Home Theater > Audio Only Sources
Audio Server /Headless Audio Player/ (now with Tidal HiFidelity Streaming)
jambam:
Updated the title ...
Latest update is on Page 4
My Apologies for the typos and misses due to a long Post .
I intend to document my project and maybe some people may want to do the same. or have a similar need . I am not a seasoned writer so some of it maybe vague and would need further explanations . This is not a step by step thing but rather a rough guide , as you have a lot of options ,
Anyway I wanted to setup a multi room audio source and client for a long time now but it has always been set aside due to other priorities .
It is strange that I have a setup to serve my movies within my home as I have wired lan throughtout the house and have a 20TB server for my video content , and I use HTPC's and NMT's as clients to the Home theater , sala and bedrooms..
But none for pure audio since , one major block was I did not like to have an interface that involves turning on a TV/Monitor or projector just to play audio ,
My Requirements were
1. Single source for all my audio files.
2. Multi room
3. Flac and some mp3
4. Easy way to rip and archive
5. Stream to my HT , audio sala , bedroom , Pipe in music , smartphones and tablets
6. Higher quality output and up gradable thru DAC changes
7 Must meet my priorities and budget.
Today there are a number of solutions , like Olive , Cocktail Audio among the few .. but they cost a lot.
For a long time now I was reading about the Logitech Squeezebox (formerly Slim devices), I thought of buying the "Squeezebox Classic" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeezebox_(network_music_player)#Squeezebox_Classic_.28SB3.29_.28November_2005.29 model maybe 6 to 7 years ago , It was available locally at Datacore computers and some of the TPC sellers for around 13K . Logitech has released several models since then , the last one being the "touch" model in 2010 , and but discontinued last year. And unfortunately I never got around to buying as HT has been my focus. Also now that it has been discontinued , a number of squeezebox replacement projects have come to light
Typical Squeezbox connection diagram
Having more time now since being Jobless since May , I started this last Jan
A.) We have a number of smartphones and Tablets in the household and looking thru the Apps for IOS and
android , I found a number of apps that would primarily be a squeezebox controller , but if you buy an in-app plugin you could also use it as a client and play your music through it .
Here are IOS apps for Squeezebox.
I downloaded LMS ( Logitech media server) http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download
into my server pc and it was easy to configure to serve my audio files. As I already had a lot of my music files residing in my PC.
With the apps in my tablet and LMS in my pc , I have a great interface and system to play my music .. I could use the line out thru the ipad/iphone connector or headphone out .. I used a 1st gen Ipad , as my kids and wife migrated to the 2nd Gen one .. Now you could purchase used 1st Gen Ipad for 8k if you so wish to follow this path .
It sounded ok , but I know it would be better if I had an outboard dac for better quality .
To connect a usb DAC to an Ipad you would have to use the Camera connection Kit , I already have one from CDRking so it was easy to try it , There was also the usb connection cable .
I tried both solutions and indeed you can get an external dac to work , I tried our Behringer UCA-202 , the Encore EMMAB , cdrking's usb audio dongle .. But the interface would time out and the music will suddenly revert to the speaker out of the IPAD.
I thought of buying an original one but based on the internet post it seems that I even the Apple CCC has problems ..
So what we have is a remote music solution that ties up the Ipad and does not allow an outboard DAC.
I used this for a week or 2 with an iphone/ipad feeding a headphone amp to a senn HD650
B.) Last year My son who just graduated from college told me he was buying a raspberry pi micro-controller to experiment with . He has to, as he was purchasing thru his credit card for an internet order . and I would see it .. But It took 4 to 5 months before he was able to get it , ordered in July , arrived Nov .. Although it should be easier today, Due to the long time before it arrived I think he only played with it for a week or so and then put it aside , as now had a job .
Raspberry Pi housed in a makeshift iphone case
I saw it here in PDVD about Raspberry PI and XBMC and got curious .This one needs a psu and a 4gb SD card (class 10 would be best) and I tried out squeezeplug
http://www.squeezeplug.eu/
With squeezeplug you can have a squeezbox server and or a client . But for me I just wanted a client and choose squeezelite (still in beta at that time). It would help to have a little linux knowledge in setting up .. I really struggled in the setup , as my programming skills were really rusty.
Here is my digital audio source or networked player , it's what they would call a "headless" Squeezebox. Headless since there is no local display interface , my interface/control resided as an app either on my smartphone or my tablet. Or I could control it thru my PC ... song selection , playlist selection . which a great search function.
Connection is Power , Ethernet and analog output from the DAC. Wired into my audio setup . And controls on my Iphone . This is really very convenient .
I would only need to build more of these and I could have a lot of players where I want to stream my music.
Controls as shown on an Ipad running the app "squeezepad"
Here is the control running in an iphone , an ipad and on Android (nexus 7 tablet).
Granted that we have a lot of gadgets already , what make it great is I spent additional , emphasis on the additional , only $5 to $8 on apps as I was using free/demo and P180 for the cdrking usb . To get to this point.
After I had this working for a week I purchased another Raspberry PI , and now had 2 clients.
This is only the 1st part , still to follow is making it wireless , setting up another server which would rip , convert to flac , tag and download cover art automatically , and my current client.
jambam:
Making my RPi (Raspberry Pi) wireless..
I had trouble making it wireless using "Squeezeplug" for Raspberry PI , even though there was a menu setup that would walk you thru the process , either I was using incompatible hardware and lack the skills to dwell deeper into Linux ..
I found another alternative package (software) . This was piCorePlayer = Squeezelite on Microcore linux. .An embedded OS in RAM on Raspberry.
