Volumio's Primo is a two-headed streaming monster!
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- This video sponsored by Voxativ: voxativ.berlin/
Camera: Olaf von Voss | Editor: Jana Dagdagan
The Primo (€479) from Volumio is a hi-res-capable network streamer based upon the Asus Tinkberboard S that spills digital audio from its S/PDIF coaxial socket and analogue audio, converted via an ESS Sabre DAC-based audio board, from its RCA sockets. It runs Volumio OS w/ Shairport Airplay with options for LMS/Squeezelite.
Backstory: darko.audio/2019/06/a-short-f...
Volumio Primo intro:
darko.audio/2018/11/volumio-g...
Volumio website: volumio.org/product/volumio-p...
What’s better than a Sonos Connect:
darko.audio/2018/08/absolute-...
___________________________________________________________________
Also featured in this video…
Bluesound Node 2:
darko.audio/2018/01/further-t...
ALLO Boss DAC:
darko.audio/2017/11/allos-59-...
AURALiC Aries Mini:
darko.audio/2016/02/audiophil...
Amazon Echo Link:
darko.audio/2019/06/a-short-f...
ALLO DigiOne:
darko.audio/2017/08/allos-dig...
Hegel H590:
darko.audio/2018/10/a-short-f...
DensoTEN ECLIPSE TD712zMK2:
www.eclipse-td.com/uk/product...
___________________________________________________________________
Playlists…
Spotify:
open.spotify.com/playlist/3Jr...
Tidal:
tidal.com/browse/playlist/53e...
Qobuz:
play.qobuz.com/playlist/2321668
Playlists converted with Soundiiz: soundiiz.com
___________________________________________________________________
Darko.Audio is a web magazine covering new and exciting developments in the audio world and we aren’t afraid of indie rock or techno.
Web: Darko.Audio
Instagram: / darkoaudio
Twitter: / darkoaudio
Facebook: / darkodotaudio - Zábava
A couple of notes on the difference between the Pi and the Tinker Board - It offers a faster processor 1.8GHz vs. 1.4GHz. It has double the RAM and operates at a quicker speed ( DDR3 running in dual channel vs. DDR2 single channel on the pi ). As you noted in the review, the SoC allows for the Ethernet to not be shared on the USB bus allowing for much better performance ( for USB and LAN ) while also improving signaling performance. The board production quality and integrated circuitry are improved. The built-in card reader is also faster fully support UHS-I microSD cards. Also, the board's topology and layout are compatible with PI3 accessories. This is a big one, as many SBC boards are somewhat similar but have different ports or power connections or different dimensions. This is not the case for the Tinker Board. It has been designed to be physically interoperable with the vast majority of chassis, hat's and other accessories that are available for the Pi. For audio enthusiasts, the Tinker Board has also been validated directly with many DACS including those from ( JustBoom, IQAudio, HiFiberry, as well as ES9038 Q2M boards ). These are plug and play with the OS provided by ASUS for the Tinker Board - Again kudos on a great review and thank you for your continued showcase of a wide array of products especially in regards to streaming solutions.
Thank you for contributing so much useful additional tech info.
Do you know if Allos usbridge bord will work on a tinkerbord?
Juan Jose Guerrero Great info you provided above. Thanks for that as some of us like when other people spend quality time writing an informative post, especially this one comparing Tinkerboard to RPI.
Man...again, answering directly to our curiosities and needs for affordable yet great-sounding inventions and workarounds! Thank you, thank you. Really can't appreciate it enough, clever and insightful every time.
Love the video John. We love it when you introduce us to good (or great) sounding equipment. Especially when it doesn't cost a king's ransom. Please keep up the awesome work. Look forward to your next review.
Brilliant, I must say that lately your videos are much better than older ones and I love that, because not all of us can understand everything and especially connectivity. Now you go into details and we appreciate this. Thank you, excellent work, keep it up
Thanks, yeah, we're really hitting our stride now.
Wow John, another fantastic video!!! I’ve been subscribed to your channel for a while now and it obvious that you are getting better and better by the video in terms of presentation, composition, content etc. You are on point my good sir and look forward to all your videos in the future. I’ve just begun reading your articles (didn’t discover your website until recently). Your articles/reviews on the site also have that great wow factor. Keep up the incredible work.
