Garage audio system on the cheap

This can be done cheaper than what I posted, even Im cutting a bunch of corners here. It will spend its life in the bitter cold and nasty humidity, the good stuff stays in the house ;). In its most basic form, youre looking at about $80. The whole thing works nicely. Here is the media server software, http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download , works with iOS, Linux, and Windows. You point it to your music directory, and it shares your library with all of the Squeezebox/RPi systems. It also does internet radio, so you can get Pandora, Spotify, local radio, etc. Logitech makes a Squeezebox remote control app for both iOS and Android. You can pretty much control it from any smartphone or web browser.
 
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Tin said:
This can be done cheaper than what I posted, even Im cutting a bunch of corners here. It will spend its life in the bitter cold and nasty humidity, the good stuff stays in the house ;). In its most basic form, youre looking at about $80. The whole thing works nicely. Here is the media server software, http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download , works with iOS, Linux, and Windows. You point it to your music directory, and it shares your library with all of the Squeezebox/RPi systems. It also does internet radio, so you can get Pandora, Spotify, local radio, etc. Logitech makes a Squeezebox remote control app for both iOS and Android. You can pretty much control it from any smartphone or web browser.
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You and I need to grab lunch sometime. I don't post much about tech stuff anymore, but with our nerd powers combined we could probably take over the world :lol:
 
You can find better speakers used. I really like the old Best Buy Insignia NS-B2111...they were the best bang for the buck speaker Ive heard. Best Buy used to sell them for $40 per pair, then once word spread they jumped to ~$100 per pair. I use them as computer speakers. Theyre not excellent at any one thing, but they do everything good enough. They usually pop up on eBay for ~$50 per pair. I bought a pair for my brother last year, and he loves them.
 
1. Unused Droid X (or current phone/tablet/etc)
2. 20 year old Aiwa minisystem
3. 3.5mm to RCA cable

It streams from the internet or NAS drive just fine. :dunno:
 
Scooter70 said:
1. Unused Droid X (or current phone/tablet/etc)
2. 20 year old Aiwa minisystem
3. 3.5mm to RCA cable

It streams from the internet or NAS drive just fine. :dunno:
Click to expand...

Thats a great setup too, thats how most people do it. Im after an appliance-like setup with high audio quality, and this fits the bill nicely.
 
Scooter70 said:
1. Unused Droid X (or current phone/tablet/etc)
2. 20 year old Aiwa minisystem
3. 3.5mm to RCA cable

It streams from the internet or NAS drive just fine. :dunno:
Click to expand...


That's pretty much what I do. My old iPod touch barely gets wifi from the house, but it works OK. My 15y/o Panasonic stereo is good enough for the garage. I can hardly hear music most of the time anyway with all the other noise going on.

Its a huge step up from my 25y/o "boom box" style radio with the dial that can't seem to lock onto any stations and has no aux input.
 
I am sticking with me GE Quadrophonic 8-track system. It would be nice to have blue-tooth on it though!

-Geoff
 
Arduino...cool, did not know there were other nerds here :)
Anyone else have an arduino??? I recently got a makie-makie, that has a built in arduion...would love to see any projects you guys are tinkering with
 
OnyxSSS said:
Arduino...cool, did not know there were other nerds here :)
Anyone else have an arduino??? I recently got a makie-makie, that has a built in arduion...would love to see any projects you guys are tinkering with
Click to expand...

Id like to grab an Arduino one of these days. Theres tons of cheap ones on eBay, might grab something like that and see about some home automation :)
 
I'd like to warn everyone about taking any type of advice from Tin. He's a dangerous man that shouldn't be trusted. He's already cost me a couple grand. :sagrin:
 
Well, had a sort of dramatic turn of events. This RPi music setup will go in my main system now. Im in the process of coordinating a trade, my Squeezebox Duet for a pair of 12" Knight 600HC coaxial drivers. I was supposed to do the trade yesterday, but the guy had something come up, maybe next weekend Ill have em. In the meantime, I ordered some goodies for my Pi:

Steel case by Cook Technologies. Ive used 2 cases with mine so far, and stiff cables have their way with them. I want it to stay put, so steel it is.
2012-12-03_15-48-21_347.jpg


Also grabbed a 24-bit/96KHz HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC. Ill be using it to pass 24/96 digital audio to my Benchmark DAC1. This will be a nice upgrade, as my Squeezebox was only good for 16-bit/44KHz...fine if you only plan on playing redbook CD material. Now that high resolution lossless files are available, this will be a nice upgrade, letting me enjoy the better quality audio.
2-500x500.jpg


Now that the Squeezebox line is finished, the only "affordable" off the shelf option is a Sonos system, and those start at $900 and only offer 16-bit/44KHz audio. This setup ran me ~$150 total, and will offer far higher quality audio than the Sonos system. Open source FTW! :)
 
Crappy pic, but its done and working beautifully. MOG and Pandora work great, plus now itll do 24/96 lossless high resolution audio no problem. Total outlay was about $136.

c92fa1eb-5aed-4065-807b-83cd89cc429c_zpsb8581b48.jpg
 
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