Squeezebox replacement - picore with which speakers?

[georgist]

Hi

my squeezeboxes are dying, regular connection drops and spurious restarts.
Also I've had enough of the weak speaker even when it is connected.
I love open source and linux, but it's time to move on, my wife isn't using the radio because half the time it's disconnected, even when running wlanpoke to reconnect:

GitHub - PomDev2/wlanpoke: Mitigate Wireless Connectivity Loss in Squeezebox Radios

Mitigate Wireless Connectivity Loss in Squeezebox Radios - PomDev2/wlanpoke

github.com

I've got a picore running with topping into my amp in my lounge, this works *great*.
In the kitchen I need something more compact.
My thought is I could run picore straight into two powered speakers, but I'd like these to be small, I think even bookshelf is too big.
If I could put new speakers in two corners of the kitchen, stereo, I thought that might work well. I could either run unobtrusive wires to them or bluetooth it.

Picore I know, speakers I do not, especially finding it hard to get recommendations smaller than bookshelf.
An alternative might be just buying some integrated wifi/dac/speaker device off the shelf, like sonos 5?

As you can see I'm in need of help.

 

[staticV3]

How small would you like the speakers to be?
How expensive?
How do you want to connect them to picore? RCA/USB/XLR/Toslink?

A wide stereo setup usually doesn't work very well when you're moving all over the place, as one tends to do in the kitchen.
A single speaker with wide directivity is usually a better choice then.

 

[Whoareyou]

Haven't tried any of these, but interesting and if it works well easily integrates many other streaming services....

How to use WiiM Pro, WiiM Pro Plus, Amp with Squeezelite

Squeezelite provides synchronized multi-room audio, supports high-resolution formats, and offers customization options for optimal sound. Its open-source platform ensures ongoing development and compatibility with various devices. With low latenc...

faq.wiimhome.com

Depending on budget, the amp with speakers could be a very nice solution

 

[georgist]

How small would you like the speakers to be?
How expensive?
How do you want to connect them to picore? RCA/USB/XLR/Toslink?

A wide stereo setup usually doesn't work very well when you're moving all over the place, as one tends to do in the kitchen.
A single speaker with wide directivity is usually a better choice then.

Great questions. How small? They don't have to be tiny bose cubes, ideally something like half the size of JBL MKII which I believe is standard "bookshelf".
Cost? I'd pay say $200 to $400 for the pair, depends on how impressive they are. If they turned the kitchen into a concert stage then hey maybe a little bit more!
Connect? Hadn't thought about this, open to advice. I think raspberry pi will only have USB or a very basic speaker jack so RCA etc would need a DAC, which again I wouldn't be against, I could buy another topping D10.
Hope that clarifies, if I was not clear ask again, happy to respond - you are helping me.

 

[georgist]

Haven't tried any of these, but interesting and if it works well easily integrates many other streaming services....

How to use WiiM Pro, WiiM Pro Plus, Amp with Squeezelite

Squeezelite provides synchronized multi-room audio, supports high-resolution formats, and offers customization options for optimal sound. Its open-source platform ensures ongoing development and compatibility with various devices. With low latenc...

faq.wiimhome.com

Depending on budget, the amp with speakers could be a very nice solution

Yeah for me this is very similar to a picore as it's just a little box that handles wifi , WiiM has RCA out so is equiv of pi + topping D10?

 

[staticV3]

Great questions. How small? They don't have to be tiny bose cubes, ideally something like half the size of JBL MKII which I believe is standard "bookshelf".

Which one?

305p MKII vs 306p MKII vs 308p MKII

comparesizes.com

 

[Whoareyou]

WiiM Amp Streaming Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Amp streaming amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $299. I was pleasantly surprised by the good bit of weight this small box has. It will help it not slide with the weight of the speaker wires and such. Back panel shows...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[georgist]

Which one?

305p MKII vs 306p MKII vs 308p MKII

comparesizes.com

ah sorry - 305p is what I have in front of me on my desk.
the idea of putting two of those on countertops or on some kind of elevated shelf feels a bit bulky

 

[Induna]

How about something like: Micca RB42 Reference Bookshelf Speaker with 4-Inch Woofer and Silk Tweeter (Dark Walnut, Pair) (Renewed) https://a.co/d/6fQtuU3 connecter to a Pi Zero 2 with an Amp hat running PiCorePlayer? It will sound way better than your squeezebox radio. There are lots of other choices in the 4" speaker class. You would be out less than $250 all in on the above setup.

 

[staticV3]

ah sorry - 305p is what I have in front of me on my desk.
the idea of putting two of those on countertops or on some kind of elevated shelf feels a bit bulky

I'd buy a single Sonos Five or Sonos Era and place it so that all working areas in the kitchen are well covered.

A stereo pair just doesn't work super well in such scenarios.

 

[georgist]

I'd buy a single Sonos Five or Sonos Era and place it so that all working areas in the kitchen are well covered.

A stereo pair just doesn't work super well in such scenarios.

thanks, kinda surprised to hear this because I'd always associated Sonos and "overpriced". Perhaps that's not fair.

 

[kemmler3D]

thanks, kinda surprised to hear this because I'd always associated Sonos and "overpriced". Perhaps that's not fair.

