Building Your Own Audio Streamer - Roon, Spotify, DLNA, HQPlayer

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nicoff

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I use Roon and Qobuz. But I recently resubscribed to Spotify because I much prefer it to find new music and to share music with others. Unfortunately, Roon and Spotify do not work well together.

I investigated ways to listen to Spotify using my current audio system and DAC. Many folks recommended devices that use Spotify-Connect; none of my components have that capability. Spotify has a list of devices that have it (Audio Streamers & Hi-Fi
– Tagged "Works with Spotify Free"– Spotify Everywhere). Unfortunately most items on the list cost several hundred dollars and up (some cost thousands). Google Chromecast Audio would have worked, but that product is now discontinued.

A few years ago I built a Raspberry Pi Roon-Endpoint. It worked beautifully. The initial set up was tricky, but fortunately I got help from techie forums. I wondered if it was possible to build a similar system today that could connect to Spotify and that (hopefully) was easier to build.

I believe that I found it. It is a Raspberry Pi running RoPiee software. This hardware/software combo can stream Roon, DLNA, AirPlay, Spotify, Squeezelite, and HQPlayer NAA. The developer of the software has made it so easy that this device can be assembled and start running in less than 10 minutes.

Here is a detailed description of how to build one:

https://codexwilkes.com/downloads/ropieee-guide-for-beginners.pdf

I just ordered the components. I plan to build mine without the display but will add a HAT (HiFiBerri Digi+ Pro) with optical outputs. This set up (Raspberry Pi, HAT, case, power-supply, SD card) costs less than $140. That is a very inexpensive route to have Roon-EndPoint, DLNA, AirPlay, Spotify, Squeezelite, and HQPlayer capabilities with digital output (or analog output depending on the HAT you choose). One can use a phone or tablet to select the music and the stream will be sent bit-perfect from the Pi to your DAC. And as a bonus, once you set it up, you never have to touch it again as the software is automatically updated.
 
An Update:
1. If you are ok with only USB output, the price drops below $100. You only need the Raspberry Pi, a case, a power-supply, and SD card (no need for a HAT).
2. If you have an old preamp with no digital inputs, you can get a HAT that has analog RCA outputs. And then you can stream whatever you want to your all analog preamp. The price would be about $140 for all of it.

This is as close to plug and play as you can make it. It literally took me about 10 mins to assemble it and get it running.
 
Nicoff-

What a great DIY project. Thank you for taking the time to post your findings and all the information necessary for one to replicate.
Some questions:

This is just an end point, so the ROON Core and music library of ripped CD's are on another computer that "talks" to this streamer VIA ethernet or WiFi, correct?

How does it sound?

In an audiophile world where one may well need a home equity loan for a few of the latest and greatest highly touted power cords, it is refreshing to see the DIY spirit alive and well. Practical solutions for one's own quest to audiophile nirvana. Well Done!
 
JohnJ said:
Nicoff-

What a great DIY project. Thank you for taking the time to post your findings and all the information necessary for one to replicate.
Some questions:

This is just an end point, so the ROON Core and music library of ripped CD's are on another computer that "talks" to this streamer VIA ethernet or WiFi, correct?

How does it sound?

In an audiophile world where one may well need a home equity loan for a few of the latest and greatest highly touted power cords, it is refreshing to see the DIY spirit alive and well. Practical solutions for one's own quest to audiophile nirvana. Well Done!
Click to expand...

You are welcome!

To answer your questions:

1. Correct, the Raspberry Pi is just a Roon-EndPoint. You still need to run the ROON CORE on another computer. The Roon Core is the one doing the heavy lifting. I am using Roon Core to upsample everything. I can also add convolution filters (including room correction filters) if I wanted to, but have not done that yet.

2. You can set it up to work via ethernet (wired) or WiFi (wireless). I am using a wired connection to eliminate the possibility of dropouts. I have zero dropouts.

Before I comment on the sound, let me first point out that the Raspberry Pi delivers a bit-perfect signal to the DAC. If your DAC can handle an asynchronous USB signal and you connect the RPi to your DAC via USB, then the DAC will do the timing (clock), control the jitter, and ultimately determine the sound.

