

I am using the hifiberry dac (standard), so instead of the coax/spdif connections for outputting to a external DAC like yours, mine is an onboard dac with analog outs straight to my stereo. 

Yes, that is very helpful to know that your I2s is being recognized after the mod.  Also seems to say it will not work with the hifiberry dac (standard), so looks my board will not work with the JRiver ID. 

[JimH]

Could you provide a link to the product you use?

Here's a topic on our board:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=113185.0

I'm not sure if that's what you're using.

[gbate]

Thanks Jim,
I believe the only difference between the hifiberry amp and what I have (see link below)
 https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-dacplus-rca-version/
is that one has an amp built into it, so if that hifiberry amp+ works on JRiver, then so should the hifiberry dac+(standard)  I'll go back and try a few things to get it working and let you know.  This is good news.   

[astromo]

See pic.

I've got an IdPi 3B running:
  Id:22.0.82 MC:24.0.19
to a S/PDIF RCA connection via a HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro.

Works just fine. I've also tested a HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro and didn't have any issues. From memory it shows up as an audio device similar to the Digi+ (refer pic).

Look at your list of available audio devices and look for something that has a description along the lines of "sndrpihifiberry". You might need to do some volume output level adjustment with the DAC to get playback right. How have you got that set up. Posting some pics might help us understand what's going on.

[astromo]

I did a re-read (sorry, I'm terrible at jumping the gun).

@gbate have you soldered up the I2S connection and tested it to your outboard DAC?

From the link that Jim posted, the opening advice reads:

Connecting external DACs via I2S is not an easy process. Unlike SPDIF, I2S is not designed as an interface between devices, but an interconnect between digital audio chips. Both sides have to be configured exactly the same way. You should know all the details about I2S (clocks, master/slave, bits per sample) before even thinking about connecting an additional DAC. We won't give any support for this feature and we can't guarantee that the output will be compatible to a specific DAC chip. Don't even think about using this if you are not used to debug digital circuits with an oscilloscope or a logic analyser. This is only for experienced electronics designers! Also note that soldering on the board voids the warranty.

For the sake of the small $s involved (USD$40 for the Digi+ Pro), I would recommend connecting your external DAC via the Digi+ and leave I2S to the audio electronics tweakers. Just drop another forty or so bucks and you're done (personally I consider DIY alternatives against my personal hourly rate and if the numbers don't add up, I go for off the shelf or simply commit to the challenge as a learning experience). You could always re-purpose your existing HiFiBerry DAC to another project where listening criticality is not a big issue.

All the best..