sure you can and many do. it has 4 usb slots on it. Thats how I connect mine
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Absolutely there is, but I prefer to use my NAS, as I have RAID backup etc. and my FLAC library also available for my laptops and PC...
You can choose either a local USB mount point, or a network NAS one...I did a head to head speed test between a local USB HD and my NAS (both pi and NAS on ethernet), with the same flac library on each, the local HD was only about 10% quicker, so I've stuck with the NAS :)
I now use a usb drive with my pi, I use to get terrible problems with WiFi when using my NAS.
digression; Only other person I've known who uses the name Alp. He's of claimed Turkish origins, yet a blue eyed Arian (germanic variety of Yore) in appearance.
Gotta be a back story in that I would imagine. Just never ever seen that name elsewhere.. previously.
Mini ITX motherboard with a SoC built in like the Gigabyte J1800N, Super Flower Leadex Gold 750W ATX PSU, 8GB RAM, SSD, SATA or USB CD drive, and a nice case. I use Windows 10 on mine.
Thank you all for your input.
I haven't quite decided what to do yet but I'm erring toward a USB Ssd directly attached to the sbt and connecting it directly to the main wifi network as a first step. Having fired the damn thing up for the first time in 18 months I've realised another of my main issues was that I could never get an iPad or phone to easily connect to the network that way and navigation was painful via the remote.
Second phase I think will be to look at building / reconfiguring the old htpc as a vortexbox as that will solve the ripping issue and may prove to be long term solution to all but we will see, it may just end up being a dead end but we will see. I'm a little bit stuck on how to output a digital audio signal from a vortexbox via coax as it seems they are all USB only to dac?
Im sure Home Plugs would be a lot more reliable than using wifi for the Touch, I dont use them in my house as I cable everything and only use wifi for the pnone/tablet control, I will let others comment on whether its a good idea for sound quality. I would test that usb connection before buying a large SSD though, I used to connect my Touch this way then it stopped scanning the library, If memory serves me mr swenson said it was probably the size of my album art, I have too big a library to go through and remove it all so my server sits on another pc running 24/7 for Subsonic access anyway.
My gut feeling is that your network is not as robust as it could be. If you have access to the router, you could maybe get some statistics (errors, drops, etc.) and determine what the problem is. IMHO, that is the first step to insure a frustration free listening experience. Just my 2cts :)