Is Max2Play the best option for what I want?

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2. Juni 2017 at 9:38 #29189

Hello,

I ordered a HifiBerry DAC Pro to use with my Raspberry Pi 3 and Mackie Active speakers. I use the same Raspberry for Kodi (LibreELEC).

I’m unsure what program to use to play my music. I googled and read a lot, and instead of understanding more what suits me best, I keep finding more options, hence making it hard to choose.

What I want, is to be able to still use Kodi (preferably with HDMI audio, but not necessary). I want to hook up a SDD hard drive with all my music (just through USB, no NAS drive). I read somewhere that even a SDD hard drive could ask to much power from the Pi, is that true?

I want to be able to play music headless, so with my smartphone or tablet (iOs, both, but in the future I may have an Android phone). I also want to be able to make a playlist on the fly from that smartphone.

The most easy solution seems to use Kodi as music player, but is it the same audio quality as Max2Play? Can I make playlists easy?

Mopidy seems to have a lot of options and compatible with different configurations, but maybe it’s a little more complex to set up? The more „out-of-the-box“ the music player works, the more I like it, but not if it means less quality of course.

I read a lot about MoOde, as being better quality and more active developed. I don’t find a lot documentation tough. An active community is also important. When I have a problem and there’s no active forum or chat channel, I’m stuck. Like the forum on Hifiberry, there’s not much help I see.

What about Pi Musicbox (also uses Mopidy, but what’s the difference, is this easier to set up?) and piCorePlayer. Are they the same kind of programs as RuneAudio, Volumio and Max2Play?

What do you use and why?

Thanks for any explanation!

[Heiner premium]

Heiner premium

6. Juni 2017 at 14:00 #29282

Hi Taxicletter,

Sorry about the late response. Let’s get through your questions in order:

– Kodi with HDMI audio is no problem with our OS. Kodi comes preinstalled and you can select HDMI for audio in our web interface on in Kodi.

– A SSD might be an issue. We recommend using a powered USB hub to make sure it does not drain the Pi, but it depends on the storage device. Also activate the USB max current option in the Raspberry Settings.

– Squeezebox system is ideal for almost any device, especially iOS and Android (Apps like Squeezer, iPeng, etc. work flawlessly). But you can also just always use the web interface on any device.

– Kodi for music is not ideal, we recommend using the Squeezebox system and its many features and advantages.

– Pi MusicBox, Mopidy, PiCorePlayer, Volumio and Moode are all very different beasts. We cannot speak to their pros and cons. Our OS mostly relies on the Logitech Media Server which is a simple one-click installation and has clean interface and many third party apps and software to control it. The players for it are preinstalled (Squeezelite) on all Max2Play devices so you can easily control the playback of all and synchronize them at will.

– We all use Max2Play here 😛

If you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them. But the best way to decide is to just download the free image and try the free main features yourself to see if Max2Play fits your bill 😉

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7. Juni 2017 at 16:20 #29344

Kodi comes preinstalled and you can select HDMI for audio in our web interface on in Kodi.

Do you use LibreELEC? Because that’s the only one that lets me choose AZERTY and that really accepts it like AZERTY (Kodi on Raspbian/OSMC let me choose AZERTY but still work as QUERTY). Can I set up that HDMI is fixed for Kodi en the HifiBerry is fixed for music?

Squeezebox system is ideal for almost any device, especially iOS and Android (Apps like Squeezer, iPeng, etc. work flawlessly). But you can also just always use the web interface on any device.

Isn’t it a disadvantage that Squeezebox is „out-of-production“? Isn’t it „dying“ software?
I think I prefer a dedicated app, isn’t a web interface slower and looses a bit space by sitting in a browser?

Kodi for music is not ideal.

You’re right, the remote apps aren’t ideal. You can’t make playlists, for instance. But the sound quality is the same, because that depends on the ALSA software, isn’t it?

If you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them. But the best way to decide is to just download the free image and try the free main features yourself to see if Max2Play fits your bill 😉

Happy? 😀
I will test it, as soon as my HifiBerry arrives.

Thanks for your answer!

[Heiner premium]

Heiner premium

8. Juni 2017 at 13:17 #29395

– We do not use LibreELEC, our Kodi is for Raspbian Jessie lite and currently version 17.1. We do not alter the build and have not had any experiences with the AZERTY setting, unfortunately.

– The Squeezebox system was picked up by a dedicated community of developers, tinkerers and DIY folks that continue to enhance its features and builds. They have a very active discussion board and recently published a new version of server and a new Spotify plugin. The iOS and Android apps are just some actual dedicated apps for the Squeezebox system. There are many others out there, especially on Android, but also on Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc. (SoftSqueeze, Squeeze Commander, SqueezeCtl, etc.) For more info, check the forums: http://forums.slimdevices.com/forum.php