Alternative Devices: PiPO X9S

[Cable Monkey]

Just wondering about devices for streaming, ripping and even storage that sit outside the usual suspects we normally talk about. While looking for a decent Android box for video streaming duties I looked at other devices suggested by the on line vendor and one suggestion was the PiPO X9S box which in various guises runs Windows 10 and/or an open source OS. It seems to be aimed principally at the video streaming crowd but to me it actually looks like a really good candidate for audio duties. So much so, that after some investigation to assure myself I wasn't ordering a pup I put an order in. It is coming from China via surface carriage so could take a while and cost a few additional quid in taxes and duties, but for 139 beer tokens I thought it a decent gamble.

Manufacturers Website

Being based on an Intel chipset my presumption is it will have no issues with regards to compatibility with various Operating Systems. My main aim would be to try and have a streaming solution to rival my SBT for practicality and my Moon MiND for performance. Obviously my fears are that it arrives with an unofficial copy of Windows 10, an inferior power supply and the cosmetic blemishes that often adorn Chinese grey imports. I am not that adventurous when it comes to software and configuration but I may load a couple of OS's and also see if Roon Core works ok. Any suggestions or experience of anything running the Cherrytrail chipset would be appreciated, I'll try to keep this thread updated and answer any questions if it is within my ability to do so.

 

[bencat]

Not sure how you ordered this but appears to be available via Amazon as per below which would cover all the import charges etc so this would be the price you pay .

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-now-PIPO-Computer-Graphics-Windows10/dp/B01D4ISF3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468324684&sr=8-1&keywords=Mini+PC-X9S

 

[Man in a van]

Just wondering about devices for streaming, ripping and even storage that sit outside the usual suspects we normally talk about. While looking for a decent Android box for video streaming duties I looked at other devices suggested by the on line vendor and one suggestion was the PiPO X9S box which in various guises runs Windows 10 and/or an open source OS. It seems to be aimed principally at the video streaming crowd but to me it actually looks like a really good candidate for audio duties. So much so, that after some investigation to assure myself I wasn't ordering a pup I put an order in. It is coming from China via surface carriage so could take a while and cost a few additional quid in taxes and duties, but for 139 beer tokens I thought it a decent gamble.

Manufacturers Website

Being based on an Intel chipset my presumption is it will have no issues with regards to compatibility with various Operating Systems. My main aim would be to try and have a streaming solution to rival my SBT for practicality and my Moon MiND for performance. Obviously my fears are that it arrives with an unofficial copy of Windows 10, an inferior power supply and the cosmetic blemishes that often adorn Chinese grey imports. I am not that adventurous when it comes to software and configuration but I may load a couple of OS's and also see if Roon Core works ok. Any suggestions or experience of anything running the Cherrytrail chipset would be appreciated, I'll try to keep this thread updated and answer any questions if it is within my ability to do so.

Some previous version  experience here

http://www.jogglerwiki.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2174

atb

ronnie, who now wears dark glasses on't wam innit

 

[Cable Monkey]

Thanks for that Ronnie, they have obviously been around for a while in various guises.

Andrew, that is interesting to know. I found an eBay outlet offering a 5% discount and declined to take express delivery to keep any duties down. I wasn't aware what is quoted is what you pay regardless of origin on Amazon. So far I am a tenner ahead of the Amazon price. We will see how that goes! 

 

[vacdac]

Not sure how you ordered this but appears to be available via Amazon as per below which would cover all the import charges etc so this would be the price you pay .

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-now-PIPO-Computer-Graphics-Windows10/dp/B01D4ISF3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468324684&sr=8-1&keywords=Mini+PC-X9S

Actually Andrew, this is not so at all. International sellers, Inc from outside the EU use Amazon UK as a selling platform & are subject to the usual VAT threshold limits & customs tariff.

If you'd delved a click further into the link you gave you would have seen this. >>

£142.90

FREE Delivery

New



TakeNow


5 out of 5 stars 100% positive over the past 12 months. (611 total ratings) 

• In stock. Is usually dispatched within 2 - 3 working days.
  
• Dispatched from China.Learn more about international shipping.
  
• International & domestic delivery rates and return policy.
  

 

[Cable Monkey]

Cheers for clarifying that Chris.

Thinking very seriously about taking another look at Roon if this turns out to be a decent buy. I did it before on a laptop, and while I did like much of what I saw, I couldn't get a tablet to see the Asio output although it saw the regular USB driver as the default output. Hence no DSD playback was possible without using the laptop itself as the tool to select and play files. The X9S might just convince me to rethink matters if it works well. Of course I could have fiddled with a Pi or splashed out on a Mac Mini but this might get the job done for a lot less and look in keeping with my setup to boot.

 

[aswillman]

This caught my attention on Kickstarter: http://rasptouch.audiophonics.fr

From a DIY audio company in France with quite a good product portfolio...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cable Monkey]

Had a good look at that, and it is interesting. Will it catch on beyond the normal Pi enthusiasts though? 

Update on mine, it is being sent air freight so should be here soon. 

 

[Mikeb]

This Mambo player looks like an interesting music player which includes DSD playback, review here http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/mambo_player_e.html

 

[aswillman]

This Mambo player looks like an interesting music player which includes DSD playback, review here http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/mambo_player_e.html

Very interesting, plus they do a Roon version.  I've just e-mailed them to see if they'll configure one with Roon Bridge.

