Hardware for this is not new but I haven't seen any mention of the ncspot client in the audiophool forums.
I bought a 2nd hand RPi3B+ and had a Pi2 Design 502DAC HAT lying around from 2 years ago. I am NOT a linux person at all but what I am is a Dad with a 19 year old son who fancies himself a linux geek.
ncspot is a linux client (I think that's the terminology). The beauty about this is a very light footprint. 46Mb vs 1Gb for official Spotify client. If you need graphics, then this is not for you. If sound matters above all else, read on. The link below gives you an idea of what ncspot looks like on the phone or on a CMD environment in a windows PC.
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2020/02/spotify-cli-client-ncspotA few months ago, the Son installs it into my dell laptop on an archlinux OS, and it sounded OK - but nothing exciting at all.
I put the Pi and the HAT together and asked him to put it on the Pi. The Pi is purely a SPotify streamer. I use a normal laptop or a phone to SSH into the Pi and run ncspot. I leave the Rpi/502DAC on 24/7.I might turn it off every 2 weeks to reboot but otherwise leave it on.
http://www.pi2design.com/502dac.htmlSound on a Spotify premium account is unbelievably clean with depth. It's musical. Leading edge is all there. silence between notes. Spotify is transformed from being a background music experience into one that an audiophool can enjoy. I can SSH into the Rpi via any laptop via the CMD line, or using Termux on my Google pixel. I use Spotify on the phone to maintain my playlists then use the Rpi to listen to my playlists. I don't use ncspot for much except to listen to my playlists.
I don't know how much of this is due to the 502DAC HAT. I use the AES out to a system running PWRD-ICE125 dsp/dac/amps driving lxmini. I had a linear power supply lying around like most audiophools and I use it to power the 502DAC. I had a battery power supply powering the RPi but I got tired of the hassle and my enjoyment of the config hasn't diminished with running just the 1 LPS for both.
I think ncspot was easy to configure. This is me watching the Son. Took him maybe 2 sittings. One to install and one to debug.
I am now trying to get Son to install mpd on another card and see if I can run my music files from the RPi/502DAC. Currently I use wtfplay on an old dell laptop running USB out to Gustard U12 to the amps to play my 1.5 TB of WAV music files. I have to swap connections to stream or play from my collection.
Sorry if this comes across incoherently to most of us out there. If you understand linux, you should be able to follow it. If not, then you've got to find a mate or a son like mine to do what his audiophool dad asks him to do.
On another note, whilst the Son is living on my dime, and his uni classes have now gone to early sem break, and with the Covid imposed restrictions, he bloody better do something useful!!!
Seriously though, I also love the fact that my son and I both geek out about the two things. He gets me and he enjoys the music and the audiophool side and likes applying his linux to this. He's got a very hip hop jazzy taste in music.
