Public Alpha Test: Audio Without Compromise - Volumio on Bookworm Begins

Volumio Development Volumio Beta Testing
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62

Hello,
installed 0.60 on SDcard in a Pi4
Sound output to USB Chord Qutest
Tried Spotify (4.1.4) playback from the Windows App without worries
Mounted a QNAP NAS “manually”, not detected during the scan process
Launched the scan on my music library, still walking (>1Tb)
after switching to “dev/test mode” installed the SqueezeliteMC plugin (2.0.0) with success
Installed the Touch Display plugin (3.5.2), it’s OK but after testing the screen rotation I had to restart and it took about 3 minutes to show the volumio logo. And screen rotation didn’t work.
That’s all folks.

63

Hey @Wheaten, @MitchStoner,

To help us proceed with the screen rotation discussion, we need to gather some additional information about the display and how it’s connected to your system.

Screen rotation can be handled at several levels in the boot and runtime process. Understanding the specific display and connection method will help us pinpoint whether the issue lies in the kernel, Xorg, or the touchscreen plugin. Here’s how screen rotation is typically managed at different levels:

1. System Startup - init and Overlay Parameters (KMS, MIPI, DSI, HDMI)

  • What it does: The system initializes the kernel with KMS (Kernel Mode Setting) during the boot process. Rotation can be enabled via kernel parameters, device tree overlays, or specific initialization scripts.

  • How it’s controlled:

    • KMS (Kernel Mode Setting) handles display rotation early in the boot process, particularly for MIPI or DSI panels.
    • HDMI outputs also support rotation, but this requires specific kernel parameters or device tree overlays (e.g., video=HDMI-A-1:rotate=90).

  • If the overlay or rotation parameter is not correctly applied, the screen may remain in its default orientation.

2. Console - Overlay Pass or Additional cmdline/grub Parameters

  • What it does: The console (text mode) can be rotated by passing additional parameters either through GRUB (on x86 platforms) or the cmdline for ARM-based systems.
  • How it’s controlled:
    • Console rotation is handled by passing kernel boot parameters, such as video=HDMI-A-1:rotate=90 or fbcon=rotate:1 for 90 degrees.
    • These parameters affect the console view only, not the graphical user interface (GUI).

3. Xorg - Touchscreen Plugin and GUI Handling

  • What it does: Xorg is responsible for handling screen rotation at the user level when in graphical mode. The touchscreen plugin plays a role when using touchscreen interfaces, adjusting input rotation to match the display rotation.
  • How it’s controlled:
    • Xorg supports dynamic rotation through the xrandr utility and can apply rotation to the display based on commands sent to it.
    • The touchscreen plugin also listens for rotation commands to adjust the input orientation in sync with the display.

To understand reported rotation:

Could you please provide more details about the display and how it’s connected to your system? Specifically, we need to know:

  1. What type of display are you using?

    • Is it an internal LCD or an external monitor?
    • If it’s an external monitor, how is it connected (e.g., HDMI, MIPI, DSI)?

  2. Display Connection Details:

    • If you are using an HDMI monitor, can you confirm the version (e.g., HDMI 1.4 or HDMI 2.0)?
    • If it’s an MIPI or DSI panel, what type of display controller is being used (e.g., LVDS, eDP)?

  3. Is the display a touchscreen?

    • If yes, how is it connected (e.g., via USB or GPIO)?
    • Is the touchscreen plugin enabled, and does it support rotation for your specific device?

  4. What is not rotated?

    • Plymouth theme?
    • Console with QR Code?
    • Touch Screen plugin?

Understanding these details will help us focus on configuration. Once we have this information, we can provide more targeted troubleshooting steps to understand the issue.

Kind Regards,

64
  1. Internal Tablet with detachable keyboard
sudo xrandr --query
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1920 x 1200, maximum 16384 x 16384
DSI-1 connected primary 1920x1200+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
  1. Internal monitor
DSI-1 connected primary 1920x1200+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

  1. Touchscreen
    Xorg.log.txt (31.9 KB)

  2. Tablet has an rotation sensor, which is not detected or implemented, so nothing rotates.
    inix.txt (2.4 KB)
    lshw.txt (13.9 KB)
    .

