Hello Art, Marmite here.

[MarmiteSandwich]

Reason for name - I live on Marmite.

Reason for signing up - I listen to a lot of music and I am on a mission to find the best cheap but effective way of reproducing digital music. I have a decent stereo, and I don't want to invest in new "wireless speakers" etc., since the speakers I already have are the best I can afford. I also have multi room covered by wired connections. I have a library of 10 000 tracks/1 000 albums all digitised via iTunes into mp3 or m4a (aac) files and I just want to play them through my stereo. So I have Windows/Minimserver for the library, Android:BubbleUPnP and Windows/iOS:Kazoo for the control points (with Bubble UPnP server on a PC for OpenHome compatibility), and a Cambridge audio DAC connected to my amp.

The missing link, between BubbleUPnP and the DAC, at the moment, is an old laptop running Foobar2000 with the UPnP plugin. This works, but is rather inelegant and I expect it one day to stop functioning. I have considered a Raspberry Pi, but I would rather have a dedicated black box which just sits there playing my streams on demand. There are a number of devices out there which do this, but they either cost a lot (>GBP1000), or have some major flaw, such as not playing gaplessly (or both). So the search continues.

Oh, and maybe there is some chat about jazz, which I listen to a lot. As well as other stuff.
Guy
--
Music>iTunes>Minimserver>BubbleUPnP>Foobar2000>
CambridgeAudioDACMagic>CyrusAmp>MissionSpeakers>
MyEars

[walpurgis]

Hello Guy. Welcome to AOS.

Loads of digital music users here. Why not start a thread in the Digital Expressions section and ask your questions. You'll get plenty of replies.

And yes, there's plenty of music chat and many jazz fans, so do join in.

Tell us about the rest of your system.


Enjoy the forum,
Geofff.

[struth]

Hi Guy... The rpi in its various guises is certainly the cheapest and sonically one of the best solutions around. I wwnt from a laprop into dacs and out to stereo and alrhough very good, it was messy, awkward and nowhere as good as the pi2. Which is actually very mu h on demand and reliable with moode player running

[MarmiteSandwich]

Indeed. Then there is that Neet Airstream which you were trying to get rid of once. Is that still on offer?
See separate post.
Guy
PS ref the RPI - if there is no TV nearby as a monitor, is it easy enough to log onto it from another device to start up the player, change settings etc?

[struth]

It is yes... I never got round to that..it was for a different system with my ipad. It is brand new and nicely built. I had forgot about that...must bump it lol. ... I sold my second rpi as well.
There are plenty other systems for varying cash...the google one chromecast seems popular although think thats more online streaming.

[MarmiteSandwich]

I have a Chromecast audio which is OK, but it doesn't do DLNA. I would like to slot something in where the laptop/Foobar2000 is currently, as a DLNA renderer.

[The Black Adder]

Welcome to AOS, Guy.

We specialise in SPPV (Sound per pound value) here :)

Hope you find what your looking for.

Enjoy! :)
Jo

[Audio Al]

Hello Guy
Welcome to AOS

My first comment will be " effective way of reproducing digital music. "

My answer is , Buy a Record player = Music bliss or even better a decent R2R = heaven ;)

Have fun :)

[madders]

Hello! Have you looked at Volumio? You'd need a Raspberry Pi (or something similar), but I think it will do exactly what you're looking for.

[Barry]

Welcome to AoS Guy.

You ought to be able to have all your questions answered here. We have a lot of knowledgable members here who are 'au fait' with computer audio (sadly, I'm not one of them).

What sort of jazz do you enjoy?

Love your forum name and avatar,

Enjoy the Forum
Barry (also a Marmite lover)

[MarmiteSandwich]

Hi all,
After trying in vain to find a black box UPnP renderer device which can sit between my UPnP control points and the DAC, for a reasonable price (<£100), and capable of playing gapless playlists, I have today splashed out on an Android device (in a black box, as it happens) for £30. It comes with Kodi on it, which claims to be a UPnP renderer, but I have great faith in Bubble UPnP for Android which I have tested on other Android devices (e.g. my phone). Will report back, since I haven't seen mention of this approach on this forum. There does seem to be some experience of Raspberry Pi in the forum, but I am reluctant to start with another operating system when I already know my way around Windows and Android. I really wanted a black box which doesn't require any setup or maintenance, but that seems to be too fanciful.

Regarding jazz, I don't have rules about what to listen to, but if I analyse the space taken up in my library, the top 6 artists are Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, and Van Morrison. Van isn't everybody's idea of jazz, but then I said there are no rules. No 17 is Mahler. Where do people go on this forum to argue about jazz not being what it used to be? Or what is or isn't jazz?

It's good to find a place to rant about these things.
Cheers,
Guy