[Alexdad54]

Nope. The idea is that you can configure your Voyage MPD Alix via a web browser on another machine. Thus, no more text editing via SSH. Kinda like plugging in a Netgear router and typing 192.168.1.10 on your desktop to set it up.

In the near future I hope to see this:

1. Buy a compact flash pre-loaded with Voyage MPD from the Voyage site.

2. Pop into your Alix.

3. Log into Alix via Firefox, Safari, Explorer, etc.

4. Configure settings via point and click.

5. Listen to  music.

Got it! Would A remote (iPod, iTouch, etc) still be used via mpod? I guess that this will also require me to eventually update the edition of Voyage currently on my CF card with the newer purchased version?

[jrebman]

alexis54,

Yes, MPoD should still work fine -- it's just the setup interface that would be updated (as far as I can tell), and actually, once the alix is on the network, you could probably even use safari on the Touch to configure it too.

However, it doesn't appear to be anything like a product yet, and Nick said what he'd like to see, not necessarily what the voyage group has in mind or planned.  Just a pipedream at this point, but one based in a very doable reality.

-- Jim

[TomS]

alexis54,

Yes, MPoD should still work fine -- it's just the setup interface that would be updated (as far as I can tell), and actually, once the alix is on the network, you could probably even use safari on the Touch to configure it too.

However, it doesn't appear to be anything like a product yet, and Nick said what he'd like to see, not necessarily what the voyage group has in mind or planned.  Just a pipedream at this point, but one based in a very doable reality.

-- Jim

Jim,

I wouldn't call it a "pipedream".  So far, the Voyage guys are incredibly responsive, especially to the MPD and audio community requests.  As a result, I'm going to continue to contribute and encourage them.  Successful commercial Voyage offerings from Bryston and Auraliti certainly help as well.

Tom

[wilbert-vanbakel]

I understand that this thread is focused on Alix based hardware.Still, with the concept of a tiny audio source accessing sound tracks over a local network and feeding a USB-DAC, I hope that you don't mind my question:

Would using a Plug Computer like the SheevaPlug for this purpose make sense?
More info: http://www.plugcomputer.org/
and: http://www.crazyhawt.com/2009/11/23/howto-building-a-squeezebox-server-for-under-100-yes-it-can-be-done/





 

[jrebman]

Hi Tom,

I understand, and perhaps overstated thngs a bit.  I too will be supporting these guys very shortly.

I'll not be parting with my sooped-up mac mini anytime soon, but I still have two other systems that I need a quality transport for, and this is the best answer I've yet seen, regardless of price.

-- Jim

[mgalusha]

Thanks, Ed. I feel the same way. It offers exceptional sound quality and value, even though it's not dressed up in a machined case or has fancy displays or lights.

I had the opportunity to play with the Alix and a Mac Mini using the same hardware and for my tastes the Alix with a linear power supply edged out the Mini. Short version, Mini/Pure Music was a touch warmer and richer while the Alix offered a little more resolution such as upright bass was cleaner and more delicate highs. They were very close in performance.

[jrebman]

Mike,

Was that a stock mini?  I don't doubt your findings at all, but a mini with an upgraded PC and stripped down OS is several steps ahead of the stock, even with the basic software tweaks of turning off unnecessary processes, etc.

Anyway, I'm not raining on the alix parade as I'm quite thrilled with it too and easily think it's the best price-performance option out there, and very very good against any other transport.  I think the linear PSU is also a real key to getting ultimate performance out of it.

-- Jim

[ebag4]

I had the opportunity to play with the Alix and a Mac Mini using the same hardware and for my tastes the Alix with a linear power supply edged out the Mini. Short version, Mini/Pure Music was a touch warmer and richer while the Alix offered a little more resolution such as upright bass was cleaner and more delicate highs. They were very close in performance.

Thanks for that Mike, I have been waiting to read about a comparison.  Can you tell me anything further about the linear PS used with the Alix?

Best,
Ed

[mgalusha]

Was that a stock mini?  I don't doubt your findings at all, but a mini with an upgraded PC and stripped down OS is several steps ahead of the stock, even with the basic software tweaks of turning off unnecessary processes, etc.

Jim,

It had a 120GB SSD drive and 8GB of ram. It did have the stock power supply. I believe the owner had it pretty well optimized for music playback but being as that is the first Mac to ever enter my home I didn't mess about with it. I don't want to derail this thread, so perhaps I'll post a new thread about this.

Thanks for that Mike, I have been waiting to read about a comparison.  Can you tell me anything further about the linear PS used with the Alix?

Ed,

I used my old HP 6289A lab bench supply since I didn't want to build something for a computer I didn't own (though I have since purchased one). I later tried a set of LiFePO4 batteries and those too were notably better than the wall wart. I thought they were also a little better than the linear PS but of course that means the joy of charging.


mike

[ebag4]

Ed,

I used my old HP 6289A lab bench supply since I didn't want to build something for a computer I didn't own (though I have since purchased one). I later tried a set of LiFePO4 batteries and those too were notably better than the wall wart. I thought they were also a little better than the linear PS but of course that means the joy of charging.


mike

Thanks for the reply Mike.  I have powered my Alix with my Optima battery in parallel with my Dodd buffer, unfortunately this combination added a slight background noise that was subtle enough I had to turn the buffer volume up considerably with no music playing to hear it.  I will be picking up some diodes to see if I can eliminate the noise backfed from the buffer, unitl then the wall wart is preferred.

