I have been following the development of Volumio 4.xxx for several months now and I apppreciate the considerable effort that has gone into testing and improving the latest versionn.
I have myself kept up-to-date with this progress and hae contributed several comments about problems encountered along the way. I have a simple headless Raspeberry Pi 4 arrangement and another using the more basic Pi 3 A+., each with an IQAudio DAC+ “Hat”. The both work well enough with version 4.071, but one comment I would make is that they seem more sluggish [boot time and updating from NAS music sources].
I have kept up-to-date with Volumio 3 to the latest 3.874 as a backup.
I am curious to hear from the others what they think of the new system and whether there are any disadvantages with sticking with Volumio 3 on my relatively basic setup in the longer term?
But what point are actually trying to make? Windows 7 still works, but it’s not something you’d want to build development on.
But in answer to your question, V4 is more stable (on my Pi4 and Pi5) and the sound is better to my ears - possibly due to the upgraded mpd.
I wasn’t trying to make a point as such, just throwing out an idle question to see what others think.
In what way is v4 “more stable” on your Pi’s? Just curious…
UI response and Multiroom is quicker. No system restarts or crashes. This is the most stable Volumio system since I started using it in 2019.
Thankyou - I’m not using multiroom myself and [fortunately!] haven’t suffered from restarts and crashes with v3.874
I hope that the boot problem from WiFi in version 4 will be sorted out
Some plugins will not work any more due to phase out support on Volumio 3. Youtube related plugins are examples
V4 does Qobuz Connect. That alone settles it for me
Dear Volumionaouts,
Volumio 3 is based on Debian Buster. Buster reached end of life on June 30, 2024. No more security patches. No more upstream fixes. Done.
Volumio 3 runs Node.js 14. Node.js 14 reached end of life on April 30, 2023. That is over 18 months of no security updates, no bug fixes, no maintenance. The JavaScript ecosystem explicitly refuses to support runtimes abandoned by their maintainers. Dependencies rot. Libraries stop publishing compatible versions. Security holes remain open permanently.
New hardware requires new drivers. New drivers land in new kernels. Volumio 4 runs kernel 6.12. Volumio 3 runs something from the Buster era and stopped at kernel 6.6. That Raspberry Pi 5 you might buy next year? Not on V3. That new DAC with updated codec support? Not on V3. That display, WiFi adapter, or SBC released after 2023? Probably not on V3.
Bluetooth on Buster uses BlueZ 5.50 with PulseAudio. Bookworm uses BlueZ 5.83 with direct ALSA path - lower latency, cleaner signal chain, no middleware overhead. Modern codec support follows modern BlueZ.
Community plugins are already migrating to the Bookworm repository. V3 plugin development has stopped. Existing V3 plugins will not receive fixes for issues caused by external service changes - as Hung_The correctly noted with YouTube. No new plugins for for V3, simply put time and effort wasted.
If your hardware is old, your music is local, your network is isolated, and you accept no future updates, no security fixes, no new codec support, and no Bluetooth improvements - V3 continues to function. This is not an endorsement. This is a statement of fact.
Some people prefer steam engines. That is a valid personal choice. Just do not expect new rail lines to accommodate them, new fuel depots to stock their coal, or modern signaling systems to recognize their presence.
Regarding “sluggishness” - that claim requires evidence. Boot timings. NAS benchmark comparisons. Logs. Without data, it is perception, not measurement.
Kind Regards,
@nerd
Thank you (and others) for your very full reply. Far from being a “Luddite” , I very much support the development. I was just curious to hear about others’ experience with the latest software and how it was working on older hardware.
Keep up the good work!
Michael
Hey @nerd ,
What about PC version? Does it make any difference? This question from Thailand’s Volumio user. 
Best regards,
Andy
Hey @naimnatnod,
The x86/64 is no different. Same rules apply. If you need newer snd on chip support, no magic will happen. Newer CPU, requires updated kernel, which requires updated code base, which requires… dependency goes on…
Kind Regards,
Thanks @nerd for a super quick answer.
Andy
I also noticed that version 4 is less responsive with a touchscreen and Playing Now plugin on a Pi 3b. Upgraded to Pi 5 and it becomes a much better solution.