Shootout at the Linux Corral: AudioLinux vs Euphony

bobfa · March 10, 2019

I have been using Audiolinux in a custom built DIY server and NUC endpoint. Headless AudioLinux is getting more and more user-friendly and Piero provides great support. For $100 (two copies) in software licenses, it is a considerable value. I can custom setup the BIOS and tune the OS. This project is fun if you enjoy playing at that level.

About a week ago I found Euphony. It is also based on Arch Linux and appears to provide some of the same value as AudioLinux. There are more features in their OS as it has Music player software and some other flourishes. I am a Roon user, and I do not currently intend on changing that! I intend to try their player software at some point.

I am going to add a small (250GB) NVMe M.2 drive to the server and dual boot between AL and Euphony because I have it and there seems to be a shortage of Optane sticks this week.

One of the first items to note is that Euphony does not use ACPI boot you have to turn legacy back on if you were using AudioLinux.

Euphony basic setup is relatively simple. Download the image and install it on a USB stick with Etcher on the MAC or their Windows installer. For Euphony to run you need to register it for a trial. There is an odd back and forth setup between the website and the program, but you get an email with the trial key pretty quickly. Then things get weird. Unless you purchase a license for $289.00 you cannot install the system anywhere. You have to run off of the USB stick. This is not conducive to running Roon Core.

I am sitting here springing forward and sleeping on going any further.

Bob

kravi4ka · March 10, 2019

Hi Bob,

I expressed interest in the other thread, I would be very interested in your results as I just managed to buy one of the few NUC7I7DNBE boards around So I need to decide what OS to go for, it is not about savings,it's more about not being able to perform that comparison myself as I am totally Linux illiterate...

Euphony looks like everything I need except that for the price it should be actually fool proof for someone like me. But if it sounds at least as good as the Audiolinux and it works with ROON and HQplayer then it might be worth it.

Looking forward to your first impressions, thanks so much for all the hard work and most of all for sharing, appreciated!

bobfa · March 10, 2019

I have found a vendor that will build semi-custom fan-less NUC machines for me using that board. I hope that it will work out. There seems to be demand.

I will report on progress on the shootout. It will take a bit.

gdpr · March 10, 2019

2 hours ago, kravi4ka said:

Hi Bob,

I expressed interest in the other thread, I would be very interested in your results as I just managed to buy one of the few NUC7I7DNBE boards around So I need to decide what OS to go for, it is not about savings,it's more about not being able to perform that comparison myself as I am totally Linux illiterate...

Euphony looks like everything I need except that for the price it should be actually fool proof for someone like me. But if it sounds at least as good as the Audiolinux and it works with ROON and HQplayer then it might be worth it.

Looking forward to your first impressions, thanks so much for all the hard work and most of all for sharing, appreciated!

My Pinkfaun streamer runs onAudiolinux, with Roonas the music management system and player, with HQembedded.

So noreason to lok at another Linux OS.

I have bought this as a complete solution/package,and and I am extremely delighted with this combo, delivering a high quality music system.

Without all the hassles of Windows.

I am not playing with Linux as an OS at all - just moved away from Windows not to be bothered with computer OS.

I can appreciate the freedom of Linux to build in fact one’s own OS, but I wonder why there is so much ‘competition’ in this market.

Why are the people active in this area not work together (which is the aim of open source software) to come up with a joined ultimate ‘Audio OS’ ?

Dirk

bobfa · March 10, 2019

Dirk,

You hit one of the nails right on the head here. You have found what you wanted. There are many systems out there that provide some of the same benefits you have opted for. Really the underlying OS is not relevant if the system designer does their job right. You have a commercial product with support that "just works"

I am really happy that we have AL and the like to help make our systems sound better. Great research and work going on here.

I love to tinker or play around with this stuff. I enjoy it. It is a journey for me.

I believe that "open source" thinking might not be the goals for some folks. Pinkfaun system is there to make them money!. I cannot say what motivates others. Some of us need income to live!

kravi4ka · March 10, 2019

5 hours ago, bobfa said:

I have found a vendor that will build semi-custom fan-less NUC machines for me using that board. I hope that it will work out. There seems to be demand.

I will report on progress on the shootout. It will take a bit.

I just received the Akasa case for the build you described earlier but would be interested in that as well. Let me know when you have more info.

bobfa · March 12, 2019

Today I got started using Euphony on my NUC. 7i7dnbe in Akasa case. I put two sticks of RAM in as I have been told that the NUCs are "more stable" that way. (I do not konw)

I am booting off of USB. The computer, external HD, EtherRegen, and Fiber module are all powered by an HDPLEX200. I am using the Stylus music software to play with. It feels like a cross between Roon and on a file based player. You get some rich data, but it is by linking out to other websites. I have used both their iPad App and Safari. The touch targets on Safari on a 12.9 iPad pro are a bit small. The NUC runs 5 to 7 degrees C warmer than when I was running AL. I have their player set to buffer before starting. That should mean it is streaming from RAM when it can.