PS, I’m from the states and just started putting together a rpi 3b with an Allo Piano 2.1 dac and a cheap 60 watt amp found on Amazon for an outside patio space and I’m going start messing around with Volumio on the Pi. Seems like Allo makes a number of pretty good products. Thanks again for your videos.
This is a lovely review. Thank you. The use cases you described are the same way I enjoy (or hope to) listening to music. Getting these options squared away so that I can listen to my local HD audio and stream everything else has been a challenge. I’m looking at Roon for this plus a NAS. These little solutions you feature are interesting. I loved your comment at the end speaking to how garage built so many of these systems seem to be.
really can’t overstate my gratitude to all the home audio gear content creators.
Hugely relevant. Glad to see hifi a review so well done, and modern.
I definitely like these reviews of "lesser known" products, as you call them. Like you, I started with a Squeezebox - actually I go away back before that- I used to stream right out of my computer via long RCA cables to my old NAD integrated. Using Winamp! There was nothing like we have today in 1999. But the Squeezebox Model 3 revolutionized my streaming. After several years, eventually I took a detour and bought a series of high end sound cards by Lynx and then ESI Julia because I wanted hi Rez. I had big second hand computers connected directly directly to my DAC of choice - Benchmark- and I settled on Foo Bar as my player. A few years went by and my son in law told me all about Raspberry Pi. I ran the Pi with Volumio. I eventually bought a second one which includes an amp "hat" to spread out to other rooms. Then I discovered the Allo US Bridge, running Diet Pi with Squeezelite. And I saw a way to run several of my systems throughout the house and back yard deck, all using Logitech Media Server, on a "server" - a little Dell 2 in 1 with a 4 TB hard drive. Of course there are other methods, but I knew Logitech Media Server and I always liked that it just worked. Since I've kept all this stuff, they now work harmoniously together. The Squeezebox in my bedroom, the Allo in my main room, the Pi with amp in my kitchen and back yard and that first Pi in the basement. For the moment, the basement Pi is still running Volumio. I like Volumio, I like Squeezebox/LMS/Diet Pi. I'm not a techie by any means - I'm 63-the Golden Years are calling - but I can usually muddle through this and get it working, and, if not, I have a fall back to my techie son in law. The Allo is a little figity with configuring new DAC's but me and this guy Sudeep in technical support work it out, so far. I've tried Roon, but I have invested 20 years in organizing my files my way, and although I really love the extra things Roon provides, I still prefer going to my music folder and finding an artist in just the right genre I chose. I understand why Roon can't work this way, but for now, we just agree to disagree. Anyway, just saying we both go back a ways and Home Brew alternatives are always interesting to me. There was a time when I didn't know anyone else doing what I was doing. Now there is a rich collection of options and I really appreciate your shedding light on some of them. Keep doing it. I like all your reviews, for the most part. Keep up the good work. Thanks again!
A lower cost stripped down version without a DAC/analog outputs would be interesting. Just a streamer/transport for people with dedicated dacs already..
I was most excited seeing you using the Fujitsus. I have the TD712zII and the tdm1 on my desk. When I want to hear those audiophile imaging tricks, there is NOTHING better. Anyway, great video
Thanks John. It looks very enticing, especially given the lower launch price. :)
I still haven't found a better solution than the chromecast audio for streaming, if you are running into a dac. It just does an amazing job.
The most attractive thing about the Chromecast Audio is its price.
Agreed, with one caveat: Chromecast devices are notorious for going on random holidays on networks.
Dennis has just the solution for you ;)
www.hifishark.com/model/linn-akurate-ds
I'd like to think there is a middle ground in there somewhere, and I very much look forward to John's review of the Volumio Motivo.
@@DarkoAudio hahaha, ouch.
@@DarkoAudio I took your advice and ran the CA into the Schiit Modi, and its probably all I'll need for years, until I find a better DAC at that price.
I have been using Bluesound Node 2 since 2017 with great satisfaction.
Thanks for all the info John
Exactly what I was looking for!
I continue to be delighted by my Pro-ject Stream box S2 Ultra connected to the PS Audio Sprout then run through a pair of Sennheiser HD 600s. Wires are a combination of Shunyata and AudioQuest. Highly recommend!
