My $29 Squeezebox replacement (Raspberry Pi + PiCorePlayer + Squeezelite)

I have a similar setup. Pi running LMS but I have a O2 Joggler running Squeezeplay OS to play the files, fed through a ifi dsd nano. Here's a quick camera pic (ugly box is my MC step up transformer, nothing to do with digital!):



What I'm trying to say is that there are so many options for cheap digital these days, and it sounds GREAT!

 

Can this be used in a wireless mode?

 

Yes, if you use something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811Un-Wireless-Adapter-Wizard/dp/B003MTTJOY

 

Ah. Of course. Thanks for the info, Sam.

 

I think I now know what can save Radio Shack! Raspberry Pi boards and mods! Make me the new CEO! I'll take millions less than the last few CEO's. Ever since I left the corporation in 1999, the stock was flying high. Now it's worth next to nothing. I'll get it back there in three years. If not, just give me the golden parachute! We'll partner with Bill Gates/Common Core and put cheap boards that the students can learn to create things through coding in every school, then they can move up to creating all sorts of things with these boards (including mini-radio stations)! We'll make the brand meaningful again!

 

Just an update, my original Raspberry Pi has been working quite well.

I am actually in process of assembling a second one, this time complete for the $29 price!

If you live near MicroCenter, they have a $15 off anything coupon right now (google it). Their price on the B+ (newest model) is $29.99. I picked one up yesterday for $15+ tax.
Add in a 4GB SDHC card for $4.95 shipped from Adorama: http://www.adorama.com/KGSDC104GB.html
Add in a Kootek 5V 2A USB power supply for $8.99 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/Kootek-Univer...ternal/dp/B00GWDLJGS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

And you're done for $29

I have some powered PC-style speakers that I might hook up to this newest one I build. Maybe for the garage?

 

Just bought the B+ from Amazon...no microcenter around me unfortunately. Plan to use if for the bedroom. As I don't have a digital connection on the amp in my bedroom (Sansui 5000x), I'll just deal with the analog outs provided. No itch to upgrade them yet. However, you inspired (hoodwinked? ) me to get the hifi berry, so that's on order. "Whole house control/listening" on the cheap! I'm still amazed these (or similar) haven't caught on like wild-fire with the audio community.

 

I built a Pi that runs SqueezeLite (using the Squeezeplug website) and a Wolfson card. I found a nice little custom case for the Pi + Wolfson card. Here it is - the little black box feeding my Beresford Bushmaster DAC Headamp with a SPDIF on my nightstand :-





......very useful when my family are watching TV in the lounge and I cannot use the Squeezebox Touch in my main rig. It runs wirelessly using a cheap £3 wireless card - it is capable of all the functions of a Squeezebox Touch (Hi-Res upto 24-192, BBC iPlayer, Spotify etc) - but cost me a fraction of the price of another second hand SBT.

If I fancy listening to music on speakers I sometimes plug it into the Denon Micro System in my son's bedroom......the DAC in the Wolfson card sounds very good to me.

 

I wish there was a US distributor for the HiFiBerry stuff, I'm sure I'd buy a lot more of what they have. The price is right, shipping (almost) kills it.

Looking good!

I have to say, I'm much less stressed about the whole "Squeezeboxes are discontinued" situation now, than I was a year ago. Now that I know I can build my own for <$100, I never have to worry about my current boxes breaking, or getting gouged via eBay for replacements. Thanks to the work of the piCorePlayer team, this architecture could potentially on indefinitely.

 

I didn't want to solder a DAC to my Pi, so went for a USB solution - http://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs/U2-DAC - which cost me around £40 for the DAC. This will play up to 24 bit 96 kHz audio, and the sound quality is in a different league to the built in analogue output on the Pi. I've got it running into a Pioneer A300X amplifier driving a pair of Mission 760i speakers (both eBay bargains of 90s hi-fi that I knew would sound good, as I had a very similar system at university). I also run the Spotify plugin, so I have a set-up where I can play Spotify through the Pi, and control what's playing from my phone...

 

Using the original Raspberry Pi (as I described in my OP), you don't have solder a DAC to the board, just a small header - which the DAC plugs into.

 

I was thinking about buying some parts and giving this a try but noticed there's newer hardware out there now. Is anyone using a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B with a Wolfson add on card? I'm not even sure if it's compatible to be honest.

 

The Pi2 just got support added a couple of days ago, but I don't think the Wolfson card is supported by PiCorePlayer, with any hardware.

 

I use the Rasperry P2 with a HiFiBerry DAC Card. No soldering required and supported by the picoreplayer out of the box. Including screwing the case around it (which took most of the time) I had it up and running under 30 minutes.

 

This is the kind of vision that was obviously lacking there

Seriously how they drove that company into the ground during the greatest technological age in history (so far) is amazing to me.