I have a perfectly workable, old-school receiver and CD player. What I'm looking for is a box that plays MP3s and/or internet stations like Pandora, that I could plug into my stereo.

I may have just answered my own question - maybe a raspberry Pi and a bluetooth keyboard would do the trick?




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Re: Looking for a box
By: poindexter FORTRAN to All on Tue Sep 21 2021 07:27 am

I have a perfectly workable, old-school receiver and CD player. What I'm looking for is a box that plays MP3s and/or internet stations like Pandora, that I could plug into my stereo.

I may have just answered my own question - maybe a raspberry Pi and a bluetooth keyboard would do the trick?

An old iPod touch or iPhone would work for that purpose.
--
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This Is Spinal Tap quote #38:
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Hello poindexter;

poindexter FORTRAN wrote to All <=-

I have a perfectly workable, old-school receiver and CD player. What
I'm looking for is a box that plays MP3s and/or internet stations like Pandora, that I could plug into my stereo.

I may have just answered my own question - maybe a raspberry Pi and a bluetooth keyboard would do the trick?

A Pi would be a tad difficult to use a CD player on. Almost any older box
would be fine! There's some Dells on eBay you can grab that'd actually be
a bit overkill but great bang for the buck!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313684032328?hash=item4909067b48:g:o6QAAOSwC5thRORc
I have a small pile of these, mainly in SFF cases. It's what my bbs is on
as well as my packet node/bbs/conv/dxc, apache2, postfix/procmail/spamassassin etc etc etc. Imagine what it could do for you!


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Re: Re: Looking for a box
By: Brian Rogers to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Sep 24 2021 03:23 pm

I have a perfectly workable, old-school receiver and CD player. What
I'm looking for is a box that plays MP3s and/or internet stations
like Pandora, that I could plug into my stereo.

A Pi would be a tad difficult to use a CD player on. Almost any older box would be fine! There's some Dells on eBay you can grab that'd actually be a bit overkill but great bang for the buck!

From what he said, I think he already has a CD player for his stereo. It sounds like he's asking for something to plug into his stereo that would play MP3s and stream online music/audio.

Nightfox

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Hey Nightfox;

Nightfox wrote to Brian Rogers <=-

From what he said, I think he already has a CD player for his stereo.
It sounds like he's asking for something to plug into his stereo that would play MP3s and stream online music/audio.

Yes you are correct, I misread that... however nothing wrong with having a backup player especially a CD player! The lasers move and misalign.

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Brian Rogers wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

A Pi would be a tad difficult to use a CD player on. Almost any older
box would be fine! There's some Dells on eBay you can grab that'd
actually be a bit overkill but great bang for the buck!

What I'm looking to do is use the PC for playing ripped MP3s, SOMA FM and Pandora, not the actual CDs. And, I have a spare Pi already, so already paid for is nice. :)



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Re: Re: Looking for a box
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Brian Rogers on Sat Sep 25 2021 08:10 am

What I'm looking to do is use the PC for playing ripped MP3s, SOMA FM and Pandora, not the actual CDs. And, I have a spare Pi already, so already paid

Did you find anything better for this? Do you have any other old devices like phones or tablets or anything? They'd be much better suited, I would think. At one place, I have an old iPod touch on a dock that connects via bluetooth to an adapter hanging off the back of an old stereo. Works and sounds great :).

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Hello Phigan;

Phigan wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Did you find anything better for this? Do you have any other old
devices like phones or tablets or anything? They'd be much better
suited, I would think. At one place, I have an old iPod touch on a dock that connects via bluetooth to an adapter hanging off the back of an
old stereo. Works and sounds great :).

With most companies now blocking some of the older mobile devices from their networks, I'm sure they're plentiful and your idea is excellent. I often use
my Note 3 to stream into my bluetooth speakers/soundbar and it sounds pretty mint.

I'm shocked that my carrier is going to block the Note 3's as of February
2022 claiming it dials using 3G but it does indeed use 4G. Rather than scrapping it, I'll just use it as a mini tablet mainly for bluetooth streaming to my bluetooth speakers. The headphone jack can also be used to plug into
an aux input on a receiver. I imagine you can find good older devices on
eBay pretty cheap too.

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Re: Looking for a box
By: poindexter FORTRAN to All on Tue Sep 21 2021 07:27 am

I have a perfectly workable, old-school receiver and CD player. What I'm looking for is a box that plays MP3s and/or internet stations like Pandora, that I could plug into my stereo.

I may have just answered my own question - maybe a raspberry Pi and a bluetooth keyboard would do the trick?

I have been using Chromecast Audio devices for years. They used to be $15 a pop.

-WitNik

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■ Synchronet ■ * Origin: Beggar's Canyon - beggarscyn.com *

On 10/9/21 3:27 PM, WitNik wrote:

I have been using Chromecast Audio devices for years. They used to be $15 a pop.

I'm pretty upset tey were discontinued. They work really well, Illl be
sad the day mine dies.
--
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I may have just answered my own question - maybe a raspberry Pi and a bluetooth keyboard would do the trick?

As long as you don't use the rpi's analog audio output.

It's nasty. Not a proper DAC, but some PWM (10 or 12 bit, I believe), with terrible SNR.

... New Opcode #20: PON - Power Off Now

Roc wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

It's nasty. Not a proper DAC, but some PWM (10 or 12 bit, I believe),
with terrible SNR.

My tinnitus is so bad, I could plug in a Fisher Price turntable and find it enjoyable. :)

I've seen some USB audio devices, maybe a cheap one would suffice?



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My tinnitus is so bad, I could plug in a Fisher Price turntable and find it enjoyable. :)

I'm sad to hear that (pun intended) but keep in mind hearing does only get worse with age.

I suggest getting good headphones (Sennheiser HD600 is my pick) while you still have some ears to enjoy them with.

I've seen some USB audio devices, maybe a cheap one would suffice?

For a line-out, pretty much any will work as long as they support usb audio class (i.e. standard, doesn't require vendor-specific drivers).

For a headphone-out, it's more complicated as amplification (not just gain, but ability to provide current to the headphones) is needed, and generic usb sound adapters are _nasty_ at that.

Schiit Fulla or HEL is generic advice in the US.

Else, https://www.audiosciencereview.com/ is my go-to for measurement-driven, objective reviews.

... History repeats itself because nobody listens