Sonos is a pretty expensive for what you get in terms of sound, but the 5 is a competent speaker for the form factor. If you can find one secondhand it's probably not a bad value. With a Sonos you're paying for convenience, apps, etc. above the audio itself, but all things considered I can't talk trash about the sound, we have some in the office at my workplace and they do their job fine.

Some years ago I also liked the B&W A5 as an all-in-one, although I can't vouch for the measurements (probably not flat at all), I just found it pleasant to listen to. Might be able to find one used.

For small-but-good "traditional" speakers you're not going to find a lot that are better than the JBLs in the size/price range, but the Kali LP-UNF are good and about 1" smaller in each dimension...

 

[pablolie]

Hi

my squeezeboxes are dying, regular connection drops and spurious restarts.
Also I've had enough of the weak speaker even when it is connected.
I love open source and linux, but it's time to move on, my wife isn't using the radio because half the time it's disconnected, even when running wlanpoke to reconnect:

GitHub - PomDev2/wlanpoke: Mitigate Wireless Connectivity Loss in Squeezebox Radios

Mitigate Wireless Connectivity Loss in Squeezebox Radios - PomDev2/wlanpoke

github.com

I've got a picore running with topping into my amp in my lounge, this works *great*.
In the kitchen I need something more compact.
My thought is I could run picore straight into two powered speakers, but I'd like these to be small, I think even bookshelf is too big.
If I could put new speakers in two corners of the kitchen, stereo, I thought that might work well. I could either run unobtrusive wires to them or bluetooth it.

Picore I know, speakers I do not, especially finding it hard to get recommendations smaller than bookshelf.
An alternative might be just buying some integrated wifi/dac/speaker device off the shelf, like sonos 5?

As you can see I'm in need of help.

Have you kept updating things? My SB ecosystem works like clockwork. Often the issue is just the power supplies.

 

[georgist]

Have you kept updating things? My SB ecosystem works like clockwork. Often the issue is just the power supplies.

I'm going to try a factory reset and re-install to see where it gets me, but I think it's related to neighbours having ipv6 wifi, so if you don't have that then you wouldn't see the same level of issues.

 

[Whoareyou]

Have you kept updating things? My SB ecosystem works like clockwork. Often the issue is just the power supplies.

Are you including the updated firmware that the community provided?

https://forums.slimdevices.com/foru...r-squeezebox-radio-touch-controller-and-lms-8

It supposedly contains the same basic "fix" as the wlanpoke mentioned above, but it does have other improvements.
If you have a mesh network, I think the thread indicated that none of the wirelss "fixes" work.

 

[pablolie]

Are you including the updated firmware that the community provided?

https://forums.slimdevices.com/foru...r-squeezebox-radio-touch-controller-and-lms-8

I believe this firmware contained the same basic "fix" as the wlanpoke mentioned above, but it does have other improvements.
If you have a mesh network, I think the thread indicated that the wlan fix might not help.

I think the wlan fix is only for the SB radio. never heard about a wlan fix required for any other devices.

I must say I just kept my stuff up to date and nothing misbehaves, and I have SB3 and Touch and Boom and Radio.

 

[Whoareyou]

I think the wlan fix is only for the SB radio. never heard about a wlan fix required for any other devices.

I must say I just kept my stuff up to date and nothing misbehaves, and I have SB3 and Touch and Boom and Radio.

That's correct. Sorry, I thought that's what you were talking about.

 

[georgist]

Are you including the updated firmware that the community provided?

https://forums.slimdevices.com/foru...r-squeezebox-radio-touch-controller-and-lms-8

It supposedly contains the same basic "fix" as the wlanpoke mentioned above, but it does have other improvements.
If you have a mesh network, I think the thread indicated that none of the wirelss "fixes" work.

thanks I wasn't aware of this later firmware update
updated LMS and then the firmware on all four squeezebox radios, early days to declare a success yet, will report back
if this does work I'll stick with this hardware and maybe try to bag something on sale

 

[Whoareyou]

When you install there are a couple of gotchas on the configuration...
You are probably already updated with server, but make sure server version is LMS 8.x.

Recommended by firmware creator to do a factory reset before installing. If you forget, this step can also be done after installation of the new firmware as it doesn’t revert the newly installed firmware to some factory preset.

On the radio make sure to enable the ARP watchdog checkbox. That seems to be what keeps radio up and running.

User group advice is to leave 802.11b option enabled. Disabling it seems to interfere with wireless for some reason (even though 802.11b is obviously not being used at this point (this screwed me up when I initially installed).

Hope it works for you as well as it did for me.

 

[Induna]

When you install there are a couple of gotchas on the configuration...
You are probably already updated with server, but make sure server version is LMS 8.x.

Recommended by firmware creator to do a factory reset before installing. If you forget, this step can also be done after installation of the new firmware as it doesn’t revert the newly installed firmware to some factory preset.

On the radio make sure to enable the ARP watchdog checkbox. That seems to be what keeps radio up and running.

User group advice is to leave 802.11b option enabled. Disabling it seems to interfere with wireless for some reason (even though 802.11b is obviously not being used at this point (this screwed me up when I initially installed).

Hope it works for you as well as it did for me.

Things are changing very rapidly with LMS, which is now Lyrion Music Server, so it highly recommended to update to the latest release of version 8.5.1. It is best to avoid version 9 for now. 8.5 is required for the latest community firmware.