Mini PC for music play back?

vintagetree

Active Member
I saw some stores selling Mini PC for TV or some media player back.
Now I am using a regular computer for hi-res music player, it does the job with a good DAC.
Mini PC looks really nice, space saving.
What is your opionin on it, mini or media pc has any good?
Thanks.
 
I prefer using a modest 14" laptop with an external USB DAC and a USB HDD for file storage. With this setup I don't need my phone or another device to see and/or control what's going on. In addition, I find the screen on a phone to be too small for my purposes. I can easily stream from anything that's available on the Internet or play anything from my local storage. The laptop is kept right next to my listening chair.

This approach is obsolescence proof. If a new/different streaming service becomes available I just download the necessary software. For me this is the primary reason for not considering a dedicated streamer. For those who want multiple access points my method won't work.

My listening room and the gear in it is the only place I do any "real" listening. However, in my bedroom I have a headphone rig that's also connected to an HT receiver. There is also another laptop w/USB HDD that drives a USB DAC. My bedroom setup is used for TV and movies 95% of the time.
 
I have enough PC's and their associated care and feeding headaches. I use a bunch of BlueSound Nodes now for music instead. It's effectively a mini music PC, minus the headaches.

I play IT guy as my day job. When it's time to relax and listen..."ain't nobody got time for that" :).

jblnut
 
I would think that a Raspberry Pi would be about the smallest thing that you could use. Or a small laptop. I suppose if a "mini PC" works... It doesn't really matter at all if you are trying to just get bits to a DAC.
 
i use an old Dell E5530 laptop as my digital source. It's hooked up to a Topping E30 DAC and Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 ADC for ripping vinyl. The laptop screen provides a nice display and I can hook external drives to it for storage. The laptop also allows access to Youtube and online links posted here and other places for listening and Audacity for my occasional ripping, which may grow now that winter is bearing down on us.

When the computers here were going wacky, I considered using my desktop in the same space via longer cables, but decided against it as there are occasions I wind up watching a video online while the music is playing.
 
Thanks.
since the mini pc or htpc is very small, so the fan should be runing all the time with high speed.
What about the noise?
and I see the cup or ram are not good or large enough by comparison to PC, does it lower the performance for music or video?
 
I saw some stores selling Mini PC for TV or some media player back.
Now I am using a regular computer for hi-res music player, it does the job with a good DAC.
Mini PC looks really nice, space saving.
What is your opionin on it, mini or media pc has any good?
Thanks.
I have a Raspberry pi4 microcomputer (the gadget at an angle) running Volumio App that I can stream files from Qobuz or other sites, and I can control it with my iPhone or my wife's ipad ...
It feeds an SMSL M100 DAC (the black box with the display).

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ff99.jpg

To put it in perspective - this picture shows the full rack its connected to
Its a great hoot to think of a microcomputer feeding a tube amp ;)
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ff9a.jpg
 
As for safety with a laptop connected to the internet, my paid subscriptions to an antivirus, anti-malware and VPN software accommodate up to 10 PC's. I live alone (I have a regular sleep over lady friend) and have 5 PC's. So, my subscriptions could handle at least five more PC's.
 
A lot of people use Mac minis as a source too. A ll three of my Macs have the same library and share which ever one is used to down load new music as does my iPhone. I use the Mac Book pro most of the time for the Stereo. The Plasma has an Apple TV which allows me to scan my 27" iMAC that I recently purchased for videos, too. I use the Mirror function when using You Tube.
 
I have skinned this cat from multiple angles....

In my office an Intel NUC, about the size of 4 cassettes stacked together feeds a Meridian Explorer2 DAC into an older Yamaha integrated and off to a pair of ADS L780/2. Roon, Tidal and 2TB of stored hi res files keep my toes tapping.

In the family room I have a Lenovo IdeaPad ($169 at Best Buy) and an AudioQuest Dragonfly Red DAC feed a Carver M200t and a pair of Mirage speakers. I have a Logitech BT keyboard and use the TV as a display via the laptops HDMI output.
 