I setup the Power Supply and HD outside of the system first and after things were working, I put all the gear on a shelf.

NOTE: This is a one box solution with the NUC driving the YGGY through an ISORegen.

I have a log of several things I found during the operation and I have a couple of "bugs" to report to the developer. The music player takes some getting used to but it is pretty cool.

The setup routine is blissfully simple. Image a USB stick with the OS. Boot the USB stick (set BIOS to Legacy). Register a trial. Mount the HD for the library to see. The initial scan took about 45min to build the database. (67K tracks). The OS, re-scans when rebooted.

My son and I spent about two hours listening to music. The music is fuller and more dynamic. My son said that this is the best he has heard the system play. I listened to the whole soundtrack of the Cooper/Gaga "A Star is Born". I felt like I was in the theater again, Yet I was working in the Kitchen around the corner from the LR where the stereo is.

I have a whole lot of other testing to do. I will bring up my Xeon server and hook it up tomorrow to see if I can hear anything different. I am very interested in that as we have found the USB connection on the NUC to be pretty darn good.

Next I have to test Roon Core. I will have to figure out how to make that work with the Roon database. The Stylus OS showed that the database was on a Spinning disk it was slow with artwork, etc. BUT THE SOUND!

Bob

k-man · March 12, 2019

7 minutes ago, bobfa said:

The computer, external HD, EtherRegen, and Fiber module are all powered by an HDPLEX200.

You’re that lucky huh? 😀

RickyV · March 12, 2019

So, Euphony Stylus is for single pc "server" only?

bobfa · March 12, 2019

I have it setup right now with their Stylus app. They have Roon and LMS and Squeezelite so it can do more.

I am testing one thing at a time. Also they get $289 for a license. I am running on a trial for a month.

RickyV · March 12, 2019

Ah it's an OS like AL but if you have a dual pc setup it's two times 289 dollar. Or if it sounds better you can only do the renderer and the server on Al.

bobfa · March 12, 2019

Lots to experiment with.

johnli · March 12, 2019

hi bob

I noticed that you're enjoying Euphony more than AL, though I think AL sounds quite good too.

For Euphony with NUC, I read that it needs a HD/ SSD to run it. Is that true? Can it be like AL to run it all on ram and have the NUC discLESS?

Otherwise, I need to buy a M2 SSD to try it, which I don't want to if possible.

Thanks! and enjoy the sound!

bobfa · March 12, 2019

I do not have all the answers yet. I would think that from an endpoint you would not need an SSD. For a server, you need something. I am running the server right now on a USB stick and a HD for music. Much more to do.

davide256 · March 12, 2019

3 hours ago, bobfa said:

I do not have all the answers yet. I would think that from an endpoint you would not need an SSD. For a server, you need something. I am running the server right now on a USB stick and a HD for music. Much more to do.

I'd be curious if the media drives can be USB3 connected. That should allow most external storage options. Not too keen on abandoning Roons database/Qobuz integration capabilities but comparisons of AL and Euphony as Roon core and/or endpoint sounds intriguing.

bobfa · March 12, 2019

31 minutes ago, davide256 said:

I'd be curious if the media drives can be USB3 connected. That should allow most external storage options. Not too keen on abandoning Roons database/Qobuz integration capabilities but comparisons of AL and Euphony as Roon core and/or endpoint sounds intriguing.

Yes I am on USB 3 port for my music drive.

davide256 · March 12, 2019

1) Per Euphony's support site, you have to have a dedicated HD/SSD for OS install... will win no fans on the endpoint side

2) there is no statement of minimum hardware requirements

so this doesn't appear launch ready "for prime time" yet

will give it a whirl as server on NUC7PJYH/8gb RAM with an SSD installed and USB3 attached storage media.... if it runs on that, then HW

limits shouldn't be a concern.

davide256 · March 13, 2019

2 hours ago, davide256 said:

1) Per Euphony's support site, you have to have a dedicated HD/SSD for OS install... will win no fans on the endpoint side

2) there is no statement of minimum hardware requirements

so this doesn't appear launch ready "for prime time" yet

will give it a whirl as server on NUC7PJYH/8gb RAM with an SSD installed and USB3 attached storage media.... if it runs on that, then HW

limits shouldn't be a concern.

