Status: draft, being built; brought up to date 2026-10-06 (George, 2026-10-03: “a hardware recommendation document, with minimum and recommended hardware, with the lyrion Server as a separate entry as in end it is optional”; ADR-0111 decision 12). Every line names what it rests on. Tested means run on the hardware named; calculated means worked out from a measurement, not run; untested means neither, said so it is not mistaken for either.
So far everything has been run on two Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 4 GB
(gexis, rev 1.5, 3,795 MB usable; sofa-pi, 3,796 MB). Nothing has been run
on a 1, 2 or 8 GB Pi 4, or on any other model.
Gexis Player
| Minimum | Recommended | What it rests on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | Raspberry Pi 4 Model B | Raspberry Pi 4 Model B | The only model the player is built and tested for. Pi 5, Pi 3, Pi 400 and Compute Module 4: untested. |
| Memory | 2 GB (untested) | 4 GB (tested) | The player’s own processes use about 700 MB with a screen attached (measured on gexis, 2026-10-03: the visualiser 283 MB, the screen’s browser about 226 MB, Plexamp 62 MB, the core 34 MB, the rest under 25 MB each). A 1 GB Pi would leave little room: untested. |
| Storage | 16 GB card (calculated) | 32 GB or more | The image is 5.1 GB (0.9.2; 4.9 GB at 0.8.4). gexis, with one skin pack and the Lyrion server holding a library of tens of thousands of files, uses 8.3 GB. Space for an update’s downloads comes on top. |
| Audio | None beyond the Pi: its HDMI (a sound bar or AV receiver) or its headphone jack | A DAC HAT from the player’s list, or a USB DAC; on the bench the HiFiBerry DAC2 HD | ADR-0117 (Phase 13d) gives every DAC one of three states (a fourth, Reported, from owners’ feedback, ADR-0126). Tested: the HiFiBerry DAC2 HD (hw:sndrpihifiberry, the bench board throughout). Tested: the IQaudIO Pi-DAC PRO, recognised by its EEPROM – every rate from 44.1 to 192 kHz reaches it unchanged, its own volume control is used; Lyrion, Spotify, Bluetooth and Plexamp measured, and a chosen board that is not fitted taken back by itself (Finding 114). The IQaudIO DAC Plus itself: untested. Known: the rest of the list (from Volumio’s, corrected – Finding 106), untested. Detected: a USB DAC works as any class-compliant card, shown by its maker: an SMSL USB DAC (USB 2.0) tested on 2026-10-12 (Finding 120): found by itself; 32-bit only, every rate from 44.1 to 768 kHz reaching it unchanged, 16- and 24-bit sources widened to 32 bits without changing a sample (ADR-0143); through Lyrion unchanged up to 384 kHz (a 705.6 or 768 kHz file served over the network does not play); no volume control of its own, so Software or Fixed; native DSD (DSD64, 128, 256) from Lyrion with the volume Fixed, reaching it unconverted (ADR-0144). Bluetooth and Plexamp on it: tested. DSD on the HATs: neither tested board plays it; a DSD file is converted to PCM for them, and for any DAC whose volume is not Fixed. |
| Screen | None (the player runs without one) | An HDMI touch screen from the tested list | HDMI only, on either port (ADR-0109; HDMI 2 seen with a TV on sofapi, not with a touch screen). With a screen on one port and a sound bar or receiver on the other, Settings → Display lists both and the screen’s port can be chosen; the other port shows black, and if it carries the sound and disappears, the headphone jack stands in (ADR-0141). Seen on sofapi with a Sony receiver on HDMI 2; switching the receiver off and on: untested. Tested on the hardware (Phase 13b, closed 2026-10-04): Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (B), 1280 x 