BASICS of Home Server Setup

[Xilxen]

First-time poster. VERY impressed with the depth of knowledge and insight on these forums. I've combed through hundreds of threads and am confused with the options and not good at tech-heavy talk. Here's my situation and hope. Grateful for any advice and suggestions.

I have about 150k songs in mp3 format ripped primarily from an extensive CD and vinyl collection. The mp3s are tagged and mostly high quality.

The mp3s are stored on an external hard drive and backed up on a second external drive.

I'd like to create a home music server so I'm no longer beholden to Google Music or any other streaming service. I'm just interested in accessing my music on the hard drive, preferably on an app, and casting it to bluetooth speakers, mostly Sonos, around the house. It would be nice to create playlists. It would be interesting if the tech that made this happen had a screen that allowed input.

I'm reading about streamers and software like Navidrome. Looking for a simple solution that hopefully won't require a dedicated PC.

Thanks, and sorry for the noob questions.

 

[suttondesign]

Get a used Mac mini on craigslist and use Apple Music, which can then be shared across apple devices. You don't need a monitor -- use splashtop streamer or screen sharing from another Mac.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, and welcome.
Plenty of options, and plenty of more knowledgeable people here than me.

What's your budget?

One simple solution would be a WiiM Ultra - a streamer and DAC that you can connect your hard drive to and play your music or stream it to any other WiiM device.
The WiiM app is pretty good and the sound quality is excellent

You could use Bluetooth speakers, but there are much better quality options using WiiM and WiFi

 

[Xilxen]

Hi, and welcome.
Plenty of options, and plenty of more knowledgeable people here than me.

What's your budget?

One simple solution would be a WiiM Ultra - a streamer and DAC that you can connect your hard drive to and play your music or stream it to any other WiiM device.
The WiiM app is pretty good and the sound quality is excellent

You could use Bluetooth speakers, but there are much better quality options using WiiM and WiFi

Thanks. Regarding the previous post, I'm on Android and don't want to convert to Apple. Budget could be at least several hundred dollars to create something easy and accessible throughout the house. What better options do you mean please? Assume no budgetary restriction, regardless of the previous sentence.

 

[Chazz6]

Do you have a wi-fi home network? If not, you can get a decent router for around $100. You also want an Ethernet cable to connect router and PC.

The other device you want receives a streamed .mp3 over wi-fi. The Denon Heos LinkHS2 is affordable. It also receives Bluetooth. In the case of using wi-fi, Minimstreamer software on the PC will stream any .mp3 file or .flac on your hard drives. It is almost free. You can choose files for Minimstreamer to stream one by one or in playlists with the BubbleUPnP app on your Android device.

 

[Keith_W]

I think he said "no dedicated PC". I was going to suggest that he can repurpose an old laptop but then no PC-based solutions. I can understand that - PC's take a long time to boot up, and they are not very robust. In that case, Wiim is the way to go.

BTW you said "150k songs". Depending on how many GB all your songs total up to, you may be able to get away with a thumb drive or a USB HDD, no server required.

 

[TunaBug]

Raspberry Pi running picoreplayer. If your music is on a NAS or computer it can play it from there, or if not add an SSD or thumb drive to the Pi and put the music there. I've used bluetooth on an rPi to stream to a Qudelix so would assume that would work for BT speakers as well. LMS can stream to multiple players on the network so you can add more.

Caveat is that it can be fiddly to configure.

 

[Chazz6]

I think he said "no dedicated PC".

I wonder how the 150k files got onto the hard drives. ... If have a PC, it does not need to be dedicated to streaming. My Dell PC is my workhorse for Web browsing, writing documents, etc. Minimserver easily streams without grabbing all the CPU time.

BTW you said "150k songs". Depending on how many GB all your songs total up to, you may be able to get away with a thumb drive or a USB HDD, no server required.

Yes, the Denon and other devices typically have a USB input slot.

 

[Keith_W]

I wonder how the 150k files got onto the hard drives. ... If have a PC, it does not need to be dedicated to streaming. My Dell PC is my workhorse for Web browsing, writing documents, etc. Minimserver easily streams without grabbing all the CPU time.

He probably has a PC. I read his request as "I do not want a dedicated PC in the playback chain".

 

[Randyman...]

One suggestion - Make at least 1-2 additional backups of your extensive MP3 library, and keep at least one full backup offsite and offline (cold storage). Rotate backups as your library (and time invested) grows. A cloud backup is also a great idea, but might be a little costly with the size. You do not want to re-rip these files due to data issues, and an original version and one backup copy is not sufficient for this level of effort (the time spent ripping and tagging and organizing) IMNSHO.

 

[JeremyFife]

Thanks. Regarding the previous post, I'm on Android and don't want to convert to Apple. Budget could be at least several hundred dollars to create something easy and accessible throughout the house. What better options do you mean please? Assume no budgetary restriction, regardless of the previous sentence.

My post was incomplete, sorry about that

Two separate things;
Rather than Bluetooth speakers, have a look at inexpensive powered/active speakers - Edifier MR4 are cheaper, JBL 305p are better. Pop a WiiM mini on them to receive a stream from a WiiM Ultra (~$300) and you have a multi room system. Those cheap WiiM minis can stream directly from your PC, although you may not want to do that.

I missed this in your original post - do you already have a Sonos system? If so it's already pretty good.
I'm sure there is a way to get your Sonos devices to play your stored music... but I don't know what that is!! I'm sure someone here knows though.
You would need a PC or a NAS to be available though

WiiM is an alternative to Sonos (but you have to provide speakers), I'm not sure they coexist easily?

 

[Xilxen]

My post was incomplete, sorry about that

Two separate things;
Rather than Bluetooth speakers, have a look at inexpensive powered/active speakers - Edifier MR4 are cheaper, JBL 305p are better. Pop a WiiM mini on them to receive a stream from a WiiM Ultra (~$300) and you have a multi room system. Those cheap WiiM minis can stream directly from your PC, although you may not want to do that.

I missed this in your original post - do you already have a Sonos system? If so it's already pretty good.
I'm sure there is a way to get your Sonos devices to play your stored music... but I don't know what that is!! I'm sure someone here knows though.
You would need a PC or a NAS to be available though

WiiM is an alternative to Sonos (but you have to provide speakers), I'm not sure they coexist easily?

Thanks for the responses. A few clarifications...

I have a strong home WiFi network. A photo of the Verison Fios router is attached. Coverage is supplemented by a Google Next array.

Good advice regarding backing up the external hard drives. Currently they both reside near the router in an office. The 150k mp3s have been compiled on the hard drives via years of ripping CDs on Windows Media Player.

I have a Sonos soundbar, subwoofer, and a few Sonos speakers scattered around. Plus there are Alexa and Google speakers. It is a large house.

The fundamental question/desire is how to create playlists and play those 150k mp3 files on my household speakers, which are all bluetooth enabled. I'm up for it if the best solution includes a couple new, different speakers. It would be wonderful to be able to manage the songs and speakers from an app.