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Suggestions for upgrading a budget streaming setup


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Hi all,

 

Brand new member here but I have been a "budget audiophile" for 20+ years. Starting in 2004 I began ripping my CD's to FLAC and since 2005 I have been wirelessly streaming music to my Cambridge integrated amp/speakers and separate headphone setup. My platform up until two weeks ago has been a pair of Squeezebox Classics and Logitech Media Server running on a Windows 7 computer.

 

Two weeks ago one of my Squeezebox players died. I considered getting another one from the used market but decided that maybe it was time to move on. So, I am into the trial period of JRiver (which I like so far). I also picked up a WDTV Play on sale just to try it out and it works OK when feeding a signal through optical to my DAC and headphone amp. My other Squeezebox is still connected to the Cambridge amp. I am using BubbleUpnp to control things and it works fine with the WDTV but not so well with the remaining Squeezebox. The setup works fine with Jriver's Gizmo Android app but there is apparently some BubbleUpnp conflict that I haven't been able to correct. I'd like to stay with BubbleUpnp as the controller because it has the ability to stream Spotify from my rooted Nexus tablet. So, I guess I'm looking for a budget friendly replacement for my remaining Squeezebox that could possibly stream gapless (the WDTV doesn't). Here are my questions that I'm hoping to get some feedback/input on:

 

1. Is there a way to correct the apparent incompatibility problem with BubbleUpnp and Squeezebox/LMS? If so that would allow me to keep what I have, at least for now.

 

2. If there isn't a fix, is there another UPnP android app that can get me access to Spotify that I'm not aware of?

 

3. What are some possible streaming boxes, other than WDTV that can handle FLAC (gapless a plus) and have optical out to a DAC. I'm willing to pay more than the $50 I did for the WDTV but I'd like to keep it under $300 if possible. I don't need any DAC capabilities, just an optical out. I'm not opposed to DIY if it's not too involved.

 

I know my budget is pretty tight but I thought I'd pose the question anyway.

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

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If you liked the squeezebox control and system you might like to look at Community Squeeze project as well as trying SqueezeLite and other software squeezebox players.

 

Eloise

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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If you liked the squeezebox control and system you might like to look at Community Squeeze project as well as trying SqueezeLite and other software squeezebox players.

 

Eloise

 

I like the system but I'm a little gun shy of sticking with the Squeezebox ecosystem but maybe I shouldn't be? I'll do some investigation on building/buying a replacement for my dearly departed Squeezebox. If I can feel comfortable with the process I might just go ahead and build one to see how it works.

 

I'm still open to other solutions based off of using something like Jriver so keep those suggestions coming.

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I like the system but I'm a little gun shy of sticking with the Squeezebox ecosystem [...snip...]

There's some clever guys involved the the CommunitySqueeze project. AFAIK all the software side is pretty much sorted but the hardware side is still in prototyping stage - though if you have a USB DAC then the board is off the shelf (though the case may suck).

 

Eloise

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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My DAC doesn't have USB so that could be an issue. I've done some research and it seems that almost all of the squeezebox replacements have USB only outputs. If I could find one with an optical output I might give it a try.

 

Your best bet is to add a small USB to SPDIF converter in-line.

 

Jesus R

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Just a thought, may be no use... I have an old win98 laptop in the garage running softsqueeze, I believe, as I could not work out how to get squeezelite running on it. This feeds into my old Cambridge Audio A5 amp :-)

 

LMS in the stair cupboard, a squeezebox touch for the lounge and a squeeebox2 in the kitchen, soon to be another softsqueeze win XP pc for the kids, and :-) I was just thinking of having a read how the community squeeze was going before I read here, cheers ELF for the update :-)

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