Determine what inputs and outputs you need. Requirements list. I want 3 USB ports for instance at least one 3.0.
 
and I see the cup or ram are not good or large enough by comparison to PC, does it lower the performance for music or video?

Unless you're running room or other EQ DSP, or doing video transcoding, you really don't need much grunt for streaming music, either from external, or internal sources.

I have a little Atom N280 SBC (similar to a NUC). It runs LMS (under Windows). It just sits there, with no fan, doing its stuff.

I also have a little Atom-based netbook running MusicBee, which I also used successfully when trialling four commercial streaming services.

As suggested above, an RPi will work just fine. The new Pi Zero 2W should run LMS perfectly well.

Have a look in this subforum:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?forums/pcs-music-servers.122/
 
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In my opinion, the best mini PC to get is a used Lenovo m93. They can be had with i5 or i7 processor for around $150 used (check the popular auction site). They usually come with a small SSD drive preloaded with Win 10. Some important features like WiFi and HDMI ports are optional depending on what internal cards it has, so be sure the one you pick has the options you need. I bought one for a gaming cabinet I built for my son and couldn't be happier with the performance or quality. They are 7.2" x 7.2" by 1.4" high and really, really well made.

lenovo-thinkpad-computer-500x500.jpg
 
To me the advent of gigantic disk drives really made computer juke boxes possible. I have laptop with external DAC and external 2TB USB drive containing music files.

I prefer the external drive to hold music files so as not to get locked in on laptop. My first experiment was with netbook and I outgrew the internal disk drive twice.

So you can get a computer with small drive to contain OS and music software this means cheaper.

Botrytis and peterp1 mini looks nice and appears to have everything. Depends on price. Do I need smaller even if it costs more?

I do like having a display. Need to consider that in price. Keyboard too.
 
Never thought about this before. I don't see keyboard or display for Raspberry or minis. For minis without how do you manage that? I mess with my music software and like to display the track album cover. I do sneaker network copying music files and need display and keyboard.
Anyway I'm curious how you manage that.
 
keep an eye out for a "little green computer" decent unit, built for media.

may be time to take the leap to an actual streamer.. blue someting, can't recall the name now..has a passable DAC. Sonore (US manufacturer) makes a really nice unit for decent $, you can also find used Sonore - microRendu v1.5

PC end of day, adds a ton of garbage..

Regardless of DAC, even if you use a DDC after PC to relock (which you should comma imo) you're skuffing up the signal from the git. This is fine until you start to spend too much on your system, such that this obvious issue, becomes the next replacement.

my chain, Hard drive connected to streamer, to DDC, to DAC, to preamp to active xover to amps..

if you go PC or even streamer, look for a Schiit EITR, $100 cheap DDC used. it will improve your DAC output GUARANTEED. if it doesn't ;D sell it for the same $.. call me stupid. DDC will eliminate a lot of the garbage you're getting from the PC.. but wouldn't it be great not to emit it to being with ?

ok super hi5
 
Never thought about this before. I don't see keyboard or display for Raspberry or minis. For minis without how do you manage that? I mess with my music software and like to display the track album cover. I do sneaker network copying music files and need display and keyboard.
Anyway I'm curious how you manage that.

Easy enough to do - I control the Raspberry Pi4 with either my iphone or Emma's iPad - (this picture)
I can play tracks from my macPro in my upstairs office and stream the across the home Wifi network to the Pi4,
or pick a streaming site like Qobuz, or radio Paradise, or a web radio source like Grateful dead radio, etc ...
Don't need an album-cover display on the Pi4 itself.

iPad-controls-RaspbPi4_4911.jpg
 
Never thought about this before. I don't see keyboard or display for Raspberry or minis. For minis without how do you manage that?

RPis and Mini PCs have HDMI and USB, even the Pi Zero. But, once configured, many media servers operate 'headless', without local display or HMI devices. Instead, they provide a web-based user interface that is accessible to any smart device on your local network.
 
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