[younglee200]

I'm this close to pulling the plug - ordering myself a raspberry pi + a case for it.
 
Last question, just from my still lasting skeptical-ism - Right now I'm running JRiver media center through WASAPI mode - meaning that my Laptop's soundcard is pretty much bypassed, and the sound is going straight into the DAC into the amp.  
 
Wouldn't purchasing a pi and going through it do the exact same thing?

 

[fourwed]

  I'm this close to pulling the plug - ordering myself a raspberry pi + a case for it.
 
Last question, just from my still lasting skeptical-ism - Right now I'm running JRiver media center through WASAPI mode - meaning that my Laptop's soundcard is pretty much bypassed, and the sound is going straight into the DAC into the amp.  
 
Wouldn't purchasing a pi and going through it do the exact same thing?

 
No, it is a different beast. Before I wrote this thread, I compared Picoreplayer with JRiver media center in a Lenovo Notebook / PC. Sound quality is clearly superior in Picoreplayer.
 
You could bypass much of the unnecessary processes for sound generation in Windows by WASAPI but:
 
1. There are too many processes working behind Windows which deteriorate the sound quality and hard to be eliminated, that is why a software called "Fidelizer" is written trying to optimize Windows for Music. I tried a year ago, not much improvement then and quite troublesome to use.
 
2. Notebook/PC have too much electronic components which generate noises, it is totally unavoidable.
 
Honestly, I just don't know why you don't just purchase it and try. (Sorry for being rude, but I have to say this) 
 
Yes, it might not work as magical as I claimed. But it is only US$40, not hundreds and thousands, right?
 
Besides, like I said before, it is actually a standalone Linux PC and multi-purpose. For example, install OpenELEC makes it a 1080P media player. It is not going to be completely useless.

 

[younglee200]

Sounds good, I've just placed my order for one.
 
Hopefully it's as awesome as I'm expecting!

 

[HighFive316]

Just to share my experience... I've tried building with a Pi, Wandboard, and even the more complex Vortex box builds... maybe it's just my lack of knowledge / minimal experience, but it seems like these all require alot of time to get "just right."

I'm getting to the point where I just want to BU Y something simple just to add a zone or 2, but I don't want to pay the extortion-type pricing sellers have online... and came across these replacement players called Open Squeeze Solo.  http://www.vidabox.com/opensqueeze-replacement-squeezebox-alternative-multi-room-zone-music-hardware-audio-players/opensqueeze-solo-music-player.html  Anyone tried this?  Pricing is inline with what I paid for a duet a while back... May have to give this a shot!

 

[fourwed]

  Just to share my experience... I've tried building with a Pi, Wandboard, and even the more complex Vortex box builds... maybe it's just my lack of knowledge / minimal experience, but it seems like these all require alot of time to get "just right."

I'm getting to the point where I just want to BU Y something simple just to add a zone or 2, but I don't want to pay the extortion-type pricing sellers have online... and came across these replacement players called Open Squeeze Solo.  http://www.vidabox.com/opensqueeze-replacement-squeezebox-alternative-multi-room-zone-music-hardware-audio-players/opensqueeze-solo-music-player.html  Anyone tried this?  Pricing is inline with what I paid for a duet a while back... May have to give this a shot!

 
Hmm...the picoreplayer is somehow relatively hard to setup up but have you given RaspyFi a try?
 
I am not sure about zone 2, do you mean have the 2nd RPi and play music stored in a common storage like NAS?

 

[sbp12]

Hi all
 
Thanks for your review on piCorePlayer. 
 
I have listened to your suggestions that it was difficult to set up and there could be problems with USB-DACs (a raspberry problem)
 
So now there is a new version with build-in web server, so now you can simply configure the piCorePlayer through a browser from another computer.
And it now supports DACs connected via i2s like the HiFiBerry DAC http://www.hifiberry.com/ 
 
PLease try it from here
 
Steen

 

[sbp12]

Hi. Please try the new version of piCorePlayer 1.15 that support 4 different i2s DACs with super sound quality. The problems with pops and clicks are gone if you are using these sound cards. All can be easily controlled via a web-GUI using your browser on another computer on your local network (LAN or Wifi).

Get it from here https://sites.google.com/site/picoreplayer/home/news

Steen