 

[Cable Monkey]

The X9S has arrived from China. There were no import duties for me so I got it at the advertised price which is nice. Windows 10 runs OK on it as does Roon Core. I got the performance window open and it runs at above 50% utilisation but doesn't stutter or miss a beat. 

One anomaly was confusion about its PSU. Some sources suggested it ran 12v others 5v. It is in fact a 5v 3a wallwart. I may look at an alternative PSU at some point. I may also look to add a media controller type remote (or run a tablet/Android device as a remote). Right now it looks like it could be the heart of a streaming solution. Think SBT on steroids!

 

[vacdac]

Nice one Henry,

Nice result on not getting stung with the fees.

Always nice to seeing a processor running well within its limits. I recently upgraded my Syno DS213 to a DS715 Quad Core with 2GB RAM & whereas the older machine was redlining at up to 99% utilisation extremely often. The new one is barely ticking over & runs well under 20% nearly at all times(5 to 7% mostly). It is also pretty much 5 times as quick to re-index all the media on it, which is nice for someone who is constantly adding new stuff to my library.

Please keep us posted, it looks to be a really good & versatile little solution.

 

[Pat butcher]

Hi CM how is this unit working out for you? Also how does Roon differ from say foobar.

cheers

 

[Cable Monkey]

Hi, it is early days yet. I am still playing with its functionality but the best way to look at it is as a device with the footprint of a tablet but the potential of a decent netbook or low powered PC. As such, with WiFi, Bluetooth and USB3 you have a number of ways to integrate it and it will run the usual suspects with regards to audio and video media players. 

Roon is an interesting program. It isn't free, and might be considered quite expensive. But it allows money to be spent on development at what might be considered industrial grade capability and also commercial partnerships. What you get is software that pulls your collection, Tidal and its own suggestions based on your perceived tastes together in one package. It needs capable hardware to run its core services but offers a lot of the 'tactile' and visual experiences digital media can lack. It is great to use and many report it to be family friendly so the money seems to be being used well. I haven't committed to it yet but if this works out I may just spend $100 on it for an extended trial. I intend to load the X9S up with my media, Tidal and other things to see if it can handle it. If it can it should be quite useable which is what I want. It is free for 2 weeks and this is my second trial, my first with a laptop wasn't what I wanted.

 

[Cable Monkey]

OK, some thoughts on this unit now I have used it for a couple of hours. It is pretty easy to use. Being Windows based everything I have tried so far simply works, anything that hasn't has not been down to the hardware. Negatives are that it has a fan for cooling and this is audible in the silence of my listening room although it cannot be heard while playing music. Also the screen can be a little unresponsive when it gets warmer and can take a couple of dabs with my big banana fingers. I will experiment with that in due course. I have had two stutters during playback caused by asking it to do more than just run Roon. 

Positives are using Roon remote the screen is no longer an issue. Sound quality improves with a decent switch mode PSU. The supplied example is poor IMO. Alternatives were a SBT PSU and an iFi upgrade PSU both of which were audibly better in the bass to my ears. I know it shouldn't really make a difference but I thought it did. An alternative might be a USB conditioner/isolator but I am straying into questionable territory and this is about the Pipo and not tens if not hundreds of pounds worth of add-ons. If you are going to do that, you may as well get a mainstream streamer or go the whole hog with a Pi. More to come.

 

[Cable Monkey]

I made the above posting on the first of last month. Eight weeks and a lot of messing about later and this is back in my system. Changes are simple. The fan was disconnected and it now runs RoonBridge acting solely as a dumb endpoint. I am presently enjoying some of the best sounds heard from my system. I'll stress here and now, this isn't because the X9S is some revelatory component with magical qualities. It is down to the Roon software and my rediscovery of my long owned but virtually unused iFI iUSB Power. I originally bought it to power my SBT as some said they had done. However at 5v @ 1 amp it wasn't close to being up to the job. I had plans to do some conditioning of the USB out on my Beaglebone Black so while I waited for funds I stuck this in. It made an immediate impression. The BBB is still the way to go I think but I am going to do some more work with it as it still needs Linux to mature a little to use it fully. It is good to 192k and 64k DSD DoP but clicks over that. However the PiPO is a great filler in. It runs RoonBridge at under 5%CPU utilisation and sounds fantastic with the iFi product between it and the DAC. Roon hands conversion of DSD to DoP off to its end points and set like that the CPU is busier at 30-40% utilisation but being Windows with the right drivers it does DSD natively so DoP isn't needed. Of course the screen is wasted to a large extent but my inner Nerd just puts it on Perfmon and I watch it meander along unstressed by streaming my music and Tidal. Perhaps the screen less X6S is a better bet but isn't any cheaper (Windows 10 is free to OEM's if the screen associated with it is less than 9 inches).

What I have learned is more to do with the way things can be done better in the streaming environment. At the moment Roon likes Windows. It's Linux iterations are less mature and in some respects limited by the slow progress of making everything work at the OS level. It will get there but while I wait for Debian Stretch to emerge the PiPO is doing just fine.