800, with or without its case; a 13.3″ at 1920 x 1080; the Waveshare 7.9″ bar (1280 x 400) and 11.9″ bar (1480 x 320), both landscape. Listed, untested: every other HDMI screen in the player’s list, and a bar at 0°. DSI and DPI screens: not supported. A TV as the screen (ADR-0147, George, 2026-10-13): chosen under Settings → Display → Screen port, run at 1920 x 1080 from the modes the TV offers, set at boot and again by the compositor (a 4K TV scales it up), Keep this screen? answered on the phone since a TV has no touch; a touch panel on the other port is switched off. Seen on sofapi with an LG TV on HDMI 2 behind a Sony receiver: the third try, 2026-10-14, passed – the TV at 1920 x 1080, the panel on HDMI 1 fully off, TV standby keeping the music. Behind a receiver, the TV is named by the receiver (SONY AVSYSTEM). Turned off and on, the receiver first offers 640 x 480 alone; the player sets 1920 x 1080 again within a few seconds (2026-10-14, forced by hand; the TV itself turned off and on: to see). |
| Network | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi or Ethernet | gexis runs on Wi-Fi. Internet is needed for updates, skin packs, and anything a plugin downloads (Plexamp, the Lyrion server). Untested: whether Wi-Fi power saving, on in the image, delays the phone’s touchpad (2026-10-06: the bursts measured came from the core, not the network). |
| Phone | None (the panel works by touch) | A phone with a current browser, on the same network | The phone page (ADR-0101): Settings, the mini player and the touchpad (ADR-0121), tried on George’s phone. No app to install. |
| Power | Raspberry Pi’s 5.1 V 3 A USB-C supply | Same, and a screen on its own supply where it has a port for one | Raspberry Pi’s own recommendation for the Pi 4. Measured, 2026-10-08/09: an 11.9″ bar powered from the Pi’s USB, on a phone charger, reset the Pi eleven times within seconds of each start; on a better supply the resets stopped, but vcgencmd get_throttled still read 0x50000 (5 undervoltage dips in 7.5 minutes, mostly while the screen was touched). No USB extension cable on the supply: on 2026-10-13/14 the same bar on Raspberry Pi’s own 5.1 V supply, through a USB extension, read undervoltage continuously (0x50005, the CPU held throttled); plugged in directly it read 0x0 for its first 28 minutes. If the supply’s cable does not reach, extend the mains side instead. A Pi 4 with a 13.3″ screen read 0x0 over two days. |
| Cooling | Untested | A heatsink or fan (calculated) | Playing music while the Lyrion server scanned, gexis reached 79.8 °C – 0.2 °C below where a Pi 4 starts slowing itself down – without throttling (2026-10-03, Finding 109); a scan alone peaked at 75.9 °C. Its case and cooling were not recorded. Idle and visualiser temperatures: not measured. |
Skin packs, by screen size
Each screen size installs one pack, with the user’s consent (ADR-0111). Its size counts toward storage:
| Screen size | Download | Installed |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 x 1080 | 461 MB | 491 MB |
| 1280 x 800 | 223 MB | 235 MB |
| 1280 x 400 | 71 MB | 76 MB |
| 1480 x 320 | 71 MB | 75 MB |
| 800 x 480 | 48 MB | 51 MB |
From the packages built for 0.8.4. Not yet measured: how hard the visualiser works the Pi at 1920 x 1080 (ADR-0111 decision 12), which may raise the recommendation for the largest screens.
Lyrion Server (optional)
A plugin, off unless switched on (ADR-0115). It serves a music library from a USB disk, the player’s own Music folder or a network share. It is what asks most of the hardware, and most of what it asks grows with the size of the library.
