xeizo
500+ Head-Fier
You will probably have to add Spotify/Snap to the snd group for it to work
Is there a difference in sound quality between Windows and Linux?
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Maxpain
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What is the snd group and how can I add snap spotify to it?
Maxpain
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If you mean the audio group I have already added my user to the audio group.
MisterMoJo
500+ Head-Fier
My to cents... to me it doesn't seem like linux is worth the effort. But then again no one asked me. So please be kind.
xeizo
500+ Head-Fier
Yes, the last distro I used called audio snd, but it is probably usually called audio
xeizo
500+ Head-Fier
You are mostly right, for the average user it isn't worth it. Some may find the extra effort fun though.
Maxpain
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It depends on ones perspective, others want ready solutions out of the box and others like the never ending research. I do belong to the second category. Linux for me is a project that I admire not only for its brilliance as an OS but also because of the whole opensource and free character. Means that there is no limitations, just the work and the effort of people all over the world contributing to it.
It is also true that you can modify and configure things with Linux that Mac and Windows users never dreamed of. Though this is a forum for audio and sound quality I want to add the security on top of everything...Linux can be by far the most secure OS you can use.
Now for audiophiles...I don't know if its a better platform or worse than windows. I guess it depends on the application...I mean audio producing or mixing is different from just audio playback and home listening. I think I am lucky cause my DAC (Iifi idsd micro) supports Linux natively.
It is also true that you can modify and configure things with Linux that Mac and Windows users never dreamed of. Though this is a forum for audio and sound quality I want to add the security on top of everything...Linux can be by far the most secure OS you can use.
Now for audiophiles...I don't know if its a better platform or worse than windows. I guess it depends on the application...I mean audio producing or mixing is different from just audio playback and home listening. I think I am lucky cause my DAC (Iifi idsd micro) supports Linux natively.
Gonna necromance this because it still comes up on google, and I recently had some really good luck with creating a music server on a very stripped-down linux install using MPD. Basically I just followed the instructions here:
https://www.24bit96.com/hifi-music-server/bitperfect-linux-with-mpd.html
I did tweak things quite a bit afterwards, just to make things work more smoothly. But after the 1st listen I was blown away by the quality. Better than I've ever heard in windows.
I think one of the keys is the low latency kernel and another is just keeping things simple. At first I didn't even have a window manager installed, but ended up installing xfce so I could try out some MPD clients directly on the machine. And then I had to remove pulseaudio since xfce installs it as a dependency. I also found a paid android app called MAFA that is a pretty great client.
Previously this machine had ubuntu on it, and I was using Kodi, only I was fooling myself into thinking it was using ALSA. Apparently on an ubuntu system with pulseaudio, when you set an app like kodi to use ALSA, pulseaudio still inserts itself into the chain. Trying to use ALSA actually made it sound worse than just using pulseaudio directly.
Good riddance to ubuntu. It's just not the right tool for this job. It's changed so much over the years that googling for solutions sometimes feels like a nightmare.
I'd much rather have a simple distro where everything is controlled by config files that follow established *nix patterns (which ubuntu often strays from).
As for Moode or Volumio, I'm just not interested in distros like that anymore. I just want something simple and rock solid that sounds great and gives me lots of control. Following the guide linked above was in some ways easier than dealing with setting up Moode. MPD is dead simple with tons of options for clients and very customizable.
Some gotchas are making sure the ALSA card number of your DAC doesn't change on reboots, and also making sure that the system isn't also trying to use your DAC as its default. MPD should be the only thing touching your DAC. With those things ironed out I consistently get bit perfect playback no matter how many times I reboot.
https://www.24bit96.com/hifi-music-server/bitperfect-linux-with-mpd.html
I did tweak things quite a bit afterwards, just to make things work more smoothly. But after the 1st listen I was blown away by the quality. Better than I've ever heard in windows.
I think one of the keys is the low latency kernel and another is just keeping things simple. At first I didn't even have a window manager installed, but ended up installing xfce so I could try out some MPD clients directly on the machine. And then I had to remove pulseaudio since xfce installs it as a dependency. I also found a paid android app called MAFA that is a pretty great client.
Previously this machine had ubuntu on it, and I was using Kodi, only I was fooling myself into thinking it was using ALSA. Apparently on an ubuntu system with pulseaudio, when you set an app like kodi to use ALSA, pulseaudio still inserts itself into the chain. Trying to use ALSA actually made it sound worse than just using pulseaudio directly.
Good riddance to ubuntu. It's just not the right tool for this job. It's changed so much over the years that googling for solutions sometimes feels like a nightmare.
