Very newbie question: how do I tell if minimstreamer is runnng?

[nickc]

(07-11-2023 13:24)simoncn Wrote:  The other factor that could come into play when you do the comparison is the "weakest link" effect. The audio signal passes through a number of stages on the way through your setup:

1) RPi1 receives HLS from your router and decodes it to AAC
2) RPi1 sends AAC over your network to RPi2
3) RPi2 converts AAC to LPCM
4) RPi2 transmits LPCM over HDMI to Arcam
5) Arcam converts LPCM to analogue audio
6) The analogue audio is amplified and played though your speakers

One of these stages is the weakest link in terms of sound quality and slight improvements in other stages might not make a noticeable difference to what you hear.

Yes indeed! And in my setup there's an added complication in that the Arcam SR-250, as well as sending the analogue signal to the speakers in the living room/projector room, also sends it via RCA connection (with a very long cable) to an old Arcam A90 in "zone 2", which is another living room, and that Arcam outputs to speakers in that room as well as sending the signal to a Teac amplifier which feeds the speakers in the kitchen! All three sets of speakers and the amplifiers are of good quality, best I've been able to afford at the time, but quite honestly, given this Heath Robinson arrangement, I'm continually surprised at how consistently good the music sounds, and of course it's perfectly in sync as one moves between rooms.