Hi I'm seriously looking Pro-ject too. Can I ask what DAC you feed it into? Cheers
Great vid. I dumped Sonos years ago. Happy with my Naim Nova. Would love you to review it John 😄
Great video! The comparisons make all the difference for me. Gives great perspective. Just got the node2i which I read was a good inprovement over the the node 2. Interested to hear your thoughts about it at some point. Or any bluos product like a NAD streamer. Thanks !
Thanks for the content and covering different products. This product is interesting to me once it obtains roon support but the extra charge for tidal is a deal breaker.
Right now I'm looking at the Mytek Brooklyn bridge or the Naim Atom.
The extra charge is to use both Tidal and Qobuz at the same time.But he explains a trick in which he uses the squeesbox plug in to use both Tidal and Qobuz without having to pay extra.I just hope Volumio doesnt change that.
John, thanks for the good chuckle about the Amazon player. It comes as no surprise that even the Sonos is a bit better! About a year ago I was in a "Big Box" retailer that had a set of Martin Logans prominently setup with some McIntosh tube amps that was sounding positively Mediocre(& I'm being kind) from where I was able to see things. Upon a closer look, I saw the Sonos player that was playing things. One of the Saleskids walked over & commented: "Sounds pretty good, Huh?" Saying Huh was absolutely appropriate!
Adding a music recommendation from your playlist would be awesome. I saw a few on your app and found new music:)
Playlists are in the description box.
Nice to see Squeezebox alive and kicking still. I also started out digital audio with a SB Touch, and only recently "upgraded" to the Bluesound Node 2i. Now I say upgrade as it just about cuts it as that - but if I'm honest the £500 would be nice in my pocket now to put towards speakers! I think the Node 2i is a slightly more detailed sound than the SBT but I really struggled to distinguish much difference between the 2. Perhaps if I had better speakers I'd have heard something more easily tangible; I'm using a Node 2i -> Audiolab 8300A -> Tannoy M3 - and they must be 21 years old. So clearly the bottleneck, but I do still think they sound very good still and work perfectly (so some MA Silver 300's are beckoning, but are hard to justify).
However when talking Volumio I'd still go Node 2i, as I don't like the look of the Volumio interface nearly as much as BluOS, and then the need to pay a monthly upgrade to get the services integration is just shockingly rude. You could as you pointed out use LMS to get around it, but it's a bit of a cludge to need to do that and I already know BluOS is much nicer than LMS, in fact the niceness of BluOS was the main reason I didn't return the Node 2i and stick with my SBT. I do still use LMS in fact to control some MusicCast (awful app) kit over the Airplay plugin and using Squeezer on my phone to control it, and so I'm certainly still fond of LMS somewhat. Lastly the Volumio itself really does to my eyes look like a cheap box, whereas a Node 2i which I personally think looks great and I definitely appreciate the aesthetics of kit in my decisions.
Great video!!!
Im also very skeptical about the subscription
The Primo also allows USB output on any of the USB ports. And there is a primo hifi edition sold only in phisical retailers which does have lifetime access to the subscription plan included.
The USB outputs I knew about but the Hifi edition I did not. Thanks for adding to the conversation! Much appreciated.
i built a voliumo server about 2 years ago , still love it, one thing i noticed though is the setting the volume on your phone or from a browser tend to be a little sluggish. otherwise it's a great system
thanksOO so muchOO niceOO reviewOO Thank Goodness for Bluetooth ThoughOO !!! Lol for real great job John spoken like a true Expert in AudioOOOHH
Great video and thank you for your quick FB comment response!
Thanks for the suggestion! Very much enjoying my new Primo! Too bad it’s extra for Tidal...
Interesting currently using the node 2i and live the burr brown dac sound , but would love to try other steamers as well
Always eagerly waiting for the "moooooo". Forgive me. 😁
Dimension Intrusion. Cool thanks
Great video John. I'm streaming from my phone to my dacmagic. Would the volimio or Allo sound better?
I took a chance with the Allo Digione Signature with a life Roon based on your reviews of Allo.
Home brew doesn’t bother me. If it is better SQ and provides me an amazing software experience plus saves me over a Lumin, it is a win, win. People see my speakers, subs, pre and tube amps. The streamer and DAC sit quietly hidden.
$3 per month while you already paid for the box?
No way.