With piCoreplayer I was able to make my Rpi Wireless . And with it I learned how to name my Squeezebox clients individually . Setting up is not user friendly at all ,as you need to work thru a terminal emulator and ediit using a very old style editor . You have to hardcode the name of your router (SSid) and password too. But it was a great learning experience and challenge .
Headphone setup ...
Actually you can also do a mobile setup for Headphones thru
Mobile Power Bank to power the RPi and a USB dac w/ headphone amp e.g. Fiio E17 . This allows you to have access to your complete music library within your home
Now with the info from the above you can set this up ..
Modern House Audio Setup and Control over Ethernet
A. Cat 6 ethernet wire connects all wiredstations, wired sqeezeboxes and wireless access points.
B. Desktop computers store family member'smusic files.
C. A wireless squeezebox hooked up withlow-end powered speakers provides music just about anywhere it's wanted, and can be controlled on location with the remote or with a laptop.
D. One of the desktops (or it could bea laptop) runs the web server which controls all the squeezeboxes. Any computer on the network can access this server and play music to any squeezebox.
E. Wireless access points provide wirelesssignal.
F. A wired squeezebox with good poweredspeakers can deliver surprisingly good quality audio.
G. A laptop that can connect to the housenetwork can control the music either by accessing the squeezebox server software with any browser. Or a smartphone/tablet with the appropriate remote control app
H. For the highest quality sound, feed the high-end receiver/preamp with the digital out from the squeezebox.
For a squeezebox replacement you can use ..
1. A Smartphone/Tablet w/ a squeezebox client app ( Squeezecast for IOS $0.99) , (Squeezeplayer for Android $4.99)
The Line out from an Ipod touch /Iphone /Ipad using a dock or a 30 pin to rca connector pictured below
is quite good quality
This would be a good recylcing idea for old gen IOS devices just like waht I did for my 1st gen Ipad. You can consider buying older gen IOS devices as a cost effective squeezebox alternative
2. For higher SQ the RPi alternative w/ a good DAC would be the way to go . Cost for the Rpi, Case , Power Supply and SD card would be in the P4K range . That excludes the Dac . The USB Dac would be the biggest cost variable .
jambam:
Now that I have a working setup ..based on LMS (logitech Media Server) , I search the internet for server alternatives , and there was a lot ,
1. Add on to existing pc
2 Install on a supported NAS
3 A raspberry pi with squeezeplug connected to a usb Harddisk as an always on very low power server...
4. Various Linux implementations.
I choose a linux implementation that could run an a not too old PC with the ff requirements . A pentium 3 will work .. So I chose vortexbox
" Cut and paste from the website"
About VortexBox
VortexBox is a free, open source (GPL v3), quick-install ISO that turns your unused computer into an easy-to-use music server/jukebox. Once VortexBox has been loaded on an unused PC, it will automatically rip CDs to FLAC and MP3 files, ID3 tag the files , and download the cover art. Vortexbox will then serve the files to network media players such as Logitech Squeezebox, Sonos, or Linn. The music files can also be streamed to a Windows or Mac OSX system.
Features
Automatic ripping of CDs and DVDs
Based on Fedora so itβs easy to modify.
Automatically tags all files from online music database.
Automatically downloads the cover art.
Automatic sharing of file to SMB (Microsoft) file shares.
Automatic re-indexing Squeezebox Server after every CD is ripped.
AppleTalk β for OSX or Bonjour for Windows.
NFS β For Linux boxes and almost anything else, Solaris etc.
DLNA support β Play music and video DLNA enabled players, XBOX 360,PS3, Windows 7 etc.
Easy installation of mplayer for AlienBBC support.
Good support for Sonos.
Works well as a back end server for XBMC (XBOX Media Center) running on XBOX, Windows, OSX, AppleTV, or Linux.
My vortexbox server .. IT's actually a resurrected 10 to 11 year old pc , athon XP single core processor ,still having an IDE interface for drives .. I just had the thing cleaned and installled a cheap PCI to SATA interface so I could use modern drives , and I have a nice looking media server that can automatically RIP , TAG and get album ART for my CD's
I only installed the monitor once to installl the software and now it's running with just a Lan cable attached . It can also be a player ,using your smartphone as a controller .
If you take time to checkout the vortexbox website , you can see some serious implemetations by 3rd party vendors .
Example is http://shop.smallgreencomputer.com/SOtM_c6.htm $2.7K but you can build one for a lot ,lot less.
Here is a review Digital Playback - VortexBox vs CMP Cplay vs Sonos ZP90
http://2channelaudio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/digital-playback-vortexbox-vs-cmp-cplay.html
If you read the website you might see the VAMP , which I also built ..
The Pink thing is a pogoplug device w/c I converted to a headless squeezebox client , connected via lan cable to my vortexbox , control is remote via smartphone or tablet .. USB dac is an emotiva xda-1.
This is a more cost effective solution than a raspberry pi
timber715:
Might be better if this goes to the gallery since it highlights your system.
jambam:
--- Quote from: timber715 on Apr 14, 2013 at 04:23 PM ---Might be better if this goes to the gallery since it highlights your system.
--- End quote ---
Thanks but I would leave that to the mods , an end result of this is I would need help in making this sound as good as practical and would need assistance later from members with much better ears than I have .
Questions I hope we can answer for this particular setup would be
1. Sound quality effect on wireless vs wired network connection
2. Dac recommendation
3. Is this a good enough alternative , for us to disconnect our cd players , I know for me it is but maybe not for others.
4 etc ...
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