Replace noisy laptop as music source

[Jmudrick]

These were good machines, ever-lasting workhorses (had one of them over a decade), can easily be taken apart, even the cpu can be exchanged - contrary to that glued together A*-rubbish. I still recommend people looking for a high quality laptop trying to get a used T420 (the last one with the great keyboards).

Yup. X220 same. Graphics Roon capable also for those who need.

 

[preload]

Put Roon on the laptop and hide it in a cupboard.
Use RPi as a headless Roon endpoint
Control via phone / tablet app.

Was going to suggest something similar.
Lots of options for the roon endpoint as well if you want something ready to go.
Only downside is that there's a slight lag switching tracks when using a remote+endpoint vs direct audio output on your roon core.

 

[Chris-toe-fur]

Sorry I haven't put a budget down. I live in Australia which hasn't been doing too well against the US dollar, plus there are import costs etc, so it makes comparisons with the US difficult. I was looking for a generally cheaper solution (~200-300 AUD max), hence why I was considering using an old laptop as a server and/or raspberry pi(s). So some suggestions like a NUC or iPad Pro are a bit our of my price range ATM. I do in fact have an iPad, but I cheaped out on storage as I didn't think I'd need more than 128GB, would have been useful in this situation.

I can get a plain RP4 (no case, power supply, etc.) for about $74, but I'm unsure if I need any additions on it for my needs, or if a plain board + power supply + software will do the trick.

For those asking, I have around 200 gigs of music.

I'm guessing suggestions for the mini PC's are for the server? If it's for local playback I'd prefer it to be headless + controlled by mobile devices. For people suggesting this, do you think I should use a pi as an endpoint? Or is there a way to use a mini pc locally and control in via mobile?

A raspberry pi4 running PiCcoreplayer (free) via usb out into your dac would give you a technically near perfect solution for $50 or so. Why spend any more ? There are other software packages you can try as well. Volumio, Moode, etc.

Would this play files locally, or would I have to stream them from a home server? And would a plain board do, or would I need additions?

Put Roon on the laptop and hide it in a cupboard.
Use RPi as a headless Roon endpoint
Control via phone / tablet app.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm looking more towards software that's either free or a single purchase, I already have too many subscription services in my life!

 

[preload]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm looking more towards software that's either free or a single purchase, I already have too many subscription services in my life!

No problem. You can single purchase a lifetime subscription to Roon for $699.99!

 

[tw99]

PiCorePlayer can have local storage or play files from a server.

 

[HemiRick]

A Pi w Moode audio Software will do everything you want.....cheap and quiet, I run 2 of them w Allo boss DAC hats (1 in house 1 in garage), but you can use your DAC too. Control it w any web accessible device as it works thru a web page.

 

[somebodyelse]

I can get a plain RP4 (no case, power supply, etc.) for about $74, but I'm unsure if I need any additions on it for my needs, or if a plain board + power supply + software will do the trick.

If you want to go minimal you need board, power supply, software and a uSD card. You may or may not want a separate usb drive to store music on - that's more personal preference than requirement. Connect to DAC via USB. There are various options for adding a display if you want one. A case like the Flirc one is probably worth having.

For PiCorePlayer you'd want this option, and maybe one of the phone apps like iPeng or Squeezer for control as an alternative to the web browser. Moode, Volumio etc. are reasonable alternatives - try them and see which you prefer.

Another option is a used thin client - most are essentially small(ish) fanless PCs, although they do sometimes have quirks so it helps to have some familiarity with PC internals and do some research before buying. Add some storage and software like Daphile or Volumio, connect the DAC via USB and you've got a cheap, silent server/streamer/player much as you do with the Pi. The bulk of the cost will probably be for the storage - a Wyse R90L cost me £13, about the same as a case for a Pi.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Yeah, I'm pretty convinced you could cobble something together at just about any budget, including near zero. Having a look at what's sitting out there on the curb and/or scouring Gumtree may be worth it. It appears that due to long distances and high shipping costs in Australia, people are likely to throw out a lot of things that are bulky to some degree, even if they're not even that old by the standards of other parts of the world, which includes PCs and such. You're probably not going to see Dave Jones' commercial dumpster room level scores ("I only take PCs any more if they've got USB 3.0"), but it seems it should be well worth a shot.

 

[Bob-23]

including near zero

Chances are, he could have a satisfying system if he only cleaned the fan of his laptop - an 8 year old laptop is in any case better than a raspberry, even a Core Duo is better... Btw. good website of yours!

 

[AnalogSteph]

Chances are, he could have a satisfying system if he only cleaned the fan of his laptop - an 8 year old laptop is in any case better than a raspberry, even a Core Duo is better... Btw. good website of yours!

Thanks. Good point and probably can't hurt at that age, though I suspect the cooling system may have been marginal from day one. I don't usually see major issues in 15.6" business machines (though I have cleaned out the occasional fan and reapplied thermal paste), but smaller (e.g. 13.3") and/or particularly slim consumer models can be pretty bad. You can get the same cooling capacity in a smaller heatsink when using more densely stacked fins, however that makes them ever more prone to dust buildup - even when the user isn't foolish enough to be smoking indoors (hint - don't).

 

[Soniclife]

A pi or Chromecast audio would be my vote. Both cheap, silent and stable in my experience.

 

[Wendigo79]

Try to find an used corporate mini-pc. They can be super silent and also cheap. I have a HP ProDesk 600 as my media pc in my living room.

 

[abdo123]

Tbh the best thing you can do is getting a node 2i just for the BlueOS.

it can do anything you want, Spotify connect, Tidal connect, Chromcast, Airplay and a lot alot more and it’s super convenient.

a Raspberry pi 4 would do a similar job but you will have to skip on the convenience and feature set. (It’s also 8-10 times cheaper).