There’s something uniquely rewarding about merging high-quality audio hardware with flexible, open-source software. That’s exactly what I explored this week: Hypex’s new DIY preamp kit, brought to life with a Raspberry Pi running Volumio OS. The aim? To see how this hybrid setup performs in practice and enjoy some hands-on tech fun along the way.

First Impressions and Setup

The Hypex DIY preamp made a great first impression, delivering on its promise of high-end, modular audio. While the kit I used didn’t include standoffs for securing the Raspberry Pi to the chassis (you can ask for them), this was easy to work around with a few extras from my toolbox. The included cabling is designed for versatility, and though I opted for longer wires from my collection, a more tailored solution could easily be added as an option for a cleaner look.

Aesthetics aside, the actual integration was refreshingly straightforward. Hypex clearly designed the preamp with Raspberry Pi compatibility in mind, and their manual made the setup process smooth and intuitive.

Volumio + RPi = Out-of-the-Box Success

After flashing the standard Volumio image to an SD card and powering up the Raspberry Pi, everything came together quickly. A quick reminder: to enable the USB audio interface on the DIY preamp, simply press the knob to power it on and set the input to “Network.” Once that’s done, Volumio instantly detects the interface and is ready to play.

No extra configuration was needed, Volumio and the Hypex preamp paired seamlessly. It’s also reassuring to see the Pi 5 running without any low-voltage warnings, confirming the power supply is more than capable of supporting this setup.

Testing the Sound

For this test, I focused on the headphone output, as the preamp provides balanced analog output via XLR and I currently don’t have a matching amp at home. Still, the headphone experience was excellent, delivering clean, articulate, and energetic sound that’s a joy to listen to.

There are a couple of behavior notes worth sharing for future users:

• Input Switching and USB Audio
  When switching away from the “Network” input, the USB audio interface temporarily disconnects from the Raspberry Pi, prompting a message in Volumio. Once you switch back, everything resumes normally. This could be a great area for future firmware refinement to ensure an even smoother experience.

• WiFi Performance Inside the Chassis
  The Raspberry Pi’s WiFi signal is limited due to the full-metal enclosure—an expected challenge with enclosed electronics. However, for a stable connection, Ethernet is a highly reliable option. Users who prioritize wireless connectivity might consider a Raspberry Pi CM4 setup, which I’ll describe below.

Geek-Level Upgrade: CM4 + SSD = Refined and Ready

For those looking to take things up a notch, I tested a Raspberry Pi CM4 with onboard WiFi, mounted on a Waveshare CM4IO-BASE-A board and booting Volumio from an NVMe SSD.

This combination really shines with the Hypex preamp. It enables external WiFi antennas (a small hole in the back panel allows for clean integration) and supports faster, more robust storage options like eMMC or NVMe. The result? Quicker boot times, enhanced system reliability, and a polished user experience.

Suggestions for Hypex

If Hypex is considering future updates, here are a couple of opportunities to further elevate the user experience:

• Consider maintaining USB audio connection consistency when switching inputs—this would make the integration with platforms like Volumio even more seamless.

• Offering the CM4 + Waveshare baseboard as an officially supported configuration could appeal to power users looking for enhanced wireless and storage capabilities.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the combination of Volumio and the Hypex DIY Preamp makes for an incredibly capable and enjoyable system. Setup is easy, performance is strong, and the audio quality delivers real satisfaction. Whether you’re an audiophile maker or a developer who loves clean code and great sound, this pairing offers a lot to be excited about.

Highly recommended and I’m looking forward to what’s next in this open-source meets high-fidelity journey.

Stay tuned for more hands-on audio experiments.

NB: More details about the HYPEX DIY pre-amp

The post Test Drive: Running Volumio on a Raspberry Pi Inside the Hypex DIY Preamp appeared first on Volumio.

This is a quick showcase of the best creations of  Raspberry Pi audio player projects with Volumio. I feel really proud that Volumio is powering lots of brilliant Audio Players Projects, made by equally outstanding music lovers around the world. I stumbled on some, on Volumio’s Forum. Here are some carefully crafted creations, enjoy!

AN ELEGANT RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER

It looks as elegant as it could be, and it doesn’t really look a DIY Raspberry Pi audio player, but a more expensive one. Joni Ive would have made it this way, just with little more gradients

But then look at the interior, and you see how much care has put into this… Rectifier with ultrafast  diodes, linear  regulated power supply and Audiophonic’s ES9023 I2S DAC (For some infos visit the Raspberry Pi i2s DACs list..) Love it. Nothing more and nothing less the same Raspberry Pi audio player I will build …

Here’s the BOM:

• Raspberry Pi model B (Amazon)
• Inter-Tech Mini ITX Q-6 (Ebay)
• Audiophonics DAC Sabre ES9023 I2S (Audiophonics)
• 2x 7V 10VA Toroidal Trasformer
• Audiowind A-270 regulator

Kudos to Gerry_222 for his creation!!! You can see the project thread @ volumio.org/forum/volumio-project-t1522.html

BOOMBOX Raspberry Pi audio player

Simple, straight to the point. Gives a new life to an old appliance, just the way I adore. Look at it

Could you ever imagine it will feature this?

This interestin build is a brilliant work of Volumio community member Pondidum, I really encourage you to look at the Project’s forum thread @ https://volumio.org/forum/boombox-cassette-deck-replacement-t1420.html

A STEAMPUNK STYLE RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER WITH VOLUMIO

I’m a great fan of Steampunk. Love the baroccan way of building stuff this way. And this creation ranks 10\10 on my Nerdgasm scale. Period.
And didn’t mention I just crave for Tubes?

I just love it. Insanely! Kudos Oratius! You can find a detailed instructable on how to build this piece of art @ this Instructable Project Page

HI-END RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER AND STREAMER

For those of you with Fancy Audio Gear to showcase, here’s the proper companion to it. Not only the enclosure is a perfect example of “Overstatement”, but also the care that has been put into the PSU is considerable. Sure you saw something similar sold somewhere, for the price of a car.

Besides from its look. What I really approve is a dedicated power supply both for the Raspberry PI and the I2S connected S\PDIF transport.

The classy touch, for those who haven’t noticed, is a filtered IEC power connector. Digital Sources may benefit a lot with this addition, depending on your home’s power network and system. Unluckily its creator ptiboubou didn’t share so much about this on the Forum Thread. However, you may have spotted an Hifiberry-DIGI that will take care to stream music to an External DAC. The DIGI has its own power supply, even if it can be an overkill for just a trasport interface. Overall, nice creation indeed!

PORTABLE RASPBERRY PI AUDIO PLAYER

For those on a run, or those on a car (I’m both, really often) here’s a simple yet effective solution.

A Pi, Volumio, USB Thumb Drive, Wi-Fi dongle, a mobile phone battery pack  and your favourite headphones. Serve chilled. You can obtain even better result adding a i2s DAC which can drive adequately headphones. And live fast while enjoying all of your music’s nuances.

These was just examples, the one that got me more interested of the many published on Volumio’s Forum by its awesome community members. There are also technically clever projects showcased in that section, and we’ll have a look at them in another post. As of now, you have some ideas more on how to build an Amazing DIY Raspberry Pi Audio player with Volumio. Less bucks for more Rock.

How will you make your Raspberry Pi Audio Player with Volumio? Which of these projects you prefer? Join the discussion on the Forum or drop few lines via comments below!

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