65

  1. Update on the Testing a HP Laptop - x2 Detachable 10-p0XX post

  2. Testing a Lenovo Yoga 520, image version 0.060

  • Onboard wlan (Intel Dual Band Wireless AC 3165) working
  • (Wifi dongle (rtl88x2bu) overrules wlan0 as a replacement)
  • Bluetooth working. With an (incorrect) orange popup “This device does not support remote volume control”, but while operating iPhone volume control it works perfectly
  • Brightness control NOT working
  • ctrl-alt-fn F1 (terminal) and ctrl-alt-fn F2 working *)
  • Vol + & Vol - keys working
  • Mute key NOT working
  • Touchscreen working
  • USB-to-ETH adapter working (ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit Ethernet and 2 others)
  • USB Ports all working

*) Note: whether you need to use "Fn"trigger to press F1-F12 depends on a Yoga 520 BIOS setting Configuration → Hotkey Mode.
Eg. set to “disabled” to use ctrl-alt F1 instead of ctrl-alt-fn F1. This test was with “enabled”.

log: http://logs.volumio.org/volumio/scIFPyI.html

As a reminder, my focus is on hw compatibility. Generic Volumio features will be reported by others, except when they appear hear to be hw-specific.

66

Testing an HP notebook 15-r77nz

  • Onboard wlan (rtl8723be) working
  • (Wifi dongle (rtl88x2bu) would overrule wlan0 as a replacement)
  • Onboard eth (rtl810xe) working
  • Brightness control NOT working
  • ctrl-alt-F1 (terminal) and ctrl-alt F2 working
  • Vol + & Vol - keys working
  • Mute key NOT working
  • USB Ports all working
  • Factory reset working
  • Onboard Audio working
  • USB Audio working (Khadas Tone2 Pro)
67

Hi @nerd ,
perhaps yet another dumb question regarding OTA. :wink: My AMD64 system consists of an internal SSD (where the latest stable Volumio version is installed and where my 1TB music files repository resides) and an external USB memory stick where I installed the 0.60. BIOS ist configured to start from the external USB stick at the moment.
What will happen if I use OTA at the 0.60 system? Will it flash the USB Stick (hope so) or the internal SSD (will end up in an annoying time consuming backup of my music files repository…)?
Cheers, Robert

68

Hi Robert
Stupid answers are way worse :grinning:
Don’t worry, your existing setup is perfectly safe.
Volumio will only affect the device it is was booted from, no peripherals are involves

1 Like
69

Hi Gé,
thanks for the clarification! :blush:
Cheers, Robert

70

Testing an Asus notebook NJ550J

  • Onboard wlan (Atheros AR9405) working
  • (Wifi dongle (rtl88x2bu) would overrule wlan0 as a replacement)
  • Onboard eth (rtl8111/81688411) working
  • Bluetooth working
  • Brightness control NOT working
  • ctrl-alt-F1 (terminal) and ctrl-alt F2 working
  • Vol + & Vol - keys working
  • Mute key NOT working
  • USB Ports all working
  • Factory reset working
  • Onboard Audio working
  • USB Audio working (Khadas Tone2 Pro)
71

From the reports I have seen, it seems that x86 notebook hardware hotkeys are not all working.
E.g. Brightness control, Mute, Screen off/on.
It appears, that with the devices I checked, this was not working on Buster either, with the exception of the Asus NJ550J, with this one the screen off/on key worked.
To be investigated, but the team may not have enough resources to fix this.

72

I have tried version 0.060 and I am satisfied with how it works. Let’s move on to the defects, in the web radio the time counter that is located on the bottom left of the page stops after two seconds (see webradio.jpg). This does not compromise the functioning, I would move the counter to the volumio.local/dev screen, normally it is of little or no use.

