Configure MPD – Linux Audio Foundation

# STEP10

# YOUR USB DAC MUST BE CONNECTED TO THE USB PORT AND READY

# edit the configuration of MPD with a DAC USB connected but before:

# identify your USB DAC ID (usually card 1):

```
$ aplay -l
```

# in case of *No Soundcard Error*, read our tutorial to install ALSA correctly and prepare your Linux distribution

# to list of playback hardware devices (card 0, card 1, car 2….) and to get the index of your USB DAC

# report this index number in the line device “hw:x,0” of all audio output in mpd.conf see below

# the USB DAC should be indexed 1 or 2

# BEWARE if you disable the RASPBERRY PI HDMI port later (see the corresponding howto) the ID of your DAC will certainly change which require to modify mpd.conf audio output as well

# If your sound card order changes on boot, you can “play” with /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf to specify its order. For example, if you want your snd_usb_audio (USB DAC) card to be #1:

options snd_usb_audio index=1

You can also provide an index of -2 to instruct ALSA to never use a card as the primary one and ensure USB DAC never getting index 0:

options snd_usb_audio index=-2

This will change the order of the devices in the list (read the ALSA doc online to get more info on alsa-base.conf).

# check the card IDs after reboot with

```
$ aplay -l
```

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones], device 0: bcm2835 Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
  Subdevices: 8/8
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
  Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
  Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
  Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
  Subdevice #4: subdevice #4
  Subdevice #5: subdevice #5
  Subdevice #6: subdevice #6
  Subdevice #7: subdevice #7
card 1: MQA [D90 MQA], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 3: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

# also to get the name of the driver list the sound modules with:

```
$ cat /proc/asound/modules
```

 0 snd_bcm2835
 1 snd_usb_audio
 2 vc4
 3 vc4

# example of configuration for the raspberry PI 5 or PI 4, edit the alsa-base.conf

$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

options snd_usb_audio index=-2

# on raspberry PI 5 and PI 4 with latest bookworm OS disable HDMI (vc4 kms driver) to be sure to get the card id 1 for your USB DAC.
# edit the config.txt and reboot
# comment: camera_auto_detect=1, dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d and max_framebuffers=2
# and set display_auto_detect=0 see below

```
$ sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
```

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented
# /boot/firmware/overlays/README

# Automatically load overlays for detected cameras
#camera_auto_detect=1

# Automatically load overlays for detected DSI displays
display_auto_detect=0

# Automatically load initramfs files, if found
auto_initramfs=1

# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver
#dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
#max_framebuffers=2

# then check with aplay -l

$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones], device 0: bcm2835 Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
Subdevices: 8/8
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
Subdevice #4: subdevice #4
Subdevice #5: subdevice #5
Subdevice #6: subdevice #6
Subdevice #7: subdevice #7
card 1: MQA [D90 MQA], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

# reboot

```
$ sudo reboot
```

# backup default MPD config mpd.conf into our Downloads/ directory

$ sudo cp /etc/mpd.conf ~/Downloads/mpd.conf

# erase the current config and replace with the settings below

```
$ sudo truncate -s 0 /etc/mpd.conf
```

```
$ sudo nano /etc/mpd.conf
```

# replace with the settings below

# nano shortcut: CTRL + K to cut an entire line
# this settings use USB DAC on card 1 (hw:1,0), change the index accordingly if needed

# copy the lines below and right-click on nano editor to paste
#

music_directory "/mnt/media"
playlist_directory "/var/lib/mpd/playlists"
db_file "/var/lib/mpd/tag_cache"
log_file "/var/log/mpd/mpd.log"
# uncomment pid_file if you do not use systemd 
#pid_file "/run/mpd/pid"
state_file "/var/lib/mpd/state"
sticker_file "/var/lib/mpd/sticker.sql"
user "mpd"
group "audio"
bind_to_address "any"
port "6600"
log_level "default"
restore_paused "yes"
#save_absolute_paths_in_playlists "no"
#metadata_to_use "artist,album,title,track,name,genre,date,composer,performer,disc"
#metadata_to_use "+comment"
auto_update "no"
#auto_update_depth "3"
follow_outside_symlinks "yes"
follow_inside_symlinks "yes"
zeroconf_enabled "no"
zeroconf_name "Music DAC"
connection_timeout "120"
#password "password@read,add,control,admin"
#default_permissions "read,add,control,admin"
#
###############################################################################

