TOPIC:

Hi there everyone. I am still waiting for my SHD to clear customs (and to pay the import duties - sigh) and have a couple of specific questions that I hoped someone could answer.
1. I was doing some reading and noticed someone mentioned that if you plug a usb hard drive into the SHD then that stops the use of the wifi dongle and therefore wifi access for the SHD and I assume internet streaming - spotify over volumio etc. Is this true?

2. I currently use Moode on an RPi4 with a ssd connected via usb and it outputs audio via usb to my dac. It works really well and is wonderfully responsive and I have it configured so it looks really nice. I never bothered with volumio as it had so many mediocre reviews. One aspect of the SHD that interested me was using volumio to do spotifiy as well as play files off my ssd and being able to reduce the box count of my system. I also thought that if I didn't really like volumio I could go back to using my RPi4 with moode and just plugging it's usb cable directly into the shd (as I had done previously with my DAC. Would that work? Or would volumio still be receiving the sound and outputting to the dsp side of things and therefore affect sound quality and number of programmes involved?

3. If I cannot plug the SSD into the USB port of the SHD as it removes wifi connectivity (I do not have a LAN cable that I can connect in that part of my lounge) then what is the best option for streaming the music files from my SSD to the SHD? I have read somewhere about NAS (using a Rpi) and using Logitech Media Server as another option (with a Rpi). I do not have any other PCs other than a laptop and that is not on all the time. I thought maybe I could purchase another RPi4 and set up some kind of server to send the music to the SHD and volumio. That way I could keep the wifi dongle on the SHD, use volumio for spotify and for playing my music files (mainly flac and hires audio). What do people use and is there a simple option?

Thanks very much in advance for any advice you can give me. I am relatively new to streaming (other than with a chromecast audio). The Rpi4 was a big step up for me (previously only vinyl and spotify) so I need to do some reading and learning it seems.

Hi Mike,

Congratulations on your purchase of the SHD. I very much like mine and
hope you will too.

I think the single board computer integrated into the SHD series is a NanoPi
NEO2 and is where Volumio resides. It connects to the motherboard of the
SHD via an I2C interface.

There are two USB connections on the back panel of the SHD. The USB type
A port is provided by the NanoPi NEO2 and is thus used and managed by
Volumio. The USB type B port is not part of the NanoPi NEO2 and is instead
somehow integrated with the SHD motherboard and its SHARC processor.

The USB type B port is used both to control the SHD and can also be used
as a digital audio input source, labeled as "USB" by both the front panel display
and the SHD product documentation. The USB type B port also provides
four channels of digital audio out (output channels 1 through 4 of the SHD).

As a partial answer to your first question, I think the principle reason for
having to choose between using the WiFi dongle or a USB mass storage
device is due to the NanoPi NEO2 having only the one USB port, the
type A port. I don't know if using a USB hub would work reliably to
connect both. I suspect doing so is likely problematic but will defer to
others and the miniDSP support team.

For question 2, yes you certainly can use something like a Raspberry Pi to
send two channel digital music into the SHD via the USB type B port. The
NanoPi NEO2 running Volumio will not get in the way. You simply change
the SHD's source selection to "USB" instead of "LAN". You could conveniently
toggle between the two streamers via the input source selector of the SHD.

The one set of functionality that you might be giving up if you use an outboard
streamer (connected via the USB type B port) is the fact that miniDSP has
worked with the Volumio folks to enable some extra communication between
the NanoPi NEO2 and the SHD over the I2C interface that connects them.

Recent SHD firmware and Volumio version upgrades (as well as the new miniDSP
remote) have enabled an ability to control a few aspects of the SHD from within
Volumio. These include settings such as volume, preset selection, pause/play,
next and previous track, etc.

That's not to say that an outboard streamer connected to the USB type B port
could not have similar controls. It's just that I think adding that functionality
would be a bit of a DIY project. Minutes ago, I cam across a discussion on this
forum where some of those USB control codes were revealed.

On to question 3. You could get one of those WiFi extenders that provides
one or more Ethernet ports. That would leave the USB type A port free to
connect a USB mass storage device containing your music files.

My personal advice is to stick with the use of the WiFi dongle and instead
go forward with your idea of putting your music library full time on your
home network. Doing so will pay dividends throughout your household,
enabling enjoyment of your music everywhere within your home. You could
even put your music library in one of the various brands of cloud storage
and enjoy your music while outside of your home.

Volumio is compatible with UPnP/DLNA, SMB/CIFS and NFS. I think moOde
Audio is compatible with all or most of these same protocols.

Since you asked, here is what I'm doing. I have an Asus RT-AC3200 WiFi
router that I've been using as a WiFi access point. As it turns out, it comes
with a built in ability to share a USB mass storage device via any of UPnP/DLNA,
NFS, SMB and FTP. The UPnP/DLNA server software it uses is the same
miniDLNA implementation that I had been using on my Linux boxes to serve
the same function.

So, it was a very natural thing for me to buy a 1 TB Samsung T3 USB SSD,
load it with my multimedia library, and then serve up its content via the
RT-AC3200. It has been working beautifully and only incured the cost of
purchasing the USB SSD drive. I've been using DLNA as the prefered
protocol and have been very happy with that choice. Because miniDLNA
does not provide the optional DLNA feature of just-in-time transcodiing,
it's impact on the RT-AC3200 is negligible, just servicing HTTP GET requests
for the music files.

