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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: seethreepo on January 21, 2019, 02:51:59 PM

Title: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: seethreepo on January 21, 2019, 02:51:59 PM
I'm finally joining the wireless team  I love cds but wireless streaming of my flac'ed masters is very appealing.  can someone point me to towards where to start. 
Ideally Id like some sort of remote  and if I'm really hopeful some sort of LCD display with track / band names?  is this possible without spending $$$$?

also another beginner question does the pc have to be on 24 seven ?  I notice if I leave a portable HD plugged in to the usb it still gets power.. (of some sort) 

I'm really old school and power my pc off I guess you leave them on all the time? 

Thanks in advance. 

 
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: heathen on January 21, 2019, 03:53:26 PM
It seems like you're looking for more than just a DAC.  Is that right?  If so, I'd recommend a Raspberry Pi.  It doesn't get much cheaper, and you can control it from a phone.  Also they're small enough, and use so little power, that you could just leave it on 24/7. 

Are you looking for something that can hook up to your stereo and play music that's stored on a computer, over your home wireless network?
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B) on January 21, 2019, 03:56:05 PM
Raspberry Pi + Volumio + USB DAC

https://volumio.org/

The website has a forum with DAC options.
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: seethreepo on January 21, 2019, 05:17:21 PM
It seems like you're looking for more than just a DAC.  Is that right?  If so, I'd recommend a Raspberry Pi.  It doesn't get much cheaper, and you can control it from a phone.  Also they're small enough, and use so little power, that you could just leave it on 24/7. 

Are you looking for something that can hook up to your stereo and play music that's stored on a computer, over your home wireless network?
your second comment is exactly what I want  with a display of some sort..  If I have to use my phone I guess thats ok.
are there ready made Plug and Play Rasberry Pi solutions ? my preliminary research pointed me to them but the options I found seemed to require soldering , programing or other things I dont want to do (or cant ) Soldering! 

thanks both of you for your replies. 
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: heathen on January 21, 2019, 06:02:17 PM
You could use any number of displays with a Pi.  If you use a touchscreen you can use the Pi like a tablet.  I have this display: https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-touch-display/

Hooking it up to the Pi is extremely easy...no soldering.  It's just a few screws and plugging a few things in...if you can figure out how to set up mics and run a recorder, you can handle this.  You can also get a case to hold the whole thing together: https://www.amazon.com/Case-Official-Raspberry-Touchscreen-Display/dp/B01HV97F64

There are more options than these.  I'm pretty sure you can use most any modern computer monitor with a Pi, if you want.  You could probably even use your TV.

Add a wireless mouse/keyboard and you're good to go.  (Or go really streamlined with your phone or a tablet...it's all up to you.)

You can add DAC capabilities to the Pi easily as well...again no soldering, just plugging stuff in.  I like having my DAC incorporated with my preamp, though, so I just connect the Pi to my preamp via a simple USB cable.
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B) on January 21, 2019, 06:10:06 PM
Volumio with a Pi does not require soldering or programming. Just following directions to get the software installed and pointed to your music (ideally on a hard drive connected directly to the Pi so you don't have to keep your regular computer on).
Title: Re: Wireless DAC for beginners ???
Post by: kindms on January 21, 2019, 07:30:09 PM
you could also use the amazon fire

the current gen is hdmi but if you need optical the older units have that

remote, display on your tv etc