Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Tinkering with Diretta

Surprised is an understatement......

In the thread about new firmware for the XE and DSP9, I mentioned here that I was trying a spare raspberry pi directly into my 8KXE USB input. I was doing that out of absolute frustration with Roon problems that result in my ID41 constantly getting disposed of and reset by Roonserver. But that’s another story.

HH OldDdogCan mentioned another solution using rPi's David Snyder’s 3-tier Diretta solution

I hadn’t even heard of it let alone tried. I had a look at the website and on first read it made some sense. I’d even say that some aspects even sounded a bit Meridian-like in the approach. I’ll leave those so inclined to read it and see if you detect the same.

Anyway, a week later I had purchased a couple of new Raspberry Pi’s, cases, MicroSD cards and a USB-Ethernet adapter. In the grand scheme of running a Meridian system….(~£200) i.e. peanuts.

I’d previously put together a couple of older pi v3 units to run Riopeee for extra Roon zones. I’m not in any way expert with command windows or coding but following good instructions is ok. Putting together two new pi v5’s and copy/pasting the fairly lengthy and detailed guide is all that it needed.

I have always dismissed USB from any source as nowhere near as good as the ID41 in the 818/806 units. I’ve had modified SB+, 206, 596, 598, G98, Project DAC and probably a few others I don’t even recall now. ID41 was my benchmark. The Riopeee pi USB into XE was improved with the newer firmware and FIFO changes in the XE but it was still not as good as either the SB Touch SPDIF or the ID41.

Long story short - nearly 2 weeks in and I can honestly say that I have never heard a source as good as this....ever. I am utterly amazed at what this Diretta pi solution is doing. The detail, fluidity, rhythm, clarity, punch….just about every dimension I can think of is immediately and obviously better. And, it's not just my ears.....everyone here is hearing the same.

There are some big threads on the Roon form about this solution where the usual BS arguments go on. You know….. subjectivist vs objectivist; you didn’t ABX blind test, it can’t work, expectation bias, mass delusion, etc etc. I really don’t care as what I am hearing through the XE USB input is just stunning. I simply have not heard a digital source sound as good as this.

I must thank OldDogCan for the initial pointer but much kudos is due for David Snyder for putting together such a detailed and easy to follow installation guide. He’s been super helpful also as I ask a few learner questions.

It might seem a bit daunting to some I am sure, but if you have an inclination to tinker or try things, then I would 100% recommend giving the Diretta/Pi solution a try.

This is outperforming the ID41 in every department and I really didn’t expect to be saying that. I am really quite thrilled with it.

YMMV.

Hi Nick

Thanks for sharing - sounds like a pretty low cost experiment which could easily be repurposed / sold etc.
Do you think it would out perform a 218 ? Also the device has HDMI out - wonder if it can also be used for surround music.

Cheers
Tom

It was definitely low risk as rPi can be used for many things or sold on.

It outperforms literally anything I have played through the various 8k variants I have had for the last 20 years. YMMV of course and I don’t have a 218 to shootout with.

I don’t know 100% about using the HDMI ports but you would have to think anything is possible.

This is good to hear. Given the lack or certainly scarcity of replacement parts, I keep praying to the Meridian gods that nothing happens to my 808.6.
That the raspberry pi could be a solution is excellent news.

Can I ask, is it a simple case of selecting the raspberry pi box in Roon and then playing music files as normal?

Thanks
Greg

Absolutely outperforms my 218, or any other source I’ve tried, but, no HDMI out AFAIK. I feed surround music via USB to a miniDSP U-DIO8 which outputs triple SPDIF for my C61R.

As much as I like the 3-tier Diretta streamer built according to David’s excellent guide, it reaches even greater heights with better power supplies and vibration control. I also choose to convert USB to AES/EBU with a DDC for DSP9’s SpeakerLink input.

Can I ask, is it a simple case of selecting the raspberry pi box in Roon and then playing music files as normal?

Once you have everything set up, the answer is yes.

Per OldDogcan’s reply….. yes…it appears as a zone in Roon in the normal way.

It’s a good point about what happens if your M gear fails. What do you do? There are no more ID41 cards and no mention of a replacement.

OldDogCan, what ddc do you use and how did you select it?
Thanks
Tom

Hi Tom,

I chose the Singxer SU-6 based on reviews from Hans Beekhuyzen and Goldensound.

As a Meridian devotee since the 1980s, I didn’t associate cheap SBCs, or even USB, with great sound until I wanted to repurpose some old Smileys without spending too much. I found the very affordable Allo DigiOne, which was based on Raspberry Pi 3B, and was off to the races…

I’ve been talking about RPi’s here ever since. A year ago I started in about Diretta as a superior source.

If you want to up your game, Diretta is an integral feature of SOtM devices (Roon Ready).

The purpose of Diretta is to reduce USB noise. SOtM devices eliminate USB noise altogether.

On a modest budget, choose their sMS-200 Neo (I use one between my network and Prime).

Or, with an integrated clock, choose their sMS-200 Ultra SE.

Add their tx-USB Ultra SE for further refinement.

If budget is no object, then opt for their sMS-2000.

I thought Diretta was about transmission protocols, not about USB.

It seems you only need Pis for it, which can be further improved by quality PSs and isolation (Ian Canada?)

I can't see how another box running the same software is going to make much difference, if any.

Not really. Diretta quiets electrical activity on the last network devices to directly transport your music -with less noise- to USB.

Some SOtM owners have also been using two devices (Host and Target) to get the benefits of a Diretta network “filter” (like I do with multiple Raspberry Pi’s) along with how USB is handled by those fine products.

For the benefit of those who clearly didn't read any of the featured links...