If the RT-AC3200 were to prove insufficient, I'd likely go down the road of
something like the ODROID-HC1 and put a large 2.5 inch SSD in it. There's
also its sibling, the HC2 if you prefer the 3.5 inch SATA form factor. One
could always go more upscale, such as Synology, etc.

Thank you very much. Such a great response that answered all my questions! Will try my router first and if not I might look into a Rpi4 server option. Also the wifi extender is a really good idea! Didn't even think of that.

Well just a heads up for anyone coming from a Moode setup to the SHD. Great news. Moode works fine streaming to the SHD via USB connection (just like it would with any other DAC). Due to having a few connection issues with volumio not staying connected on my wifi I will continue to use Moode as my streamer (though assuming there is no reduction in sound quality going through both moode and into volumio/shd).

Eventually I will set up a proper NAS and when Roon gets sorted on the SHD (properly) I will probably go that way. For now I am happy (minus the connection issues). I am familiar with Moode and it is so damn reliable and responsive. Also it looks prettier than volumio on the big screen LOL.

I've had a Synology for years and I retired it after I found that a SSD into the USB-A in my SHD Studio sounds better and loads faster. I load it via wifi from a PC on another floor (to isolate it from computer noise.)
I recommend an UltraCap LPS 1.2 or a TeddyPardo PSU which also gives you a power switch.
You really need BubbleUPnP fir MoOde and it also works on top of Volumio giving you p/l ordering in Qobuz and better art support.
You can even play tracks from your phone over SHD without BT.
There is no reason to tie up the USB for wifi when extenders ar3e available for $20.
TP Link

"I load it via wifi from a PC on another floor (to isolate it from computer noise.)". This does not make sense. Can you please explain what you mean by this?

I do not bother with a hard drive plugged into the SHD directly as it takes forever (I mean it never actually managed the task) to update the volumio library. I believe it was a major oversight to use such a slow pi as the streaming option on the minidsp products. Anyone with a large library will struggle (I have around 1.6 TB).

"You really need BubbleUPnP fir MoOde and it also works on top of Volumio giving you p/l ordering in Qobuz and better art support". Again this is a confusing post. How are you using Moode with your shd? Have you flashed the volumio software built in to the shd or are you streaming to it using moode on another computer/pi? If so what functionality do you gain from bubble that the moode interface doesn't provide? Maybe I am missing something as I do not use bubble.

I use moode by having it installed on a raspberry pi 4. This has a hard drive connected to it via usb input and outputs the signal to the SHD via its USB input. The raspberry pi 4 effectively acts as a source, completely ignoring the volumio component of the shd (it might well route through volumio - though cannot find detail on this). That way I get the functionality of Moode - speedy library update, excellent artwork, fast interface due to connected hdd and processor speed of the pi4. but still gain the benefits of the SHD. Moode looks much nicer than volumio as well.

I can control Moode with my phone, no need for bubble upnp - I just connect to Moode over a web browser and control it with whatever device I want - laptop, anyones phone, tablet etc. Easy.

How are you using these extra power supplies you mention? If you are plugging the SHD into it then the power supply of the SHD will still be working. To be perfectly honest I doubt any extra power supply will make any difference (see ASR for exploration of the effect of linear power supplies on hifi equipment - not pretty). The main issues with the SHD were to do with it having power supply related issues (needed better decoupling it seems) but I do not see how using the items you mention will fix that, unless you are hardwiring those power supplies internally on the SHD, circumnavigating the internal power supply entirely. If you are doing this more power to you! I would like to see this measured.

The wifi issues with my SHD were never resolved. The wifi dongle is glitchy to say the least. Using a hardwired network cable plugged into a wifi extender has worked. Funnily now I only use that connection to get into volumio to stream digital radio via volumio or to use the spotify connect functionality. With the channel swap issue on spotify connect I will probably just go back to chromecast audio via optical connection .

@mikeburnsnz
I have a huge problem with the wifi connection on my SHD myself or even a wired connection at this point. I have wiped the card and reburn it then everything worked for a day. I am about to do the same again this time based on your suggestion i will not use wifi at all. I have been at this thing for two months now! This ruins an otherwise incredibly good sounding product. The Volumio on the card is clearly getting corrupted with usage and I am amazed that a solution cannot be found after 3 years of this issue being reported.
I would buy a dedicated computer to just enter through USB and forget about the Volumio interface but the thing is the system sounds crazy good via the volumio (when it works). I have not been able to achieve that sound via USB.

Personally I have noticed no difference between volumio and Moode, though haven't given it extensive comparative listening. Moode works so much better than Volumio in terms of interface though, especially with a higher specced pi (pi4). A RPi4 and case is not an expensive outlay and I had it up and running, playing music within an hour of starting (probably less but I was interrupted alot). The great thing is that the flirc case I use looks great and the whole unit is so small it can be virtually hidden away. This may solve your problems as it completely bypasses the volumio interface. It is definitely worth a go.