I am interested in that I²S DAC "HAT", the Katana I believe?
moOde Audio Player for Raspberry Pi
- Thread starter Thermionics
- Start date
I am interested in that I²S DAC "HAT", the Katana I believe?
Yep, Katana. Strange that Allo named it after a motorcycle.
Yes I believe Tim stated previously that once a working instance of 4.1 is in place, future 4.x updates will be available with just that one "CHECK FOR" click.
That's interesting about the AirPlay issue, I have several other USB DACs that I can do some additional testing with to see if I can recreate that problem.
Well, the good news is Moode 4.2 was announced as now available for download on Friday afternoon.
The bad news? Moode 4.2 (as with 4.0) is available for package download/build only, the in-place updater function in existing instances of 4.1 still won't work... from the Moode support page:
NOTE: moOde 4.2 is based on the new 2018-06-27 release of Raspbian Lite Linux to provide the most stable and robust OS platform for moOde and therefore a FULL BUILD is required.
I'm not sure why it isn't possible to first update Raspbian Stretch on an existing instance of 4.1 using pi@moode: ~ $ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, and then use some updated version of the command Tim provided last time to go from 4.0 to 4.1 (sudo /var/www/command/updater.sh r40a), however I will certainly take his word for it, apparently thats just not an option at this time... so I'll build it from scratch:
Guess I'll pour a Jack Daniel's...
Guess I'll pour another...
All done:
The bad news? Moode 4.2 (as with 4.0) is available for package download/build only, the in-place updater function in existing instances of 4.1 still won't work... from the Moode support page:
NOTE: moOde 4.2 is based on the new 2018-06-27 release of Raspbian Lite Linux to provide the most stable and robust OS platform for moOde and therefore a FULL BUILD is required.
I'm not sure why it isn't possible to first update Raspbian Stretch on an existing instance of 4.1 using pi@moode: ~ $ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, and then use some updated version of the command Tim provided last time to go from 4.0 to 4.1 (sudo /var/www/command/updater.sh r40a), however I will certainly take his word for it, apparently thats just not an option at this time... so I'll build it from scratch:
Guess I'll pour a Jack Daniel's...
Guess I'll pour another...
All done:
Looking forward to updating mine. Much difference in the UI ?
Mostly minor UI differences in the local Playback panel, but a big upgrade for sure in the Radio panel with the addition of super cool new station jpeg icons:
I'm not a Moode user but that Radio panel looks very cool! I've found high-quality Internet radio streams from the likes of JB Radio-2 and Radio Paradise to be a big part of my listening using Roon which 'works', but seems to be lagging behind in terms of development focus for them.
Yes it is a great feature and now looks great too, though I see no song title, just a URL:
I've seen on Moode's forum where there are quite a few members that actually use that radio feature exclusively. They do not attach any local storage device/files to the Raspberry Pi, nor do they access any UPnP/DLNA network server based tracks, they only stream internet radio. In fact our own @je2a3 uses Moode that way.
On something like a Raspberry Pi Zero W, that's fast, super inexpensive, and easy over WiFi (assuming you already own a suitable USB DAC).
It comes with a Chinese 6N3 which I replaced with an NOS 5670. That gave a more refined sound even if the tube is essentially running just as a cathode follower/buffer from a ~80V B+ rail. Makes me regret unloading my stash of WE396As 15 years ago. From the get go I bypassed the volume control. It was a simple procedure I found in the internet. If I only had known about this DAC earlier, I would have skipped the Topping D30.
For $135 I was surprised to see a real power transformer that's quite hefty and decent quality parts inside. The only problem I've had is a flickering LED pilot light.
News from Moode:
http://moodeaudio.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=323
They have announced that an in-place upgrade is now possible via the command line for this 4.2 version; and future updates via system config. Good news ! I will have to try this out.
http://moodeaudio.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=323
They have announced that an in-place upgrade is now possible via the command line for this 4.2 version; and future updates via system config. Good news ! I will have to try this out.
EDIT: I misunderstood this completely, originally I took it to mean that instances of 4.1 could be updated to 4.2 via the command posted on the Moode forum, much like it was eventually possible via SSH and the command line to update from 4.0 to 4.1 some months ago.
That doesn't work, unfortunately this command will only offer an in-place update for current instances of 4.2, i.e. you still have to first build 4.2 from scratch as I did in the above/previous posts.
From there, the bump to 4.3 (when available) should be possible through the Moode UI's "Check For Update" button, so hopefully you won't have to do SSH and the command line for that.
But the current update is just a revision within 4.2 and only that, you still can't update instances of 4.1 to 4.2 with that command, I just tried it on one of my other units that was still running 4.1 and it doesn't work.
