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Marrying vintage audio to remote control

S

sumdumgai

New Member
Okay, so I have 1970's era Sansui 5000 amp, 8000 rear amp, Akai tape deck and other same era stuff. Works great in my man cave. Loud, crisp and awesome, amazingly, even with tapes that I recorded off vinyl back then. I have a gazebo that I built out back with hot tub and speakers, and I'm currently playing CD's with a Sony CD carousel through the amp and speaker wires out to the hot tub. It has really been great!

My question now is this. I've got this great music library that's on a network drive on my computer system. I can play this library on any smart TV in my house that can connect to the network. But, is there a way that I can play this music that's in my library out in the gazebo through the Sansui amp? Is there a way that I select which tracks to play out there using smart phone? Obviously I need a screen on my phone to select tracks. Also, I'm not sure bluetooth will reach from gazebo to amp location.

This is a challenge, but I'm hoping there are some great audio geniuses out there who can give me some ideas. Please don't tell me to trash my old stuff and get on with digital sh__.

Truly appreciate any helpful ideas.

Sumdumgai
 
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Where is the Sansui system located? Im sure something like a Bluesound Node 2 would work if you're talking about a wifi network. There are distance limitations but your gazebo speakers are wired and I'm assuming they're powered by the Sansui amps.
 
I’m doing essentially the same thing on my screen porch - I have a Cambridge Stream Magic 6 running into a big old Onkyo receiver that I pulled the u-jacks on, so the output from the Cambridge (with which I control volume and content with a phone app) goes straight into the Onkyo receiver’s amp. Yes, it’s doable. All you need is a streamer, and there are some of those that can be had for pretty low dollars. Where is your amp located? I have mine for the screen house system in the basement of the house.
 
Don’t use Bluetooth. Use something that will connect to your network such as a Sonos Port and feed the output to your existing amp. Or you could just get a Denon HEOS amplifier and it works with the HEOS app.
 
sumdumgai said:
Okay, so I have 1970's era Sansui 5000 amp, 8000 rear amp, Akai tape deck and other same era stuff. Works great in my man cave. Loud, crisp and awesome, amazingly, even with tapes that I recorded off vinyl back then. I have a gazebo that I built out back with hot tub and speakers, and I'm currently playing CD's with a Sony CD carousel through the amp and speaker wires out to the hot tub. It has really been great!

My question now is this. I've got this great music library that's on a network drive on my computer system. I can play this library on any smart TV in my house that can connect to the network. But, is there a way that I can play this music that's in my library out in the gazebo through the Sansui amp? Is there a way that I select which tracks to play out there using smart phone? Obviously I need a screen on my phone to select tracks. Also, I'm not sure bluetooth will reach from gazebo to amp location.

This is a challenge, but I'm hoping there are some great audio geniuses out there who can give me some ideas. Please don't tell me to trash my old stuff and get on with digital sh__.

Truly appreciate any helpful ideas.

Sumdumgai
Click to expand...
I put a receiver out by my hot tube use blue tooth and cd, I use a husky weather proof tool tote box leave the reciever blue tooth and cd in it ,stood it on end slid the tray in as a shelf and when I shut it down for late winter I wheel it into the garage, got it st Home Depot $60 it even locks ,drilled holes in the bottom for speakers and power cord used wire clamps, i use this with my outdoor Dayton speakers mounted under the roof overhang , have used for 5yrs it has weathered many storms system inside always nice and dry
 
He wants something that will allow him to access a large song library on his network PC so a streamer like the Node 2 or Stream Magic will do that. No need to ditch your equipment and you can control functions with your phone.
 
Thanks for the replies and suggestions. The Sansui amp and other components are located in finished basemen (man cave). The speaker wires go from gazebo, under deck, through brick wall, through dropped ceiling, and into the amp, probably 125 ft of wire. Distance from gazebo to amp about 100 ft, probably too far for Bluetooth, unless there's some kind of repeater or extender, but I think the gazebo is within wifi range.
 
sumdumgai said:
Okay, so I have 1970's era Sansui 5000 amp, 8000 rear amp, Akai tape deck and other same era stuff. Works great in my man cave. Loud, crisp and awesome, amazingly, even with tapes that I recorded off vinyl back then. I have a gazebo that I built out back with hot tub and speakers, and I'm currently playing CD's with a Sony CD carousel through the amp and speaker wires out to the hot tub. It has really been great!

