HiFiBerryOS

 

HiFiBerryOS

HiFiBerryOS is is our version of a minimal Linux distribution optimised for audio playback. The goal isn’t to add as much functionality as possible, but focus on music. We don’t think, you should have to deal with sample rates or file format, but focus on what’s really important: listening to music.

If you need help configuring HiFiBerryOS, check out documentation and support information below.

Services

The following services are available:

  • Airplay
  • Analoge input of the DAC+ ADC
  • Bluetooth (not on Raspberry Pi 3B)
  • DLNA
  • Logitech Media Server / Squeezebox
  • MPD for local music
  • Snapcast (experimental)
  • Spotify
  • Roon
  • Web radio stations

DSP support

HiFiBerryOS comes with support for HiFiBerry DSP boards including a filter/crossover designer.

Platforms

The recommended platforms are the Pi3B+ and Pi4. These systems do not only provide enough compute power, but also Ethernet connectivity. WiFi-only systems are hard to debug in case of any network problem. Therefore, we recommend these only to advanced users who are able to do some debugging with a screen and keyboard on the command line.

While we really like the Raspberry Pi Zero, its CPU doesn’t provide the speed and features needed for some of the services we’ve implemented. Also note that the software doesn’t perform very well on the Pi. Boot time for the initial setup can be very long (up to 10 minutes). Therefore, the Raspberry Pi Zero version comes only with Airplay and Bluetooth support. If you’re looking for a small and inexpensive boards that supports the full set of features, you should use at the Raspberry Pi 3A+.

Downloads

If you have a running HiFiBerryOS instance already (at least version 201909xx), you don’t have to download the new image again, but you can directly upgrade the software.

Documentation

Do you want to contribute or just change some things? Check out our Github repository! Did you find a bug? Please post it on the Github bug tracker!

Support

Do you need any help? Post your questions in our community area! Note that there is no individual support for HiFiBerryOS. We hope you will understand that we can’t also provide individual support for this free software. Please DO NOT send questions to our support email or our support form. Use the community area for questions.
If you think, you found a bug that you can reproduce, please post it on the Github bug tracker!
Why should you do this? It takes a lot of time to support HiFiBerryOS users. Using the forum ensures that we don’t have to answer the same questions again. Sometimes, also other users can share their own experiences and tips. This helps us to have more time to implement cool new features or fix bugs.