# Database #######################################################################
#

#database {
# plugin "proxy"
# host "other.mpd.host"
# port "6600"
#}

# Input #######################################################################
#

input {
plugin "curl"
# proxy "proxy.isp.com:8080"
# proxy_user "user"
# proxy_password "password"
}

# QOBUZ input plugin
input {
enabled "no"
plugin "qobuz"
# app_id "ID"
# app_secret "SECRET"
# username "USERNAME"
# password "PASSWORD"
# format_id "N"
}

# TIDAL input plugin
input {
enabled "no"
plugin "tidal"
# token "TOKEN"
# username "USERNAME"
# password "PASSWORD"
# audioquality "Q"
}

# Decoder #####################################################################
#

decoder {
plugin "ffmpeg"
enabled "yes"
# gapless "no"
}

decoder {
plugin "wildmidi"
enabled "no"
}

replaygain "off"
replaygain_preamp "0"
#replaygain_missing_preamp "0"
#replaygain_limit "yes"
volume_normalization "no"
filesystem_charset "UTF-8"

###############################################################################

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "Default"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "none"
dop "no"
}

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "ALSA DAC DOP"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "none"
dop "yes"
}

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "ALSA DAC NoDOP"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "none"
dop "no"
}

audio_buffer_size "4096"
#buffer_before_play "10%"
max_output_buffer_size "131072"
max_connections "128"

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "ALSA EQ"
device "plug:plugequal"
# format "44100:16:2" # optional
# mixer_device "default" # optional
# mixer_control "PCM" # optional
# mixer_index "0" # optional
}

# optional output to stream music using vorbis encoder to local device (phone, tablet, pc,...)
audio_output {
type            "httpd"
name            "Local Stream"
encoder         "vorbis"
#encoder        "lame"         # comment vorbis and use lame for iOS support
port            "8000"
quality         "5.0"           # do not define if bitrate is defined
#bitrate        "128"           # do not define if quality is defined
#format          "44100:16:1"
always_on       "yes"           # prevent MPD from disconnecting all listeners when playback
tags            "yes"           # httpd supports sending tags to listening streams.
}

# to get an high res stream from your MPD server change quality from “5.0” to “10.0”
# beware high quality stream needs a high speed WIFI/network to work smoothly

# optional output to stream music using MP3 encoder to local device (phone, tablet, pc,...)
audio_output {
type            "httpd"
name            "Local Stream MP3"
encoder         "lame"
#encoder        "lame"         # comment vorbis and use lame for iOS support
port            "8000"
quality         "0"           # do not define if bitrate is defined
#bitrate        "128"           # do not define if quality is defined
format          "44100:16:2"
always_on       "yes"           # prevent MPD from disconnecting all listeners when playback
tags            "yes"           # httpd supports sending tags to listening streams.
}

# to get an high quality MP3 stream from your MPD server
# set the quality for VBR from “0” the highest quality to “9” the lowest quality.
# beware high quality stream needs a high speed WIFI/network to work smoothly

# CTRL+O to save
# CTRL+X to exit

# to get the stream, select “Local Stream” or “Local Stream MP3” audio output in myMPD or any MPD client
# then open VLC app for example and type the address http://musiclounge:8000 in Open Network Stream and play.

