51–60 of 67 posts
Employers laptop -> (if newer laptop with no 3.5mm audio, cheap USB DAC) -> 3.5mm analog -> hifi analog input -> your ears
I wouldn't waste money on an expensive DAC. As I mentioned above... 320Kbps lossy audio. No point in a crazy DAC. No point in going through hoops to use your existing DAC.
Can confirm yak shave as commented by another. Full yak shave. I looked it up.
Or you can just buy one of these: https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimpro/overview (review: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23571271/wiim-mini-multi-r... )
It is going to let you stream everything on virtually any service, it has AirPlay, Spotify, Bluetooth, whatever... and it will output analog using the internal DAC or you can choose to hook up an external DAC if you like.
It's cheap, there is a simpler version, and a more feature rich version.
Or if you walk in to a HiFi store you'll probably walk out with one of these https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/ (but IMHO the WiiM is better).
And if you really want to go and put something OSS together then there are Raspberry Pi equivalents.
I am very into good speakers and a good traditional amp and keeping my DAC separate and my streamer separate from that... but it doesn't have to be hacked together (though knock yourself out if you so desire) and it doesn't have to be "audiophile" expensive either. Every good stereo that served you well for many decades can continue to serve you well with a cheap external streamer.
The only place where audiophile tendencies might kick in if you really want your lossless 96/24 playback (why? you can't hear it!) and you read up and discover that actually your digital path was capped somewhere along the line (probably an older TOSLINK component at 48/20)... but still, no-one has to do this, no-one will hear the difference.
also my research says you can get an airport express gen 2, which has a 3.5mm audio plug. you can use airplay 2 to stream media to it and whatever speakers you have plugged into it.
just bought a pair on ebay for ~$30 per
For those who want to hack a little less, I’ve found that a HiFiBerry[1] on a Pi works excellently for me[2].
[1]: https://www.hifiberry.com/
[2]: https://blog.yossarian.net/2022/11/07/Modernizing-my-1980s-s...
Besides that it contains a wealth of information on related and dervative topics for future reference. Great stuff, the world needs more of this.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In case anyone is unfamiliar, Spotify Connect is Spotify's solution for casting and remote controlling one or more Spotify speakers from a Spotify client on the same network. Any Spotify client can act as a speaker, and the system seamlessly connects to other smart home speaker systems like Google Home. When multiple Spotify clients connect to the same Connect session, they collaboratively control the music that play…
It's both incredibly convenient, and the most impressively disguised DRM. If two users attempt to share the same account, Spotify will helpfully make one of them a remote control for the other rather than being able to listen independently.
This is... something. Or you can just buy one of these: https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimpro/overview (review: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23571271/wiim-mini-multi-r... ) It is going to let you stream everything on virtually any service, it has AirPlay, Spotify, Bluetooth, whatever... and it will output analog using the internal DAC or you can choose to hook up an external DAC if you like. It's cheap, there is a si…
I really want to start some sort of hackathon, like the "stupid shit no one needs and terrible ideas" hackathon. I love this kind of hacking entirely for the fun of it, and this reminds me to write up my bubble drone. We'll done OP!
In the latter case, Voicemeeter makes it possible to fill the house with near-perfectly synchronised sound.
In the former, I can throw and control files from my mobile, using Bubbleupnp.
Both good. But there is a big part of me that wants the amp to work on its own. Smart is most definitely not always the answer. Being unable to fiddle with a thing from your main devices can be a big QOL win. And frankly, one afternoon screaming at an Echo Dot was enough. Invasive, demanding, awkward, restrictive.
I feel that in many cases the big wins from modern tech came over a decade ago for me.
I've dropped my interest in most smart / streaming devices - too much choice, too much distraction and advertising. Smart lightbulbs, I will make an exception for - far easier than fitting old style dimmers.
This is... something. Or you can just buy one of these: https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimpro/overview (review: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/8/23571271/wiim-mini-multi-r... ) It is going to let you stream everything on virtually any service, it has AirPlay, Spotify, Bluetooth, whatever... and it will output analog using the internal DAC or you can choose to hook up an external DAC if you like. It's cheap, there is a si…
David I love you but sometimes the point is to make a cool thing because it's cool, not because it should be practical.