My question now is this. I've got this great music library that's on a network drive on my computer system. I can play this library on any smart TV in my house that can connect to the network. But, is there a way that I can play this music that's in my library out in the gazebo through the Sansui amp? Is there a way that I select which tracks to play out there using smart phone? Obviously I need a screen on my phone to select tracks. Also, I'm not sure bluetooth will reach from gazebo to amp location.

This is a challenge, but I'm hoping there are some great audio geniuses out there who can give me some ideas. Please don't tell me to trash my old stuff and get on with digital sh__.

Truly appreciate any helpful ideas.

Sumdumgai
Click to expand...

Vintage and remote control aren't doable, and it stay all vintage. Vintage 2 channel is not built for video, or for smart TV sets, either. And I am the last person to want the new digital yuppie lifestyle items either myself. A PC hooked up to my HiFi, with an audio interface, OK. You might have to do Sonos Connect to do this with your Sansui amplifier, and Sonos is equal parts annoying,
 
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This is really easy, cheap, and will work great assuming your wifi signal extends to your hot tub. You generate any playlists you want and control volume, deletions, additions, starts, stops, shuffle, repeat, etc. From an app on your phone. Output goes either to a USB dac if you wish, or directly to your receiver via an analog stereo 1/8" jack to two rca cable.

I've built a bunch of these, and absolutely love them for playing flac files on an NAS.

https://www.runeaudio.com/documentation/quick-start/rpi-hardware-setup/


Edit: I was going to include some links to what you'd need hardware-wise, but woof....guess Chipageddon is real. Two years ago I built a basic one for less than $50, and one with surprisingly intermal daughterboard Dac for well under $100. That ship has sailed...sigh.
 
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AudioGMan said:
Don’t use Bluetooth. Use something that will connect to your network such as a Sonos Port and feed the output to your existing amp. Or you could just get a Denon HEOS amplifier and it works with the HEOS app.
Click to expand...

This is the easiest and best way to accomplish this task. I'll add a Yamaha MusiCast WXC-50 to the list, as well. I think the Sonos and the Yamaha are the most stable while the Heos would be second, in my experience. All three of these competing solutions run on your existing WiFi so there is no Bluetooth or anything like that. Any phone/ tablet on the network that has the app installed can control the music and volume easily.
 
kwkshift said:
This is the easiest and best way to accomplish this task. I'll add a Yamaha MusiCast WXC-50 to the list, as well. I think the Sonos and the Yamaha are the most stable while the Heos would be second, in my experience. All three of these competing solutions run on your existing WiFi so there is no Bluetooth or anything like that. Any phone/ tablet on the network that has the app installed can control the music and volume easily.
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If the OP ditches his Sansui, then he will have to change the title of the thread appropriately. This thread is how to add remote control to a vintage stereo.

I have actually done this in two ways, but it is limited. The first way was to get a CD player with remote, variable out, and with remote output control. The thing is, you only have volume control on the CD player.

The other way I have remote volume control (great when you are out on the patio or hot tub) is using iTunes with Airport Express from my Mac Pro from my NAS. I control it with the apple remote app on my iPhone. Volume control and access to my full iTunes library.
 
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Other option: go separates, vintage amp with modern preamp.

Otherwise, to reiterate other AK members, the only way to control the volume is via your digit source. Meaning you would have to keep the volume pot at a certain position and use your source as the remote.

Personally, I just stand up and walk over and do it. At least I find a decent preamp that will suit my needs.
 
Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. I'll mull over these suggestions and will no doubt come back with more questions.
 
sumdumgai said:
Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. I'll mull over these suggestions and will no doubt come back with more questions.
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if you decide to go the raspberry pi route, go over to the digital Sources and PCs & Music Servers forum and look around. This question comes up all the time so you are not unique.

Like I said above I use Rune. I have my music ripped to a NAS. The PI mounts the NAS and using Rune SW, it builds a MPD library and allows you to select and play your music. You control it from any web browser (phone, laptop, ipad, tablet, ...).

It isn't a good time to try to buy a raspberry pi with the supply chain issues (chip shortage?) but if you have one available, this might be an option. You will need a DAC. I use a HAT but others have had success with a USB dac. There are many different RP solutions like Rune (Moode, Volumio, Pi Musicbox, LMS, ...). I found Rune a while ago and it works for me. I haven't looked at other solutions since I have something that works.

I use it everyday (work from home) connected to the main rig. I even have one in the living room rig and another in the garage stereo. A lot (most?) have the ability to sync between each raspberry pi. If you are having a party with people in the house getting food, others outside enjoying the view of the ocean, and more in the garage admiring your Ferrari, you can be playing the same music throughout the house using multiple raspberry pi/stereo set ups.

good luck with your decision!
 
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