Install PAL and connect your DAC.

Run PGGB on the computer that processes your music. Install PAL on the computer connected to your DAC. They can also run on the same computer.

Connect both computers to the same home network and subnet. Wired Ethernet is recommended at high rates: the music stream alone needs about 49 Mbit/s for PCM at 768 kHz / 32-bit, 90 Mbit/s for DSD1024, or 181 Mbit/s for DSD2048.

Update PAL whenever you update PGGB. Choose the instructions for the computer connected to your DAC:

For Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.

Choose the PAL installer for a notification-area app that PGGB can find with Scan. Choose command-line PAL to run it from a folder without installing it. Download the ZIP, extract its two files and open the starter. This endpoint does not broadcast; you enter its address in PGGB.

Option 1: PAL installer.

1. If this computer already runs PGGB, select the PAL endpoint option in the PGGB installer. For a separate computer at the DAC, use the PAL endpoint for Windows installer: PGGB-Audio-Link-Windows-Setup.exe.
2. Run the installer. It installs PAL in Program Files\PGGB-Audio-Link. Leave Start the PGGB-Audio-Link endpoint now checked on the last page to start it. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. Open PAL’s notification-area menu. Use Rescan devices if you connected the DAC after starting PAL. You will choose the DAC’s row in PGGB.
4. Check that the status says Listening on port 47470 as <name>. Select Start with Windows if you want PAL to start when you sign in. This option is off until you enable it.
5. Select the endpoint in PGGB.

The installer adds Windows Firewall rules for every network type, restricted to computers on the local subnet. Those rules do not allow PGGB to reach PAL across a routed network or VPN.

The menu also provides Copy this computer’s address, Open the log and Quit. Device for PGGB-Live sets a fallback device for when PGGB names none; you normally do not need to change it. Left unchanged, PAL uses the first device currently present.

The universal endpoint package supports Apple silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 12 or newer.

1. If this Mac already runs PGGB, select the PAL endpoint option in the PGGB installer package. For a separate Mac at the DAC, use PGGB-Audio-Link-Mac.pkg.
2. Open the package and install PAL. If macOS says it cannot verify the package, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the installer message, and choose Open Anyway.
3. If macOS asks whether PGGB-Audio-Link may use the local network or accept incoming connections, choose Allow.
4. Open PAL’s menu-bar menu. Use Rescan devices if needed and check that PAL says it is listening. You will choose the DAC’s row in PGGB.
5. Select Start at login if you want PAL to start when you sign in. It is off until you enable it. Then select the endpoint in PGGB.

The menu also offers Copy this computer’s address, Open the log and Quit. Device for PGGB-Live sets a fallback device for when PGGB names none; you normally do not need to change it. Left unchanged, PAL uses the first device currently present.

PAL requires a 64-bit Intel/AMD or ARM system with systemd and ALSA: Debian 11 or newer, or a distribution of comparable age. The Linux packages install the PAL endpoint, not the full PGGB application. There is no 32-bit package.

Choose the package for your distribution and processor. In the commands below, replace the example filename with the file you downloaded.

Installation starts PAL as a service and enables it at startup. Upgrading restarts the service; removing the package stops and disables it. It runs as the system user pggb-audio-link, in the audio group.

PAL offers its available devices to PGGB. Choose your DAC’s row in PGGB; no device configuration is normally needed on the endpoint.

Optional: name the endpoint or set a fallback device.

