I have to buy a new raspberry, 4 or 5?

Hi friends.
I have to buy a new Raspberry. The price of the 4 and of the 5 is similar.
I will use usb port to wire it to my amplifier dac (rotel a12).
Rpi 4 or 5? One of them could sound better by usb?

Alternately I might think to buy a gpio hat to transport the digital signal by spdif like allo Digione or Hifiberry Digi2 pro (Do you recommend it instead to USB?) or to buy a gpio dac but i think that in this last case i have to spend a lot to improve my rotel dac…
Thanks for the help.
Have a good day

For Volumio a rPi4 - 4GB is more than enough, but since the prices are almost identical, I would opt for the rPi5. (Faster, HW switch, Fan control built in and option for CMOS to keep the date running)

USB is mostly superior to a HAT, not even sure if you can buy the Allo Digione at this moment.

Thanks.
So…RPI 5 and usb wire is the way!

I have an IFI 5V 2,5A “silent” power adapter, maybe is too small to drive the RPI 5. I’m sure it works with Rpi 4. In case i have to buy a power adapter for rpi5

Hey @Paolo26,

In addition to @Wheaten advice:

When deciding between the Raspberry Pi 4 and the Raspberry Pi 5, it’s important to consider the differences in power requirements, especially if you’re planning to use it for VolumioOS or some other media-focused applications.

The Raspberry Pi 4 typically requires a 5V, 3A power supply to function reliably, especially under load with peripherals connected (e.g., USB DACs, external storage, etc.). Many users already have suitable power supplies for the Pi 4, but lower-quality adapters can cause instability, so it’s worth ensuring you have a good one.

The Raspberry Pi 5, however, steps things up a bit. It officially requires a USB-C power supply rated at 5V, 5A (25W), especially when using the PCIe interface or running heavier workloads. The additional power is due to its upgraded SoC, faster clock speeds, more powerful GPU, and support for PCIe peripherals. If you’re upgrading from a Pi 4, it’s likely you’ll need to replace your power supply unless you already have one that meets these specifications.

Additionally, the Pi 5 supports soft power control (on/off via software or GPIO), which can be an advantage for some setups. However, this also means that if your PSU can’t handle the required power consistently, you might face issues like crashes or reboots during high-demand usage.

For Volumio use cases, the choice between the two will depend on your requirements:

  • If you’re using Volumio primarily for basic music playback and don’t need the Pi 5’s additional performance, the Pi 4 remains an excellent, more power-efficient option.
  • If you plan to run plugins, handle large music libraries, or use advanced setups (e.g., multi-zone audio, high-resolution streaming), the Pi 5’s extra processing power might justify the higher power consumption.

Ultimately, weigh up your need for the Pi 5’s features against the cost of upgrading your power supply and the slightly higher running power consumption. For a simple Volumio setup, the Pi 4 may remain the sweet spot for now.

Kind Regards,

Thank you very very much.

I have the ifi power supply 5V 2.5A which is a silent power supply. I’m sure that it is good for rpi4 but i think no for the 5.

I use Volumio for:
1)AirPlay (Apple Music)
2)web radio
3)play my Flac library which is stored in my home server and shared with samba

So the Rpi is only wired to my dac by usb (If I realised I wouldn’t have much advantages to use the Allo Digione or similar).

In this contest could the rpi5 sound better then the 4? I think no, i think that the output is the same but… they cost the same… :slight_smile: But probaly my ifi power is not good to rpi5 so it is better to buy the 4. What do you think about?

P.S. for Apple Music is AirPlay from its app the only way?

Thanks

In the end I bought the rpi4

Thank to all