That said, I just updated my unit thats already running 4.2 and it was fast and easy via Pi Finder and SSH:
Is the Radio Paradise FLAC stream playable on Raspberry Pi/Moode? The only way I can play it is on the RP Android app which is very cool because it allows downloading and off-line playing, but it's pretty limiting in that I can't use an external DAC on the phone (have to use UAPP) and am limited to the mp3-320 stream in the listening room via Roon.
Moode is fully capable of playing FLAC streams if the necessary URL/link is provided, currently there are several such streams available as stations.
However RP does not yet provide that for whatever reason, so the FLAC stream can only be played currently by their Android and iOS apps, as well as apps found on AppleTV and FireTV, and via a Logitech Squeeze plug-in.
The wording on the Radio Paradise web page suggests playback of their FLAC stream via a web player of some sort is coming soon:
Next, we'll be bringing FLAC audio to our new web player (coming soon) and we'll make it available via other hardware and software players as soon as we can.
However they stop short of promising URL playback, which is what I believe is ultimately necessary for end points like Raspberry Pi and software such as Moode:
There is not currently a FLAC stream URL you can use for VLC, Sonos, Winamp, etc.
In the meantime Moode has their 320kbps stream.
Just messing with this now and the update script is for a Moode 4.2 installation. NOT for migrating from 4.1 to 4.2 . My bad. 
Thanks Mike!
That is where I thought RP was, which is kind of too bad as I love their programming. Last night while out for a long walk I listened to their (downloaded) stream for a couple hours and enjoyed it so much I started thinking about upgrading my phone to get a little more out of a dead-simple phone>in-ear set up, which almost seems like a step backwards.
For something truly portable, simple, car compatible and capable of playing RP and Tidal offline, it's really down to a phone's analog output.
That is where I thought RP was, which is kind of too bad as I love their programming. Last night while out for a long walk I listened to their (downloaded) stream for a couple hours and enjoyed it so much I started thinking about upgrading my phone to get a little more out of a dead-simple phone>in-ear set up, which almost seems like a step backwards.
For something truly portable, simple, car compatible and capable of playing RP and Tidal offline, it's really down to a phone's analog output.
Finally I have an install going while being able to monitor the process in Pi Finder. 
Allo just announced the production version Katana 1.2 DAC will be available as of Friday, September 7th.
That means Moode 4.3 is right around the corner too, as Tim Curtis had previously indicated 4.3 will be released just slightly ahead of Katana, with full I²S driver support. This includes DSD, a first for Raspberry Pi HATs (DoP only if I'm not mistaken).
While Katana is not cheap at $329, it also isn't run of the mill either, a 3 board stack including a controller board, the DAC, and a very cool analog output board using Sparkos Labs discrete opamps. All of the above done with serious attention to detail to the power supply arrangement, choke filtering, LDOs, etc... you can even power each board independently if you choose. Various other bells and whistles to this design including ESS 9038q2m DAC chip, supercaps, NDK clocks, the whole 9 yards in terms of Raspberry Pi implementation.
While I know IanCanada is working on something very similar, it isn't ready yet, so for the moment Allo takes the lead in the RPi DAC HAT race (if they weren't already leading).
Katana 1.2 will no doubt sound great if Allo's past offerings are any indication, and likely the sky is the limit if you are willing to spend more on the power supply(s). That part sounds familiar.
Once again, I don't think current Moode 4.2 users will be able to just hit the "Update" button in the GUI. There was a post or two some weeks ago by the developer indicating it likely won't happen (again), however a full rebuild also won't be necessary either, I believe just a simple update command issued via SSH will do the trick. We'll know more this week.
That means Moode 4.3 is right around the corner too, as Tim Curtis had previously indicated 4.3 will be released just slightly ahead of Katana, with full I²S driver support. This includes DSD, a first for Raspberry Pi HATs (DoP only if I'm not mistaken).
While Katana is not cheap at $329, it also isn't run of the mill either, a 3 board stack including a controller board, the DAC, and a very cool analog output board using Sparkos Labs discrete opamps. All of the above done with serious attention to detail to the power supply arrangement, choke filtering, LDOs, etc... you can even power each board independently if you choose. Various other bells and whistles to this design including ESS 9038q2m DAC chip, supercaps, NDK clocks, the whole 9 yards in terms of Raspberry Pi implementation.
While I know IanCanada is working on something very similar, it isn't ready yet, so for the moment Allo takes the lead in the RPi DAC HAT race (if they weren't already leading).
Katana 1.2 will no doubt sound great if Allo's past offerings are any indication, and likely the sky is the limit if you are willing to spend more on the power supply(s). That part sounds familiar.
Once again, I don't think current Moode 4.2 users will be able to just hit the "Update" button in the GUI. There was a post or two some weeks ago by the developer indicating it likely won't happen (again), however a full rebuild also won't be necessary either, I believe just a simple update command issued via SSH will do the trick. We'll know more this week.
Spotify Connect announced as a standard renderer option in the imminent Moode 4.3 release.
