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Integrating an old hifi with my PC, no experience

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Khorso

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Hello everyone,

I am trying to integrate an 80s Technics SU - Z22 amplifier and a pair of 1977 Bose 301 series I with a PC (Windows 10).
I realize its not the best gear to spend time and money on, but they were my fathers, and its a sentimental thing.

I would like to be able to use them as a general wireless audio out for the PC, for music as well as movies etc.
Ive been looking at what options I have, and everything points to either a Bluetooth or a WiFi DAC.
I am looking to spend up to around 100€, but would go to 200-300€ if it would make sense price/performance wise.
Aaand since I have no idea about this kind of tech, I have some questions :)

1) Would it be better to use WiFi instead of Bluetooth for the higher bandwidth, or would I not be able to notice the difference in sound quality anyway, and is Bluetooth enough? Or is there some other, better option I missed?

2) I understand that I need a DAC on the amp side to receive the Bluetooth/WiFi signal and send it to the amp via an audio cable, but do I also need some sort of specialized USB dongle or something to connect through from my PC to the DAC, and have the PC actually recognise the DAC as an audio out? Or would the signal just be transmitted via a regular WiFi/Bluetooth connection?

3) What gear would you recommend, that would make sense with this setup? I dont want to needlessly buy the best and most expensive stuff, that the speakers & amp wont be able to take advantage of anyway, but I also dont want to loose a noticeable amount of sound quality because of the DAC.

4) The speakers have been serviced 10 years ago - at least the cone and diaphragm replaced I think, if not the whole drivers, and they have hardly been used since then. Im guessing they will hold up for a while longer?

Cheers!
 
I just realized I might have posted this in the wrong sub-forum, sorry mr. Admin :)
 
OP, is there any particular reason you insist on using a wireless connection for the PC? With a decent quality 3.5 mm to 2x RCA cable of adequate length connecting onboard audio to one of the amplifier's high-level inputs you could get going right away... and then you can still connect a BT receiver to another of the amplifier's inputs for use with mobile sources.
 
ad 1: WiFi as it allows for lossless transmission. Bluetooth is lossy (read high bit rate MP3). https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/Bluetooth.htm

ad 2: most PC's do have Wifi and Bluetooth. If you go wired a USB DAC/Dongle is an option.

ad 3: you can get a decent Bluetooth receiver < 100. Buy one with the 30 days money back guarantee.

If not happy, look for a UPnP/DLNA streamer or a Raspberry Pi+ DAC
IMHO you can het a decent sound using Bluetooth
 
AnalogSteph said:
OP, is there any particular reason you insist on using a wireless connection for the PC? With a decent quality 3.5 mm to 2x RCA cable of adequate length connecting onboard audio to one of the amplifier's high-level inputs you could get going right away... and then you can still connect a BT receiver to another of the amplifier's inputs for use with mobile sources.
Click to expand...

The reason is my amp&speakers / PC are on the opposite sides of the room. Ive considered a cable channel, but due to the layout of the room it would be a real eyesore, and putting them closer together aint an option either. :/ Although getting a cable across the floor until I set up a wireless solution isnt a bad idea, can also compare the sound quality that way.

Thank you all for your answers!
 
Last edited:
I think you could get away with a Raspberry Pi 3B (no need for 4's power and heat) with Volumio on a uSD card. A USB DAC like Topping D10 would hook up the Raspberry Pi and interface to your HiFi amp.
From Windows Foobar2000 can push UPnP over WiFi - all of Foobar2000 processing (or untouched bit perfect if you wanted) streamed over WiFi to the RPi and converted to analogue audio for your amplifier.

There is a free program that sits in the tray and acts like a sound device. I can't recall what it's called, but it allows one to select any program and send it's audio to a UPnP device (the RPi with Volumio in this case). So you could also send the audio from movies, youtube, spotify or whatever else you felt like.

Pretty close to your budget, and pretty darn great sound quality.
 
I'm using BT to play music from my tablet to a SMSL SU9 via LDAC set for hi quality. I defy anyone to be able to hear the lossy sound reduction. It sounds amazing. The SU9 might be out of you budget but there are other DACs w BT capability, that other folks here can point you at, that sound just as good.
 
I made a few of these using a pi zero, one using a hifiberry zero hat and volumio. one using an apple dac, really cheap and easy

Sounds good, but the zero is underpowered for the web interface and indexing especially if you are going to use a large microsd card with music on it.

I just built a few other pi3b ones with LMS and picoreplayer. these work really good and usb storage is super cheap

I know that op is thinking he has music on his computer, but it is much better to have a silent stand alone device that you can remote control with your phone or computer.
 
+1 to Chromecast audio. You connect to it by using the Chromecast protocol baked in to chrome we browser and almost all music streaming apps. There is a little Chromecast icon you push and the audio dongles name.pops up as an option to output audio to. Then the stream is sent wirelessly to the CCA and voila, music plays.

"Chromecast Audio review: The ultimate audio streaming dongle is better than ever - CNET" https://www.cnet.com/reviews/chromecast-audio-review/
 
I took a used premium notebook from 2012 that is wired to the amp, and I control it with a desktop PC from the other side of the room with Windows Remote Desktop. With little config, the display can stay closed so the looks are decent too.
Works pretty well and no need for cables around the floors. Before I was using bluetooth (aptx) too and actually is was fine, ...until you get it wired :)
I also tried once bluetooth without aptx with an old Samsung Galaxy Note 3 :facepalm:, that wasn't fun !
 
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