| Minimum | Recommended | What it rests on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory | 2 GB Pi: a library of about 34,000 files (calculated) | 4 GB Pi: about 90,000 files as set, 187,000 on Normal (calculated; a library of tens of thousands of files tested on both) | See below. A 1 GB Pi is not offered the server (ADR-0115 decision 18). |
| Storage | About 14 KB per file on top of the player’s needs (calculated) | The same | The library database and the artwork cache together, for the tested library (Finding 109). |
| Speed | Every answer under 0.2 s on a 4 GB Pi (tested) | The same | Lists 25-70 ms, search 136-174 ms, covers 5-17 ms. A server on other hardware answered 2-5 times faster (Finding 109). |
| Network | Wi-Fi | Ethernet for a library on a NAS (untested: not compared) | The scans below ran over Wi-Fi from a NAS. |
Memory, by library size
While it scans, Lyrion’s scanner grows with every file, on top of about
400 MB for the server itself. How much per file depends on Lyrion’s own
Database Memory Config (Finding 109, measured on gexis with a library of tens of
thousands of files, 2026-10-03):
| Database Memory Config | Per file | Scan time, against High | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | about 13 KB | about 6 % shorter | about 25 ms slower |
| High | about 27 KB | – | – |
| Maximum | as High (its scanner is High’s) | not scanned | as High |
Everything else browsed at the same speed on all three. The player sets Normal on a Pi under 4 GB and leaves Lyrion’s own choice, High, on 4 GB and more (ADR-0115 decision 19); either can be changed on Lyrion’s own Performance page. The player keeps 1 GB for itself and gives Lyrion the rest (decision 18):
| Pi 4 memory | Lyrion may use | As set | On Normal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | – | not offered | – |
| 2 GB | about 0.8 GB | about 34,000 files (Normal) | the same |
| 4 GB | about 2.7 GB | about 90,000 files (High; tested below that) | about 187,000 files (tested below that) |
| 8 GB | about 6.8 GB | about 240,000 files (High) | about 500,000 files |
All but the tested figures are calculated; the 2 GB and 8 GB rows assume about 1.85 GB and 7.8 GB usable, as a 4 GB Pi reports 3.8 GB, and neither has been checked. A 4 GB player with a larger library than High fits – roughly 90,000 files and up – can switch to Normal and scan it (George, 2026-10-03). A library too large for the memory is not scanned in full; the player says so on the server’s row, with how many files fit, and on High how many would on Normal (decision 18).
Time
Measured on gexis (Pi 4, 4 GB, Wi-Fi, a NAS share of tens of thousands of files) |
|
|---|---|
| First scan | 2 h 7 min: 82 min reading the files, 45 min covers, artist pictures, search index and artwork |
| Scan with nothing changed | 26 min: 3 min checking the files, 21 min artist pictures |
| Processor | about a fifth of one of the four cores on average; the scan waits on the network more than on the processor |
The first scan starts by itself when a folder is added. Untested: whether a scan can be heard in music playing at the same time – Lyrion runs at the lowest priority so that it should not be (ADR-0115), and Phase 13e’s criterion 2 is that check.
Sound cards and screens, as tested and reported
Tested means played and measured on the project’s own hardware, or reported working by at least one owner with none against (George, 2026-10-18: two states, as on the player); the Reports column says which. A problem an owner reported shows on the player as a line under the model; a model with no mark is on the player’s list, untested. Owners send feedback from Settings → System → Hardware feedback; accepted feedback reaches this table and the player through a reviewed change (ADR-0126).
| Sound card | Tested | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 52Pi NVDAC | ||
| 52Pi NVDAC [Pi5] | ||
| Adafruit MAX98357 | ||
| Adafruit UDA1334A | ||
| Allo BOSS | ||
| Allo BOSS [Pi5] | ||
| Allo BOSS2 | ||
| Allo DigiOne | ||
| Allo Katana | ||
| Allo Piano | ||
| Allo Piano 2.1 | ||
| ApplePi DAC | ||
