I just setup a Raspberry Pi2 as a music server for my bedroom system. I thought I would do a walk through in case it helps others. It wasn't too hard to get going, but I thought I might be able to save anyone interested some frustration.
The end result: an bit-perfect music server that can stream music via USB or Coax (with add-on card) from a USB drive or Network drive. And it can also stream Spotify and web radio stations via WiFi or Ethernet. The whole thing is controlled via Web interface on any device on the same network. All for about $80.
I'll probably miss something, but here are the steps I took:
1) Buy a Raspberry Pi2 kit off of Amazon. The kits are helpful since you'll need the 5v power supply, case, WiFi dongle, and micro SD card. I got this one (but there is a variety available):
http://smile.amazon.com/Adapter--20-Guide--Clear-Case--Power-Supply--Kingston-Adapter--HDMI/dp/B00MV6TAJI/ref=sr_1_26?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1438047280&sr=1-26-spons&keywords=raspberry+pi+kit2) If you have a USB DAC, you're done with essential purchases. The new Raspberry Pi2 has no trouble or hiccups with USB output (in my experience). If you have a DAC that takes COAX input then order a Digi+ (
https://www.hifiberry.com/digiplus/). You can even get their DAC board, but I want the option to use my own DAC (Schiit Bifrost for the bedroom system).
3) If you get the Digi+, you'll need bigger case because it's a stack-on board. I got this one:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X3QY5NQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s004) Finally, if you'll be using WiFi you might want an extension cable to move the WiFi dongle away from the Raspberry Pi to reduce the chance that the WiFi signal will introduce noise. I have not compared with and without; I just use the cable:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MSU1FS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s005) That's if for basic purchases.
6) When the kit arrives, pop the micro SD card into the SD card holder and put it into your computer. It's got some free software on it, but we're focusing on setting up the music server so we'll erase the card. You can always download all sorts of other Raspberry Pi software for free later.
7) Format the card. I used the free SD Card Formatter software, and I chose "Overwrite" to give the card a good low-level format. The name doesn't matter. Formatting takes about 10 minutes.
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/index.html
While the card is formatting, download RuneAudio. I tried the other option, Volumio, and it was very flaky and slow. Lots of frustration. The sound was also more dry and digital. RuneAudio is faster, has more features, has a better interface, and is not flaky. It also sounds better to me (more natural, less etched but without sacrificing detail).
http://www.runeaudio.com/certified-devices/#Raspberry-Pi-29) Ok the micro SD card is done formatting, and RuneAudio is downloaded. We don't have to unzip the RuneAudio file, but if you did that, it's fine.
10) Next we download the Apple Pi Baker for the Mac:
http://www.tweaking4all.com/downloads/raspberrypi/ApplePi-Baker.zip11) If you use Windows you can download USB Image Tool:
http://www.alexpage.de/download/usbit/usbit.zip12) The RuneAudio page gives a walk-through of creating the SD card, and I'll give my observations. Using Apple Pi Baker on the Mac (Mavericks) the only oddity I noticed was that I had to UNcheck the "Password Visible" box when opening Apple Pi Baker. Then you enter your admin password and proceed. A) click on the name of your SD card to highlight it; B) click the three dots (…) next to "IMG file" to choose the RuneAudio file you downloaded; C) click "Restore Backup" It will work for a couple of minutes and tell you when it's done.
13) That's it for the SD card. You can close Apple Pi Baker, eject the card, and pull out the little micro SD card.
14) If you haven't done it already, go ahead and put the Raspberry Pi into it's case. For the kit I ordered, this took some careful scrutiny of the tiny plastic tabs and some gentle pressure to snap everything together.
15) IMPORTANT: keep the power unplugged from the Raspberry Pi until after you've inserted the microSD card. There is no on/off switch. When the power is plugged in, the Raspberry Pi starts trying to read from the card slot to boot up. I glitched a card not paying heed to that. Same thing on shutdown: shut down the OS (RuneAudio has a menu option); give it a minute to shut down; unplug the power; THEN the card can be removed. End of warning.
16) So, our Raspberry Pi is in its case (optional but recommended) and the power is not plugged in. Insert the microSD card with RuneAudio on it; plug in an Ethernet cable to your router; and plug in the WiFi dongle (on optional extension cable). Be sure that your computer is on the same network as the Raspberry Pi.
17) Now plug in the power to the Raspberry Pi. And wait. Give it a minute. It's launching a little web server that we're going to open in our browser.
18) Ok. It's started up (1-2 minutes). In the browser type runeaudio.local and hit return. The browser will look on the local network for the Raspberry Pi and open its web interface.
19) From here, the first thing you'll likely want to do is go to the menu in the upper right and choose Network to setup WiFi access. If you're like me, you are not going to have the Raspberry Pi hardwired to your router. Be sure to click "Apply Settings" after you enter the WiFi information. Same for changing other settings. Always give it time ("Connecting" will spin for a bit). If it really seems to be stuck, you can always re-enter "runeaudio.local" in the URL bar in your browser and hit return. This usually gets you back online. If it's really really hopelessly not responding (hasn't happened to me) you can unplug the Raspberry Pi and plug it in to reboot. There's a slight chance this could corrupt the card, but you can just go back through and follow the format and install steps to get a new working copy of RuneAudio on there. I haven't had to do that, however.
20) Plug in a USB disk and click "Library" at the bottom left. You'll see all the sources that you can use, including Spotify and network drives. If you click on USB disk it will open the disk and show folders full of music (if you have some on there). It reads FAT32 and NTFS formatted disks.
21) Plug in your DAC and go to the "MPD" menu. Here you can select your DAC under "Audio Output Interface" (MPD is the Linux package that handles the bit perfect audio output.)
I'll end there because the RuneAudio website covers all the options for operation.
http://www.runeaudio.com/documentation/You can use a smart phone or tablet to run RuneAudio as well. So far I'm enjoying it, and I hope this helps someone.
Addenda1. You can use the mpad or mpod apps to control playback from an iOS device in addition to the built in web-based user interface (thanks JohnR).
2. If you do need to change a configuration file on RuneAudio, you can log into it via the Terminal app on the Mac. Just type "ssh root@runeadio.local" and use the password "rune" when prompted. In various forums around the internet people may post configuration file settings that need to be entered this way: you can't do it via the web-based user interface.
3. As chip notes below, he's done an extensive writeup on his Raspberry Pi2 setup here:
http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/41430/raspberry-pi-audio-playback4. Websites for Volumio, RuneAudio, and Moode (with more info on NAS setup, detailed installation guides, lists of known compatible DACs and WiFi dongles, user forums, etc.):
Volumio:
https://volumio.orgRuneAudio:
http://www.runeaudio.comMoode:
http://moodeaudio.org/