Sigh... doesn't look like I can get into NUC BIOS until I get a wired vs wireless keyboard... fast boot is enabled so wireless keyboard F2 doesn't work

and holding the power key for 3 seconds doesn't give the BIOS shell either.

bobfa · March 13, 2019

2 hours ago, davide256 said:

1) Per Euphony's support site, you have to have a dedicated HD/SSD for OS install... will win no fans on the endpoint side

2) there is no statement of minimum hardware requirements

so this doesn't appear launch ready "for prime time" yet

will give it a whirl as server on NUC7PJYH/8gb RAM with an SSD installed and USB3 attached storage media.... if it runs on that, then HW

limits shouldn't be a concern.

Let me come to their defense a little bit with and admission that my own small business is far from perfect from communications with customers. I think that their primary product is the server side of things. They sell servers in different parts of the world and sell SSDs with the OS installed. I find it very hard to get the end user docs right let alone define who the end user is.

They have a tech support site that you can submit tickets on and they have been very responsive. The documentation is a little weak on the website and the FAQ is “thin”. I have submitted tickets and they have responded rather quickly.

It is my understanding that you can finish an install on an endpoint type device. I am running it off of USB sticks in trial mode (Stylus Server). I have not tried Roon or any of the other options as of yet.

I am testing the server / player software between my NUC/Xeon. I am not ready to say much more about this yet as A/B takes 10 minutes because I only have one power supply and storage drive.

I am about ready to commit to purchasing at least one license.

This may not be the most “tinker-able” OS to play with. I will say that I made a USB stick, booted up and had a music server system up and running with no issues.

bobfa · March 13, 2019

1 minute ago, davide256 said:

Sigh... doesn't look like I can get into NUC BIOS until I get a wired vs wireless keyboard... fast boot is enabled so wireless keyboard F2 doesn't work

and holding the power key for 3 seconds doesn't give the BIOS shell either.

I keep a display, keyboard and mouse I the cabinet with the stereo.... I hate this stuff. I have no wireless in my hardware.

dc-audiogeek · March 13, 2019

I bought a Euphony Audio PTS (i3 8 GB ram linux-based server) from the company and have been using Euphony for a year and I really like it. I think the Euphony Stylus-based music app sounds great but is a bit pokey. Euphony works perfectly fine with HQPlayer and Roon.

Arthur, their USA rep, is very responsive to questions and getting bug reports to the engineering group. He's great. His email is: [email protected].

Euphony regularly updates their software with additional features and better audio quality (v3 just came out and sounds fantastic). It blows away Auralic's products (the last generation... haven't heard the latest models).

I'm very pleased with Euphony overall.

bobfa · March 13, 2019

1 hour ago, dc-audiogeek said:

I bought a Euphony Audio PTS (i3 8 GB ram linux-based server) from the company and have been using Euphony for a year and I really like it. I think the Euphony Stylus-based music app sounds great but is a bit pokey. Euphony works perfectly fine with HQPlayer and Roon.

Arthur, their USA rep, is very responsive to questions and getting bug reports to the engineering group. He's great. His email is: [email protected].

Euphony regularly updates their software with additional features and better audio quality (v3 just came out and sounds fantastic). It blows away Auralic's products (the last generation... haven't heard the latest models).

I'm very pleased with Euphony overall.

That sounds great. I have been playing with the Stylus server and it sounds great. The UI is "different again"! I am used to using Roon which I cannot test till I send them money!

What are you using on a regular basis and how is your system configured?

Thanks for helping!

Holzohr · March 13, 2019

6 hours ago, davide256 said:

Sigh... doesn't look like I can get into NUC BIOS until I get a wired vs wireless keyboard... fast boot is enabled so wireless keyboard F2 doesn't work

and holding the power key for 3 seconds doesn't give the BIOS shell either.

Hi, I fear you will have to reset the BIOS by clearing the CMOS. I had to do the same a couple of months ago. I thought that activating fast boot is a good thing. Maybe it is as long as you don' t need to enter the BIOS. 🙂

Holzohr · March 13, 2019

4 hours ago, bobfa said:

That sounds great. I have been playing with the Stylus server and it sounds great. The UI is "different again"! I am used to using Roon which I cannot test till I send them money!

Hi Bob, thank you very much for this thread. I downloaded Euphony last night and was testing Roon core with HQPlayer embedded. I must say I liked what I heard but it seems my USB stick is not made for this kind of continuous operation. I still want to give Euphony a try as endpoint for Roon and HQPlayer.

jkelly · March 13, 2019

Do you know if I can connect the Euphony server to my NAS music folder instead of a USB or internal storage drive?

Shootout at the Linux Corral: AudioLinux vs Euphony

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