I have encountered problems with the network card and the Raspberry Pi Zero W but I am convinced that this is due to abandonment, 512 MB of RAM is not enough to use Volumio based on Debian Bookworm (see used RAM before and now).

I think it’s a matter of days and Raspberry Pi will present the new Zero 3W with 1 GB of RAM and 2 USB-C ports, honestly maybe it’s time to switch to the 64-bit version of the operating system and maybe it will also be the case to skip Bookworm and go directly to Trixie, the version 13 that will be released this year.

It might be an investment to do it now, Volumio will have fewer problems and you can allocate human resources to other purposes postponing the next realignment to the Debian code.

73

Hey @Celona,

Thank you for taking the time to test and share your detailed feedback.

First of all, we appreciate your positive comments about version 0.060 and the constructive spirit in highlighting areas for improvement. Your engagement really helps drive the quality forward.

Regarding the Webradio time counter:

  • We are aware the counter stops after a few seconds on Webradio streams.
  • It is a known minor UI limitation related to unsynchronized streams and not a playback defect.
  • We will review whether to improve its behavior or minimize its visibility when streaming webradios, without disrupting the general UI flow.

About the Raspberry Pi Zero W and memory concerns:

  • You are right that 512MB RAM is becoming a tight fit for Bookworm-based systems. Bookworm brings heavier kernel and userland overhead compared to Buster.
  • However, looking carefully at the memory usage screenshots you posted, they come from different hardware:
    • One shows a 512MB RAM device (likely a real Pi Zero W).
    • The other shows a 2GB RAM system (likely a Pi 4 or similar board).
  • Therefore, it is not a direct footprint comparison between the same device before and after Bookworm migration.

I agree that Pi Zero W is increasingly hardware-limited for future Volumio versions. Newer hardware like the anticipated Pi Zero 3W, if it indeed brings 1GB RAM, will greatly improve the situation.

Regarding your suggestion about moving directly to Debian Trixie and 64-bit migration:

  • It is a valid long-term strategic view.
  • However, completing the Bookworm migration first is essential, both to stabilize the current user base and to avoid skipping an entire Debian generation without proper validation.
  • Once Bookworm is fully stabilized and released, we will reassess platform roadmaps, including Trixie and 64-bit expansion, based on hardware and community evolution.

Finally, to make sure we have precise data, we will schedule controlled memory footprint comparisons across multiple reference SBCs in our internal lab. This will ensure we have a clear and fair baseline for performance discussions.

Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and your continued contributions to the project.

Kind Regards,

74

Dear Volumionauts,

To clarify Volumio’s roadmap (not committed):

  • Buster (Debian 10) - current - is lightweight and ideal for Volumio’s design:

    • PulseAudio was manageable, audio paths stayed clean through ALSA.
    • Plugins were built against a stable, simple environment.
    • 512MB RAM devices like Pi Zero W could still function decently.

  • Bookworm (Debian 12) - alpha - significantly raises the baseline:

    • Modern glibc, systemd, BlueZ versions, and heavier system services.
    • RAM usage increases; 512MB RAM is tight; 1GB RAM is realistically needed now.
    • Critically, we actively removed PulseAudio and PipeWire to preserve bit-perfect audio paths.
    • Migration required rebuilding core components, rewriting Bluetooth handling with BlueZ-ALSA, and adjusting dozens of plugins to maintain direct ALSA access.

  • Trixie (Debian 13) - proposed - will push even harder:

    • PulseAudio likely fully gone; PipeWire default everywhere.
    • PipeWire forces a virtualized audio graph, breaking pure ALSA paths unless bypassed manually.
    • Full move to 64-bit hardware focus, sidelining legacy 32-bit ARMv6/v7 devices.
    • Security tightening (sandboxing, AppArmor) adds complexity for plugins accessing hardware layers.

In short:
Our goal is preserving bit-perfect, direct audio handling.
Skipping Bookworm would not avoid work - it would risk Volumio losing its core audio identity.
We stabilize Bookworm first, with clean ALSA paths, then carefully evaluate the Trixie step afterward.

