USB stick digital audio to analogue.

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irondutchess

irondutchess

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Joined 2018
united-kingdom.network
#1
I have a 1960s large cabinet valve radio, I also have a collection of 1950s and 1960s music in flac format (can convert to mp3).


What I am looking for is something to plug a USB stick of music into that has analogue output that I can plug into the PU socket on the back of the radio.


Object of the exercise, to play 50s/60s music through 50s/60s equipment as unsurprisingly there are no radio stations playing that content these days.


I can find lots of DACs, but none that have USB input. Does anyone know of such a device?
 
#4
A Raspberry Pi running MoOde or Volumio et al will accept your USB stick and has an onboard trrs output.

It would also play internet radio and there are several stations that may be what suits...
Here are a couple from a quick search..
radio-browser.info

moodeaudio.org

If you don't want to go the SBC path then perhaps something like this Sony...accepts USB stick (MP3) and has headphone out...
ZS-PS50 - CD Boombox with AM/FM Radio Tuner and USB Playback
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-ZSRS60BT-Boombox-Accessory-Bundle/dp/B01LZ6ZYVL
 
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#10
I use a portable player with dual analog output: headphone with variable volume and line-out. The line-out jack does have about the same output amplitude as a old crystal cartridge, this way the volume control on the radio does work as intended. I use a fairly long braided cable with a vintage look: I can control the player from the couch almost like a remote control from the '60. The player I use is called HIFI Walker H2, and it does play FLAC natively from SD card or micro usb. The internal DAC is fairly good, the headphone output not so much, and the user interface is clumsy and outdated; but the chassis is made of machined metal so it can tolerate some abuse. It works just fine for this job and the audio quality is much better than a mobile phone.
 
#11
I see the Dune device is currently unavailable on the site to which you linked.

Seems like overkill for your purposes at 229 EUR, but offers "High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey's Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc)" ᐈ Dune HD Smart D1 • best Price • Technical specifications.

However, I don't see any analogue audio outputs?
 

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#15
I bought it almost 4 years ago, I use it often and it still works, although the scroll wheel does not turns smoothly anymore. It works like a early mp3 player: just copy the files on the SD card or connect a usb stick, select the file/folder with the scroll wheel inside the crude built-in file browser and press play. No special software needed to load or organize the songs. It is also possible to connect it to a USB2 computer port and slowly load the files directly on the SD card. It can finally be used as USB DAC or bluetooth receiver. It is a OEM product, also sold with other brand names.
 
#17
I bought the H2 player to replace a Amazon Fire tablet that I previously used for this purpose. The tablet is a far more powerful device (streaming apps, good audio applications and file browsers), but the audio output was too low (both on volume level and audio quality), and it was spoiling the vintage experience due to the large screen and touch interface.
 
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