| AudioInjector bare I2S | ||
| AudioInjector Isolated | ||
| AudioInjector Pro | ||
| AudioInjector Stereo | ||
| AudioInjector Ultra 2 | ||
| Audiophonics I-Sabre ES9028Q2M | ||
| BassFly-uHAT | ||
| BassFly-uHAT with I2S Mic | ||
| BassMantis-uHAT | ||
| BassMantis-uHAT with I2S Mic | ||
| BassOwl-HAT | ||
| ChipDip DAC | ||
| Dion Audio Loco V2 DAC-AMP | ||
| Fe-Pi Audio | ||
| Generic I2S DAC | ||
| Google voiceHAT | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp100 | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp100 [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp2 | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp2 [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp3 | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp4 | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp4 [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp4 Pro | ||
| HiFiBerry Amp4 Pro [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus ADC | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus ADC PRO | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus ADC PRO [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC Plus DSP | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC2 HD | Tested | |
| HiFiBerry DAC2 Pro | ||
| HiFiBerry DAC2 Pro [Pi5] | ||
| HiFiBerry Digi | ||
| HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro | ||
| HiFiBox DAC | ||
| HiFiBox DAC [Pi5] | ||
| Innomaker Amp | ||
| Innomaker Amp Pro | ||
| Innomaker Dac | ||
| Innomaker Dac [Pi5] | ||
| Innomaker Dac Pro | ||
| Interlude Audio Analog Hat | ||
| Interlude Audio Digital Hat | ||
| IQaudIO DAC Plus | ||
| IQaudIO Pi-DAC PRO | Tested | |
| IQaudIO Pi-Digi+ | ||
| IQaudIO Pi-DigiAMP+ | ||
| JustBoom Amp Boards | ||
| JustBoom DAC Boards | ||
| JustBoom Digi Boards | ||
| Mamboberry LS DAC+ | ||
| Melopero DAC ZERO | ||
| Melopero DAC ZERO [Pi5] | ||
| MERUS™ Amp piHAT ZW | ||
| NanoSound DAC | ||
| NanoSound DAC [Pi5] | ||
| Orchard Audio PecanPi DAC | ||
| Orchard Audio PecanPi+ DAC | ||
| OSA DACBerry ONE+ | ||
| OSA DACBerry ONE+ [Pi5] | ||
| OSA DACBerry PRO | ||
| pHAT BEAT | ||
| pHAT DAC | ||
| PI 2 Design 502DAC | ||
| PI 2 Design 502DAC [Pi5] | ||
| PI 2 Design 502DAC Pro | ||
| PI 2 Design 502DAC Pro [Pi5] | ||
| PI 2 Design 503HTA Hybrid Tube Amp | ||
| Picade HAT | ||
| Pisound | ||
| R-PI DAC | ||
| Raspberry Pi DAC+ | ||
| Soekris dam 1021 | ||
| Speaker pHAT | ||
| ST400 Dac (PCM5122) – Amp | ||
| TauDAC – DM101 | ||
| Terra-Berry DAC 2/3 | ||
| Volumio Zero ES9039 DAC | ||
| Waveshare WM8960 Audio HAT | ||
| wisdPi Hifi DAC | ||
| wisdPi Hifi DAC [Pi5] |
| Screen | Tested | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| Adafruit 10.1″ HDMI IPS (1280×800) | ||
| Adafruit 5″ Display Backpack (800×480) | ||
| Adafruit 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| Adafruit 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Adafruit 7″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| Adafruit 7″ HDMI IPS (1280×800) | ||
| BIGTREETECH HDMI5 V1.0 (800×480) | ||
| BIGTREETECH HDMI7 V1.0 (1024×600) | ||
| BIGTREETECH HDMI7 V1.2 (1024×600) | ||
| Elecrow 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| Elecrow 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Freenove 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| GeeekPi 10.1″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| GeeekPi 10.1″ HDMI (1280×800) | ||
| GeeekPi 11.6″ HDMI (1366×768) | ||
| GeeekPi 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| GeeekPi 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| GeeekPi 7″ HDMI (1280×800) | ||
| Generic (1280×720) | ||
| Generic (1920×1080) | ||
| Generic 1024×600 HDMI | ||
| Generic 1280×800 HDMI | ||
| Generic 1366×768 HDMI (HD Ready) | ||
| Generic 30Hz (3840×2160) | ||
| Generic 480×320 HDMI | ||
| Generic 60Hz (3840×2160) | ||
| Generic 800×480 HDMI | ||
| HMTECH 10.1″ HDMI Touchscreen (1024×600) | ||
| HMTECH 7″ HDMI Monitor (800×480) | ||
| Hosyond 10.1″ HDMI Display-H (1024×600) | ||
| Hosyond 10.1″ HDMI Display-S (1024×600) | ||
| Hosyond 10.1″ HDMI Display-Y (1024×600) | ||
