Non PI4 "Jukebox"

[Mike B]

I've seen several people talk about "Streamers" and I am not 100% sure what all they do. I see the pi4 is popular but I was thinking of a Windows desktop "jukebox" because pi4 seems like a lot of new knowledge that I do not necessarily need. I would save files on the hard drive of a Windows machine (I currently have three operational Windows machines - the "Family" machine, my "Zoom Room" machine in a corner of the basement with a green screen and nice flat lighting and a spare machine that would become my music library. I'd like to use the spare for all my music in a basement family room. I play either ripped CD's (I have ripped all of my CD's) or YouTube. No spotify or etc. I also watch online concerts, some YouTube live and some other systems. Apple products are bad for me because I have a lot of amateur-recorded Celtic music that Apple sees as "pirate", it isn't pirate but iPhones and iPads think it is.

You all have already convinced me to favor external DACs versus sound cards. So I would go: Windows PC > DAC (via USB) then DAC > Vintage analog receiver > Vintage 3 way speakers. I am not ruling out a subwoofer either. I feel no need for surround sound.

Does this setup have any obvious weaknesses? I am not ruling out a new integrated amp or new speakers eventually but for now I think all I need is a DAC. I appreciate all advice. Leaning towards the Topping D10 DAC. I have no need to send music to other rooms via bluetooth or wires. I can send the music to my basement workshop the old-fashioned way - via wattage.

I would rarely use headphones with this system, I have headphones in my Zoom room and the audio quality is OK for that location. I wouldn't use headphones my "stereo room."

 

[Zek]

So I would go: Windows PC > DAC (via USB) then DAC > Vintage analog receiver > Vintage 3 way speakers.

That's OK.
Just use foobar2000, or AIMP, or AlbumPlayer (RU) and you can start enjoying.

 

[somebodyelse]

If the PC isn't audibly noisy you should be fine. The D10S is a decent DAC for computer connection. You just need to find some software that fits your needs. You'll see Foobar2000 mentioned quite a lot here, but there are many many other options, some paid and others free. I'll leave the recommendations to others as it's not something I use.

Streamers are usually a silent machine that can pull music over the network from a server that's elsewhere so the noise doesn't matter, or from the internet. The server could be a PC, NAS or dedicated music server. The software options on the Pi are essentially appliances - you don't need to know about the linux underneath it any more than you do on an Android phone unless you're doing something unusual. The same applies for daphile or volumio on pc hardware.

On the audio side the there's a possibility of ground loops and/or leakage current noise with the USB connection just as there is with single ended interconnects,