Hi
TL;DR:
I'm looking for an audio solution to play music from my Synology DiskStation. There are many many many possible solutions though and I would like to find the best for me, which is why I'm posting here. I think a Rasperry PI with RuneAudio and some hardware & speakers are best so far.
Budget: Money is not really the biggest concern. I'll say up to $3000 maybe, but rather way less. I don't want or need the best speakers. I want reasonable quality for a reasonable price and for it to be functionable. I don't want to spend an extra $500 just for a little bit better speakers.
The setting:
I'm a 23 year old CS student. I live at home but might move out in ~3 years. I don't have a TV or any (stationary) audio/HiFi devices in my room.
What I'm looking for:
An easy way to play music from my Synology DiskStation which is running the inbuilt DLNA media server and a Logitech Media Server (for two Squeezeboxes) with a huge (270GB) music library. I would like to be able to reuse well at least the expensive parts of the setup as for example speakers - or get a cheap solution for such parts. I have a relatively weak WirelessLan connection at the moment which allows me to watch for example twitch at 1080p but not a ~8GB 2hour movie from my NAS without hickups - definitely enough for audio but not for the movies I download. I might consider upgrading our Wireless Router or pull a LAN cable (large house - not so easy as it sounds) if it would provide useful.
I watch movies sometime from my Laptop in my room but replacing this by a TV for example shouldn't be the goal unless there's something perfect. I definitely don't want to have a TV or Laptop running to listen to music.
What I considered (and discarded):
- Some AV receiver for example a Denon AVR-X2101 with speakers. BUT - they probably need a display (for example TV) so that I can pick the music.
- Another Squeezebox and add speakers or so but the Logitech Media Server has trouble a lot and I don't want to have to use that.
- A Stereo shelf system, for example this
But this is not really flexible for later use and I don't need for example a CD drive...
- A TV that has appropriate functinolities inbuilt or with Chromecast. But as mentioned I don't like running a TV to listen to music.
What I think is best so far:
A Rasperry PI with RuneAudio and some kind of digital-analog converter + speakers.
RuneAudio would allow me to use a mobile phone interface to control the music which is probably ideal. I'm not really sure what kind of hardware I would want/need besides the Rasperry PI. Maybe an AV receiver and a speaker setup as that's easiest? When I move out I would probably want to use an AV receiver for running a projector for home cinema. But if that will be outdated in 3 years then it's not really good to spend money for it now.
I hope you got an idea of my situation. I'm open for any suggestions as I'm really undecided on this so far.
Thanks a lot!
Regards
ABBDVD
Update: So I discovered HiFiBerry and their DAC board which might be interesting for a 'minimal' solution. Would still an amp or a cheap receiver at least & the speakers.
TL;DR:
I'm looking for an audio solution to play music from my Synology DiskStation. There are many many many possible solutions though and I would like to find the best for me, which is why I'm posting here. I think a Rasperry PI with RuneAudio and some hardware & speakers are best so far.
Budget: Money is not really the biggest concern. I'll say up to $3000 maybe, but rather way less. I don't want or need the best speakers. I want reasonable quality for a reasonable price and for it to be functionable. I don't want to spend an extra $500 just for a little bit better speakers.
The setting:
I'm a 23 year old CS student. I live at home but might move out in ~3 years. I don't have a TV or any (stationary) audio/HiFi devices in my room.
What I'm looking for:
An easy way to play music from my Synology DiskStation which is running the inbuilt DLNA media server and a Logitech Media Server (for two Squeezeboxes) with a huge (270GB) music library. I would like to be able to reuse well at least the expensive parts of the setup as for example speakers - or get a cheap solution for such parts. I have a relatively weak WirelessLan connection at the moment which allows me to watch for example twitch at 1080p but not a ~8GB 2hour movie from my NAS without hickups - definitely enough for audio but not for the movies I download. I might consider upgrading our Wireless Router or pull a LAN cable (large house - not so easy as it sounds) if it would provide useful.
I watch movies sometime from my Laptop in my room but replacing this by a TV for example shouldn't be the goal unless there's something perfect. I definitely don't want to have a TV or Laptop running to listen to music.
What I considered (and discarded):
- Some AV receiver for example a Denon AVR-X2101 with speakers. BUT - they probably need a display (for example TV) so that I can pick the music.
- Another Squeezebox and add speakers or so but the Logitech Media Server has trouble a lot and I don't want to have to use that.
- A Stereo shelf system, for example this
But this is not really flexible for later use and I don't need for example a CD drive...
- A TV that has appropriate functinolities inbuilt or with Chromecast. But as mentioned I don't like running a TV to listen to music.
What I think is best so far:
A Rasperry PI with RuneAudio and some kind of digital-analog converter + speakers.
RuneAudio would allow me to use a mobile phone interface to control the music which is probably ideal. I'm not really sure what kind of hardware I would want/need besides the Rasperry PI. Maybe an AV receiver and a speaker setup as that's easiest? When I move out I would probably want to use an AV receiver for running a projector for home cinema. But if that will be outdated in 3 years then it's not really good to spend money for it now.
I hope you got an idea of my situation. I'm open for any suggestions as I'm really undecided on this so far.
Thanks a lot!
Regards
ABBDVD
Update: So I discovered HiFiBerry and their DAC board which might be interesting for a 'minimal' solution. Would still an amp or a cheap receiver at least & the speakers.
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