1. Current Setup
- Main device: Raspberry Pi 3B+ with Allo DigiOne
- Hardware configuration: SMSL RAW-MDA1 DAC connected via coaxial cable to the Allo DigiOne on the Raspberry Pi. The DAC is connected to a Musical Fidelity M3si amplifier, which powers a pair of Q Acoustics 3050i speakers.
- Control method: I mostly use the Android app Volumio Control by @Joni_Salminen . I only use the official Volumio app when I need to configure the system; for daily usage, Volumio Control is much more stable and reliable, likely due to being a native Android application.
- Number of Volumio devices: 1
2. Music Discovery Needs
- Library size: approximately 2,000 albums / 21,500 tracks
- Search method: Artist → Album
- Playlist usage: I rarely use playlists. When I do, I create them manually.
- Streaming services: Spotify (Volumio integrated).
- Other discovery tools: I rarely discover new music through Volumio itself.
3. Music Playback Needs
- Listening activity: When I use Volumio, it’s for attentive listening. I usually listen to entire albums, from start to finish.
- Information displayed: It’s essential for me to have lyrics available while listening. For this purpose, I rely on the Now Playing plugin by @patrickkfkan.
- Remote playback: I often use play.volumio.com for remote listening (for example, when I’m driving). This feature is extremely valuable, but currently still quite unstable (see point 5).
4. Music Library Maintenance and Sharing
- Library management method: My music collection is stored on an externally powered USB hard drive directly connected to the Raspberry Pi. I manage updates via SSH, using FileZilla on a Windows PC that’s on the same local network as the Raspberry Pi running Volumio.
- Sharing: I do not share my music collection.
5. Desired Features and Considerations
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Missing features: The display of essential metadata such as the type of release (Album, EP, Single) and the release year is missing. This applies both to the Spotify plugin (as I pointed out HERE) and to the local music collection.
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Things to improve: In my opinion, there are two key areas that, if addressed, could dramatically improve the overall user experience:
- A more solid, fully native Android app. I strongly believe Volumio could build on the excellent work already done by Joni Salminen with the Volumio Control app.
- Improved stability and efficiency for the play.volumio.com remote playback service. I’ve already reported the main problems HERE, but to summarize:
- the stream is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in network stability; issues include playback restarting from the beginning, sudden loss of audio, random skipping to other tracks. Implementing real-time transcoding (similar to what Roon already does) would be a significant improvement, allowing the stream to adapt to the available bandwidth.