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I thought I'd post up my latest project, as there was some interest in another thread; A Linux PC music player with processor based DSP functionality and a 4-way crossover. I'm no Linux expert. In fact, I spent a good part of the last week (vacation time) climbing the Linux learning curve to get it to work. My description below is pretty bonehead, with just the basic stuff. I had to Google every step, so I'm not qualified to get into too much technical detail. Heck, I'm surprised I was able to get anything to work.
Hardware
Nothing fancy. I used a slightly dated MSI E350IA-E45 mITX motherboard with an integrated processor, video, and sound. This board is NLA - there's better for the price now , but I already had it laying around. The key is 8 channels of onboard audio out. Also, I used 4G ram, a 120GB SSD for the operating system and 1TB HDD for media. That's it. No other add-ons other than wifi and peripherals.
I used Linux Mint, along with Google Play, Clementine Music Player, and Google Chrome for source material.
The foundation to the audio processing is "Jack"
This allows the user to intercept audio from each hardware or software source, route it through any number of audio plug ins, and ultimately assign the output to to hardware audio out. Part of the process is configuring Linux to allow real-time audio processing, and prioritizing audio over other processes. I wasn't worried about low latency, since I'm just using the system for playback - OK since I'm using a pretty low power computer.
Also needed was GStreamer. This will grab audio from applications for use as a "Jack" input.
And finally I used "Calf Studio" plugins for audio processing. There's a whole world of plugins that I haven't even begun to explore, but Calf has a package that includes all the stuff I'll use, including multi-channel parametric equalizers, multi-channel crossovers and compressors. They also have stuff that's just fun to play with, like bass enhancers and a Leslie Speaker simulator.
You can keep stacking the plugins, and use "jack" to route audio through them as you like.
How does it perform?
With my low power system, I honestly didn't expect it to work at all. To the contrary, I've been able to route audio through multiple plug-ins with no issues. It just works like a bunch of real pro-audo hardware.
I haven't had a chance to route outside sources, like a turntable, into the system. Calf has an RIAA plugin, so it remains to be seen how well I can get that to work.
This may not be the "ultimate" in audiophile, using compressed music and cheap onboard sound, but I'm pretty stoked. There's a lot more potential here with a bit more learn'n and better hardware.
Hardware
Nothing fancy. I used a slightly dated MSI E350IA-E45 mITX motherboard with an integrated processor, video, and sound. This board is NLA - there's better for the price now , but I already had it laying around. The key is 8 channels of onboard audio out. Also, I used 4G ram, a 120GB SSD for the operating system and 1TB HDD for media. That's it. No other add-ons other than wifi and peripherals.
I used Linux Mint, along with Google Play, Clementine Music Player, and Google Chrome for source material.
The foundation to the audio processing is "Jack"
This allows the user to intercept audio from each hardware or software source, route it through any number of audio plug ins, and ultimately assign the output to to hardware audio out. Part of the process is configuring Linux to allow real-time audio processing, and prioritizing audio over other processes. I wasn't worried about low latency, since I'm just using the system for playback - OK since I'm using a pretty low power computer.
Also needed was GStreamer. This will grab audio from applications for use as a "Jack" input.
And finally I used "Calf Studio" plugins for audio processing. There's a whole world of plugins that I haven't even begun to explore, but Calf has a package that includes all the stuff I'll use, including multi-channel parametric equalizers, multi-channel crossovers and compressors. They also have stuff that's just fun to play with, like bass enhancers and a Leslie Speaker simulator.
You can keep stacking the plugins, and use "jack" to route audio through them as you like.
How does it perform?
With my low power system, I honestly didn't expect it to work at all. To the contrary, I've been able to route audio through multiple plug-ins with no issues. It just works like a bunch of real pro-audo hardware.
I haven't had a chance to route outside sources, like a turntable, into the system. Calf has an RIAA plugin, so it remains to be seen how well I can get that to work.
This may not be the "ultimate" in audiophile, using compressed music and cheap onboard sound, but I'm pretty stoked. There's a lot more potential here with a bit more learn'n and better hardware.
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