Digital Hi-Fi on the cheap
I’ve been tinkering with the idea of end-to-end digital music experience in the living room (and to be extended across the home in future). Surely not a new thing, Sonos by far trumps all the bells you would expect. But the competition is building up.
What amazes me is the perceived cost of the Hi-Fi element “Network Player” or integrated amplifier with “Network Receiver”. Here are three fine specimens, highly respected.
- Pioneer N50A (Network Player)
- Yamaha R-N602 (Network Receiver)
- Cambridge Audio CXN (Network Player)
The problem with these devices is not ease of use nor quality. The price ranges between € 500–1000. This made me wonder do we have some cheaper alternatives which would provide at least 80% of the user experience for 10 times less the price? Well, the short answer is — there are interesting candidates out there, but not in one box.
Best cheap online streamer
Load Google Cast in your phone, tablet, load chrome cast extension in your Chrome browser and off you go! You get cheap network streaming tool with HiFi quality (24bit/96kHz) and set of three interfaces: AUX 3.5mm stereo, RCA x2 stereo and optical digital out (Toslink). The dongle comes with the AUX cable but any electronics store should have the additional cables. It is powered by USB. Once it is setup, it works without a flaw, personal tests have shown that it is quite stable, you can start the streaming and simply shut down your phone it takes over the stream independently.
Recommended scenarios: Use with certified Google Cast audio Apps for on line streaming. My favorite apps to pair the Chromecast Audio are:
- Google Play Music — great service, I will write separate article
- TuneIn Radio — All radios
- Podcast Addict — Great podcasts
- NPR One — NPR programs
Some other noteworthy sources that might be of your interest:
- Spotify (region specific, music streaming, alternative to Google Play Music)
- Pandora (region specific, radio stations)
- Deezer (cloud music service, alternative to Google Play Music)
- Just Dance Now, etc.
Not so great: for local music streaming. One alternative is foobar 2000 with foobar upnp plugin and integrated with BubbleUPnP Server but this “Solution” asks for one always-on laptop. Also there is a way to stream your desktop sound out via WiFi — search lifehacker for solution. But I prefer to stick with the cloud music and Chrome Stream from tab options.
The second music player — Raspberry Pi + Digi+ Board
Well, online streaming, ubiquitous mobile and tablet integration is solved. What to do with the personal collection of MP3’s and FLACs on your NAS? Maybe you would fancy an alternative to using TuneIn radio from ChromeCast Audio or you don’t plan to buy one? This is where the Raspberry Pi2 solution comes to shine.
Configuration
I had an RPi2 B lying around, loaded it with all three music player RPi images (Rune, Volumio and then settled to Moode). They are very similar — the reason is simple, all three are forks from the same source.
The RPi2 B has poor AUX/3.5mm audio out. For testing purposes I’ve used the HDMI out (1 config file edit) but for real experience you should have digital audio out (coax RCA and/or optical roslink). The Swiss company Hifiberry produces a board that mounts on RPi2. This board is known as the Digi+. The list price is ~$50 but the Chinese produces seem to offer good copies for $20. The good part from this approach is that the solution uses the internal I2S bus instead of challenged USB bus. The output to digital receiver ranges up to 24bit/192kHz which is more than enough for Hi-Fi.
The software scans the music sources across network and provides clean easy web control panel for playing songs, creating and playing playlists, playing radios and interconnection with Apple devices. It works out of the box it did not get stuck within this short time of testing (few weeks).
Conclusion
Do you digg online streaming music services such as Google Play Music, Spotify or Deezer? Go for ChromeCast Audio. Do you have vast FLAC library locally and don’t plan to go with the online streaming alternatives? Go for the RPi2 Digi+ option. You would like to combine all these features and practically cover 100% of all of the options provided by the expensive devices shown above? Go for the both. It is so cheap it makes total sense.
Do you have old style amplifier? You’ll need a DAC for good music experience. Common knowledge says that one of the best devices in the middle ground is Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100. You can go up with the prices easily. You’ll be also able to connect the TV Fiber out to this device and refresh your analogue HiFi with pure digital sweetness.
There is one cheaper chinese DAC on my radar: Fx Audio DAC X6 (3 times less than CA DacMagic 100 DAC). If I have time and money I might test it and compare it with the other device, but if some of you have the experience with this device, please contact me!