What is this seriously? Cloud integration is a mandatory feature for a streamer, it’s part of the product or there is no product.
no wayo
Love you stuff man! I’m hoping you get a chance to try the new Node 2i...
Thank you for the great review. I tried to make my own DAC through a Raspberry Pie, Allo Boss and Volumio, which indeed sounds great but I found that the Volumio system was very unreliable when it came to Spotify Connect. In essence that's all I wanted to do, use Spotify Connect from my phone to stream music into my active speakers yet there was an obstacle in every step from getting Spotify to Connect and stay connected, to massive problems with volume control. It was all just super unreliable and since i'm not Linux expert, it was driving me mad until I gave up.
Thanks for sharing
Very informative. Thank you. I couldn't see a mains lead coming out of the Lacie drive. Was it being powered by the Primo?
Nice video
Very intriguing but, I am just to damn invested into my Emby server at this point to take any sort of new plunge.
I play my FLAC files via Kodi on a Windows PC, connected to the amp via HDMI. Yes, I am a caveman.
nothing bad about this lol. In fact that is insanely cool. Since HDMI is still digital everything with your setup is pretty much perfect. Unless you strive for more "convenient features" like controlling via app on smartphone you shouldnt change anything. And even that should be possible since you are using kodi.
I am using Audirvana+, BubbleUPnP for Andropid, Roku 3, AVR
Nice video John. Wondering if you could add to your streamer comparison a Lindemann Limetree Network? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the German brand..... Cheers
I think the Volumio OS is their strongest asset. The UX needs some love (especially if you’re used to iOS) , but it is the easiest way to set up a Raspberry Pi as an AirPlay receiver and music server (I use a USB DAC attached to it). I stream from Tidal in my phone to AirPlay.
Echo Chamber yes but it’s a no-go if you need Tidal or Qobuz..
How easy to switch between Spotify and Tidal (or Spotify and Roon if applicable)?
love my Node 2 about $500 new Canadian. In the Primo Volumio better sounding? Could you review Schiits other DAC? love you tone and humour
Being an Asus Tinkerboard, Dietpi can be installed instead. Drivers for the DAC maybe an issue though.
If those can be covered, Roon Bridge can be installed by Dietpi.
Either way though, it's far too much money for what it is. Allo do Sabre based boards for less.
Nice case though.
Nice product but yeah one can make their own Volumio based box for less
I was thinking about upgrading to Amazon HD. Would i be able to use this box to do that? or could you recommend another product. Than ks Tony
I appreciate the comparison...I have a couple of sonos connects and am planning on upgrading the one hooked up to my main audio system. Have you looked at the Audiolab 6000N?
I have not. Sorry.
I am wondering if I can change those O amps on that board. I see a couple of them.
I was getting a bit tired of the available options and their prices. I ended up building my own streamer with RPI, HifiBerry DAC and oversized power supply. Finished it off with an LCD display that shows the current song. It's currently a headless squeezelite client playing off of LMS, but it can also run LMS and be a standalone server. I like how it came out... does not look too homebrew. imgur.com/a/gXQAWZH
Wow, nice
wow great job!
Great video. I use a Sonos Connect in my bedroom, but never been happy with the sound (even though I feed the output through a Chord dac to powered speakers). BUT, none of the alternatives (except Bluesound) offer wake up alarms. I have a feeling I will be stuck with Sonos for a long time to come 😡🤬
Volumio has sleep and alarm timers
im using an apple tv 4 to do this :)) and i don"t have to pay just to play music from my phone ... airplay has been grate , my apple tv automatically powers on my receiver ... im pleased actually ... my main music source is spotify
Hello, may I have your thoughts on the "yamaha wxad-10" streamer which retails for around 180 $/€ ? It's also a budget streamer and allegedly has a pretty good dac built in according to them.
@John Darko - Is it possible to connect the KEF LSX, an external monitor to the Primo via cable then from Macbook pro to Primo also via cable and use it as a hub? The reason for that is because KEF LSX dose not have a USB port and i rather use cable vs bluetooth for better sound quality and to avoid any latency. Will probable only use streaming from my mobile/tablet over my network. If not what do you recommend? P.S. its a desktop setup. Cheers
Sorry for the slight out of context question. In your opinion and experience what would give a better performance in terms of sound quality? An Allo Digione/USB bridge paired with a Schiit Modi-3 DAC or an Allo Boss DAC V1.2 ?
curious to know what kind of speakers those are in the background...
