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#1 Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:13 pm
by Ant
Anyone got either an sb3 or the other one that has the reciever and the remote looking thing?

The apple tv is just not practical having to be used with the tv and a dac. The squeezebox was ideal

Cheers ant

#2 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:41 pm
by Dave the bass
Ant wrote: Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:13 pm .......or the other one that has the reciever and the remote looking thing?
The 'Duet' I think it was called, Ant.

If you just by the Duet receiver you could just use an app on your phone to select tracks rather than shelling out for a Squeezebox Controller (the remote part).

#3 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 5:47 pm
by Ant
Thats the one, alas i am still phoneless at the moment but ta for that dave i'll keep that in mind

#4 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:08 pm
by Neal
I have a ‘classic’ Ant that I don’t use, drop me an offer....

#5 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:20 pm
by Nick
If the classic doesn't work out, the a Pi with pico player and a dac will give you just about the same functionality as long as you can use a phone of PC to control it.

#6 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:35 pm
by simon
I second Nick's suggestion. I have a SB3 and a Duet and Controller (though I use Squeezer app on my phone and tablet - you can use a computer too) but I also have a Pi with an Allo Boss DAC connected via I2S so one just plugs in to the other via the headers. Dead easy, cheap, and surprisingly good.

https://www.modmypi.com/raspberry-pi/au ... master-dac

piCorePlayer is well developed now and pretty easy to setup. It can run as Logitech Media Center too, and I have a pi which just runs LMS, as well as another with the Allo Boss. You can even set one up with a screen so it mimics a Touch.

https://picoreplayer.org/

#7 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:34 am
by Ray P
If you want to push the boat out to improve the SQ, compared with the Boss, you might consider the new Katana DAC from Allo.

It uses the mobile version of the Sabre 9038 DAC and has the option of isolation;

https://www.allo.com/sparky-eu/katana.html

It'll work well with picoreplayer.

#8 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:43 am
by Ray P
Or, an alternative approach would be to couple a RPi with an Allo Kali (isolator/reclocker) and feed the I2S to a separate (slave) DAC, maybe one of the Chinese one's on ebay?

#9 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 9:24 am
by simon
Last time I looked they weren't available in Europe. Interesting to see how much more we have to pay than the US...

I wonder how the Katana compares to the best DACs? Probably not too far behind and diminishing returns would set in fairly quickly I'd imagine.

#10 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 9:57 am
by Ant
Ta for the suggestions guys
However the problem is this. Im not really interested in the digital side of things so im not fussed about how this bit of the system sounds, its just so emma can access and play the stuff on the mac.
Using the tv as a monitor for the apple tv just means that it doesnt get used as there is always someone using the tv for the ps4 or youtube or netflix. Having another screen for the apple tv is out too as there simply isnt anywhere to put a screen.
I dont have a dac at all at the moment so i cant connect the apple tv to the system anyway. So using a pi in any form doesnt solve any of these issues. I have absolutely no idea how to do any of the things mentioned above with a pi, its all greek to me, and no inclination to find out

This is why the squeezebox was ideal. put lms on the mac and point it at itunes, get a couple of ethernet cables to connect the mac and squeezebox to the router, plug it in, and thats pretty much it. The display on a classic was big enough to read from across the room, all was good.
No need for a dac, screen or anything else. Simple and effective with half decent sound quality.

#11 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 9:34 pm
by mainscablesrus
I have a spare touch.

Image

#12 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:17 pm
by Ant
Thanks for the offer dave but i ruled the touch out because i cant see the screen on it properly from where i sit
It would be about 5m away and the text is just too small.

With the classic i could set the text to large so it scrolls across the screen and i can see it

#13 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:36 am
by Greg
Ant, I think you are making this really hard for yourself. Just get a basic RPi setup and use your phone or tablet to control. Many of us have done this and would never go back. Squeezebox is old hat and well out of date interms of sound quality. In terms of sound quality improvement, there is much that can be done with an RPi based system to make it better, at a fraction of the cost of buying old fashioned boxes. Don’t be shy. You undoubtably have the ability to learn what needs to be done to make it work. Actually you have people around you that could set you up and explain what you need to know to maintain it. Hankering after a vintage Squeezebox is, IMHO, a bit of a backward step.

#14 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:21 am
by ed
stick with it Ant...they come up on ebay for the right money every now and then

I completely understand where your coming from..
since the demise of my SB3 in June I've been running my beaglebone with an outboard dac..it's not half as practical as the SB3 was.. I'm currently using a netbook to control the LMS but I still miss the big display and the remote of the SB3.

#15 Re: Squeezebox wanted

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:00 pm
by Neal
There’s something very easy and intuitive about the classic sb3, large easy to read screen and direct control via a remote. If you feel you must use a phone or tablet it supports that as well. The RPi is all well and good, heck I use one, but I find having to use a tablet just a bit of a PIA if I’m honest just to stream some tunes. The SPDIF output is of good quality and works well into a good DAC.