List the available devices:

pggb-audio-link --list

The list shows device identifiers such as alsa:hw:C,D and their supported formats. To give the endpoint a name or set a fallback device, open its configuration:

sudo nano /etc/pggb-audio-link.conf

For example, use the following line, replacing alsa:hw:1,0 with the identifier for your DAC:

ARGS="--bind any --port 47470 --device alsa:hw:1,0 --name living-room"

The name is what PGGB shows for this endpoint. --device sets only the fallback used when PGGB does not name a device; otherwise, the row you choose in PGGB determines which device plays. Without a configured fallback, PAL uses the first device currently present. Save the file, then restart PAL:

sudo systemctl restart pggb-audio-link

If a firewall is enabled, allow TCP port 47470 for music and control, and UDP port 47471 for discovery. PAL opens the DAC directly; close another player if it is holding that DAC. Then select the endpoint in PGGB.

sudo apt remove pggb-audio-link
sudo dnf remove pggb-audio-link
sudo pacman -R pggb-audio-link

PAL OS 9.1.42 is a ready-made system image for a Raspberry Pi 5. Write it to a microSD card, connect a USB DAC and Ethernet, then turn on the Pi. Select your DAC in PGGB and play. You do not need a screen, keyboard, login or setup on the Pi.

What you need for Pi 5.

• A Raspberry Pi 5. The Pi 5 image has been tested on the 8 GB model. Other memory sizes have not been tested.
• A microSD card of at least 8 GB. Testing used a 64 GB card. Card speed has little effect: after startup, the system runs from memory and does not use the card during playback.
• The official Raspberry Pi 27 W USB-C power supply, as recommended by Raspberry Pi.
• An Ethernet connection to the same network as the computer running PGGB. PAL OS gets its address automatically through DHCP and uses IPv4. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are off.
• A USB audio DAC. Testing with a Chord Hugo TT2 covered PCM up to 768 kHz, including an hour of playback without a dropout, and DSD256. No incompatible DAC is known, but other DACs have not been tested.

Measured power use was about 4.2 W while playing at 768 kHz.

Download PAL OS.

The download contains a compressed system image (.img.xz, about 100 MB) and a checksum file. The image occupies about 6 GB on the card.

Write the card.

1. Insert the microSD card into your computer. Writing the image replaces the card’s contents, so choose the correct card and keep any files you need elsewhere.
2. Open Raspberry Pi Imager. Select Choose OS → Use custom and select the downloaded .img.xz file.
3. Leave OS customisation off. PAL OS has no user accounts, Wi-Fi or SSH for Imager to configure.
4. Write the image, then eject the card. Windows may show three small drives and ask what to do with them. Close those prompts. Do not format the drives or add, change or delete files on them; just eject the card.

Start the Pi and select your DAC.

1. Put the card in the Pi. Connect Ethernet and your USB DAC, then connect power.
2. Allow about half a minute for the Pi to join the network. It sets its clock over the internet when a connection is available. Every startup follows the same process; there is nothing to configure.
3. In PGGB, follow Settings → Live → Output devices → Network Devices → PAL, then click the scan icon at the right of the group heading (its tooltip says Scan devices). Shortcut in Live’s toolbar: speaker icon → Network Devices → PAL. The speaker icon opens Output devices.
4. Look for a row beginning with PAL: PAL OS and your Pi’s four characters, for example PAL: PAL OS 3f2a -- <the DAC’s name> (ALSA). The four characters are the last four hexadecimal digits of the Pi’s Ethernet hardware (MAC) address, with separators removed and letters in lower case. For example, an address ending in 75:83 appears as PAL OS 7583. They stay the same even if the Pi’s IP address changes. The DAC name is the name reported by the DAC. Each connected USB DAC has its own row. Select yours and press Play.

Switch off or update.

To switch off, disconnect power. This is safe once the Pi has started: it then runs from memory and the card is not in use. PAL OS does not use the Pi 5’s power button.

To update, write the newer PAL OS image to the card. To return to an earlier version, write that image instead. Updating from PGGB is not available yet.

What PAL OS supports.

The Pi 5 image uses wired Ethernet and IPv4. It has no login or remote shell. Its name in PGGB is fixed, and updates require rewriting the card. To install PAL on Raspberry Pi OS instead, use the separate package instructions below.

For Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 running Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit), install the ARM64 PAL package. Pi 5 has been tested; Pi 4 is supported but untested. These steps use a separate SD card so you can return to your existing setup by swapping cards. This is a different installation method from the ready-made PAL OS image above.