Hi John. Volumio allow tp use folder view? Which is better sounding on spdif, POrimo or Allo Signature?
Hi john. I was wondering if you know of any unit that would be able to stream tidal and use a dragonfly for dac?
I was thinking something like raspberry pi with an os that can use the usb as digital out to my dragonfly red. I also have a audio quest jitter bug, so "clean power" should be of no concern.
Btw gr8 content.
how does it compare to the Allo Digione Signature? I thought that the dual power supply of that was its major advantage, which this doesn't have.
Would be interesting, where the Lindemann Limetree Network would be, in this comparsion. I bought this little bugger 2 weeks ago and im quite happy with it.
What gives me the best sound quality? Volumio Primo or Cambridge CXN v2? Tnx!!
Great intro about the Volumio system. Please review MiniDSP SHD which is running Volumio with Dirac Live. It's almost perfect as an affordable option for 2.1 Music/Movie lover.
You MUST review the MiniDsp streamer!
Hi, John. Really interested in seen a comparison between Volumio Mini86 and Primo. For nearly 1/3 of the price of the Primo, surely something got lost in the way. The question is what....
Hi! Is it capable of streaming multichannel DSD or Flac ? over HDMI ?
Late here but looking for advice. I want to stream Amazon Music HD at the highest quality of 24/192. I have Android phone, and I have a capable schiit external DAC.
My question is whether uPnP like BubbleuPnP will get me 24/192. Also which Rpi OS do guys recommend for my situation.
Thanks!
Hi john. Great video. Would you have the possibility to review the dac/streamer junior from ps audio?
Search Darko.Audio for my written review!
Do any of the products you have covered allow me to cast from my android phone? I am not an iPhone person.
Subscription is a non starter
Subscription is a No go for me.
@darko.audio can I connect this to my Buffalo NAS and use the app to navigate the content without passing through my home network??
Thank you for your videos!
Does the NAS have USB data port? If not, it still needs to go on the network.
Can I use roon service with the Primo? Using Primo app(?) is enough?
Nice
Hi
thanks for a great review.
Some say that the spdif output is noisy on the volumio primo hifi edition.
How will you prefer using it with Roksan Attessa as pure streamer or dac streamer
Will this get Slacker Radio support which is now called LiveXLive?
I’ve been running the Volumio software on the Allo Digione Signature, much preferred over dietpi.
I have noticed that the sound is much better when playing via a connected SSD rather than streaming via Qobuz or files streamed via my MacBook and iPhone.
Is it possible to make a cloud streaming service privately like spotify, but with my own private music that I can access when not even home being connected to same wifi/internet?
MisterWealth yes. Use a NAS and a VPN.
It is pretty easy and cost-effective to build your own tinkerboard.
The Yamaha Musicast offerings seem to offer great audio. The WXC-50 for example comes in under the Connect and sounds much better imo. The quality of hardware also far exceeds Sonos.
i have the WXC-10 which is the streaming/dac receiver combo simplified version of the WXC-50. Have you been able to compare its DAC performances to other DACs?
Even your background Music sound better than any other youtubers
the moment when is saw the high end digital usb cable, i noticed: not my world.
:p
Like his idea that wifi vs cable might sound differently.
Can that stream hi-res like 24-192? Thanks
Hello John, great video, thanks for showing all these options. One question I have and sorry if it is obvious: what makes the streamers better than having my computer connected to a school dad via USB and accessing my server and streaming services that way? Thanks.
Simply put: if the streamer has a lower electrical noise profile than the laptop, it will send less electrical noise to the DAC and the DAC will sound better.
@@DarkoAudio i should really read over my notes before pressing send. "Computer connected to a school dad?" WTF? Should be schiit dac! Ok, so noise was what i had thought. Thanks! What about the schiit eiter between? Do you have any experience with those. I think they are made for isolating the noise from wherever you're getting your music from, and feeding a clean black source to your dac. Would love to see you do a video on that. Anyway, thanks for the response. Love your work my friend.
prefer this over the London bridge?
Hi
Which one of the outputs will your go to with the primo hifi rca or coax?
As i read in other reviews the coax out is quit noisy.
Have you the same experience when testing the primo?
