HDMI Output - Capability/Good Enough for Me?

[mrrodge]

First post here - sorry if it's in the wrong place! Wouldn't consider myself an audiophile but I like good sound.

Been using max2play for years, connected via a £6 USB sound card with optical out to my old Yamaha AVR, streaming Deezer. I thought 'digital is digital' and I'd be getting the most out of my setup. I then got an Xbox one and connected it to my AVR also by optical and when I tried the xbox Deezer app, the sound difference was night and day. Was that the dirty clock I heard with the Pi?!

So I'm upgrading my system to a more modern AVR (Arcam SR250), new speakers and want to get the most of it. I have a collection of FLAC I haevn't heard in years, some of it high-res. I've seen the likes of the Allo boards, but what's the HDMI like on the Pi3? I gather it can output/carry PCM 24/192 but will I experience jitter? Is there any benefit to the add on boards?

Thanks!

[ralphy]

I've seen the likes of the Allo boards, but what's the HDMI like on the Pi3? I gather it can output/carry PCM 24/192 but will I experience jitter?

Thanks!

The HDMI on the rpi3/4 supports PCM 16/192.

alsacap
*** Scanning for playback devices ***

Card 0, ID `b1', name `bcm2835 HDMI 1'
  Device 0, ID `bcm2835 HDMI 1', name `bcm2835 HDMI 1', 4 subdevices (4 available)
    1..8 channels, sampling rate 8000..192000 Hz
    Sample formats: U8, S16_LE

[mrrodge]

The HDMI on the rpi3/4 supports PCM 16/192.

alsacap
*** Scanning for playback devices ***

Card 0, ID `b1', name `bcm2835 HDMI 1'
  Device 0, ID `bcm2835 HDMI 1', name `bcm2835 HDMI 1', 4 subdevices (4 available)
    1..8 channels, sampling rate 8000..192000 Hz
    Sample formats: U8, S16_LE

OK thanks. So if I fed it a 24/192 file, what will happen? Will the LMS transcode or the pCP box?

How about with normal 16/44.1? Will the HDMI sound as good as a dedicated digital out board?

[chavezdaniel]

OK thanks. So if I fed it a 24/192 file, what will happen? Will the LMS transcode or the pCP box?

How about with normal 16/44.1? Will the HDMI sound as good as a dedicated digital out board?

My fist setup was a RPi 4 > HDMI > Yamaha AVR. I always felt it sounded good enough, even when playing sample rates higher than 44.1K, though I think that RPi4 has better HDMI and USB implementation than RPi3. That's why for RPi3 and lower you usually hear the recommendation of a HAT. So I would recommend you going for a RPi4 for HDMI or USB audio output.

[mrrodge]

My fist setup was a RPi 4 > HDMI > Yamaha AVR. I always felt it sounded good enough, even when playing sample rates higher than 44.1K, though I think that RPi4 has better HDMI and USB implementation than RPi3. That's why for RPi3 and lower you usually hear the recommendation of a HAT. So I would recommend you going for a RPi4 for HDMI or USB audio output.

In what way is the HDMI on the 4 better? I already have a couple of 3's lying around so there's not much in it cost wise between putting a transport HAT on one of those (say a HifiBerry) and getting a 4 to use with HDMI.

[ralphy]

In what way is the HDMI on the 4 better? I already have a couple of 3's lying around so there's not much in it cost wise between putting a transport HAT on one of those (say a HifiBerry) and getting a 4 to use with HDMI.

The hdmi ports on the rpi4 only support 16bit as well. The alsacap command I ran in my previous post was from a 4.

[mrrodge]

The hdmi ports on the rpi4 only support 16bit as well. The alsacap command I ran in my previous post was from a 4.

Sounds like a HAT then! Looking at Hifiberry Digi+ Pro. Not sure I believe the power supply debate. What's the thoughts of others?

[wtnh]

Sounds like a HAT then! Looking at Hifiberry Digi+ Pro. Not sure I believe the power supply debate. What's the thoughts of others?

I have had good results with the Allo Boss, combined with the Allo Isolator, running the Pi and Isolator/DAC off separate power supplies. Very happy with the sound. Very low noise on the outputs of the DAC. I built my first player a couple of years ago. Here's one implementation I did: https://forums.slimdevices.com/showt...l=1#post919531