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Standalone USB and BT device

Y

yustr

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Greetings from the sunny PNW.

I've separated my 2-channel system from my HT, though they share the same stand. The 2-channel consists of TT to Vincent Pho8 to Schiit SYS to Rotel 990 to Swan 3.1. I want to also use this system for listening to CDs that I transferred to USB thumb drives before selling. (Actually they're on an external HD that rests in another room. The thumb drives get loaded there.) Also having BT capability is needed. My Yamaha receiver handles this fine via the zone2 pre-outs to the Schiit. But it's an inelegant setup.

Is there a device that I can use in place of the receiver? A quick search did not show DACs with the ability to display the file structure of the USB sticks. That's a must. I'd consider getting a preamp to replace the Schiit and/or Vincent but I don't want to sell a kidney to get it.

Any help is appreciated.
 
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You need a digital media player. In desktop form such devices have been around for 20 years or so, but in the modern era such functionality tends to be bundled with internet streaming features, and the device is then referred to as a "streamer".

The entry-level champion - the WiiM Mini - unfortunately does not include the ability to playback from directly attached storage devices (as you specified) so you would need to go up the price-scale to a Bluesound NODE US$500 or EverSolo DMP-A6 US$850.

Or to keep the cost down you could DIY a Raspberry Pi (+ DAC) upon which you can install your favourite software package, eg. Volumio/Moode/Rune/piCorePlayer.
 
... or re-think your overall configuration -
yustr said:
they're on an external HD that rests in another room.
Click to expand...
This external HD is connected to a personal computer, right? Then it's possible to set up a networked digital audio system, which will avoid the need to constantly plug/unplug USB flash drives when updating your music library -
i) install a DLNA server on your personal computer (Windows even includes a clunky version as standard) and configure it to serve the audio files on your external hard drive.
ii) get a WiiM Mini (US$110) plug it into your Schiit SYS, connect the WiiM's wifi to your LAN
then you're ready to stream your local music library to your hifi.
 
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