I use Raspberry Pi + Volumio for streaming, and I would like to use Tidal Connect, however to activate it in Volumio cost CAD$87 a year.
While I could buy a small streamer for $99 which includes Qubuz, Spodify connect & Tidal connect, Chromcast, DLNA. As a consumer it doesn’t make sense !! IMHO it should be included in the free version or at a lesser cost.
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IMHO it doesn’t make sense that you ask other people to work for free.
You are right, but I am only talking about “Tidal Connect”
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And how do you think Tidal connect got into Volumio?
I see turbo’s point. Volumio’s is at first sight more expensive (with Premium) than Wiim Mini.
So why should anyone pay more to get the same result (streaming with TIDAL Connect) ?
Well, thing is, I don’t think that’s the same result:
- Output options on the Wiim are very limited (optical and aux out) and I’ve heard nobody praise audio quality. With Volumio you can output to USB, add and audio Hat depending on your taste etc. Getting more quality out of your music (which is the reason you use TIDAL Connect in the first place)
- With Volumio you get much more than TIDAL Connect, like multiroom sync, Metadatas, QOBUZ, play to SONOS, Chromecast and much more.
- With Volumio you get plugins, to extend functionality in a way that is unparalleled in the industry.
There are other differentiations which IMHO puts Volumio on a different level than the Wiim, even though I think they did a very good job and there is something that we should take inspiration from.
Turbo, if there is some more difference that you want to point out, besides the price, let me know. This can become an interesting conversation
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Hello,
My take from this is the question of value we get for our money with Volumio.
I am a Volumio Premium user, so I do have the Tidal Connect service active on my RPi4, which was one of the main reasons to go the Volumio way.
Also, I own a WiiM Mini and I must say I am very pleased with the way it works.
It IS limited in outputs, its DAC is not worth mentioning, so the sound quality on the AUX out is really not that good at all. But, using the optical out from WiiM Mini with an outboard DAC gives me a decent sound quality, not too far off when compared to my RPi4 through the same DAC.
The additional perks you have listed for Volumio also do exist in the WiiM Home app, so I don’t really see any advantage there.
What makes a huge difference is actually the app - WiiM Home app is stable, fast, has no glitches, updates with new features are frequent and I have never had a situation where an update had made new issues in the app. These things are not something I could say about Volumio (we all know the issues when Tidal Connect was introduced, we all know the issues when the Version 3 was introduced…), as much as I love my Volumio/RPi combination.
Just my 2₵
Vlada
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No, it’s not the same thing. First, it’s not available in most of the world. Second, you can’t install LMS or any other server. It’s purely a streamer.
Volumio is not a streamer, it can stream. I pay for premium and I don’t even use Tidal or Qobuz, I use Apple Music, but I have Volumio premium because I like to use it as a server and direct source for my main stereo system. And to stream from Volumio to Chromecast, Airplay speakers, my iPhone, my iPad, etc. I connect a Cd drive an play music CD’s on it, so it’s a transport. I can burn those CD’s directly to my HDD from it, etc.
Volumio is more like ROON than just a end streamer.
If that’s all you need and are content with the feature, get that streamer. Volumio is much more than that.
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I’ve never said that WiiM was the same thing as Volumio/RPi combination. I own both, so I’m aware of that.
Also, why would I need LMS or any other server, if I have Volumio on my RPi? That also goes for any other OS on any other streamer.
Regarding those other features you’ve mentioned: not everyone has the same pattern of use of the streaming device we own, so not everyone needs all of those features you have mentioned (CD ripping, etc…).
Of course I’m not advocating that WiiM’s sound quality is high-end or even that it is better than Volumio/RPi combination, but I am certain that, as things stand right now, WiiM is a better value for money proposition.
I believe that Volumio needs to have more categories (in a lack of a better word), so that customers could choose what they really need and pay just for that.
Best regards,
Vlada
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LMS was needed before, because Volumio couldn’t stream to iPhone, iPad or speakers. You needed LMS for that. And also Volumio own UI was not the best, you couldn’t even do a random song, album or genre play.
With the new version is not needed, but still works faster and better under LMS.
But that’s it, the value in Volumio is higher, since it does everything the streamer does plus many other things. Volumio is not a streamer is an end point and music server, It’s a transport and a music source.
If you only need a streamer, then yeah, there are cheaper alternatives.
What I was saying was Tidal Connect and NOT Volumio as a software, they put a lot of effect in it and have every right and should charge for it.
Correct me if I am wrong, I think Tidal developed “Tidal Connect” and not Volumio? it’s just a matter of implementing it into the application, may be?
I use Tidal’s desktop version in my Mac Mini to stream to my RPi + Pi2AES hat, and all I really need is Tidal Connect.
I don’t mind paying for it, I have the older Virtuoso plan which is crippled and missing features. Would have been nice to just let us grandfather in.
I use Tidal as opposed to Qobuz. Qobuz doesn’t work in some countries I spend time in, Tidal does. Not a fan of MQA.
using the Pi with Pi2AES, I guess DXD 352.8 is not supported by Pi2AES, not a limitation of my crippled Virtuoso account? My DAC supports.
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Also virtuoso subscriber here. That’s exactly the issue that happened year ago with introducing only one subscription. Many users are not interested in using all Volumio features and for them, separate subscription was available. Now users are forced to pay for the whole bundle.
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the limitation is on RPi side, nothing to do with Volumio or Virtuoso. DXD352.8 will not work on any other OS. RPi is limited to 192kHz/24bit on I2S bus
I think I will sell the Pi + Pi2AES, I do not use it that often and not happy with Volumio, always having to reformat and reinstall the OS, only seeing about half of my album art, and when I want to see info on an artist, that is limited to premium.
I do not mind paying a small subscription fee to support, this whole thing just doesn’t settle with me.
not being able to even see my account info when logged in. no way to contact Volumio support so far that I can see.
useless, all emails to Volumio bounce, and can not login to support page with my crippled Virtuoso account.
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Totally agreed, as much as I wanted to support Volumio, it has just to many bugs, hard to configure and difficult to use, especailly for average user like myself who doesn’t have great computer skill.
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87$ a year is a lot of money for something that only works a fraction of the time you want it to while having almost zero support when it doesn’t.
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I don’t get the point of the way you complain about this. It achieves nothing. Volumio is very stable and on my installations completely reliable. Perhaps you could specify the problems you are encountering, detail your setup and include logs. Otherwise nobody can possibly help you.