[Callous]

So I've had the same setup more or less for five years now:
 
I have a 2TB external hard drive, which is connected into an ASUS netbook, which connects via USB to a Keces DAC, connected via component cables to a B22, which plugs into HD800s. (I know, the Keces needs to be upgraded!)
 
Netbook is exclusively playing FLAC via Foobar2000.
 
The problem is, the netbook I'm using is extremely old and runs into a lot of issues, even though all I'm using it for is playing music through Foobar. This includes things like the FLAC tracks freezing up for... like the first hour that the netbook is turned on. Basically, I want to switch up the way in which I choose and select my music.
 
One obvious alternative is that I simply buy a new Windows computer, and run Foobar from it. However, I remember (way back in the day...) maybe 5 years ago, I was at a meet, and someone had some sort of system that was hooked up to his DAC & external hard drive that acted as a sort of... file manager to play his FLAC. He was able to filter through his artists/albums with a remote control, via this system!
 
I guess what I'm asking is -- is there some other source component or piece of hardware (besides Foobar & Windows OS) that I can use to playback FLAC from an external hard drive... and still use my existing DAC/B22 setup?
 
Thanks!

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would say to wipe the netbook's hard drive and install a fresh copy of the OS.

 

[castleofargh]

you can buy a very very wild variety of nas and multimedia systems that can act instead of a computer or with a computer. you could go from a raspberry pi, to stuff at more than a thousand bucks.
but unless you have particular desires, I would go with what is suggested above. if it's an old computer, just format it and use it exclusively as audio server.
 
all in all you need anything with a little CPU that can convert the flac into a PCM stream, after that, your DAC doesn't care where it comes from.

 

[Roseval]

I think you are revering to "music servers"
They do exist but most of the time they are rather expensive, far more expensive than a decent brand new laptop.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/HD_players.html

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  (I know, the Keces needs to be upgraded!)

 
Why? If it takes the proper inputs and gives the outputs you need, and as long as it was a properly designed DAC SQ-wise, then there's really nothing to upgrade about it.
 
 

 
I guess what I'm asking is -- is there some other source component or piece of hardware (besides Foobar & Windows OS) that I can use to playback FLAC from an external hard drive... and still use my existing DAC/B22 setup?

 
It's called a music server. There are quite a lot of them out there now, like the Musical Fidelity M1 CLiC, the Aune S1, the Olive 04HD, there are some from Pioneer, Marantz, and Sony, etc...once hooked up to your home (W)LAN you just need to install an app on a smartphone or tablet so it can be used as a remote, with the same type of touch interface as a music player on said mobile devices. Some like the Olive has both an optical drive and an HDD bay, so you can automatically rip CDs (I personally would rather use a PC though, since auto-tagging usually screws up with the kind of less popular music I listen to). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kramer5150]

I know this is a windows/FLAC discussion...But IIRC have seen appleTV boxes setup to do exactly as you describe.  I think what I saw was an older version appleTV that either has a built in hard drive and/or could serve as a USB host.  I think (if memory serves me right) it has both optical and analog output.  I'd be shocked if there weren't a non-apple device with similar capabilities... Roku etc
 
PS I am in the same boat as you, but my library is mostly m4a files and some 320k mp3.

 

[kramer5150]

Wester Digital has their version.. which seems to heavily favor local-end user media storage as opposed to other devices which favor streaming and cloud storage.
 
http://www.cnet.com/products/western-digital-wd-tv-media-player-2014/

 

[yay101]

Cuboxi/ raspberry pi? I can't help but feel like spending anything more on this would be a fools errand.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Cuboxi/ raspberry pi? I can't help but feel like spending anything more on this would be a fools errand.

 

Not necessarily. For those with less computer skills, "without Foobar/Windows" may also mean "no fiddling with OS and player apps and worrying about DLNA, etc" (aside from a remote app), so a server that you just hook up to your LAN (for NAS access and remote apps) or has provisions for local storage would work for them, albeit costing more. At the same time, even if you do have more computer savvy, if you already have an existing NAS anyway, a music server with a specialized software guaranteed to work with the lossless format you use will access it straight out of the box (at worst maybe a firmware upgrade, but most can do FLAC nowadays, even through wireless; some apps had limitations on that) and will only need the remote app to set-up. For those who are just upgrading from a CDP and don't have a DAC yet, a server with a decent decoding and analog output section isn't a bad choice either. For Cocktail Audio specifically, they also have speaker amps built in, and I've heard the smaller X10 on the 86dB floorstanding Duevel Planets and they weren't bad; they would do a heck of a lot better with standmounts, more so the X30. At some point the Pioneer server might be at a very low price also - not anywhere near the Pi but low enough below the initial MSRP.

 

Basically, there's something for everybody. That said, as someone who can appreciate both sides of the set up process, the problem with anything that's more straightforward when setting can mean that when something doesn't work it's a bigger PITA to get into the guts of the software, so I'm more likely to use miniPCs. I was looking at Android since I can use NeutronMusicPlayer's EQ, but then I ran into some miniPCs with an i3 and a GTX760, and others with a GT540M, running Windows. If at any point some of those get GPUs that can do remote play that means I can run that miniPC to play Madden from somewhere else on an NVidia Shield. IF that ever becomes possible then I'd spend more just to get the other things I can use it for.

 

[yay101]

Flash volumio via its windows/ mac/ Linux installer -> plug in network cable -> go to volumio.local on any device with a web browser/ use its app. Done.

 

[JohnBooty]

...I was at a meet, and someone had some sort of system that was hooked up to his DAC & external hard drive that acted as a sort of... file manager to play his FLAC. He was able to filter through his artists/albums with a remote control, via this system!

 
You mentioned liking the idea of a remote.
 
Others mentioned the RaspberryPi already but here's something I wasn't aware of myself until I bought one: if you have a TV (and/or AV receiver) that supports HDMI CEC you can actually control a Raspberry Pi (running RaspBMC) with your TV's remote. (If your TV/monitor doesn't support this, you can buy a RaspberryPi-specific remote)
 
http://www.raspbmc.com/
 
Getting a RaspberryPi up and running with RaspBMC (the RaspberryPi version of Kodi, formerly XBMC) is pretty easy.  Essentially, you download the disk image on your PC/Mac, save it to a SD card, and pop it into your RaspberryPi. There are clear directions on the website. And once you do this initial setup you are basically done messing around with the tech - at that point your RaspberryPi will be very appliance-like, like a Roku or something similar.
 
Of course going with this setup assumes that you have some kind of TV or monitor as a part of your setup. Not always the case. I have a small den with no screens in it and that's a nice place to listen to music.

 

[yay101]

Volumio/ any setup using mpd can use any of the hundreds of mpd clients as well, and xbmc also has hundreds of remote apps. The cuboxi also comes with an ir blaster/ receiver in case you want a physical remote (can use any universal remote), of course then though you cannot quickly choose a song/album/artist directly.

More options to consider.

 

[cel4145]

I would say to wipe the netbook's hard drive and install a fresh copy of the OS.

Yep. If the netbook didn't do this to begin with, a fresh install could solve the problem.

 

[rmoody]

Of try this http://www.daphile.com/
Very very light weight. I've tried Volumio on my rPi and playing files stored on my NAS, but it's so slow that it's not worth it. Running Daphile is much more responsive to me. Besides, I like how Daphile looks better and that you can have a local interface if you choose.

 

[yay101]

Yeah Daphile is pretty good too.