The wall wart is outputting 15V, did you run it at 15 volts or 12?  It should easily run on either but I am curious as to whether there is a difference in sound quality between the two.

Best,
Ed

[TomS]

Ed,

Just FYI, I've also been running my Alix on a couple different flavors of simple 3-terminal regulators at 12v with great results. Unfortunately there isn't really room in that little case to put the regulator right there local so it's external.  I just hate most of these wall warts.

Tom

[mgalusha]

I used 15V on the HP supply and the meter showed about 300mA of current at that voltage. I didn't know at the time the allowable input voltage is from 7 to 20. Once I found this out I tried the A123 pack I had, which is 9.9V.

Looking at the Alix schematics over the weekend they are using a 7805 to provide the main power bus and then other regs to derive the lower voltages needed for the CPU core and such. So anything much over 7v is just going to be rendered as heat.

[jrebman]

Mike,

That's what I found too, and why I'm buildihng a 7.5 v supply @ 1 amp -- should easily power the alix and the HRT MS II+ with little wasted heat.

-- Jim

[nyc_paramedic]

alexis54,
Yes, MPoD should still work fine -- it's just the setup interface that would be updated (as far as I can tell), and actually, once the alix is on the network, you could probably even use safari on the Touch to configure it too.

Yes, correct. The Web GUI is for setup purposes, i.e., configuring details of your mpd.conf, ALSA, and your CIFS, NFS or wherever your music is. You would still use any MPD client for controlling playback.

[ebag4]

Thanks guys, good info.

Best,
Ed

[nyc_paramedic]

I understand that this thread is focused on Alix based hardware...

I don't mind discussing other embedded hardware options that run on Debian or Voyage Linux.

Still, with the concept of a tiny audio source accessing sound tracks over a local network and feeding a USB-DAC, I hope that you don't mind my question:

Would using a Plug Computer like the SheevaPlug for this purpose make sense?
More info: http://www.plugcomputer.org/
and: http://www.crazyhawt.com/2009/11/23/howto-building-a-squeezebox-server-for-under-100-yes-it-can-be-done/

Those should work fine --if you know what you're doing. A few caveats...

1. There is a built in switching power supply, i.e., you can't use your own linear or batteries without physically hacking the thing.

2. It's ARM based, so it must run a version of Linux compiled for the ARM CPU. Which also means that it will probably do 24/96Khz out of the box with USB Audio Class 1 support, but you'll need to compiled a snapshot for ALSA --for ARM CPU-- if you want to do UAC2, i.e., 24/192Khz. Now things get a bit tricky compared to software in the x86 realm.

So, right now, I don't see any major advantages of the ARM over the x86 Alix, especially when you get USB Audio Class 2 support out fo the box.

Could the ARM CPU sound better than the Geode? Sure. But I haven't done any comparisons. If there is someone on this thread that is comfortable with cross compiling software for ARM, I'm sure he'd probably be more apt to use something like this http://www.thelinuxstamp.com/shop/article_1/Linuxstamp-II-9260.html?shop_param=cid%3D1%26aid%3D1%26 or this http://www.embeddedarm.com/products/board-detail.php?product=TS-7550#.

It'd be nice to see a small ARM board for audiophiles that has zero switching supplies, i.e., CPU, RAM, etc. fed by dedicated linear supplies. Might sound better...

[nyc_paramedic]

I guess that this will also require me to eventually update the edition of Voyage currently on my CF card with the newer purchased version?

Yes, eventually you could update, but you don't have to if you are comfortable with the Alix now. Once Voyage MPD is up and running, you rarely have to mess with it. And that is a Good Thing.

Also, the software will always be free. The option to buy the compact flash card would be for those individuals who are _not_ comfortable with the command line and would like to get the Alix up and running with a minimum amount of fuss.

[mgalusha]

Also, the software will always be free. The option to buy the compact flash card would be for those individuals who are _not_ comfortable with the command line and would like to get the Alix up and running with a minimum amount of fuss.

This will be a great thing for some folks as I've had requests from three people to burn a CF image for them, which is not a problem but even better if they can get one just by ordering.

BTW, for those using this please donate to the Voyage project. They are doing good work and my one question on the email support list resulted in three very fast responses, can't beat that. 

[jrebman]

I just bought one of the kits from the ebay seller who sells the boards without the IDE headers installed, so now over to voyage to drop a tip in their hat...

Guess I need to build another PSU now too.

-- Jim

[Alexdad54]

Yes, eventually you could update, but you don't have to if you are comfortable with the Alix now. Once Voyage MPD is up and running, you rarely have to mess with it. And that is a Good Thing.

Also, the software will always be free. The option to buy the compact flash card would be for those individuals who are _not_ comfortable with the command line and would like to get the Alix up and running with a minimum amount of fuss.

Would this new GUI then allow me to remove my mini-pc currently acting as the server from an external HDD to the Alix or would that still be necessary? Apologies, but as you know, I'm still a bit confused buy all things Linux....