Ultra green newbie dad needs help

[Hopkins]

I’ll try to make this brief: kid wants to learn about computers. Luddite dad puts down wooden hand plane and says, “I heard about this thing called a raspberry pi. Let’s get one.” That goes fine. He loves it. Then grandma buys him an x400 amp add on to play music. Dad lost and confused.

First question: do I need a dedicated RasPi for the amp dac thing or can this run on the RasPi we use now for Minecraft and programming projects?

And then...I need to open a terminal?

Real lost. Sorry. Thanks for any help.

[janui]

Hi Hopkins,

do I need a dedicated RasPi for the amp dac thing or can this run on the RasPi we use now for Minecraft and programming projects

And then...I need to open a terminal? Real lost.

1. For experimenting you can use your existing Pi. Get a second (or third) Micro SD Card, then you can then swap them to do minecraft/programming/music.
2. Rune is built to be a dedicated HIFi music player. If you decide that the x400 plus Pi is what you want, buy an extra Pi for the music player.
3. Rune runs on most Raspberry Pi types. At the moment the recommended models are the Pi Zero W or the Pi 3B (without the plus).
4. You will need to download an 'image' containing the Rune software which you then copy to an empty SD card. No other software is required. These are currently the best images: Pi 3B: runeaudio-0-4-beta-for-raspberry-pi2-3-t4434.html#p19960 and Pi Zero: post24463.html#p24463. Then follow the instructions here: http://www.runeaudio.com/documentation/ ... art-guide/
5. You don’t need a DAC with the X400, it has one built in.
6. Rune runs 'headless', this means a screen and keyboard are not required. It has a built-in web server which starts automatically. You plug it to your local network (via wifi is also possible) and connect to its web server with any device (phone, laptop, etc).
7. Suitable power supplies for the X400 can be costly, a second hand 19v laptop power supply is ideal (try your local recycling shop), it must be at least 4A. The older laptops needed a lot more current than the modern ones, so power supplies with 4A or higher are pretty easy to find.
8. While you are at the recycling shop, look for a pair of nice cheap speakers 4 to 6 Ohm @ 20W RMS (or 40W music power).
9. To really finish everything off, get out your wooden hand plane along with your other antiquated tools and make a good pair of speakers and a nice box for the player.

janui

[Hopkins]

janui, thanks for the info. Really very helpful. Here’s another:

The rca jacks appear to be outputs, not inputs. So, I can’t just plug my turntable into the x400?

Thanks.

[janui]

Hi Hopkins,

The RCA connectors are designed to be used as output for another amp. The connectors may work as input for the on-board amp, but they have no protection against possible DC current in the audio signal. This is seriously bad for the X400 board, don’t do it!

There is also another complication connecting a turntable to this sort of amplifier. The pick-up cartridges in turntables generate a very small voltage and use a frequency response designed for vinyl called the RIAA-standard. A pre-amplifier is required which compensates for the way the music is saved on vinyl and increases its strength for use in an amplifier. If you are interested, google for 'phono riaa line'.

janui