Right now I have the RPi connected to my older DAC which is NOT asynchronous. And yet, the sound is really-really good. I am upsampling everything to 24/96 to match the capabilities of my older DAC. I will eventually connect the RPi to my newer DAC which is asynchronous and can handle up to 512DSD native. I will report back on how the RPi responds streaming that much data.

There are high-end equipment manufacturers that sell streamers costing over a thousand dollars that use the Raspberry Pi internally. These high-end streamers come in a nice case and may have a few more outputs. However, they are essentially a RPi in nicer clothing.
 
great post -- and, i also love seeing that the DIY spirit is alive and well !!

in looking into this DIY streamer, i see that roPiee has a roPieeXL version that adds the capability to stream via DLNA, Airplay and Spotify as well as being a roon endpoint.

so, when i give my newly built ACA DIY amp to a family member, i will build a similar rPi streamer with roPieeXL installed and then add on an IQaudio DAC HAT ...viola, plug-and-play:

smart phone --> rPi streamer --> ampCamp amp --> speakers

should make a nice starter system for someone just setting up a new place.
 
aKnyght said:
great post -- and, i also love seeing that the DIY spirit is alive and well !!

in looking into this DIY streamer, i see that roPiee has a roPieeXL version that adds the capability to stream via DLNA, Airplay and Spotify as well as being a roon endpoint.

so, when i give my newly built ACA DIY amp to a family member, i will build a similar rPi streamer with roPieeXL installed and then add on an IQaudio DAC HAT ...viola, plug-and-play:

smart phone --> rPi streamer --> ampCamp amp --> speakers

should make a nice starter system for someone just setting up a new place.
Click to expand...

Thank you! That set up you mention should work very nicely!

I am using roPieeeXL myself. I am now streaming Spotify directly to my main system. I control the music using the Spotify app from my phone/tablet. Once I select what I want to listen to, I can turn the phone/tablet off since the RPi connects directly to Spotify.
 
Just got Roon running on an Intel NUC so on to the next project. I just ordered the RPi 4B board, FLIRC case, and a cheap usb c switching power supply. Nice DIY project - we’ll see how it compares to my existing Roon endpoint. If it works ok I’ll build a linear power supply for it.
 
UPDATE:
Yesterday I built a Roon endpoint using a Raspberry Pi 4B and Ropieee SW. It was very easy. I used the FLIRC case, a well made metal case with plastic top and bottom plates that have a nice feel. Total cost = $93.93 from Amazon. I could have saved some $$ but i was impatient and got everything in two days.

Here is what it ends up looking like:

s-l1200.jpg
 
W9TR said:
UPDATE:
Yesterday I built a Roon endpoint using a Raspberry Pi 4B and Ropieee SW. It was very easy. I used the FLIRC case, a well made metal case with plastic top and bottom plates that have a nice feel. Total cost = $93.93 from Amazon. I could have saved some $$ but i was impatient and got everything in two days.

Here is what it ends up looking like:

s-l1200.jpg
Click to expand...

Very nice looking unit!

Congratulations!!

Let us know how it compares with your other roon endpoints (hopefully you can connect it to the same DAC).
 
W9TR said:
Just got Roon running on an Intel NUC so on to the next project. I just ordered the RPi 4B board, FLIRC case, and a cheap usb c switching power supply. Nice DIY project - we’ll see how it compares to my existing Roon endpoint. If it works ok I’ll build a linear power supply for it.
Click to expand...
I am doing tests at the moment with Nucs. The one with Roon Rock was easy to install and love how fast it is and works. But I miss something on that Nuc, so did tests with a normal linux distro, installed Roon on it and changed some settings that linux behaves like Rock. Means press button on, press button off

I succeeded, the Nuc is able to run constantly for weeks, and is able to start up and shut down with one press on the button, all the greatness that Rock does. The bonus: my Nuc starts up with HQPlayer included, so it gives more possibilities to oversample audiofiles like PCM to DSD conversions.

next step for me is to make one with a fanless case.
 
Anyone found a HAT or Pi using fiber (SFP)? I believe Cubox (Clearfog) has a all in one solution with a SFP built in which could be used in a similar application for an endpoint.
 
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