Squeezebox (streamer) replacement?

[escape2]

My old Squeezebox2/Classic has served me well for the past 16 years, alas, it seems to be dying and I don't think I'm capable of fixing it.

I want something nice looking, primarily to use as transport (don't care if it has a DAC or not), with a nice display. Support for Logitech Media Server would be a plus, but if not, I think I can get around that using some DLNA renderer.

Eversolo A6 caught my eye, but it is more than what I'd like to spend. Are there other similar devices out there for less?

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[anome]

Small SBC running squeezelite, connect a display if needed, or just use a pad of some flavour.

 

[escape2]

maybe they will upgrade to a MkII getting past any issues of their current device.

What issues?

 

[Apesbrain]

If you can get by without the screen, WiiM Pro ($150) just introduced native support of Squeezebox streaming protocol. There is also a WiiM Pro Plus with a better DAC section, but not yet Squeezebox compatible. Expected to release a firmware update soon to add this.

 

[tmtomh]

My old Squeezebox2/Classic has served me well for the past 16 years, alas, it seems to be dying and I don't think I'm capable of fixing it.

I want something nice looking, primarily to use as transport (don't care if it has a DAC or not), with a nice display. Support for Logitech Media Server would be a plus, but if not, I think I can get around that using some DLNA renderer.

Eversolo A6 caught my eye, but it is more than what I'd like to spend. Are there other similar devices out there for less?

Thanks for your suggestions.

If you're interested in a working Squeezebox Touch, PM me. I haven't used mine for some time and have been meaning to sell it.

 

[Berwhale]

Build yourself a RaspberryPi based touchscreen streamer... https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...hscreen-pi-based-picoreplayer-streamer.42228/

 

[MaxBuck]

I get a kick out of the "build yourself a RaspberryPi" responses, which are thick on the ground here. I mean, it's a fine idea if you want to add computer hobbyism to your waste-of-time list (which music appreciation assuredly also is), but I'd rather find a few hours of billable time for myself (less than I'd take futzing around with the Pi) and then just buy a Bluesound Node. But everyone has their own priorities, budgets and interests, so I'll just say chacun à son goût.

 

[Daverz]

I get a kick out of the "build yourself a RaspberryPi" responses, which are thick on the ground here. I mean, it's a fine idea if you want to add computer hobbyism to your waste-of-time list (which music appreciation assuredly also is), but I'd rather find a few hours of billable time for myself (less than I'd take futzing around with the Pi) and then just buy a Bluesound Node. But everyone has their own priorities, budgets and interests, so I'll just say chacun à son goût.

Setting up a RPi streamer is painless. Burn PiCoreplayer to a microSD card, insert the card into the Pi, plug a USB DAC into the Pi, plug in the Pi into power, navigate to the PiCorePlayer web interface and select your DAC.

 

[Shiva]

You might consider that offer for the Squeezebox Touch.

 

[graxxus]

Having had a couple squeezeboxes, pre and post Logitech, once the software support went and the devices got flaky, I moved to Wiim as an experiment. For the price and performance, hard to beat. I've not had any regrets.

 

[Berwhale]

I get a kick out of the "build yourself a RaspberryPi" responses, which are thick on the ground here. I mean, it's a fine idea if you want to add computer hobbyism to your waste-of-time list (which music appreciation assuredly also is), but I'd rather find a few hours of billable time for myself (less than I'd take futzing around with the Pi) and then just buy a Bluesound Node. But everyone has their own priorities, budgets and interests, so I'll just say chacun à son goût.

Well what do you expect? ASR is stuffed full of Engineers. Also, you haven't factored in all the billable hours that you'll spend on the Bluesound forums trying work out why it keeps dropping off your network

 

[Berwhale]

Setting up a RPi streamer is painless. Burn PiCoreplayer to a microSD card, insert the card into the Pi, plug a USB DAC into the Pi, plug in the Pi into power, navigate to the PiCorePlayer web interface and select your DAC.

I think that is a bit of an over simplification. There is a lot of implicit knowledge tied up in those steps. If you have the knowledge, it's a 20 minute job, if you don't then it could end up taking hours or days.

 

[muslhead]

I get a kick out of the "build yourself a RaspberryPi" responses, which are thick on the ground here. I mean, it's a fine idea if you want to add computer hobbyism to your waste-of-time list (which music appreciation assuredly also is), but I'd rather find a few hours of billable time for myself (less than I'd take futzing around with the Pi) and then just buy a Bluesound Node. But everyone has their own priorities, budgets and interests, so I'll just say chacun à son goût.

If it takes someone a few hours of billable time to build one, yah, this would not be a recommended path
10-15 minutes tops.

 

[Fahzz]

Setting up a RPi streamer is painless. Burn PiCoreplayer to a microSD card, insert the card into the Pi, plug a USB DAC into the Pi, plug in the Pi into power, navigate to the PiCorePlayer web interface and select your DAC.

Is installing PiCore player really that straight forward? I running LMS on Max2Play now, and I've been thinkng about trying PiCore.

 

[Apesbrain]

Is installing PiCore player really that straight forward? I running LMS on Max2Play now, and I've been thinkng about trying PiCore.

It's not difficult, but not sure what you'd gain if LMS is running reliably for you now.

 

[Daverz]

Is installing PiCore player really that straight forward? I running LMS on Max2Play now, and I've been thinkng about trying PiCore.

Most of the time, yes. There are corner cases where you may have to modify the image or do some work at the CLI. I've never tried running LMS on the Pi, though.

 

[Daverz]

I think that is a bit of an over simplification. There is a lot of implicit knowledge tied up in those steps. If you have the knowledge, it's a 20 minute job, if you don't then it could end up taking hours or days.

Apart from needing to snap the RPi into its plastic case and burn the microSD image, a RPi running PiCorePlayer works the same way most headless consumer network appliances do: connect it to the network and navigate to its setup page. If things go wrong with the consumer device, you may end up googling for a solution or dealing with tech support (which may be non-existent). People assume the RPi has to be more fiddly because you can fiddle with it.

 

[BR52]

Ropieee XL is supporting LMS

 

[Berwhale]

Apart from needing to snap the RPi into its plastic case and burn the microSD image, a RPi running PiCorePlayer works the same way most headless consumer network appliances do: connect it to the network and navigate to its setup page. If things go wrong with the consumer device, you may end up googling for a solution or dealing with tech support (which may be non-existent). People assume the RPi has to be more fiddly because you can fiddle with it.

I think you are missing the point. Things that sound simple to you (as they do to me) are not necessarily simple to others. For example, if you stopped 100 people on the street and asked them if they knew how to burn a RaspberryPi image onto a microSD card, how many would say yes? How many would even know what you were talking about?

 

[pablolie]

Interesting how many responses this subject got right away.

I am still totally happy with the Squeeze ecosystem. The software has support and keeps getting upgrades. Spotify keeps messing with their API, so that fact it still works reliably over 15 years after the fact is a testament to the longevity of the system.

By far, the most common cause is that the power bricks fail. Buy a new one for $4.99 and you're back in business. I used to live in a large place and had like 7 set up, between Touch and Classic and Boombox... and they are all still going strong, albeit mostly with new power supplies.

I use a Touch in my main system, but purely as a streamer - the DAC functionality is handled externally.