Looking for a component that plays files without streaming?

No. The default CD ripping settings in iTunes create 256K AAC files. These can be played on a wide range of non Apple devices. You can change the ripping settings in iTunes if you wish.

 

What kind of externalhard drives do you use. The one I currently have isn’t recognized by my Oppo. Just looking to see what works.

 

I think the Brennan B2 do what you want.
https://www.amazon.com/brennan-Brennan-B2-2Tb-Black/dp/B017Q9MMSU

 

Thank you, Bubbamike.

I spent some time with Rune Audio yesterday. The interface is good and - important to the OP - can run headless and be controlled with the official Raspberry Pi 7" touchscreen (in addition to the remote app and web browser interfaces). That means that it can be run without being connected to WiFi, if that's desired.

The downside with Rune that I found was that it doesn't seem to handle hi-res, multichannel and DSD formats well. The hi-res and multichannel FLACS that I played on it seemed to be outputting stereo 48KHz over HDMI. The DSF files didn't play at all.

OSMC (based on Kodi) plays everything - and does it well.

I'm going to check out Volumio today - thanks, again, for the tip.

 

I use an Oppo 103D with a Western Digital 2.5” 1TB USB 3.0 drive. Hard drives need to be in FAT, FAT32, NTFS or ExFAT format to be recognised by my Oppo. If the drive is USB powered (mine is) it may not be recognised depending on its power requirements. Larger 3.5” drives are likely to have an external PSU so should not be subject to this problem.

 

Where are you getting the info that the Hap-S1 is obsolete? The silver version has been discontinued but the black one is readily available in a lot more places then it was when I bought mine 2 years ago. The Hap-S1 and HAP-Z1es are two very different units that have both been around since the introduction; one is not really newer than the other. Not trying to be a jerk just wondering where you got your info.

 

Not sure what you mean by FAT, FAT32< NTFS or ExFAT format. The one I have is a SEAGATE 1TB Expansion Portable Drive and my Oppo103 does not even recognize or engage with it.

 

Are you using a Mac or Windows machine? Before you use a hard drive, it has to be formatted. Windows will generally default to formatting a hard drive using the NTFS or occasionally ExFAT schemes. These should both be recognised by an Oppp player. If you format a hard drive using a Mac, the Mac will generally default to a format called HFS (depends on the vintage of the Mac). Most of the Mac specific formats will not be recognised by the Oppo (or a Windows PC).

The other reason for a drive to fail to be recognised, as mentioned above, is if it is USB powered and draws more power than the Oppo can supply. My hard drive works on my Oppo but isn’t recognised if I connect it to my Yamaha amp for this reason.

 

I got it from one of the dark corners of my brain. When I bought Z couple years ago I was pretty sure that it was replacing S, as I didn't see a point for both of them to exist. But I just checked Sony website, and you are correct- both are available. I guess Sony knows better. What is the difference? I see the S has and amplifier. Does it handle an external hard drive?

 

When I bought the S1 I can remember going though all the differences but trying to remember them is me going back to the dark corners of brain, too. The S1 does handle an external drive though I don't use one. I remember the Z1es has twice the internal storage and I know there was another significant difference... maybe the way it connected to speakers? Getting old I am.

 

Using a MAC. So the trick is to get another hard drive and format it to work with my OPPO?

 

I was looking something like that but all component digital players have networking and streaming. And they also include a remote control app for smartphones and tablets. Many of them have an integrated display for navigating folders (only 1 line of text at a time though; it's not bad but it is better with smartphones).

I think you have to accept this approach because networking is essential in these times. Marantz has some digital players (with integrated display) in your price range.

 

Yes, that will work. Use Disk Utility on the Mac to format the drive in either FAT32 or ExFAT. Can’t remember off the top of my head which partition scheme in Disk Utility to use; I think you have to use MBR.

 

I don't play multichannel or DSD, but my Pi3/Rune combo handles high-res PCM just fine into my DAC (over USB, coax, optical).

 

Not something I've ever experienced with the two WD external hard drives I've used. Both in my TV and my Cambridge 752BD player. Maybe a Seagate thing?

 

Above the OP’s budget but since so is the Sony I thought I’d throw in what I’m considering—bluesound vault 2.

2 tb hard drive, streams, rips and can be expanded sonos style. I’ve heard one and imo it sounds noticeably better than the sonos stuff. Other off board DACs bested it but for simplicity it’s very nice.

 

Thank you for the help. The tech stuff can sometimes drop me in the weeds!

 

Interesting. I tried out Volumio and found the same thing -- no Hi-Res or multichannel output to HDMI. The interface is similar to Rune, but I like it more. At this point, I'm going to go back to OSMC. If I were only playing stereo or was using an external DAC, I'd probably go with Volumio.

Thanks everyone for your ideas and suggestions on this!

 

Good advice. For the record, the drive I am using on my Oppo 103D is a Western Digital My Passport 1TB portable USB 3.0 drive, powered by USB, and according to my MacBook Pro I formatted it in exFAT using the Master Boot Record partition scheme. FAT32 will work as well.

If all that sounds like a foreign language, to format a hard drive in Disk Utility on a Mac you go into Disk Utility, select the drive you want, select "Erase" and then select the name you want to give your drive, the format (ExFat or FAT32 will work on the Oppo and are supported by Apple) and the scheme (Master Boot Record).

 

I’m liking this idea. I actually have a spare Pi, power supply and Pi case in the closet! It uses WiFi but since I already have everything except an extra sd card it’s worth a try! I just have to figure out how to set everything up.

 

Krankenstein:

You can download the OSMC installer here Download - OSMC Set up is pretty straightforward. You just need to go into "Music" and point it to where you have your music library stored. It's easiest to connect it to monitor while you're configuring it, then once it's set up you can control it headless using a remote app (called Kore on itunes app store and Android play store) or, you can use any web browser by point it towards the Raspberry's IP address.

PM me any time if you have any questions.

 

I am so intrigued by this, and it looks like it will be fun!

Some questions if you don't mind.

I assume it will give me a way to play my 24/96 files without having to burn to a disc. Is that correct?

Next, I get a Raspberry P 3, I install OSMC on it. I output the HDMI from the Raspberry to the input on my Yamaha receiver, which has a DAC built in that decodes pretty much everything, no need for another DAC. Correct so far?

Will the HDMI out from the Raspberry send both video as well as the audio bitstream? Because out of my receiver, I go to my TV and I could view it there if that's the case.

Next I install the Official Kodi Remote app on my iPhone and use it to connect to the Raspberry and control it. Is that via bluetooth or Wifi? And again, correct so far?

Last question - do I plug in a USB hard drive right into the Raspberry for my source files? Store them on the MicroSD card? Either?

Many thanks!
Dave

 

Yes, you are correct with everything. And I would recommend an external USB drive and use the SD card only for Kodi. Otherwise you would be to limited in space for your music files. And if you only want to play stereo music files, you might give Volumio a try, since Kodi is more designed for movie collections.