| Hosyond 5″ HDMI Display-B (800×480) | ||
| Hosyond 7″ HDMI Display-C (1024×600) | ||
| Hosyond 7″ HDMI Display-H (1024×600) | ||
| Hosyond 8.8″ HDMI Bar (480×1920) | ||
| Joy-IT 10″ HDMI LCD V2 (1280×800) | ||
| Joy-IT 10.1″ HDMI LCD Version B (1280×800) | ||
| Joy-IT 10.1″ IPS HDMI V3 (1280×800) | ||
| Joy-IT 5″ HDMI LCD V2 (800×480) | ||
| Joy-IT 7″ HDMI LCD V2 (1024×600) | ||
| Kuman 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Kuman 7″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| LCDwiki 3.5″ HDMI (480×320) | ||
| LCDwiki 4″ HDMI-C (480×800) | ||
| LCDwiki 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| LCDwiki 7″ HDMI-B (800×480) | ||
| LCDwiki 7″ HDMI-C (1024×600) | ||
| Longruner 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| Longruner 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Pollin 5″ HDMI 800×480 Touch (pre-2020) | ||
| Seeed Studio 10.1″ HDMI (1366×768) | ||
| Seeed Studio 10.1″ HDMI IPS (1200×1920) | ||
| Seeed Studio 10.1″ HDMI IPS (1280×800) | ||
| Seeed Studio 5″ HDMI (720×1280) | ||
| Seeed Studio 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Seeed Studio 7″ HDMI (720×1280) | ||
| Seeed Studio 7″ HDMI IPS (1280×800) | ||
| Spotpear 10.1″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Spotpear 4″ HDMI (480×800) | ||
| Spotpear 5″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Spotpear 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Spotpear 7″ HDMI (1280×800) | ||
| Sunfounder 10.1″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| Sunfounder 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| UCTRONICS 3.5″ HDMI (480×320) | ||
| UCTRONICS 5″ HDMI (800×480) | ||
| UCTRONICS 7″ HDMI (1024×600) | ||
| UCTRONICS 7″ HDMI (1024×768) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (B) (1280×800) | Tested | |
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (D) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (E) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (F) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (G) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.1″ HDMI LCD (H) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 10.5″ HDMI AMOLED (2560×1600) | ||
| Waveshare 11.6″ HDMI LCD (H) (1920×1080) | ||
| Waveshare 11.9″ HDMI LCD (320×1480) | Tested | |
| Waveshare 13.3″ HDMI LCD (H) (1920×1080) | Tested | |
| Waveshare 15.6″ FHD Monitor (B) (1920×1080) | ||
| Waveshare 15.6″ HDMI LCD (1920×1080) | ||
| Waveshare 2.8″ HDMI LCD (H) (480×640) | ||
| Waveshare 3.5″ HDMI LCD (480×320) | ||
| Waveshare 3.5″ HDMI LCD (E) (640×480) | ||
| Waveshare 4″ HDMI LCD (480×800) | ||
| Waveshare 4″ HDMI LCD (H) (480×800) | ||
| Waveshare 4.3″ HDMI LCD (480×272) | ||
| Waveshare 4.3″ HDMI LCD (B) (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI AMOLED (960×544) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI LCD (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI LCD (B) (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI LCD (G) (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI LCD (H) (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5″ HDMI LCD (H) V4 (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 5.5″ 2K HDMI LCD (1440×2560) | ||
| Waveshare 5.5″ HDMI AMOLED (1080×1920) | ||
| Waveshare 6″ HDMI AMOLED (1080×2160) | ||
| Waveshare 7″ FHD HDMI Monitor (1080×1920) | ||
| Waveshare 7″ HDMI LCD (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 7″ HDMI LCD (B) (800×480) | ||
| Waveshare 7″ HDMI LCD (C) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 7″ HDMI LCD (H) (1024×600) | ||
| Waveshare 7.9″ HDMI LCD (400×1280) | Tested | |
| Waveshare 8.8″ HDMI Side Monitor (480×1920) | ||
| Waveshare 9.3″ HDMI LCD (1600×600) |
Not covered yet
- The visualiser’s load at 1920 x 1080 (ADR-0111 decision 12).
- Any Pi 4 other than 4 GB; any other model.
- Temperatures at idle and with the visualiser, and with or without a case.
- DACs other than the HiFiBerry DAC2 HD and the IQaudIO Pi-DAC PRO.
- The other optional plugins – Plexamp, the Beszel hub – beyond the memory
they used on
gexis.