[ASCTLC]

First off, I'm so confused I hope I don't ask a bunch of competing questions and further confusing requirements.   

So many products out there being discussed yet I can't figure out if it's HW, SW, standalone, needing 5 other products connected to make it work, development level experience to make it work, etc...  Just too much information and too vague discussion for me to get my head around.  I keep reading and trying to understand how to go diskless much more conveniently than I am currently but am finally at the point where I just need to ask straight for specific solutions. 

Desire says to buy a music server like the Sony HAP-Z1ES, NAD M50, etc.  I sure can't afford that and not even sure that makes sense considering the best I have is Redbook bitrate music ripped to .wav (and fine with this). 

So I want to be able to play all the .wav music I have ripped on the computer in my office all the way out there in my living room but do so in a much better way than I am right now.

Let me tell you how I'm doing it now so you can understand what I have and hopefully help me get where I need to go.

I have a Win 8 computer running foobar2000 - playing .wav files - to my router - to my Sony BDP S6200 via DLNA - via coax to my Schiit Gungnir - to my Van Alstine Synergy preamp - to my Van Alstine Synergy 450 amp - and finally to my Legacy Audio Signature SE speakers.

Sometimes I like to listen to an album but many times I like to listen in random mode - and this ultimately is where my greatest dissatisfaction lies.  Sitting out there listening I get non-gapless playback, with the tv on to get my BDP playing, and have to go in to the office to manage playback (skip past a song I don't want to hear at that time).

I hope you're all rolling your eyes cause this approach just sucks, no other way to put it. 

Here's what I want: To sit out there enjoying my music playing from my computer, without gaps between songs on albums like Steve Miller Band and Pink Floyd, yet managing what's playing via my Android phone or tablet.

Need:
1)  I need a much more logical and useful app for running my .wav music than foobar2000.  Or a serious education on foobar if it is capable of gapless and has some kind of Android app I can manage it from my phone out where I'm listening.  Is Jriver and the Gizmo or Jremote the solution that will give me the functionality I need?  Can Jremote on my Android really control the Jriver App running on my PC?  Is there another pair of apps that will get me the functionality?

Extremely high desirability:
2)  If my BDP is my DLNA renderer I think I'm ok with that but would prefer another, better quality, and smaller renderer.  Can this be done via Raspberry Pi + HiFiBerry with a hard drive attached?  If so how would I use my phone to manage that Pi and playback?  If I could make my BDP and it's remote control the foobar/Jriver/?? application, I'd probably be satisfied for a while until I got the bug, understanding, knowledge, and budget to build/assemble another better quality solution.

Is there something small (like the size of my DAC) that I can load mucho music files on, connected to my DAC via coax (no USB), and sit there managing it via my Android, but isn't a mega hundreds of dollars solution?  Our budget is really in the couple hundred dollar range.  Yeah, I know, we want champagne on a koolaid budget   

What's off the table is:
i-stuff.  I don't want another computer, or laptop, or throw out my phone for another, etc...  I saw a Mac Mini and iPad solution someone came up with.  Looked like a neat solution but that's big bucks to me, not to mention that that price point looked to be a dedicated music server.  I tried iTunes once and all it did was constantly crash my PC. 
A laptop or big PC sitting out there in the living room with our stereo.  Wife, isn't going to accept that stuff sitting out there.
expensive $500+ solution to solve gap play and remote management.  Money's way too tight with all we have going on in our lives.  It was through great sacrifice to get the equipment we already have.  A playback control/method alone just has to be some kind of affordable.

Thanks,
Andy

[Doublej]

Is this useful?

https://www.maketecheasier.com/dlna-streaming-apps-android/

[ASCTLC]

It might!  I'll go through it and see if I can understand what it'll do for me.

Thanks,
Andy

[randytsuch]

There are android remote control apps for foobar that would let you control your PC from your phone.
Bubbleupnp is one, there are at least a couple other free ones.

Do you really need gapless?  I don't care about gapless, so I don't know what solutions there are that offer it for PC playback.

Randy

[ASCTLC]

Reading that site, the Bubbleupnp looks like Foobar to phone or phone to renderer.   I don't want to play to my phone and I don't want to play from my phone.  Perhaps the info for Bubbleupnp capability it is just being explained poorly at that site?

For gapless, it isn't an issue too many times but for great albums like Steve Miller Band,  Pink Floyd, some classical albums, to name just a few, are a completely ruined experience with gaps that are not recorded to be heard.

Andy

[randytsuch]

Reading that site, the Bubbleupnp looks like Foobar to phone or phone to renderer.   I don't want to play to my phone and I don't want to play from my phone.  Perhaps the info for Bubbleupnp capability it is just being explained poorly at that site?

For gapless, it isn't an issue too many times but for great albums like Steve Miller Band,  Pink Floyd, some classical albums, to name just a few, are a completely ruined experience with gaps that are not recorded to be heard.