I'd much rather have a simple distro where everything is controlled by config files that follow established *nix patterns (which ubuntu often strays from).
As for Moode or Volumio, I'm just not interested in distros like that anymore. I just want something simple and rock solid that sounds great and gives me lots of control. Following the guide linked above was in some ways easier than dealing with setting up Moode. MPD is dead simple with tons of options for clients and very customizable.
Some gotchas are making sure the ALSA card number of your DAC doesn't change on reboots, and also making sure that the system isn't also trying to use your DAC as its default. MPD should be the only thing touching your DAC. With those things ironed out I consistently get bit perfect playback no matter how many times I reboot.
Ghoostknight
500+ Head-Fier
i kinda made a similar conclusion some years ago as i first tried Moode Audio, it just sounds better than Windows (and the usual standard linux distros on the same machine)
since then i tried to build my music system around the rpi with its specialized distros, i am pretty sure that the "minimal OS + minimal hardware" brings the most benefits,
im actually not sure if its really a OS question or more of a Hardware question where the RPI just produces way less noise and i can also hear improvements if 1. i underclock the system 2. isolate MPD to its own CPU core
since then i tried to build my music system around the rpi with its specialized distros, i am pretty sure that the "minimal OS + minimal hardware" brings the most benefits,
im actually not sure if its really a OS question or more of a Hardware question where the RPI just produces way less noise and i can also hear improvements if 1. i underclock the system 2. isolate MPD to its own CPU core
Interesting about isolating to one core and underclocking! Unless Moode was doing any of this by default when I tried it on the rpi4 I don't think I've ever tried it.
Right now I'm using a full size DIY gaming PC with a fairly wimpy CPU that's passively cooled, so no fan noise, and an 80 plus psu. When I A/B'd the rpi4 & Moode with this machine (even with ubuntu/kodi on it) I felt like I liked this machine better. Used the same USB DAC when comparing. At the time I thought maybe the USB was more noisy on the rpi4, though maybe the extra steps of underclocking and isolating MPD to its own core would've helped.
And now, after doing a fresh install of debian with MPD, ALSA and a real-time kernel, I feel like I've gone next level. Above and beyond any build I've ever done.
Timbuk2
Head-Fier
Before I found the manufacturer's Windows 10 driver for my DAC, I much preferred Linux sound qualities. I tried Mint, Ubuntu Studio, and then settled on AV Linux, based on MX. Ubuntu Studio and AV Linux both have a low latency kernel, but AV Linux, to my ears, has the best sound.
My experience has been that with the proper DAC driver, Windows is a bit more detailed and smooth, with a deeper soundstage. However, compared to AV Linux, Windows sounds really good but lacks soul. The AV Linux sound is more visceral, more emotional, much more engaging, to my ears. Another way to say it is that Windows sounds "clinical". In Windows I only have a digital output to choose from, but in AV Linux, I can choose the analog output from the DAC. That may account for the difference.
When I want to chill and relax, I usually listen in Windows. It's great for movies. When I want to engage with my music, I listen in AV Linux, as it's optimized for sound. Check it out... http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/
Thanks for the MDP link, will check it out...
My experience has been that with the proper DAC driver, Windows is a bit more detailed and smooth, with a deeper soundstage. However, compared to AV Linux, Windows sounds really good but lacks soul. The AV Linux sound is more visceral, more emotional, much more engaging, to my ears. Another way to say it is that Windows sounds "clinical". In Windows I only have a digital output to choose from, but in AV Linux, I can choose the analog output from the DAC. That may account for the difference.
When I want to chill and relax, I usually listen in Windows. It's great for movies. When I want to engage with my music, I listen in AV Linux, as it's optimized for sound. Check it out... http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/
Thanks for the MDP link, will check it out...
Found some more linux audiophile tweaks here today:
https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration
I swear turning off the spectre and meltdown mitigations made a difference!
https://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration
I swear turning off the spectre and meltdown mitigations made a difference!
Timbuk2
Head-Fier
Indeed, that is the beauty of Linux. It's a tweakers paradise, ha!
Very true. Also, big up to @Ghoostknight for the tip on isolating MPD to its own core. I used the advice here to give it a try as well, though in my case I had to add the -a switch to the command:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/326585
Now I just need to figure out how to make it a permanent.
Last edited:
Ghoostknight
500+ Head-Fier
in moode you can make it very easy permanent in adding "CPUAffinity = 3" to the systemd service config, maybe your setup also uses systemd to keep mpd running
if you wanna go a step further use "isolcpu=" in the cmdline boot file to fully isolate the cpu core (from the rest of the system) you use for mpd, but you will loose load balancing on the isolated cores
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