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Does Beocreate 4 channel amplifier work with DebianOS?

Tomoya Kochi

August 27, 2024 08:21

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Hi, I have a question.

Does Beocreate 4 channel amplifier work with DebianOS?

I am considering using it for the following purposes.

• Raspberry Pi 4B with Debian
• Create an audio processing program in an external application(cycling74 max8 RNBO) and write it to the Raspberry Pi.
• Play a 4CH separate monaural signal from the application created above, and specify 1~4CH of the Beocreate 4 channel amplifier as its playback device.

Looking at the web site, I didn't see any mention of it working on DebianOS, so if anyone knows, please let me know.

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7 comments

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team August 27, 2024 08:24

  Independent of Debian, this won't work at all, as the host interface to the Raspberry Pi is 2-channel. 4-channels are only available for the DSP on the Beocreate.
  
  In general, a vanilla Debian probably isn't the best choice. There is some work by a debian contributor on the drivers and DSP toolkit, but I don't think this made it yet to the official release. 

• 0
  
  Tomoya Kochi August 27, 2024 09:32

  Thanks for the reply.

  So this product can only be used by baking HiFiBerryOS into a raspberryPi?

  I would like to know if there is any other hardware in your company that can realize the system design I am trying to do.

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team August 27, 2024 09:36

  > So this product can only be used by baking HiFiBerryOS into a raspberryPi?
  
  No, that's not correct. You can use it with basically any system that uses the official Raspberry Pi Linux kernel (e.g. Raspberry Pi OS). You can also install DSPToolkit on most systems that have Python installed. However, we often see people struggeling with command line tools to deploy DSP programs and settings. As there is no GUI for the DSP settings on any other system, it's usually the easiest way to use HiFIBerryOS for this.
  
  > I would like to know if there is any other hardware in your company that can realize the system design I am trying to do.
  No, we don't offer any 4-channel amplifiers with a 4-channel audio interface from the Pi. The best fit is probably the DAC8x which provides 8 channels, but you will need to use an external amplifier.

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  Tomoya Kochi August 28, 2024 01:48

  >No, that's not correct. You can use it with basically any system that uses the official Raspberry Pi Linux kernel (e.g. Raspberry Pi OS). You can also install DSPToolkit on most systems that have Python installed. 

  So, even in debian, I can use the DSPToolkit if I install it. If so, what does the previous answer ‘the host interface to the Raspberry Pi is 2-channel. 4-channels are only available for the DSP on the Beocreate.’ mean? Can the DSPToolkit handle 4-channel audio from Debian?

   

  > The best fit is probably the DAC8x which provides 8 channels, but you will need to use an external amplifier.

  Is it possible to output 8 independent mono audio signals from Debian using the DAC8x? (The expectation is to be able to select 8 CH audio outputs from the Raspberry Pi side with Debian) This is also confusing as it contradicts the above mentioned ‘the host interface to the Raspberry Pi is 2-channel.’.

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team August 28, 2024 06:51

  > If so, what does the previous answer ‘the host interface to the Raspberry Pi is 2-channel. 4-channels are only available for the DSP on the Beocreate.’ mean?
  It means that your system will see a 2-channel sound interface
  
  > Can the DSPToolkit handle 4-channel audio from Debian?
  DSPToolkit doesn't handle any audio. It just a tool to comminutate with the digital signal processor. 
  
  >  This is also confusing as it contradicts the above mentioned ‘the host interface to the Raspberry Pi is 2-channel.’.
  We're talking about two different product here: Beocreate: 2-channel host interface, DAC8x: 8 channel host interface
  
  > Is it possible to output 8 independent mono audio signals using the DAC8x?
  In general: yes. Using dmix and channel maps (or audio middleware) you can create virtual sound interfaces:
  https://www.hifiberry.com/blog/new-guide-dual-mono-setup-using-a-stereo-hifiberry-sound-card/
  Just note that this isn't trivial and you need to consuult the ALSA documentation for details.

  
  When you're talking about "Debian", I'm not sure what exactly you're referring to. A plain vanilla Debian isn't a good choice. It's probably missing a lot of Raspberry Pi specific drivers. Don't use it on a Pi! However, theer are Debian based distributions like Raspberry Pi OS. This comes with the official Raspberry Pi Linux kernel with all the required drivers and Pi-specific tools. If you're looking for a general-purpose system, we strongly recommend Raspberry Pi OS. 

• 0
  
  Tomoya Kochi August 28, 2024 07:41

  Sorry for the misunderstanding, I am using raspberryPi OS(bullseye) in my environment. raspberryPi OS(bullseye) is a Debian based OS, so the expression was complicated.

   

  >DSPToolkit doesn't handle any audio. It just a tool to comminutate with the digital signal processor. 
  Does this mean that the rasberrryPi OS only has a 2-channel audio interfail, so even if the DSPToolkit is installed, it can only play 2-channel audio signals?

  Am I correct that when the BEOCREATE 4 CHANNEL AMPLIFIER is used with the raspberryPi OS, only 2CH playback is possible, and when used with the HiFiBerryOS, 4CH playback is possible?

   

  >In general: yes. Using dmix and channel maps (or audio middleware) you can create virtual sound interfaces

  Is it still only in the HiBerryOS environment that 8CH playback is possible with the DAC8x in combination with ALSA, or is only 2CH playback possible in the RaspberryPi OS environment?

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team August 28, 2024 08:41

  > Does this mean that the rasberrryPi OS only has a 2-channel audio interfail, so even if the DSPToolkit is installed, it can only play 2-channel audio signals?
  
  This has nothing to do with the OS, but with the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi's before the Pi5 only have a 2-channel interface. So have all our boards that have been designed for these.
  
  Only the Pi5 supports up to 8 channels and the DAC8x is today the only product that offers more than 2 channels.
  
  > Is it still only in the HiBerryOS environment that 8CH playback is possible with the DAC8x in combination with ALSA, or is only 2CH playback possible in the RaspberryPi OS environment?
  
  8-channel playback with the DAC8x/Pi5 works in any distribution with an up-to-date kernel. There is nothing specific to HiFiBerryOS.