Inexpensive DAC for Raspberry Pi streamer (Airport Express knockoff)

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hoffsta

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Joined 2011
I have a Raspberry Pi sitting around and I'd like to turn it into a pseudo Airport Express for streaming music to my patio stereo. Obviously in an outdoor environment, ultimate high-fidelity is less of a priority than other locations so I'm looking for a low cost DAC board that will at least get the SQ on par with the Airport Express.

This DAC will sit between the Pi and a Sure TK2050 amp to Definitive Technology AW6500 outdoor speakers and will mostly be playing 320 mp3s and internet radio.

Options start as low as $5 for a simple USB dongle sound card and go all the way into hundreds of dollars.

I've seen mentioned the PCM2704 chip as a good low cost contender.
Does this model seem worthy of my ambitions?

PCM2704 USB DAC USB to s PDIF Sound Card Decoder Board 3 5mm Analog Output | eBay

Are there better options in this price point?
Thanks for your input!
 
bnorrish

bnorrish

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Joined 2012
That is what I use in my shop (PCM2704) wiht the PI and it works great. Your link does not work but I got mine on eBay for $12.50 with shipping. I feel it is my cheap speakers that are the sound quality bottleneck and not the PI/DAC. I also got a Edimax EW-7811Un 150 Mbps Wireless 11n Nano Size USB for $14 - recommended - it just works - plug and play. audiohobby.com has a good tutorial on using MPD on the PI. I mounted a CIFS share from Windows PC where all my music is stored and use my Droid tablet and phone with mPod app to control.

I think you will be very happy and should go for it. I do not believe there are better options at this price. I also have a Sonos with my main system which is great but $350.
 
bnorrish

bnorrish

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Joined 2012
A good introduction to Linux. Enjoy. I use it headless, even when I first configured. Download Putty. Find out what your DHCP scope is on your home network - usually 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.9. and try to connect, guessing the IP. Start with .1 and then .2, .3, etc unit you get a command prompt. The first thing I did was configured it with a static IP that never changes. Help is easy as typing "static IP Rasberry PI" in Google. A ton of help out there.
 
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