2017-07-06, 13:38
Intro
Recently I built an extension to my house and needed some way of playing music in the new kitchen space. I looked at things like squeezbox, amazon alexa or other solutions but always came back to Kodi as its my main way of playing music in other locations of the house. This time is a bit different as I don't really need or want a TV screen in the proposed area so I started looking into headless solutions. I wanted the entire client to be smartphone based so both myself and the other half could access music at any time. The solution needed to be "always on" with no physical hardware buttons to press or change when starting music. Looking at low power devices, the Raspberry Pi is the obvious contender. The latest version 3 "B" is the fastest and most featured model so I went with that one. This guide will let anyone setup a similar system:
Hardware needed
- Raspberry Pi v3b
- Justboom Amplifier HAT -
- JustBoom custom red case
- Justboom Power brick 15V 4.3A (65W)
- Micro SD card
Alternative: Amazon full bundle link here
Amplification
At first I tried building this system with a custom wall mounted amplifier but it had a few disadvantages, it was expense at first at over £100 and had way too many LEDs lit up. I also had to turn it on and off when needed which was annoying and was not easy to use. I started looking at custom Raspberry PI breakout boards and found the Justboom "Amp HAT" as the ideal solution. Not only did it have an amplifier built in, but it also contained an onboard DAC which basically makes your music sound much better! You can use this device with any set of passive(unpowered) speakers without any other equipment. I tested it and the music does indeed sound much fuller with a wider range. Pretty impressive! One of the big advantages of the Justboom was that it fits onto the Raspi with a simple click with no soldering required. The AMP HAT is powered by a custom power supply but this also powers the Raspi so only one plug socket is needed. All in all I found this a great bit of kit, if a little expensive at £60. The only real disadvantage I found was it needed a custom case.
The case
I bought the custom JustBoom laser cut red acrylic case (they do a black one too). It works as expected and provides the PI with a nice enclosure with all the ports needed available on each side of the device. The only disadvantage of this I found is you have to take the top of the case off to attach the speaker cables.
Kodi setup
Setting up Kodi is pretty simple but you will need to temporarily connect to a monitor to make a few adjustments to the configuration. First we need to install LibreELEC (a full kodi installtion on SD card with minimal OS). It has all the drivers we require for the amplifier already built in so should be plug n play. Once Kodi is loaded, go into the Settings >> Services >> control >> section and turn on:
- Allow remote control via HTTP
- I also like to set the port to 8080
- Set a username and password
Then we need to go into settings >> System >> Audio >> section and change:
Audio Output Device: ALSA: Justboom DAC
Finally you can add your music collection to Kodi in the normal way. I advise turning on "download extra information" so you get all the cool artwork and details for the remote later to show.
Install
Once this is all done and you have tested connectivity you can take the RasPi off the monitor and setup as a headless server next to your speakers. Connect the power supply, and other cables so that the raspi is in position and switched on. Test the sound to see if it works, there should be nothing more to do now other than control the device remotely.
I didn't want any extra cables in this setup and didn't want to rely on wireless due to its speed, so went with another power line adapter that I use in other parts of the house. They are reliable and fast for networking and you can even re-use the socket like this:
Control
Since the system is "headless", we need some way to control kodi without any extra remote or touch screen. The ideal solution is to use a smartphone or tablet device that is already available. Both me and the girlfriend have iPhones so we just loaded up the Official Kodi Remote iPhone app and connected to the Kitchen HTPC. I also added the app to my iPad for an even nicer large interface to browse music with!
Conclusion
The Justboom + Rasbperry pi is an excellent solution to a headless music system, I would fully recommend it to anyone. The best thing about it is you would probably never know it was there in the final setup. Check the photo below, it just looks like a pair of speakers and an iPad. The Raspberry pi just sits under the seat without any need to ever be touched. Music just works as if by magic
The sound quality is also superb.
Let me know if you have any comments or alternative solutions by replying to this thread.
