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Topic: Audio component to analog into old equipment (Read 3401 times) previous topic - next topic
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Audio component to analog into old equipment

Hi,

First post. Most posts here are very technical and without understanding the nomenclature, they have not helped me self learn.
If you can point me to fundamental FAQs on playback of flac and mp3 files around the home that would be great.

Otherwise this post is from a music listener with limited hardware knowledge.

20 yr old system with wired speakers to outside and multiple rooms. Speakers are in wall, forever limiting sound quality.

CD player broke, it is time to deliver music differently. I want to play mp3s and I flac converted my whole library.

Would love to put all music in a box, be able to sort and select those songs with GrooveMusic or WinAmp.

I do have CAT5 wire going to this area and could put a device on my network. Current computer with music files is 50-75 feet away with multiple walls so I'm not crazy about wireless solution.

How do I analog connect "a box" of music like it were a CD player? How do I view what I want to play? TV?

How do I put the music on the network for delivery to these old amps?

School me on what to buy if you think I need to get rid of these old amps!

Home stereo is a Denon Amp that was meant for surround sound use and it analog connects to an Onkyo amp that delivers to house speakers.

Bob

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #1
PC or Mac?


Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #2
PC CAT5 into a Comcast modem/router/telephony they recently switched me to, and had me eliminate my Linksys router.

Thanks

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #3
Many options and many internet resources exist, esp the wiki here, or a summary such as this:

https://www.lesbonscomptes.com/pages/homenet-audio.html

Recommend you look at the different options summarised there or elsewhere and dig a bit deeper into those of interest to you. Difficult to help more until you can be more specific.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #4
Nice link by finphil

I would recommend to have a good look at UPnP/DLNA
It is an open standard with broad support.

If you are on Windows, you do have a DLNA certified media server already (MS calls it media sharing).
Most of the time a NAS is DLNA enabled as well.
If you have an android phone, apps like UPnPlay or BubbleUPnP allows you to control the PC over the network.

You also need a box with network input and analog out to play on the stereo.
This is most of the time called an audio streamer.
A couple of examples can be found here: http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/Network.htm
Streamers with an interface are in general a bit more expensive: http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/DAP.htm
TheWellTemperedComputer.com

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #5
If you are willing to store your music in the cloud, devices like the Chromecast audio or Amazon firestick make this dead simple and cost almost nothing.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #6
If you are willing to store your music in the cloud, devices like the Chromecast audio or Amazon firestick make this dead simple and cost almost nothing.

Agreed. I like  to play with other solutions just for fun, but my own experience with Chromecast Audio is that it is unbeatable on price or convenience. I am resisting being dependent on google for this, as with so many things, but I have to acknowledge it has pretty much everything. Its perfect for playlists especially. My only concern is they are evolving the UI towards emphasizing their paid for service, so its a little bit more fiddly to use, but its no big deal.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #7
If you use an app like BubbleUPNP on Android, you can stream from a local DLNA server (such as a NAS) directly to a Chromecast Audio, so you don't have to use Google Play Music.

Don't get me wrong, GPM is generally a good service, but it does have some issues, such as matching uploaded albums to whichever remaster is the newest one, which is annoying if you prefer a specific version. It also has issues when there are multiple artists with the same name. For its shortcomings, it is still an extremely convenient (and free) service.

I toyed around with the idea of setting up a streaming service from my NAS at home, but using GPM is significantly easier.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #8
Thanks everyone. I will muck through this because the terminology and acronyms are new to me.

Of course the ease of the Chromecast is appealing but the computer with all the media on it has no wifi capability. I am seeing Chromecast as only a wireless solution right?
When the house was built we were still in the wire age and I have CAT5 going everywhere.

We are an iPhone and Windows laptop household. For daily listening there is no place to set a laptop (especially now since my laptop battery is crap and I have to plug in).

While I continue to search the info in these posts I'll go round one more time if I may:

1. What "tablet" device that can hold 300GB of music should I look at to wireless stream to Chromecast? Something I can plop on a coffee table.

2. Is there a wired configuration from computer to Chromecast Audio device?

3. Is there another device that can use wired?
Windows computer-->CAT5 to router-->CAT5 router to device-->device to receiver via RCA jacks or optical.
At my level of understanding I need a diagram! "Hook this to this" "use this software to control that"

4.  I have loaded iTunes playlists on to iPhone and plugged into receiver previously but iTunes is a pain and no flac

5.  I don't get the cloud to Chromecast solution.

Thank you!
Bob


Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #10
I would have though a setup like greynol's - iTunes plus Apple TV - would work fine for you, if you could overcome your resistance to iTunes :) and convert your music files to apple lossless. But to your questions:

1. I am not aware of any tablet with this amount of storage. You can buy an android phone with a micro SD card slot and put music on there, but you still have the issue of how to connect it to the audio equipment.

2. Yes there is , if you buy the adapter

https://store.google.com/product/ethernet_adapter_for_chromecast

3. As greynol suggests, some other small computer like a netbook

4. Agreed

5. You first upload your music from your laptop to the cloud - you don't need wireless for this step.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/4627259

You then install google music on your iphone

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-play-music/id691797987?mt=8

You can play your music on your iphone, and if you get a chromecast, play that via the chromecast on your audio.

Sorry I have no experience of apple products but from what I have read, this should work.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #11
Of course the ease of the Chromecast is appealing but the computer with all the media on it has no wifi capability. I am seeing Chromecast as only a wireless solution right?

It is primarily a wireless device, but once it's configured, it's accessible from any device on the same network, wired or not.

You can even make the Chromecast a wired device, by using a USB "On-The-Go" Y-cable to provide a standard USB plug, into which you plug a standard USB network adapter.


Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #13
Great!

This gives me enough to go on.

Chromecast plus wired adapter is what I will play with first.

Thank you so much.

Bob



Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #16
I have this place to thank for getting me into ripping to FLAC years ago, and it's something I never regretted. But I maybe did not make it clear that Google converts everything to mp3, in case the OP cares.

Re: Audio component to analog into old equipment

Reply #17
Outside the box, perhaps?

RasberryPi, or OrangePi. These are tiny devices that run Android or Linux. You can plug a laptop hard drive into one, and a DAC. I use free software called, "MPD" to run my entire system on one, and control it from any of several devices on my network.  Phone, laptop, tablet, etc. Plays MP3, flac, ogg, etc. seamless. My wife uses it, too. Easy. 

Uses less than 5 watts power, so I just leave it on.