Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

[Fretless]

We are talking a dedicated PC here, running a music-only OS.
No Windows slurping up the CPU capacity.

Basically same as a Pi but bigger and more powerful. Then through a decrapifier to take out the unwanted interference.

[CN211276]

We are talking a dedicated PC here, running a music-only OS.
No Windows slurping up the CPU capacity.

Basically same as a Pi but bigger and more powerful. Then through a decrapifier to take out the unwanted interference.

It is my understanding that PC Motherboards degrade SQ.

[NSNO2021]

It is my understanding that PC Motherboards degrade SQ.

Not quite following your reasoning there. Digital audio requires processing power - the streaming requirement is that data packets come in via the network (ethernet / wifi / bluetooth) and then need to be converted into a coherent format (I2S / USB / SPDIF) for passing on to a DAC for conversion to analogue audio.

The more processing power you have, the better synchronised and bit-perfect is the data conversion. Yes computers are 'noisy' places but that is helped by devices such as the Jitterbug that filter and dampen interference in the USB output ports, and a decrapifier like a Schiit Wyrd, Ifi USB or Oehlbach Masterclock that cleans the electrical power circuit and regulates the datastream timing for improved synchronicity.

Basically - every streaming device has a computer motherboard in a sense and what we are trying to do is find - in a hobbyist way - what cheap & cheerful solutions work the best. If I can get an old. unused PC to sound as good as a high-end megabuck streamer then I'll be feeling pretty happy with myself.

[CN211276]

I am not too well up on computers. My reasoning was that a PC is multi purpose whereas a stramer is for playing music only. I assume the modifications make it more like a streamer and less like a PC.

[CN211276]

Windows is a multi-functional operating system that constantly occupies the processing chips while it performs a lot of tasks 'behind the scenes' and is also making regular contact with Microsoft to exchange data.

The difference here is in the software that drives and organises the running of the PC.

Volumio, for instance, is an OS that is just doing one thing. Getting network data to a playable audio stream. Nothing else. So the whole computer with all of the processing power is concentrated on getting that single job done as precisely as possible.

This is why a relatively simple device like a Raspberry Pi can do this well and a full-scale PC using the same OS should do it better.

[Nihil Sleighride]

Right, I've got a 2.5" SATA / USB3 caddy arriving on Monday, and I'll try hanging that off of my PC and flashing Volumio to it as if it were an SD card or a flash drive, and then stuffing it back in the Mini-PC.

That's the way I did my Lenovo C40 all in one. I first did it on a drive hacked out of an Xbox and then again on a new ssd. Only thing it needed was a tweak in the BIOS settings regarding the boot order. Worked like a charm.

However, the C40 wasn't fanless and this kicked in no matter what and i couldn't disable it. I thought moving to the ssd would help but it didn't, so now back to a Pi4

[Fretless]

Pi4? Any good, Nihil?

[Nihil Sleighride]

Yeah, it's been sounding good. TBH I cannot hear (apart from no fan noise) any difference into the SMSL. This the first time for me using a Pi this way. Had loads running Kodi but now onto an Odroid for that and before the Lenovo I had a CuBox running Volumio.

[artsenna]

Really pleased with the Tinker Board S. It boots 'blind' and streams into the main system for an outlay of less than £200 (PSU and cable included). And PC numpty like me could set it up.

Bought a Mac Mini 4 years back to use as a 'music server'. Admittedly, I was clueless. and before Vomunio and the like. Tried some free VNC and could not get it to work like a streamer and gave up. I now have a nearly new Mini. Just swapped in a SSD, updated OS and passed to my daughter to do homework. Like Slinger, I also plead 'lockdown boredom'. TB sorted and enjoying the music!!

[slinger]

Fan-tastic

Regularly I go into gush-mode and start falling over myself about my latest tweak/change/gadget being the ultimate in amazingness and the best thing I have ever heard. The trouble is that the latter statement is, actually, usually true.

This whole streaming side of the audio spectrum really appeals to my geeky, quasi-intellectual and fringe-autistic character. It is comprehensible and logical, the sonic results are immediately apparent and it doesn't cost the earth.

Yes I started in the 70's with vinyl and cassettes and wasn't too impressed with CD at the start. Circumstances changed and the vinyl & TT went into storage, CD's arrived and I was working in the new and exciting world of IT. Although no longer a computer professional I am comfortable (-ish) with them and during a long period have followed the gradual unfolding of File-based audio from the humble beginnings of MP3.

Not having much access to other installations for comparison, my explorations are mainly a solo effort - and I get much inspiration from what like-minded souls here on HFS are doing. Thanks lads. So this rambling intro has brought me to what I wanted to say:

Ventilator noise.

It is a matter of swings and roundabouts. The gain in audio quality is offset by a minute niggling irritation. The Acer PC I have pressed into service is, basically, a neat & tidy little office unit. Compact size, low-energy use, solid performance. But because it is now about 12 years old it comes from a mediaeval era when mechanical ventilation and spinning disk-drives were normal and standard. Also computers are not built with the delicate wishes of sensitive audiophiles in mind.

This means noise. Real noise. A soft whirring sound that is very apparent when your ear is next to the PC but is barely audible from my usual listening position. But it is there and the 'inky silence' that the audiophile treasures is disturbed by this tiny, constant ventilation whisper.
I could shift the PC to a distance away from the system but that would mean getting some longer (expensive) USB and ethernet cables. Not practical at the moment.

On the plus side of ultimate amazingness. The Volumio-driven PC is kicking out sound with a resolution and musicality that is really breathtaking and is taking my system onto a completely new level of detail and enjoyment. So is it worth it? Yes, definitely and then some.

Would I like a fanless PC with an SSD drive? You bet.

Still a way to go on the road to sonic nirvana, I guess.
Nighty-night all.