Recently I built an extension to my house and needed some way of playing music in the new kitchen space. I looked at things like squeezbox, amazon alexa or other solutions but always came back to Kodi as its my main way of playing music in other locations of the house. This time is a bit different as I don't really need or want a TV screen in the proposed area so I started looking into headless solutions. I wanted the entire client to be smartphone based so both myself and the other half could access music at any time. The solution needed to be "always on" with no physical hardware buttons to press or change when starting music. Looking at low power devices, the Raspberry Pi is the obvious contender. The latest version 3 "B" is the fastest and most featured model so I went with that one. This guide will let anyone setup a similar system:
Hardware needed
- Raspberry Pi v3b
- Justboom Amplifier HAT -
- JustBoom custom red case
- Justboom Power brick 15V 4.3A (65W)
- Micro SD card
Alternative: Amazon full bundle link here
Amplification
At first I tried building this system with a custom wall mounted amplifier but it had a few disadvantages, it was expense at first at over £100 and had way too many LEDs lit up. I also had to turn it on and off when needed which was annoying and was not easy to use. I started looking at custom Raspberry PI breakout boards and found the Justboom "Amp HAT" as the ideal solution. Not only did it have an amplifier built in, but it also contained an onboard DAC which basically makes your music sound much better! You can use this device with any set of passive(unpowered) speakers without any other equipment. I tested it and the music does indeed sound much fuller with a wider range. Pretty impressive! One of the big advantages of the Justboom was that it fits onto the Raspi with a simple click with no soldering required. The AMP HAT is powered by a custom power supply but this also powers the Raspi so only one plug socket is needed. All in all I found this a great bit of kit, if a little expensive at £60. The only real disadvantage I found was it needed a custom case.
The case
I bought the custom JustBoom laser cut red acrylic case (they do a black one too). It works as expected and provides the PI with a nice enclosure with all the ports needed available on each side of the device. The only disadvantage of this I found is you have to take the top of the case off to attach the speaker cables.
Kodi setup
Setting up Kodi is pretty simple but you will need to temporarily connect to a monitor to make a few adjustments to the configuration. First we need to install LibreELEC (a full kodi installtion on SD card with minimal OS). It has all the drivers we require for the amplifier already built in so should be plug n play. Once Kodi is loaded, go into the Settings >> Services >> control >> section and turn on:
- Allow remote control via HTTP
- I also like to set the port to 8080
- Set a username and password
Then we need to go into settings >> System >> Audio >> section and change:
Audio Output Device: ALSA: Justboom DAC
Finally you can add your music collection to Kodi in the normal way. I advise turning on "download extra information" so you get all the cool artwork and details for the remote later to show.
Install
Once this is all done and you have tested connectivity you can take the RasPi off the monitor and setup as a headless server next to your speakers. Connect the power supply, and other cables so that the raspi is in position and switched on. Test the sound to see if it works, there should be nothing more to do now other than control the device remotely.
I didn't want any extra cables in this setup and didn't want to rely on wireless due to its speed, so went with another power line adapter that I use in other parts of the house. They are reliable and fast for networking and you can even re-use the socket like this:
Control
Since the system is "headless", we need some way to control kodi without any extra remote or touch screen. The ideal solution is to use a smartphone or tablet device that is already available. Both me and the girlfriend have iPhones so we just loaded up the Official Kodi Remote iPhone app and connected to the Kitchen HTPC. I also added the app to my iPad for an even nicer large interface to browse music with!
Conclusion
The Justboom + Rasbperry pi is an excellent solution to a headless music system, I would fully recommend it to anyone. The best thing about it is you would probably never know it was there in the final setup. Check the photo below, it just looks like a pair of speakers and an iPad. The Raspberry pi just sits under the seat without any need to ever be touched. Music just works as if by magic
The sound quality is also superb.Let me know if you have any comments or alternative solutions by replying to this thread.