Kind Regards,

1 Like
75

Some answers for Nerd about screen rotation:

  1. What type of display are you using?
  • As far as I understand it’s an external monitor connected via DSI
  1. Display Connection Details:
  • Can’t answer
  1. Is the display a touchscreen?
  • Yes it’s a touchscreen connected via GPIO i think
  1. What is not rotated?
  • Touch Screen plugin (180°)

Sorry, I don’t know much about the hardware of the screens, so my answers are not qualified.

I tried “sudo xrandr --query”" and had this response “Can’t open display”

76

@MitchStoner
Try this;

export DISPLAY=:0
sudo xrandr --query

Is the display connected on the GPIO header or with a flat cable?

77

Thank you very much for the great work, it’s sensational that Volumio is continuing to perform like this!
Basically, the system seems to be very reliable and stable. At least as far as the basic functions are concerned. That’s what I mainly use. (Qobuz, FLAC, Radio, Volumio app with my Google Pixel Smartphone, Ubuntu computer with Google Chrome).
I don’t use any plugins.

Volumio 0.060

Allo BOSS OK
Allo DigiOne OK
Allo DigiOne Signature OK
Qobuz OK
Flac on NAS OK

The first configuration dialog after flashing is great. Everything important for initial setup.

  1. In the Sources tab - after logging in to Qobuz, the dialog appears again on the second tab of the MyVolumio login.

  2. In the last tab, the “Restart now” button appears briefly - but then switches directly to Playback. The device does not restart.

The error in the post has not yet been fixed in 0.060.
3-dot context in tile view partially not correct

Logs:
Allo DigiOneSign.
http://logs.volumio.org/volumio/JsBM7I3.html

Allo BOSS
http://logs.volumio.org/volumio/bsgWFUl.html

78

Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Model: Latitude 3189 (0VG3TM)
Chipset: Pentium® N4200
Running from: M2
Touchscreen: Yes
Trackpad: Yes
Confirmed image version: V0.060 (6.6.69 Kernel, alpha test)

What is working:
Hardware:
Bluetooth
Internal Audio
Physical Volume buttons
Volume buttons Keyboard
Physical Power Button
WiFi (see remark below)
Keyboard
LCD + Touchscreen
SD card slot
GUI shutdown/reboot
Touchscreen
Writing image to internal M2

Music:
DSD64, DSD128, DSD256
MP3
Flac
Webradio
Tidal
Tidal Connect
Qobuz
Qobuz + BT
Local files phone + BT
Spotify

What is not working:
Brightness control (Keyboard)
Mute (Keyboard)
Rotation

Strange things:
Booted device forced from USB (F12), after intial setup internal M2 disc is not detected.
Same after a forced reboot from USB (F12), still no internal M2 detected
3rd reboot via BIOS, USB as Primary boot devices, the internal M2 is detected.

WiFi network detection on first boot. Need to disable hotspot, then I can cnfigure network.
Wired network is on even though there is no eth0 present, only WiFi

79

Testing a Dell Wyse 3040 with onboard WiFi
(Image version v0.060)

  • Boots fine from USB Stick
  • Wizard fine, including wifi configuration
  • Install-to-Disk working
  • Onboard Audio works as expected, USB DAC has a limitation, see below.
  • USB ports working
  • Onboard bluetooth playback from an iphone works, no issues
  • Playback via usb, incl. DSD fine
  • Playback via airplay ok
  • SMB connection for audio source OK, user and password necessary (not in Buster)
  • Factory reset works

Quirks:

  • Initial WiFi configuration works fine when rj45 connected
  • Initial WiFi configuration gets stuck with WiFi-only configuration (same issue with some other devices)
  • USB Audio DAC (Khadas Tone2 Pro, DAC-sided Volume control) cannot be used with Bluetooth playback without changing Mixer Type from “None” to “Software”
1 Like
80

The display is connected with a flat cable.

The command responds “Can’t open display:0”

81

Sorry my bad, sudo is no needed here:
so the commands are

export DISPLAY=:0
xrandr --query