[ezzieyguywuf]

Hello Linux users! I recently set up MPD on my server so that I wouldn't constantly have to plug/unplug my external hdd/compass to my laptop. I can just keep them pluged into my server and control mpd from my laptop using any number of clients. I'd like to know if anyone else is using mpd, either locally or remotely, and what your settings are for it and why.
 
I have alsa running on the mpd box, and my .mpdconf can be seen here . My only concern that since I have multiple audio streams, i.e. out the HP-jack on the computer and out the usb, I assume this means that some sort of software mixer is present, which I'm pretty sure means < sound quality?
 
ezziey
 

 

[Dynobot]

Check out my page, I think I covered everything
 

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

Nice page. Trying some of your settings now. Do you think that having multiple outputs will be detrimental to my s/pdif out? how can I check if there is hardware or software mixing going on?

 

[Dynobot]

I use only one active output at a time, this can be set with Minion instead of going into the script.
as seen below auto_resample is set to no so alsa will not automatically resample.  Then further down if you uncomment out the last line for mixer type MPD will not touch any type of mixing. 
 
to see what you are outputting use this as see in the mpd wiki under tuning, if you have more than one card you will have to change pcm0p to 1p.
 

 cat /proc/asound/card0/pcm0p/sub0/hw_params

 
 
audio_output {

 [font=arial] type "alsa"[/font] [font=arial] name "my ALSA device"[/font] [font=arial]                device "hw:1,0"                            < [hr][/hr] For SPDIF replace [/font][i][font=arial]"hw:1,0"[/font][/i][font=arial] with [/font][i][font=arial]"cards.pcm.iec958"[/font][/i] [u][b][font=arial]                auto_resample "no"[/font] [/b][/u][font=arial]                use_mmap "yes"[/font] [font=arial]                period_time 0[/font] [font=arial]                buffer_size 4[/font] [font=arial]                period_size 2[/font] [font=arial]}[/font]

# Volume control mixer ########################################################
#
# These are the global volume control settings. By default, this setting will
# be detected to the available audio output device, with preference going to
# hardware mixing. Hardware and software mixers for individual audio_output
# sections cannot yet be mixed.
#
# An example for controlling an ALSA, OSS or Pulseaudio mixer; If this
# setting is used other sound applications will be affected by the volume
# being controlled by MPD.
#
#mixer_type            "hardware"
#
# An example for controlling all mixers through software. This will control
# all controls, even if the mixer is not supported by the device and will not
# affect any other sound producing applications.
#
#mixer_type            "software"
#
# This example will not allow MPD to touch the mixer at all and will disable
# all volume controls.
#
#mixer_type            "disabled"
#
###############################################################################
 

 

[ezzieyguywuf]

ok cool I already have all of these settings set. What part of the output of the cat command tells me whether or not any mixing is being done? I ask because I'm still not sure if alsa itself is doing any mixing.

 

[Dynobot]

As long as you have these 4 things set there is no way anything should get resampled.
 
1)auto_resampling set to NO Also should not be doing anything.
2)# This example will not allow MPD to touch the mixer at all and will disable
# all volume controls.
#
mixer_type            "disabled"
3)

 device "cards.pcm.iec958"

4)remove the plug in front of plughw
 
 
Once you do the cat command you should get an output like this, feed MPD a 48K file and you should see 48 for the rate, feed it a 44.1 file you should see a 44.1 rate
 

 access: RW_INTERLEAVED format: S16_LE subformat: STD channels: 2 rate: 44100 (44100/1) period_size: 45 buffer_size: 22050

 

[Dynobot]

Any Music Player Damon users using Buffer and Period size and Period time?
 
If so try 0 [zero] for all of those values....
 
Any difference??

 

[Dynobot]

Anyone using the 0.16 Alpha2 version of MPD?

 

[nyc_paramedic]

Quote:

Anyone using the 0.16 Alpha2 version of MPD?

I am using 0.16 Alpha 2 on my Alix. You can get a pre-compiled .deb for Voyage Linux here: http://www.voyage.hk/dists/experimental/mpd/  Should work on a standard testing/Sid Debian install as well.

 

[Dynobot]

Thanks are you using ecasound as well?  If so how do you get faad2/faac to work with ecasound for .aac [internet radio]?
 
I ended up using this PPA for MPD...
 
https://launchpad.net/~gmpc-trunk/+archive/mpd-trunk

 

[nyc_paramedic]

Quote:

Thanks are you using ecasound as well?  If so how do you get faad2/faac to work with ecasound for .aac [internet radio]?
 
I ended up using this PPA for MPD...
 
https://launchpad.net/~gmpc-trunk/+archive/mpd-trunk

I don't use ecasound, and the few internet radio stations I listen to are already supported by standard mpd and its libraries. I use 0.16 alpha2 because of its
S24_3LE 24 bit packed samples support, which is needed for true 24 bit DACs when using hw:0,0 and bypassing ALSA. I also have a recent October snapshot of ALSA running on the Alix which supports USB Audio Class 2 (aka UAC2) hardware, as my Ayre QB-9 has the newer USB UAC2 board that lets me play up to 24bit 192Khz files.
 
My system is 2 channel only, and my design approach to an audiophile grade music server is for it to be as minimalist as possible.

 

[joe_cool]

I've been following this thread and found some great tips and info here. I installed the 0.16 version of mpd on a test partition with lubuntu 10.04 and listened for a bit. My main linux system is ubuntu 10.04 and there I have installed the mpd release 0.15. I've been doing the linux audio thing for about 2 weeks and believe that mpd gives the best playback of the many players I've tried. deadBeef comes close but is not quite as good, IMO.
 
So my question is this: Have any of you used and/or compared mpd to a Windows program called cicsmemoryplayer? I have a version installed on a dedicated Windows XP computer and find it very revealing.
 
[size=144%]cMP² = cMP + cPlay[/size]

 

[Dynobot]

 
Quote:

 
So my question is this: Have any of you used and/or compared mpd to a Windows program called cicsmemoryplayer? I have a version installed on a dedicated Windows XP computer and find it very revealing.
 
[size=144%]cMP² = cMP + cPlay[/size]

 
Answer = see my site
 
If you have a full blown cMP machine it should sound better than Ubuntu + MPD.  If you have a lean version of Linux that has been optimized like a cMP machine both players will be on more even fields. 
 

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

 
My system is 2 channel only, and my design approach to an audiophile grade music server is for it to be as minimalist as possible.

Same here, both my systems are 2 channel only and I try to keep it as minimal as possible....less is more.
 
I'm totally happy with 0.16 as is but since it came with pipe already turned on I thought I might have a listen....

 

[joe_cool]

Quote:

 
If you have a full blown cMP machine it should sound better than Ubuntu + MPD.  If you have a lean version of Linux that has been optimized like a cMP machine both players will be on more even fields. 
 

That was my reasoning when I installed mpd 0.16 on lubuntu, it's a very lean distro. I don't think pulseaudio is installed, for instance. If I was more experienced I would use a different kernel with low latency or maybe even real-time kernel. I looked at Ubunto Studio but it's rather large (>1GB) and it seems the real-time kernel is only used by Jack. Feel free to correct me if I have wrong ideas.