Andy

Bubbleupnp can do a lot of things, and may be overkill.

But one of its capabilities is to let you phone act as a remote for foobar, if you're running foobar on a PC. 
You also need to install something on the PC.

foobarcon is another android app that will let you phone be a remote control.

Randy

[ASCTLC]

Thanks Randy, I'll try to reread up on those and see if it's layman enough for me to understand.

Andy

[Rusty Jefferson]

I just read a quick review online that mentioned Sony "Sideview" app for iOS or Android  will control the DLNA services and is quite funtional.  Have you tried that already?

[randytsuch]

I never tried sideview.

I tried bubbleunp, foobarcon and foobar 2000 controller.

I think bubbleunp was the easiest to setup, pretty sure I just had to install something on my phone and in foobar, and then it just worked.

With the others, I think I had to enter the ip address of my pc in the android app, so the app could find the foobar pc.  After that, it worked.

BTW, I'm using foobar in a "non standard" way, running MQN for the output, so none of these really worked for me, but I'm pretty sure its because of MQN.  If you're using foobar with a normal output type, this should work fine.

Also, these are all free, so you can just download to your phone, setup foobar, and try it out.

The instructions aren't that great, especially for bubble, so just try it, and see if it works for you.

Randy

[randytsuch]

BTW, to answer your highly desirable question, a raspberry and an I2S dac made for a raspberry should sound pretty good.

If you run this on the pi, https://sites.google.com/site/picoreplayer/home

And run logictech media server on you PC, that should play music for you.

You can use a browser to control LMS with your phone, there may be apps too.

For the raspberry, you need something to power it with.  I think that would also power the dac.
And you need an ethernet connection, or a wifi adapter for it.

I played with this a little, and had an ethernet connection.  I ran the I2S lines to an existing dac from a raspberry, and it worked fine.

[audioengr]

The simplest thing to get up and running is a Sonos:

http://www.sonos.com/shop/connect

The S/PDIF output from the Sonos is not bad, but a bit jittery.  If you add a reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh and a good coax cable, then the jitter from the Sonos is dramatically reduced.  The Sonos comes with playback/playlist software that replaces your Foobar.

The Sonos will work in conjunction with your computer where your music resides.  It can be controlled from an iPad, iPod, iPhone or android device.  All using your WiFi network.  The limitation is that it only plays 44.1 CD rips etc..

Steve N.

[ASCTLC]

Now that looks a lot more simple, and financially palatable Steve!  When you say "jittery", wouldn't my Schiit DAC stop all jitter related issues by reclocking it before sending it on to the preamp?  Or once jitter is introduced, the DAC will simply pass it on without introducing more jitter?

Andy

[Vincent Kars]

I have a Win 8 computer running foobar2000 - playing .wav files - to my router - to my Sony BDP S6200 via DLNA

I'm afraid the word is DLNA
A lot of DLNA implementations don't support gapless playback.
Check if your Sony does.
Check if you server does (Foobar? or are you using the standard MS DLNA?)

[RDavidson]

Now that looks a lot more simple, and financially palatable Steve!  When you say "jittery", wouldn't my Schiit DAC stop all jitter related issues by reclocking it before sending it on to the preamp?  Or once jitter is introduced, the DAC will simply pass it on without introducing more jitter?

Andy

It depends on how well it handles jitter. All DACs vary in this regard. None are 100% immune that I know of. Some handle it very well, while others don't. In the latter case, jitter can be so bad that there can be dropouts in the music and audible artifacts.

[ASCTLC]

Vincent,
I'm beginning to believe my Sony won't play the gapless.  I'm seeing people claim foobar2000 does, so it would have to be the Sony at fault.  And yes, using the MS DLNA that is on my Win 8 computer.

Steve,
I'll look in to my Schiit Gungnir and see what I might determine. I'll google the crap outta Sonos and see what I can find regarding jitter experiences from others.  Wondering if a product like Sonos could possibly be cheaper performance than a Sony BDP.  That Sonos unit is the right idea though!!

Andy

[Vincent Kars]

I'm beginning to believe my Sony won't play the gapless.  I'm seeing people claim foobar2000 does, so it would have to be the Sony at fault.  And yes, using the MS DLNA that is on my Win 8 computer.

I'm wondering how you are using Foobar.

I can imagine a couple of options:
You have a interface on the Sony and it pulls the data from your PC using the MS DLNA (Windows Media sharing)
You use Foobar and use it to push the audio to the Sony (play to:, don't know if Foobar support this)
Might make a difference.

[audioengr]

Now that looks a lot more simple, and financially palatable Steve!  When you say "jittery", wouldn't my Schiit DAC stop all jitter related issues by reclocking it before sending it on to the preamp?  Or once jitter is introduced, the DAC will simply pass it on without introducing more jitter?

Andy

Unfortunately the majority of DAC's that reclock like your Schiit still suffer from jitter sensitivity.  I have yet to find one that does not. 

Steve N.