1. On another computer, open Raspberry Pi Imager. Choose your Pi model, Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit), and the separate SD card. Writing the image replaces the contents of that card.
2. Before writing, set a hostname such as palpi, a username and password, and enable SSH with password authentication. Write the card.
3. Put the card in the Pi. Connect Ethernet to your router and the DAC by USB, then turn on the Pi. Allow about two minutes for it to start.
4. On the other computer, open a terminal in the folder containing the ARM64 .deb. Replace <ver> with the downloaded version and yourname with the username you chose:

   scp pggb-audio-link_<ver>_arm64.deb yourname@palpi.local:
   ssh yourname@palpi.local
   sudo apt install ./pggb-audio-link_<ver>_arm64.deb
   exit

5. PAL now runs on the Pi and starts at each power-on. Choose your DAC’s row in PGGB as described below. To give the Pi endpoint a name or set a fallback device, use the optional Linux configuration steps.

1. Follow Settings → Live → Output devices → Network Devices → PAL, then click the scan icon at the right of the group heading (its tooltip says Scan devices). Direct Devices has its own scan icon; it does not look for PAL endpoints.
2. PAL offers every available device as its own row. Select the row for your DAC: PAL: <computer> -- <device> (<driver>). The driver can be ASIO, WASAPI, Core Audio or ALSA.
3. Press Play.

In the Network section of Output devices, set Network output buffer to 10 seconds (the default), 20 seconds or 30 seconds.

If Scan finds nothing.

If a PAL scan finds nothing, PGGB asks for the endpoint computer’s address. Enter it and PGGB saves it and scans again automatically. On Windows or Mac, use PAL’s Copy this computer’s address menu item.

Use an address such as 192.168.1.20. Separate multiple addresses with commas. If the endpoint uses a port other than 47470, enter host:port. Command-line PAL always needs an address because it does not broadcast.

To enter or change an address yourself, follow Settings → Live → Output devices → gear button → PAL host or address. The gear button opens the output settings panel. Enter the address and press Enter to scan. You do not need to click the scan icon separately. The endpoint’s copy-address message may call this field PAL endpoint:, its name in the classic layout.

PAL endpoint log can collect the endpoint’s messages in PGGB’s diagnostic file. Collect a log for support.

With DSD output, PGGB-Audio-Link (PAL) lets the music fade out at Stop. After native DSD playback, it also keeps the DAC ready between tracks in the same format. This applies on Windows, Mac, Linux and PAL OS for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5.

After a native DSD track, PGGB-Audio-Link (PAL) keeps the DAC open for 10 seconds. During that time, Next, Previous, or Stop followed by Play can reuse the same DAC in the same native DSD format without waiting for it to close and reopen.

On Windows with ASIO, closing the DAC after native DSD takes about 8 seconds. This quiet close helps avoid a pop. Keeping the DAC open lets you carry on listening without that delay when the next playback uses the same native DSD format.

When another application needs the DAC.

On Windows with ASIO, another application may have to wait up to about 18 seconds after the last native DSD track: the 10-second hold, followed by the roughly 8-second close. If you press Play after the hold has ended but while the DAC is still closing, playback can wait up to 8 seconds. A change of format, such as native DSD to PCM, also waits for the close to finish.

Quitting PAL starts closing the DAC immediately, without waiting for the hold to expire. On Windows with ASIO, the quiet close still takes about 8 seconds; quitting does not skip it. Close times on other systems depend on the device and driver.

PCM and DoP do not use this 10-second hold. After either, PAL starts closing the DAC immediately, as before.

• Check that both computers are on the same network and subnet.
• Check that PAL says it is listening. On Linux, check journalctl -u pggb-audio-link.
• Check the firewall and any network permission prompt. PAL uses TCP 47470 for music and control. The installed endpoints also use UDP 47471 for discovery; command-line PAL does not.
• Try entering the endpoint's address.