# OPTIONAL: You can skip this step if a server distribution is installed
# but for desktop distro you have to disable MPD user service
# because you run it as a headless server:

$ sudo rm /etc/xdg/autostart/mpd.desktop

$ sudo systemctl --global disable mpd.service

$ sudo systemctl --global disable mpd.socket

# MPD server is now configured.
# Click NEXT button to activate Music Player Daemon

# TROUBLESHOUTING

# if the error is releated to audio device not found, read again the first chapter of this tutorial to configure modprobe correctly and ensure your USB DAC card ID is 1 or edit all your configuration including MPD to change the plugin hardware id (“plughw:X,0”)

# in case of error (generally occurs within 5s just after playing):

alsa_output: Decoder is too slow; playing silence to avoid xrun

# adding the following lines to all your audio output in mpd configuration (/etc/mpd.conf) may help
#

buffer_time "200000"
period_time "5084"

#
# edit mpd.conf and scroll to audio output area to add the 2 lines

```
$ sudo nano /etc/mpd.conf
```

.
.
.
audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "Default"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "none"
dop "no"
buffer_time "200000"
period_time "5084"
}

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "ALSA DAC DOP"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "none"
dop "yes"
buffer_time "200000"
period_time "5084"
}
.
.
.

#
# in case of non fatal binding error

server_socket: bind to '0.0.0.0:8000' failed (continuing anyway, because binding to '[::]:8000' succeeded): Failed to bind socket: Address already in use

# a binding already exists due to ipv6, however mpd is running correctly. if you do not need ipv6 support follow these instructions to disable it by using sysctl command and by adding the kernel option ipv6.disable=1 https://www.wikihow.com/Disable-Ipv6-on-Linux

# keep a Bit Perfect audio with a control of the volume, possible?
# yes, this is possible but only if this is supported by your USB DAC and only with PCM

# check if hardware volume is supported
# get the card number of your USB DAC
# (should be 1 if you only have 1 DAC connected)

```
$ aplay -l
```

pi@musiclounge:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: S9Pro [Hidizs S9Pro], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: MQA [D90 MQA], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: SM1ODROIDC4 [SM1-ODROID-C4], device 0: fe.dai-link-0 (*) []
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: SM1ODROIDC4 [SM1-ODROID-C4], device 1: fe.dai-link-1 (*) []
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: SM1ODROIDC4 [SM1-ODROID-C4], device 2: fe.dai-link-2 (*) []
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

# in this example we have 2 DAC connected
# list mixer contents of the device 1

```
$ amixer --card 1 scontents
```

 
pi@musiclounge:~$ amixer --card 1
pi@musiclounge:~$

# nothing for the topping D90

# now for the S9 Pro

```
$ amixer --card 0 scontents
```

pi@musiclounge:~$ amixer --card 0
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
  Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined
  Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Playback 0 - 127
  Mono:
  Front Left: Playback 127 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
  Front Right: Playback 127 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',1
  Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined
  Playback channels: Mono
  Limits: Playback 0 - 127
  Mono: Playback 87 [69%] [-20.00dB]

# great! the hardware volume is supported on this DAC
# now we change the mpd.conf to add this dac with hardware volume control

```
$ sudo nano /etc/mpd.conf
```

# add this at the end of your configuration
# hw:0 must changed to corresponding card number of your DAC

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "Hidizs S9 Pro Mixer ON"
device "hw:0,0"
mixer_type "hardware"
mixer_control "PCM"
mixer_index "0"
dop "no"
}

# another example with Topping D50 III DAC on card id 1

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "Topping D50 III VOL ID1"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_device "hw:1"
mixer_type "hardware"
mixer_control "D50\ III"
mixer_index "1"
dop "no"
}

# CTRL+O to save
# CTRL+X to exit

# that’s it!

# Our recommendation is to avoid using volume control in MPD configuration if
# a physical or integrated volume control is already included with your DAC

# in case you have no support of hardware mixer (volume) in your DAC capabilities
# but still want a “software” control of the volume here is the audio output to add to mpd.conf
# this is obviously not recommended

audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "ALSA Software Volume"
device "hw:1,0"
mixer_type "software"
dop "no"
}

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