Article: DIY Music Server and Streamer for the Audio Hobbyist

[whell]

GREAT post.  Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Haven't ventured into the Raspberry Pi world yet.  Still using an older desktop PC for a the base.  Its very quiet, inaudible noise unless you're a foot or two away, and its still very faint.  

 

Running Daphile Linux on the desktop at present.  Daphile is based on the open source Squeezebox Server, Squeezelite and Linux.  There's not a version of Daphile available for Raspberry Pi.  However, it does allow for headless operation, and I use a cheap Amazon tablet as a control point.  All of the LMS plugins also work with Daphile.   Local music files are accessible from the remote servier or attached USB drive. 

 

The sound quality that I'm getting with Daphile at present is terrific.  If you get 'round to it, might be interesting to include Daphile in your journey.  The setup would conform with most of Bob's rules.  It also conforms to one of my rules: the less spent the better.  😏

[whell]

20 hours ago, ednaz said:

I read all your comments about running ethernet wire, but it's just not in the cards for us in our new place. The best electrical contractor I've ever known gave us a price for running ethernet for us. It was eye popping. Didn't include the cost of paying a drywall guy to fix all the holes that would have to be punched in the walls and finished basement ceiling. 

 

I think wifi is OK for music streaming.  However, another "hard wried" solution might be using powerline networking.  More info about that here: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-a-powerline-adapter.  Essentially this option uses your home's electrical wiring to transmit the ethernet signal.  Works really well and is a lit cheaper than contracting to run ehternet cables throughout your home.  

[whell]

27 minutes ago, bobfa said:

In my Technology Consulting business, I have only tried Powerline Ethernet twice.  One instance worked ok but would fail about once a month.  The other would break about once a day.   I have avoided them since.

I agree that it can be a "you're mileage may vary" solution due to some of the factors that are descibed in the linked article.  However, I've been running it here at the house for years and have not had any issues.  Connection is constant and the speed is pretty good: certainly plenty of bandwidth for streaming music.  So, to your point: try it and see if it works.....but keep the sales receipt in case you need to return it. 🙂