Wow this is a super impressive project. I was originally expecting a device built around a Raspberry Pi, but this is a completely custom designed linux board!
Not as interesting though. Not as fun
I'd love to have time to work on something similar. My targets would be different audio-quality wise, but it's a very nice project. Kudos to its maker.
On this point, can't you use some USB DAC ? I know nothing on this topic but there must be something that sits between "Raspberry Pi sound quality" and "multi thousands $ DAC".
The HiFiBerry amplifier I use is $50, has great software and enough power and top notch DACs from TI. On top of that it’s a hat, has a dedicated steel enclosure and everything is powered by a laptop brick.
It’s unbeatable at that price point IMHO.
For the Raspberry Pi, I needed something tidy, like this box. My father gave his HiFi system to me due to space constraints, but kept a nice set of speakers, so I needed something comparable in clarity, in absolute smallest and sturdiest package. HiFiBerry allows me to do that.
Moreover the software is co-developed with Bang & Olufsen, and it's extremely polished, like the hardware itself. My setup is pretty lean, but HiFiBerry can do some serious stuff like B&O self-tuning and custom DSP filters for sound shaping (for room, for taste, for fun).
My setup is as follows:
- Raspberry Pi 4/2GB.
- HiFiBerry AMP2 [https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-amp2/]
- Steel case for Pi4 + AMP2 [https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/cases/steel-case-for-hifiberr...]
The result is a literal black box with power in and speakers out. I added a SanDisk Fit USB drive for local music storage. It can run spotifyd, AirPlay 2, direct BT, local files and more. It packs a decent punch, runs cool, can be used from anywhere (runs a webapp on a server, advertised with mDNS). If there's an update, it installs and reboots automatically.
Set & Forget, at its finest.