Yeah, those acrylic structures around PCBs look a little like a hack... There are some nicer Pi metal cases from HiFiBerry and Flirc. I got an aluminum case from Flirc for my stand alone Pi and it looks and feels at home next to me Schiit gear.
Hello John great vid do you think this would sound better than my current old Toshiba laptop running Roon streaming Tidal through usb into my gato dia 250 amp I don’t want to fork out loads of money on a well named product to get the same performance from a cheaper well put together unit like this.
Cheers .
Wish I could help you but I don't have your Toshiba laptop so I can't comment with any degree of reliability. I can only comment on gear I have to hand.
How much does feeding these devices into an external DAC level the playing field?
I’m using a Sonos Connect > ifi spdif ipurifier > MiniDSP running Dirac > AVI ADM9SS actives with Sub and I’m pretty happy for now, but do wonder what’s to be gained by swapping the Connect for something else...
Browser based interface is an instant turn off for me. Also, I’m happy with Deezer.
Is the reason you use Squeeze/LMS rather than UPnP only that it's what you started with and it suits your needs (with various plugins)?
I've had a similar journey, starting with UPnP and, on my non-exhaustive look at LMS' think it has some better front ends (vs LMS/remotes).
I never got into UPnP because a lot of the earlier implementations didn't offer gapless playback. Some of them still don't.
pro-ject stream box2 vs the Primo, I watched both your videos and I am curious that one and the other was not mentioned....can you comment please
How does it do compare to ifi zen stream
What brand are your glasses..?
Any thoughts on the new unit?
Nice fancy shrink-tubes you have. Any tips where I can get hold on some?
Greeting from Sweden
Shrink tubes? Are you talking about the USB cable from Curious he showed? With the yellow shrink tubes? They are premium audiophile USB cables...
Shrink-tubes?
Ah, the Curious cable. Doubt it does much for SQ in this context but the yellow adds a splash of much needed colour to the video.
Wouldn't be possible to use Audirvana integrated with Tidal and Qobuz and stream with Upnp to avoid the Volumio's monthly charges?
Yes.
I use BubbleUPnP on android to stream Tidal to volumio but I'm not sure if the playback quality is the same as the native Tidal playback.
So will it play Tidal without that subscription thing? To me, thats a deal breaker.
The idea of 'renting' a function because the manufacturer wants recurring revenue has got to stop. I'm fine with paying for content whether through watching ads on YT or paying for services like music streaming or Netflix, but this nonsense of renting functionality is slowly creeping into more areas like CarPlay (BMW) and Google Maps (Audi). Now there's this. It's garbage, and it's enough to make me not want to support this business practice.
@ bassandtrebleclef - Agreed!! I won’t support it.
Agreed it's a deal breaker for me, won't support any company that des this
Hallelujah, the creeping cancer that is the “Subscription Economy”
Know your product - Buy the product- Own the product.
Not really interested in streaming thanks just the Wifi and Bluetooth wireless technology we can use in the house.
Unfortunately this is the model that everyone will go to, eventually on all products. What do you when this is just the way things are?
They're dumbing people down so they can push profits up. All we can do is choose to not participate. Stay Analog, Friends.
I was ready to pull the trigger on the Bluesound Node 2i but now not so much.I wonder how the DAC inside the Volumio compares to my goto DAC which is the Chord Mojo?
Make your own solution at an even lesser cost by getting the Asus Tinker board or Raspberry Pi and loading Volumio on them. Since you already have a fantastic Chord DAC you really don't need the built-in DAC of the Primo. Or spend the extra cash on the Chord Poly.
Mojo is a much more detailed DAC than the Volumio Primo.
@@DarkoAudio I might stick with my Mojo for DAC duties and decide on a versitile streamer.Thanks
Plug in Chord Poly to your Mojo, and you will have the one of worlds best sounding DAC streamers money can buy, highly recommended when the Poly is loaded with the latest firmware
You really don’t want to pay $3 per month to get Tidal and Qobuz support.
Those are included pretty much in all other platforms without the extra monthly cost.
My goodness those prices have been bumped big time since this video was made!!!
Can I ask, around 5 min. is it a DigiOne or a DigiOne Signature that you compare with? Thanks
DigiOne. There is more info in the description box. :)
@@DarkoAudio Ahh I see now. Thanks